The Haxtun-Fleming Herald - What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope

The Fleming Town Council met for their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 11 at the Fleming Community Center. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Sue Einspahr at 7 p.m.

The following council members were present: DeeAnn Christopher, Nancy Glaspie Levi Lowe, Ken MacCrone and John Stone. Also present were Michelle Asfeld, Clay Gorman, Lewis Frank, Sandy Kinzie (left at 7:20 p.m.) and Joelle Gapter (arrived at 7:50 p.m.).

Additions/Corrections to the Agenda: Mayor Einspahr added Ordinance Enforcement under Health & Safety, Councilman Betley added recycling, also under Health & Safety, Councilwoman Christopher added tree issues under Parks & Recreation. A motion was made and seconded to approve the agenda as amended, all voted and the motion passed.

Public Comment: Sandy Kinzie reported on the Summer Reading Program. 39 families participated.

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

Treasurer’s Report: Gorman reported the General Fund contains $197,560.66, Electric $154,717.90, Water $111,374.95, Sewer $111,929.20, for a NOW Account total of $575,582.71. The MMA balance is $2,545.79 and the CTF balance is $13,693.79 for a total of $591,822.29 in all accounts. A motion was made and seconded to approve the treasurer’s report, all voted and the motion passed.

Gorman reported that NextEra will be issuing the Town of Fleming a check in the amount of $22,000 for their truck traffic on main street.

Gorman also reported that Fleming has received $50,000 from the State of Colorado for COVID relief.

Clerk’s Report: No report.

Due to Beck being absent, there wasn’t an official Maintenance Report.

Electric Report: Councilman Stone reported that street lights were on in the day on the south side of town. Asfeld responded that Justin is working on the situation.

Water Report: no report.

Sewer Report: no report.

Streets: Councilman Lowe reported that he visited with a representative from NextEra concerning gravel that they will be discarding and the potential use of it for streets, specifically the Wildhorse subdivision.

Health and Safety: Mayor Einspahr reported that the Town has been diligently working on code enforcement. Citations will be delivered concerning vicious dogs and vehicle issues. She also proposed a committee to address ongoing code enforcement.

Councilman Betley brought up the issue of timely emptying the recycling containers. He will have a conversation with Marick’s as to how this situation can be improved.

Parks and Recreation: There was a discussion about getting a contractor to install the splash pad.

Councilwomen Christopher and Councilwoman Glaspie reported on some issues at the parks. A number of dead limbs were noticed as well as a few dead trees and several low limbs that need trimmed. Mayor Einspahr will visit with Tom Goss about the possibility of tree trimming and removal. She also told the Council that she had authorized Beck to secure the necessary resources to remove a couple of stumps at the cemetery and Heritage Park.

Action Items: A motion was made and seconded to adopt the changes to Section 2-Board of Zoning Adjustment of Ordinance #5-2020, on the second reading, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to approve a variance extension for six months for an electric fence, per Ordinance #5-2020, Sec 7-03(A). Councilman Betley amended the motion to eliminate the need for a future public hearing and to review the variance every six months. Stone abstained, the Council voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to eliminate the cement floor requirements from Ordinance 4-2020, Section 18, Pens & Coops on third and final reading. Stone and Lowe voted yes while MacCrone, Betley, Einspahr, Christopher and Glaspie voting no, the motion failed.

A motion was made and seconded to hire Lewis Frank as the part-time Treasurer, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to hire Grace Rossignol as the Town Librarian, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded for the Town to donate up to $1,500 for the movie expense and insurance for the Fall Festival, all voted and the motion passed.

Executive Session: At 8:41 p.m. a motion was made by Christopher and seconded by Stone to enter into Executive Session according to Section 24-6-402(4)(e) C.R.S. for the purpose of discussing negotiations for employee wages, all voted and the motion passed.

At 8:56 p.m. a motion was made by Betley and seconded by Christopher to conclude the Executive Session and return to the regular meeting, all voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and second to set the hourly wage for part-time Treasurer with a 90-day probation period, voted and the motion passed.

A motion was made and seconded to set the hourly wage for the Town Librarian with a 90-day probationary period, all voted and the motion passed.

Upcoming Meetings: Colorado Municipal League meeting in Akron on Sept. 9. Town Council meeting on Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the community center.

Discussion Items: Einspahr discussed to possibility of having a booth at the Fall Festival to promote the Fleming website.

Adjournment: A motion was made and seconded to adjourn at 9:04 p.m., all voted and the motion passed.