From the minutes

The Fleming Town Council met for their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, June 9 at the Fleming Community Center. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Sue Einspahr at 6:30 p.m. The following council members were present: Stefan Betley, DeeAnn Christopher, Nancy Glaspie, John Stone, Ken MacCrone and Levi Lowe. Also present were Joelle Gapter, Bill Langridge, Keith Beck and Michelle Asfeld.

Hire Media Relations Coordinator: The Interviewing Committee, consisting of Betley and Stone, recommended hiring Joelle Gapter as the Media Relations Coordinator. Gapter has a degree in Communications and has experience in media relations. A motion was made and seconded to offer employment to Gapter, all voted and the motion passed.

Executive Session: At 6:36 p.m. a motion was made by Lowe and seconded by Betley to go into Executive Session according to Section 24-6-402(4)(e) C.R.S. for the purpose of discussing negotiations or developing strategies for negotiations for employee wages, all voted and the motion passed.

At 7 p.m. a motion was made by Betley and seconded by Glaspie to conclude the Executive Session and return to the regular meeting, all voted and the motion passed.

Consent Agenda: A motion was made and seconded to approve the Consent Agenda, all voted and the motion passed.

Treasurer’s Report: Gorman emailed the Council his report since he was not able to attend the council meeting. The General Fund contains $125,882.75, Electric $235,271.39, Water $108,121.47, Sewer $106,001.27, for a NOW Account total of $575,276.88. The MMA balance is $2,544.69 and the CTF balance is $12,263.07 for a total of $590,084.64 in all accounts. A motion was made and seconded to approve the Treasurer’s emailed report, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to transfer $100,000.00 out of the Electric Fund into the Certificate of Deposit, all voted and the motion passed.

Electric Report: The Town of Iliff is interested in purchasing the Town of Fleming’s older mosquito fogger. A motion was made and seconded to sell the older mosquito fogger to the Town of Iliff for $1,200.00, all voted and the motion passed.

Beck reported that the bearings went out on the digger truck and bent the boom cylinder.

Beck mentioned the electric outage was caused by the fuse holder which stemmed from the tree trimming incident.

Water Report: Beck told the Council the booster pump at the well went out. He went to several places in Sterling in search of a pump.

Sewer Report: Beck contacted NextEra about receiving some cement for the town. Beck and Hickey will start putting up some forms around Town for cement.

Streets: Beck mentioned that Hickey has been grading the roads.

Health and Safety: Nothing was discussed.

Parks and Recreation: Betley emailed the contact person at NextEra about some funding for the splash pad. He’s waiting for a response.

Action Items: A motion was made and seconded to approve the job description, with the suggested changes for the Media Relations Coordinator, all voted and the motion passed.

The Council discussed Upwork, a computer program designed to track hours for freelance contractors. A motion was made and seconded to place Gapter on a 90-day probation period, offer no benefits for part-time work and utilize Upwork, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to be a Logan County Chamber of Commerce Marketing Partner, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to update the Policies Concerning Utility Services, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to update the Policy Concerning Sewer Main Specifications and Operations, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to update the Policies Concerning the Water System, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to update the Policies Concerning the Electrical System, all voted and the motion passed.

At 8:03 p.m. Mayor Einspahr stepped down and took a seat in the audience. Mayor Pro-Tem Betley conducted the meeting.

As a resident of the Town of Fleming, Einspahr addressed the Council about the Electric Policy that was updated earlier at the Council meeting stating that all new or updated commercial service shall have a minimum construction of 200 amps unless negotiated with the Town Council. Her electrician mentioned that the storage unit property only needs 150 amps. A motion was made and seconded approving the request for the electrical exception of 150 amps for the storage unit property. All voted, except for Einspahr who removed herself from the Council for this conflict of interest. The motion passed.

Mayor Pro-Tem Betley turned the meeting over to Mayor Einspahr at 8:19 p.m.

A motion was made and seconded to adopt the Grievance Procedure, all voted and the motion passed.

After a lengthy discussion of Section 18, Pens and Coops, of Ordinance #4-2020, a motion was made and seconded to remove the wording “with a cement floor,” all voted and the motion passed.

Discussion Items: Einspahr would like to have a goal setting session. After a little discussion, it was decided that each council member should think of three goals and email them to Asfeld for the July council meeting.

Upcoming Meetings: The next Town Council meeting will be July 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Fleming Community Center.

Adjournment: A motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 8:48 p.m., all voted and the motion passed.