Haxtun Town Council hears residents' concerns

The Haxtun Town Council tackled a long list of action and discussion items during the latest regular meeting held on July 13 at the Haxtun Community Center. The 2019 financial report, special event permits and applications, and ballot questions for the upcoming election topped agenda items for the monthly meeting.

As all meetings do, the Council kicked things off with public comment following roll call, the pledge of allegiance and approval the agenda and consent agenda. During which, Garry Hadeen, with the Haxtun Housing Authority, asked council members about the progress of finalizing a cooperative agreement between the two entities.

Town Clerk Karie Wilson said the Town has completed their part of the signature process of the agreement and last she spoke with Housing Authority Director Julie Angleton, she was finishing up signatures on the other side. Hadeen said the Housing Authority had not met recently but would do so to finalize the document.

Before moving onto action items, Mayor Brandon Biesemeier read a letter from Haxtun residents Doug and Crissa Larson, who were unable to attend the meeting due to work schedules.

The Larsons began the letter by saying, “Please know that the intent of this letter is not to place blame or point fingers, instead it is meant to bring awareness to several issues that we, as Haxtun community members, wish to convey to the Council.”

The Larsons said perhaps the most obvious issue in Town is the condition of the streets. “We would assume that most community members would agree that a large percentage of our streets are in a state of disrepair. In fact, this is a constant conversation among Haxtunites. When driving or walking on our streets, we find an endless array of potholes and deteriorated sections of pavement. In some areas, where large sections of the street are cracked like an array of pavement puzzle pieces, we even find weeds growing between these cracks,” the couple said.

The letter goes on to point out a number of concerns in regard to particular streets and areas of Haxtun, including North Walker Avenue along the east side of the park.

“We are concerned that if we do not begin a more robust maintenance program soon, our streets may deteriorate beyond repair. Which will likely translate into replacement costs that are simply beyond our communities’ financial capabilities. If maintaining our personal properties is a key to sustaining property values, then most certainly, maintaining our Town’s infrastructure is equally important.”

The Larsons also address other concerns of theirs, including park maintenance citing mature weeds throughout the playground area, mature weeds growing around the ballpark fence and dugout, extensive dry spots in the park grass and the lack of irrigation around the existing pool building.

Another concern, addressed by the Haxtun couple, include the replacement plan for trees in the Haxtun Park. “We propose the creation of a community park tree replenishment program with an annual tree planting plan and budget, whereby we establish the number, size, type and location of each tree to be planted in the park annually. Community members could designate their donation to be applied directory toward particular trees per that replanting plan. We (Crissa and Doug) are willing to head up this committee, develop a multi-year plan re-replanting and negotiate with a wholesale nursery. We’ll even help transport and plant if necessary. In addition, we will also commit $500 for the first tree in this program.”

In closing, the Larsons said, “Without getting into great detail, we do have other community concerns, such as questions regarding perceived changes in our water quality and/or treatment, absence of street cleaning, the poor condition of the railroad crossings in town and the lack of relief joints in the South Colorado Avenue concrete and sidewalk project which is causing damage to adjoining properties.

Since the Larsons were not at the meeting, Superintendent Ron Carpenter addressed the couple’s concerns in a letter that was later sent in the mail.

To kick off action items, council members heard a report from Financial Auditor Scott Szabo regarding the 2019 Town audit. Szabo said generally speaking, the Town is in well financial standing with four to five months’ worth of reserves. The Auditor went through a breakdown of specific budgets including electric, water, sewer and sanitation. The electric fund, he said, broke even and showed no concerns as did the water fund with the exception of 2019 water tower project.

Wilson explained that the total cost of the water tower project was $105,000 and will be paid over a three-year span. However, that figure was taken out of the budget at one time versus a supplemental budget to reflect the three years’ worth of payments.

The sanitation and sewer funds, Szabo said, seem to hold their own but have not seen raises since 2015.

After hearing the audit report, council members acted on special event permits for Old-Fashioned Saturday Night, which took place last Saturday. The Town hosted the beer garden and all net proceeds will benefit the current pool project.

The Council also voted to set a special event liquor application and hearing date for Aug. 3 following a request from the Haxtun Chamber of Commerce for Corn Festival slated for the end of September.

Council members also discussed and acted on an agenda item to move the Town of Haxtun regular municipal elections to coincide with County elections. The Council voted to add the question to the ballot while also calling for a special election to do so in November.

Haxtun voters will be asked to move the municipal elections from April to November, which would take place at the same time as Phillips County elections. The move would put any ballot issues and elected official elections on all County ballots, a move the City of Holyoke did this past year as well.

During discussion items, Mayor Biesemeier talked about a letter he drafted and signed to send to NKC Railroad addressing the condition of the railroad crossings in Town.

