PALMER LAKE, COLORADO
Town Council Meeting - Record of Proceedings

FEBRUARY 8, 2007

The Palmer Lake Town Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Parker at 7:23 p.m., February 8, 2007.

Attendees:

Trustees: 
Mayor Parker
Allen
Coleman     
Finan
Flake
Girlando
Miner

Attorney: Gaddis
Audience: 35

Pledge of Allegiance:  Renee Wall

March Planning Commission Liaison – Trustee Girlando (Mar 14 and 21, 2007)
April Planning Commission Liaison – Trustee Miner (Apr 11 and 18)
May Planning Commission Liaison – Mayor Parker (May 9 and 16, 2007)

Item 3:  Approval of the Agenda

Trustee Finan requested the Police Committee Report be moved to follow the Mayor’s Report.  Attorney Gaddis recommended delaying the approval of the minutes for January 11, 2007 until the February meeting.

Trustee Finan  made a motion to approve the agenda as amended, seconded by Trustee Coleman.  Motion carried unanimously.

Item #4:  Consent Items

• Approval of Minutes – January 11, 2007
• Payment of Bills – January and partial February 2007

Approval of Minutes – January 11, 2007 is removed.

Trustee Allen asked that the minutes be submitted earlier than currently is being done.  Trustee Girlando asked why the payment of the bills are one month plus partial.  Clerk Gray explained the problem with holding the actual payments to vendors until after approval.  Mayor Parker asked that the listing of payment of the bills and the minutes for approval be submitted, in the future, at the council workshops.

Trustee Finan made a motion to approve the consent item, Payment of Bills , seconded by Trustee Girlando.  Motion carried unanimously.

Trustee Allen made a motion for to give the Town Clerk Preauthorization to pay in advance for routine, monthly bills by rafificatoin ocurring at the monthly meetings and the approval of non-ocurring bills to be approved at the normal meeting, seconded by Trustee Finan.  Motion carried unanimously.

Item #5:   Committee Reports

Mayor Parker – Mayor’s Report

• Attended a Water Committee meeting with Trustee Girlando
• Attended a meeting of the Tri-Lakes Economic Development Council with Trustee Miner.
• Attended the Pikes Peak Area Council of Governments meeting.
• Attended a meeting with members of the PPACG, State Senators and Representatives to discuss legislative issues important to the Region.
• Met with representatives of the Awake the Lake committee, the Town’s Water Attorney, the Town’s Engineers and concerned citizens on questions and options concerning the filling of Palmer Lake.

Trustee Finan  – Police

• Chief Gilliana reported the department now offers 24 hour coverage.  There will be no more taking home of the cars.
• Morale issues such as absentism\lateness is gone.
• The addition of two part-time officers is under way.
• Training with Colorado Springs Police, utilizing a grant awarded to CSP, focusing on Elder Abuse, will be starting soon.
• Computers in the town office are in need of serious upgrading, including hardware, software and internet connection.  These issues are being attended to now.
• 45 Calls for service, to include:  2 felony child abuse, 2 domestic violence harassment, 1 discharging of a firearm resulting in an animal death, 6 D.U.I.’s and 2 motor vehicle thefts.
• Working with Monument Police to revamp our policies and procedures so procedures are similar.

Trustee Allen stated that Chief Gilliana and Clerk Beers had attended the Forest View Acres Homeowners Association to introduce themselves and to update the members. 

Trustee Allen – Roads

• Worked within the policies for storms, answering calls for distress and those needing assistance.  There are many potholes that need attention.
• Bob Radosevich will attend, as a panel member, the Pavers Association Convention, February 28 to March 3, in Denver.
• Bob meet with and negotiated money from FEMA for the recent storms.

Trustee Coleman – Fire

• First meeting of the newly-created PLVFD Support Team took place January 8, 2007.  There are currently 9 members.
• PLVFD participated in Winterfest on January 27th, providing fire support, medical support and refreshments.
• Pizza & Poker Night for all present and past members of the PLVFD will be held on Saturday, February 17th at 5:00 pm in the fire station.  All past members are welcome.
• The Christmas Train display collected $325 for the fire department.
• Please place house numbers so they are visible from the street. Now is the best time to place numbers to insure they will be visible above the snowline.  Home Depot has a good selection of reflective house numbers.  Either Trustee Coleman or Trustee Miner will contact them about buying in bulk and selling to the citizens as a fundraiser.

