MONTE VISTA— During last Thursday’s (July 20) Monte Vista City Council meeting, staff reports shared with the council included budget discussion, police department statistics, a public works update and more.
Neuerburg presented an initial budget amendment which he stated would be reviewed in more detail at the Aug. 3 council meeting. Neuerburg has reviewed many of the problems with the budget and found ways to significantly reduce their deficit spending by fixing where items had been budgeted for more than their actual cost, among other changes. Neuerburg added the amendment does not include some vital public works equipment which would be included at the next meeting. The document provided by Neuerburg, which he worked on with City Finance Director Heather Hixson, also includes “Under Vali 3… adjust estimated expense from $11,000 to $5,500, with the assumption that the Vali-3 would pay for half its utility costs. As a reminder, the city has assumed the role of processing the theater’s invoices as well as its payroll.” Martinez pointed out he did not approve of this change, “it’s not fair to impose this on just the theater” and not other city entities like the golf course. Neuerburg explained with his new numbers, it was not as important to make the Vali theater change, but reminded council they had to look at changes across the board for the city properties that are fair and equitable during their fall budget discussions. Garcia asked Neuerburg to ensure the boards overseeing these projects and properties be made aware of that policy so they can begin discussions with their boards to account for the changes and take part in the budget talks, “…rather than find out about a motion in the paper later.” Councilor Joe Schlabach asked if the boards could provide profit/loss statements so council could take them into consideration and possibly create sliding scale plans which take their profits into consideration instead of just across-the-board cuts that might affect some entities disproportionately. Neuerburg agreed this was a possibility.
Neuerburg concluded his report by reading compliments the city has recently received on its Facebook page and comments he has heard from people who recently moved to Monte Vista to retire, noting the city looks clean and was a pleasant place to visit and live, stating “positive notes don’t hurt.”
Interim Chief Eddie Rodriguez was not present for his report, but submitted a written one that cited “11 reported thefts, one reported drug arrest, three reported burglaries, four DUI, 105 citations with 104 reports and 1,415 calls for service” for the month of June. Rodriguez also reported MVPD is short five officers from this time in 2016 and is hiring for different positions. There were 14 applicants with three qualified for the code enforcement position but the selected applicant declined for a position with another department which offered “a better salary and less travel.” Rodriguez also noted “A couple of officers who attended a supervisor class conducted a survey as a class project which showed a comparison call volume between Alamosa PD and Monte Vista PD year to date and had Alamosa PD calls of approximately 12,000 with 27 officers and Monte Vista PD with a call volume of 9,300 with 11 current police officers.” Neuerburg’s report stated interviews for the new chief of police will take place on Aug. 16.
Public Works Director Rob Vance began his report by asking for approval on a capital purchase of $17,291.70 for three new samplers and flow meters for wastewater treatment, which was approved unanimously. Vance stated the streets department is also short-staffed, “One employee in the department had a serious health event in April, and a second employee is still on extremely limited duty from a previous injury, so we are basically functioning off of two employees.” The department’s flatbed truck and street sweeper are both out, “The estimated repair to the street sweeper is approximately $36,000…the main air generator fan and assembly is cracked and must be replaced plus as we transported it to the [Colorado] Springs the engine fan assembly also went out. I am working with Forrest to come up with a plan of action,” which Vance stated would be presented at the next meeting. Vance noted the department has also been doing some repairs, to a water line in Lariat and doing asphalt on Henderson and Euclid streets, which took about 275 tons of asphalt costing about $23,000.
Vance also addressed criticism the public works department has heard recently about their mosquito spraying, which he clarified takes place every Thursday evening beginning at 5:30 p.m., if the weather permits, and continues on Friday morning if needed. With weather/rain preventing or hindering spraying on a couple of occasions, Vance noted it would be moved to a morning route if one more weather event interferes but he will publicize the change. The public works department and the police department are working on their preparations for re-routing traffic during the upcoming Stampede parades and the department will be focused on Stampede prep for the rest of this week.
City Clerk Unita Vance updated council reporting Judge Daniel Powell has given her authority to issue PR Bonds for people arrested for bench warrants for failure to appear in court. The court had six bench warrants issued during the last two court sessions for failure to appear. Judge Powell has also given Vance the authority to handle first appearances and schedule the defendant’s next appearances for either trial or sentencing. Vance has also been working with the City of Alamosa municipal court to create efficient discovery procedures for defendants who wish to see evidence against them, such as police body camera footage.
Belknap returned to the podium to give the IT report, stating all but one of the exterior doors to city hall now have wireless locks installed that allow IT to monitor who is in the building and what areas they have accessed. Anyone walking through the police department must be Colorado Crime Information Center (CCIC) certified or escorted by an officer, which was a request of the police department. VPIN network access is now set up for employees to access the network outside of city hall, which was been a year-long endeavor. The council chambers/courtroom now has a permanent projector and can be used as a training facility, and the old projector has been set up with a laptop to be a mobile training center in the old council chambers. Belknap also reported with the City of Alamosa’s assistance the connections to the Rio Grande County and Alamosa County jails are completed, which will cost the city $90 a month but will help save transportation costs.