“Over the last several years the railroad crossings on Colorado Avenue in Haxtun, Colorado has deteriorated to the point where it is a major complaint from our citizens and hazard to vehicles in our community,” Biesemeier wrote. “Our community has asked the Town of Haxtun a number of times to address the issue. Our Haxtun Town Manager, Ron Carpenter, has talked to you in the past about the condition of the crossing, however; the Haxtun Town Council has decided that our request to have the crossing fixed should be in writing. Last year, you addressed the problem by putting in some loose material. This attempt to remedy the problem seemed only temporary because the problem quickly returned to the current condition.”

Biesemeier said he spoke with a representative from CHS Grainland who said that business is willing to fix their part of the tracks and were under the understanding that the railroad would fix their portion last April.

The Council also discussed future street projects, particularly forming a committee to research the feasibility of a major street project in the coming years. Currently, the Town of Haxtun pays $6,000 monthly on the main street project that went in seven years ago and Wilson said that will be paid off in five more years.

Right now, the Town of Haxtun is in the process of repaving two streets; Wilson Street in front of the Haxtun Community Center and the 100 block of Raymond Street. The Town also just completed the project to repair the curb and gutter on the west side of the 100 block of North Colorado Avenue where there was major damage.

Council members, briefly, also discussed replacing the welcome signs on the west and east ends of Town that were damaged in the June storm. An estimate from the original company who designed the signs is $35,000.

Before moving onto staff reports, the Council also talked about Coronavirus Relief Funds. According to Wilson, the Town has been allocated about $47,000 to spend, if needed, before Dec. 31. The Town of Haxtun would need to spend those dollars as needed and submit necessary paperwork for reimbursement.

During his report to the Council, Carpenter said Matt Firme was expected to assess damage of the sprinkler system at the park following summer thunderstorms and clean up. He also said Town crews have been working to spray weeds along curbs, gutters and those in the streets.

In her Chief of Police report, Tanya Mayhew said her department received a $1,400 grant for POST training. The Chief was asked about implementing body cameras as passed by law recently at the State Capital; Mayhew said it is her understanding that departments will have three years to do so.

The following building permits were also approved; with note that fees were waived for those dealing with storm damage clean up:

Kristen Trum, 205 South Lincoln Avenue for siding, windows and a sliding door; Bob Cionek, 717 West Fletcher Street for repairing a privacy fence and building a storage shed; Larry Wilson, 341 Westridge for a cement driveway; Gerry Brown, 605 South Utah for a privacy fence; Bamford Feedyard, 127 North Washington Avenue to replace windows; Trever Fix, 105 South Logan Avenue to remodel a front room; Ryan Henry, 139 North Lava Avenue for a fence around a swimming pool; Dennis Hagemeyer, 719 West Fletcher Street for the curb and gutter program; Rodney Rahe, 239 West Grant Street for siding a garage and egress windows; Michelle Vancel, 641 South Washington Avenue for fencing and concrete work and windows; John Chapdelaine, 310 North Iris Avenue to replace a front door; Deb Crossland, 642 South Colorado Avenue for re-roof; Tonya Dishman, 317 East Chase Street for a re-roof; Steve Cavalli, 337 North Logan Avenue for a re-roof; Mike Schropher, 412 North Logan Avenue for a re-roof; Terry Reynolds, 519 West Fletcher Street for a re-roof; Marilyn Miller, 236 South Miller Avenue for a sprinkler system; Sara Grauberger, 624 Prospect Circle to remodel the basement; David Bickford, 533 West Bryan Street for a privacy fence and sprinkler system; Garry Hadeen, 225 North Washington Avenue for a 40-foot shipping container; Barb Steffes, 206 North Logan Avenue for a re-roof; Rick Lockwood, 225 South Miller Avenue for a re-roof; Haxtun Hospital District, 235 West Fletcher Street to remodel the lab; Keith Mask, 220 North Lava Avenue for fence repair; Brandon Biesemeier, 337 North Colorado Avenue for siding; Wayne Gibbs, 726 South Washington Avenue for a re-roof; Jesse Larson, 433 East Strohm Street for a re-roof; Alice Mathews, 726 South Colorado Avenue for a re-roof; Trever Fix, 105 South Logan Avenue for a re-roof; Mary Schropfer, 225 South Utah Avenue for a re-roof; Tanya Mayhew, 238 South Miller Avenue for a re-roof; Jean Gray, 522 West Fletcher Street for a re-roof; Kent Bamford, 405 West Grant Street for a re-roof; Dave Shafer, 345 West Second Street for a re-roof; Cesar Mendoza, 225 West Chase Street for a two-car garage; Tanya Mayhew, 238 South Miller Avenue to replace doors and siding; Dennis Hagemeyer, 719 West Fletcher Street for a re-roof; Fran Gilliland, 341 East Bryan Street for a re-roof; Connie Waite, 205 North Colorado Avenue for a re-roof; Craig McCarty, 325 North Burlington Right of way for a garden shed; Craig McCarty, 401 East Raymond Street for siding, walls, ceiling and a bath; Craig McCarty, 402 East Raymond Street for siding, staircase and electrical work on a barn; Craig McCarty, 318 East Raymond Street for a small metal TV tower.