Trustee Flake – Parks and Recreation and Buildings

Buildings

• The roof is leaking at the Library\Museum building.  It is possibly the result of ice build up.  Also the ramp is in need of attention, along with the stairs at the kitchen entrance of the Town Hall.  All three issues will be looked at in the Spring.

Parks and Recreation

• I am working on a flyer includes a map and descriptions of all of our Town’s parks and trails.  This is still a work-in progress.
• The Parks & Rec department hosted Winterfest with Great Starts on Jauary27th.  The turnout was awesome, hundreds of people attended.  Thank you to the following for making this such a successful event:
• Jen Martin of Great Starts’ and also a Palmer Lake resident, and Della, our Town Clerk. 
• Thanks to the Town Staff (especially Bob, Phil and the police department)
• Jeff Clibon of Oasis Landscape & Irrigation – donating time and equipment to clear the lake, groom the rink(s)and make pathways.
• The PL Volunteer Fire Department and their support group for the fire and refreshments.
• Town skates were in bad shape.  Luckily, the Colorado Sports Center (formerly Soc-n-roll) let us borrow, free of charge, over 100 pairs of skates.
• Speedtrap and Serrano’s for donating coffee, and others who donated items for the raffle, including Mark Kirkland Photography, The PL Country Store, O’Malley’s, the Rock House, Clara Jean’s, Facinelli Motors, Sundance Kennels, the Depot, Home Depot & PL Elementary School.
• Also, on-hand, were the LP High School Serteens who helped check out skates, facilitate parking and sell our vintage skates (over 40 pairs were sold).
• We have started our winter sports and recreations sessions with Great Starts this month.  Enrollment is better than expected for our first run of programs.  You can still sign up for the Senior Fitness Class.  For all other opportunities, watch for the flyer announcing programs for the upcoming spring session.  To register, or for updates and future classes, you should visit the Great Starts website at www.gscamps.com. 
• We had our first Steering Committee meeting with the El Paso County Parks Board to begin the Palmer Lake\Centennial Park Master Plan update process.
• Step 1:  Generation of a community survey asking the public what they want or feel the Town needs at the Lake.
• Step 2:  Timeline for February is work on an existing conditions report
• Step 3:  Survey will conclude and results will be reviewed by Steering Committee.
• Step 4:  Develop staff recommendations, review with the Steering Committee.
• Step 5: Conduct citizen open house.
• Step 6 :  Develop Master Plan Update and obtain endorsement from the Steering Committee.
• Step 7:  Seek endorsements from EPC Park Advisory Board, Town Planning Commission and Town Board.  Attend work session with Board of County Commissioners (BoCC).
• Step 8:  Continue work session with BoCC and get Master Plan Update approval from the EPC Board of County Commissioners.

Trustee Girlando – Water

• Held Water Committee Meeting.  Mayor Parker, Trustee Allen, the Tribune and 4 citizens attended.  Discussed what is involved in fixing the infrastructure before it breaks down.  Trustee Girlando will continue to gather data regarding revenue coming in and will bring a proposal back to council regarding the need to be pro-active with water rates.

Trustee Miner – Economic and Community Development

• Attended the Tri-Lakes Economic Council, which was formerly a part of the Tri-Lakes Chamber, but is now a stand alone entity.  The group will be collecting marketing data for potential employers.  Potential employers usually require this data in a 48 hour turn around time.

Bob Miner – Fountain Creek Watershed

• The Fountain Creek Watershed Vision Workshops will look at conservation easements, water quality, erosion sedimentation and state parks and trails within the watershed.  PPACG applied for a grant through the EPA to help fund this process and develop a master plan.

Awake the Lake – Jeff Hulsman

Jeff stated that the meeting on January 16th with Attorney Sperling and the Town Engineers left the committee with more questions than answers.  Jeff referenced a letter from Rich Snyder, District 10 Water, in which water can be taken from the Upper Reservoir, with stipulations.  Mayor Parker stated he would contact Paul Gilbert, Town Engineer, and see where we are with the quotes requested during the aforementioned meeting.

Kim Makower, read a pre-written letter, a copy of which is on file at the town office for review.

Staff

Attorney Gaddis stated council needed to designate the official posting places on a yearly basis.

Trustee Coleman made a motion to designate the Post Office, Town Hall and Town Office as official posting places for any official meetings, seconded by Trustee Girlando.  Motion carried unanimously.

Trustee Finan asked for Items 9 & 10 to be moved after Item 7 and before Item 8, stating applicants for Items 9 & 10 had already been waiting a considerable time.

