Poncha Springs Board of Trustees as new trustees are sworn in. Left to right, Trustee Michael Coleman, Katie Davis, Adrian Quintana, Mayor Ben Scanga, Tina Perri-Mundy, and Evalyn Parks, as new Trustee Leann Olson recites the oath of office. Photo by Jan Wondra.
The Poncha Springs Board of Trustees kicked off its April 23 regular meeting at 6:30 p.m., by swearing in new and returning trustees and re-swearing in Mayor Ben Scanga. The simple ceremony, each one pledging to uphold the U.S. Constitution, the Colorado Constitution, and the laws of Poncha Springs local government was over in a few minutes.
Taking their oath were Scanga, returning Trustees Michael D. Coleman and Tina Perri-Mundy, and new Trustee Leann Olson. Scanga also took time to thank retiring Trustee JD Longwell for his service.
“You’re not getting rid of me, it’s been great, and I’ve enjoyed working with the staff,” said Longwell. “We’ve done a lot and we’ve got a long way to go.”
The Trustees wasted no time in passing a resolution unanimously reappointing Town Administrator, Lance Hostetter; Town Clerk, Janine Fitzwater; and Town Attorney, Gerald Dahl.
They moved on to an ordinance appointing a Town Treasurer, a role previously filled by the former Town Administrator Brian Berger, who has left that dual position. A motion made by Evalyn Parks and seconded by Perri-Mundy immediately brought Longwell out of his few minutes of retirement, appointing him to a one-year position as town treasurer.
The trustees moved on to review the town’s board committee assignments for its three standing committees: the Finance Committee, the Maintenance and Utilities Committee, and the Personnel Committee.
Coleman was added to the Finance Committee, serving with Scanga and Parks, with Longwell attending occasionally.
No changes were made to the standing Maintenance Committee and Olson was added to the Personnel Committee now led by new Administrator Lance Hostetter.
The Parks and Recreation Committee is composed of nine community members. Trustee Davis, who serves on it, asked for two more trustees to serve with her beginning in June. Olson and Perri-Mundy volunteered.
The board moved on to consider a warrant request from a resident constructing two duplexes to change the allowed setback from 20 feet to 25 feet so that his truck would fit in the driveway. The shift could help create an alley access. He explained that his lots are 160 feet deep, so there is “plenty of room” to adjust the setback from the street. The challenge: the neighboring property owner had four lots, is also putting in duplexes, but there is no platted alley for the combined five lots.
The board discussed the merits of adjusting setbacks on the same street and then explored alternatives, including shifting the duplexes to face a different direction. The applicant and staff pointed out that the applicant has already done significant design work to develop the parcels (zoned as Zone 4), including shifting plans due to there being no designated alley and no driveway curb cuts.
Town staff pointed out that the neighboring duplex development was approved without alley access as platted, is in conflict with the town’s land use code, and it had presented both water meter and driveway challenges. “One of them lines up with an ADU access to the sidewalk- there are challenges with this one. It’s not a perfect model to go off of … there’s no curb driveway cut.”
Trustee Davis asked, “When you designed the townhomes, did you do an alternate design that would be in compliance?”
The applicant responded “We bought the lots to put a duplex on the lots… we’ve been working on it for over a year, with alley easements.
Scanga noted, “So what we should have done is required an alley behind these five lots… our code by right allows duplexes.”
The board unanimously decided to allow two driveway cuts and an additional five feet of setbacks for the duplex construction.
Proclamation of Arbor Day
The town will celebrate Arbor Day on May 18, which happens to be the same day as the town clean-up day. The town has been given 18 apple trees to plant, which will go in as soon as the irrigation and fencing are done on the west side of Hoover Park, where the area can be accessible to the public.
As in past years, the town will place a dumpster behind Town Hall in the public works yard where residents can bring yard trash and “things bigger than the average trash container. From 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon that day, the town will have open a “leaves and limbs dump just for biodegradable yard trash, and food and drinks will be available in town at Crossroads Church.
Parks and Recreation Update and master Plan RFP Prep
The town has set aside $130,000 from the 2024 budget to create a town parks master plan.
“It looks positive, we set 12 months to complete this,” said Davis. “We need to get an RFP out. We have a great one that Brian [Berger] put out a year ago — some tweaks probably need to be made. “Lance and I could work on it, or wait until the June meeting.
Based on the board discussion, Davis and Hostetter agreed to adjust the committee meeting dates to meet May 15, so that they might be able to bring the results to the Trustee’s May 21 board session for review. That will allow the town to put the RFP out for bids in June 2024.
The group discussed the execution of an Economic Development and Market Study, based upon a draft RFP, noting that the town hasn’t done one in a long time.
“Our focus has been bringing business in – that has not been the focus of the county EDC,” said Davis. “How do we use this to bring in business? … I suggest we start from scratch.” she added that there are at least 30 to 40 properties for sale in town. “I had no idea what was for sale … we budgeted $150,000 for this.
“I’d like to take a stab at this… I’ll be full-time next week,” offered Hostetter.
Staff and Board Reports
The new Town Administrator Lance Hostetter noted that the town has contracted with the former Town Administrator Brian Berger “to help do more training and get me up to speed.” He added that he was pleased that Longwell would be assisting with the town’s Finance Committee, and that on May 30 he had arranged a staff land use code training. The board expressed interest and Hostetter agreed to investigate whether there could be a separate training for the board as well.
Trustee Evalyn Parks reported regarding the planning for the town’s 4th of July celebration, with the next planning session set for 10:00 a.m. May 28. She referenced a dunk tank, watermelon, and pie-eating contests. She noted that they would put out a call for floats for the parade, which is tentatively set for 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. July 4, with park festivities from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Town Clerk Janine Fitzwater reported that the town’s website redesign is ongoing. The design and graphics are done, and the next step is to transfer content from the old site to the new site. The site has been designed with information sections, including an events section, a news section, a search option, and a place to sign up for alerts. She is currently searching for an interactive calendar plug-in for board meeting information.
Fitzwater added that the town is transferring the town finance software to a new system, with the final changeover scheduled for August, 2024.
Public Works Supervisor Sean Kelly reported that with the pedestrian crossing, complete with crossing signs, complete on U.S. 50 in downtown Poncha Springs, the attention of Public Works will turn to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) project at the intersection of U.S. 50 and U.S. 285, where Public works is responsible for the next phase of the water infrastructure work.
Public comment
Arkansas Headwaters representative Jerry Mallett stood during public comment to raise the topic that the long-term establishment of a formal recreation district might be in the county’s best interests.
Public comment was reopened at the very end of the meeting to allow a resident to express concerns about transients camping out and apparently living up in the area of the town dump, on the way to the cemetery.
Meetings are in person and via Zoom: meeting ID: 837 8106 3902 (https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83781063902)
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