The Haxtun Town Council will welcome a new member following a swearing in ceremony at the upcoming May meeting. Rob Martinez will fill a vacancy left by Craig McCarty earlier this year. McCarty was elected to the Council in the most recent election, however, resigned following a move to Holyoke. Martinez has been appointed to fill the open spot around the Council table, a position he will hold until the next municipal election. He is slated to be sworn in on Monday, May 3.

The Haxtun Town Council reviewed two letters of interest during a meeting on Monday, April 5 at the Haxtun Community Center. Two local residents expressed interest to serve on the Council including Martinez and Eileen Wagoner.

In his letter, Martinez said he and his wife, Arlene, are retired and moved to Haxtun after purchasing land and building a new home on the south side of Town in 2019. The two have been married for 40 years and have three married children and six grandchildren.

“I have spent 30 years serving the citizens of Westminster as a member of the Westminster Fire Department, serving on various committees over the years including representation on the Adams County Local Emergency Planning Committee as an Executive Board Member,” Martinez said in his letter of interest to the Council. “My resume and bio are attached and will show experience with city government in the areas of planning, compliance and enforcement for official development plans, fire prevention, fire investigation, large event planning and the creation of incident action plans.”

After reading and reviewing the two letters of interest, and an open vote, Martinez was appointed by all current council members to fill the position.

“He has a lot on his resume, being on boards in a bigger city could bring a different perspective,” Council Member Ryan Horton said during discussions.

At the most recent Council meeting, members passed resolutions to officially sell property to Haxtun Health, a deal that has been in the process for several months. The Town of Haxtun will sell the truck barn, lean-to and some parking space behind Town Hall and the library to Haxtun Health for $200,000. The deal includes a stipulation that within two years, the Town of Haxtun will also vacate and donate the current Town shop to Haxtun Health as well.

Haxtun Health has purchased and is currently in the construction phase of turning the old Smith Hardware building into a new, two-story building that will house a clinic and space for other services and retail ventures. The land recently purchased from the Town will allow space for supplies during construction and once complete, parking for patients, staff and visitors.

With all necessary resolutions and paperwork in place, the Town has submitted all necessary items to the title company and once title work is complete, the sale will proceed.

At the meeting on April 5, the Haxtun Town Council gave Superintendent Ron Carpenter the go-ahead to sign a contract with Rockwell Construction to construction a new Town Shop on the west end of Haxtun, just past the cemetery on the south side of Strohm Street on Town owned property. That bid totals just over $266,000. Carpenter has been given authority to sign the contract once the sale to Haxtun Health is final and the Town has received the $200,000 payment.

In discussing the construction of the new building, Haxtun Mayor Brandon Biesemeier said Greg Etl, from the Department of Local Affairs, has agreed to help the Town secure grant funds for a portion of the construction. Biesemeier said Etl sounded fairly certain the Town would qualify for grant funds to help with parts of the project like concrete, framing and inside finishings. The grant, Biesemeier said, would be 50/50 match.

Plans are to work more with Etl on applying for grant funds; applications are due by the end of August with official notification in November. Funds would then be awarded in January 2022.

“It’s worth a try, money is money,” Biesemeier said of planning the construction process around grant cycles and opportunities.

In other business the Town Council:

• Heard from Phillips County Economic Development Board of Director Member Marc Bornhoft, who was present to request an increase in contribution for salary of the PCED Executive Director position. The requested increase is $1,500 per year. The topic will be added to the May agenda;

• Heard from Dean Anderson who recently purchased property in Haxtun. Anderson had several inquiries about the location of easements, gas lines and water lines at his new property. Carpenter was able to answer his questions;

• Approved Margo Sauder to the Haxtun Housing Authority;

• Approved MASA insurance renewal for all full-time employees at the cost of $160 per year, per employee. The insurance covers all ground and air emergency transport;

• Discussed allowing chickens inside town limits, plans are to look at ordinances to do so from other municipalities and continue discussions;

• Police Chief Tanya Mayhew said she is in the process of applying for a grant that would help fund body cameras for her three-man department. Cameras will be required for each Colorado officer by 2023.