Trustee Allen made a motion for Item #8 to remian where it is, seconded by Trustee flake.  Motion failed, 5 to 2

Item #6:  Sertoma’s Freedom Week – Ted Bauman
What Freedom Means to Me – Renee Wall, 8th Grade, Lewis-Palmer Middle School

Mr. Bauman introduced Renee Wall, the winner of this years What Freedom Means to Me essay contest.  Ms. Wall read her entry.

Item #7: Proclamation – Sertoma’s Freedom Week

Mayor Parker read the proclamation, proclaiming February 18 – 24, 2007 as Sertoma’s Freedom Week.

Item #9:  Request for New Business License – Alma Construction Corp.
Guillermo Moratorio

Mr. Moratorio provided a map indicating the exact location of his business, which is selling kits for sheds.  The property is currently zoned C-2, which allows for the selling of building supplies.  A reasonable attempt must be made to fence the area from view, excluding the Hwy 105 side.

Trustee Miner made a motion of approve the business license for Alma Construction Corp, seconded by Trustee Finan.  Motion carried unanimously.

Item #10:  Request to build in Lakeview Heights Unit 2 – RFP Investments – Carrie Johnson, Representative.

Trustee Flake asked for the issue to be returned to Planning Commission.  Ms. Johnson agreed with Clerk Gray that town staff had fulfilled their obligation in attempting to obtain another egress\ingress into Lakeview Heights Unit 2 and that Ms. Johnson was charged with organizing a committee of landowners to work with Planning Commission to further this endeavor.  This item was un-formally tabled.  Patti Brooks, Lakeview Heights Unit 1 Homeowners Association representative asked that she be kept informed as to the progress of this action.

Item #8:  Discussion – Ambulance Agreement

A lengthy discussion was held among trustees regarding the ambulance agreement between the Town of Palmer Lake and Larkspur versus an agreement being entered into with Tri-Lakes.  Trustees Allen and Flake stated the main issue being one of response time.  Trustees Finan, Girlando, Miner and Coleman, under different questions, asked if quality of service had any bearing on the decision.

Faye Brenneman, stated she works in Case Management and Senior Transportation, and that she would prefer the response time that Tri-Lakes could possibly give, but that there were issues with Tri-Lakes and their lack of respect for our own volunteers and caregivers.  Tri-Lakes is hard to work with.  Ms. Brenneman stated that attitudes can be changed and she hopes that PL and Tri-Lakes will continue to work on this issue together.  1st responders are from our own volunteer department who holds down the fort until either Larkspur or Tri-Lakes can get there.  1st responders are medically trained.

Jen Martin, mother of 3 and married to a firefighter, asked that council give the volunteers the respect they desire.  She asked Chief Beckman what equipment Palmer Lake has available for 1st response.  Chief Beckman responded with:  2 vehicles are equipped as medical 1st responders, carrying AEDs, oxygen, IV’s, medical bags, spinal back boards, etc.

Si Sibell referenced an incident at the Depot Restaurant, that he had no quarrel with the response from the PL Volunteers, but did have an issue with the response time from Larkspur.

Bob Miner stated that there is an area of Tri-Lakes District that has a long response time due to a bridge having washed out in 1999.  He also referenced an area bordering Donald Wescott that asked Tri-Lakes to de-annex them since response time from Donald Wescott was under 3 minutes, while response time from Tri-Lakes was approximately 10 minutes.  Tri-Lakes refused to allow them to de-annex.

Trustee Allen made a motion, with an implementation of 30 days, we approve a new letter of agreement between Palmer Lake and Tri-Lakes for amublance rescue service, if that comes to pass we terminate the letter of agreement with Larkspur, seconded by Trustee Flake.  Poll Vote:  Yea – Trustees Allen and Flake, Nays – Trustees Miner, Coleman, Girlando, Finan and Parker.  Motion failed 5 Nays, 2 Ayes.

Item #11:  Public Input

Jen Martin, Fireworks Committee, reported that a t-shirt design contest will be held at the Lewis-Palmer High School, with the winners receiving bonds supplied by the Monument Cops for Kids.

Jeff Hulsmann, O’Malley’s Pub and Steak, on behalf of himself and all businesses, thanked the roads department for the snow removal along Highway 105.

Trustee Finan made a motion to adjourn at 10:12 pm, seconded by Trustee Miner.  Motion carried unanmously.

Approved as written or amended this 8th day of March, 2007.

Max Parker, Mayor
Della Gray, Town Clerk

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