LOCAL

Council OKs contract for lift station design, tables update of utility plan

BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Moments after approving a $37,000 work order to design a force main and lift station to take wastewater to the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District’s northern regional plant, Fort Lupton City Council tabled a $112,000 work order to update the city’s utility plan.

The city has to spend $38 million to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant. It hasn’t decided on a service provider, although City Councilors have favored Metro at times this year. There’s been no funding decision, though the city was inclined to go into the bond market during discussions this spring.

Councilwoman Shannon Rhoda had the same concern about the lift station as she did about the contract.

“If we decide to go forward with this, then we are seriously planning to go with Metro if we are going to sock kind of money toward it,” she said during the debate about the lift station.

“That is my understanding,” Mayor Zo Stieber said during that debate. “But until we have a price on the pipeline, we can’t make a decision. This will get us the price.”

The vote for the lift station was unanimous. CH2M Hill has until June 16, 2022, to finish the designs.

The utility plan upgrade would not take effect until the city decides what outfit will help upgrade the wastewater plant. Rhoda felt updating the utility plan should wait. Vestal said the upgrades to the utility plan were important.

“Once we decide, we’ll need to move fast,” Public Works Director Roy Vestal said. “This is approximately a six-month to a year-long process to do this report. It’s the first step we would need to be able to submit to that water authority for approval to change to a lift station.”

“I get that,” Rhoda said. “If we vote on this, we are definitely saying we are going to do this (join Metro). Am I missing something here? If we’re going to get the RFQs (request for qualifications) and see how much it costs to go with Metro, until that is voted on, why are we voting on (the utility plan)?”

“That is a valid question,” Stieber said. “Council would have to vote to move forward at a meeting, and we could do this at that time.”

“There are some elements you would want to update in your utility plan regardless,” said engineer Al Paquet with Jacobs Engineering. It runs the city’s water and wastewater plants.

“Have there been changes to your growth area or collection system you want to incorporate?” he said. “The key decision is to upgrade your current treatment facility or to go to metro’s. That’s the big trigger for requiring the update.”

There are some updates needed to other areas of the plan” which was last updated in 2014.

Metro made a pitch to the council this spring. At the time, the cost was about $23 million, based on a $4,500-per-sewer connection fee.

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It was a hot day for the July 4 celebration and the Fort Lupton Fire Department from its truck is cooling down the children with a water

slide. PHOTOS BY CHRISTY ROMANO/CITY OF FORT LUPTON

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

The Fort Lupton Fourth of July celebration was a blast with vendors, grilled good, and activities imade possible the help of the community; Crossroads Church, the face painters, St. William Catholic Church, Knights of Columbus, Gary Rigg & Willy Taylor on the People Puller (tractor), Fort Lupton Recreation staff and Ms. Teagan Joseph were ionvolved, as was and Kimi Most who sang the national anthem. Mike DeSantis provided the vintage fl yover, Fort Lupton Food & Clothing Bank provided the beer garden, and the Fort Lupton Fire Rescue District was in charge of the water slide. The Colorado Rangers, Fort Lupton Police Department chipped in, and the Knights of Columbus hosted its annual fundraiser for the boys & girls club.

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Riverdale contest looks for Cornhole champs

Cornhole players line up to compete July 3 at Adams County’s Riverdale Regional Park. The county hosted the cornhole tournament Saturday, followed by live music and preJuly 4 fi reworks show. PHOTOS BY SCOTT TAYLOR

STAFF REPORT

Adams County kicked off its Independence Day celebration a day early with music, fi reworks and plenty of cornhole July 3 at the Riverdale Regional Park.

The main part of the day was a cornhole tournament running from the morning into the afternoon. By sunset, the park hosted a concert culminating in the county’s fi reworks display.

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BY STEVE SMITH SSMITH@COLORADOCOMMUNITYNEWSPAPERS.COM

Fans of numbers had a fi eld day at the July 6 Fort Lupton City Council meeting.

Council approved awards for some really big numbers ($7 million for its contribution to the Windy Gap project to come from the utility fund and the general fund) and some less-big numbers (an extra $350,000 – because of rising construction costs, according to library Director Sarah Frank) for the new public library facility near the new Dale’s Pharmacy building.

Some of the numbers weren’t quite as big. Council OK’d a $14,750 contract for water tank inspections and a $46,00 deal for new security cameras at City Hall and the police department.

Council also approved annexations of 166 acres (the so-called Fort Lupton East Annexation near state Highway 52 and Weld County Road 53), 72 acres for the so-called Murata Farms preliminary plat at SH 52 and WCR 29 ½, $2 million in subdivision improvements (including non-potable water lines, according to public works Director Roy Vestal) at the Willow Bend subdivision at 14th Street and Northrup Avenue and accepted $9,000 and change of capital credits from United Power.

Some simpler numbers were available, too. Phoenix beat Milwaukee 118-105 in the fi rst game of the NBA fi nals.

National Night Out

City Administrator Chris Cross announced the return of National Night Out to Fort Lupton. It’s scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 3, at Koshio Park, 131 McKinley Ave. The start time wasn’t announced.

The night out event is designed for residents to interact with and ask questions of police offi cers.

Vendors who want to get involved should visit https://www.fortluptonco.gov/ FormCenter/Events-13/NationalNight-Out-Vendor-Form-90. Updates at https://www.fortlupton.org/475/ National-Night-Out.

Election season descends on Fort Lupton

STAFF REPORT

Five seats on Fort Lupton City Council – including that of the mayor – are on the November ballot.

Elections are scheduled for the seats held by Shannon Rhoda (Ward 1), Tommy Holton (Ward 2), Michael Sanchez (Ward 3) and Bruce Fitzgerald (Ward 3). Fitzgerald was appointed to a two-year term in 2020, which expires this year.

“The candidate who gets the highest number of votes in Ward 3 will be given the four-year term,” said City Clerk Mari Pena. “The candidate with the second-highest votes in Ward 3 will be given the two-year term.”

City elections are nonpartisan and are every two years. Qualifi ed electors are eligible if they have lived in the city for at least 12 consecutive months before the election.

The city clerk’s offi ce provided this list of guidelines to vote in this year’s election. To register you must:

Be a United States citizen;

Be a resident of Colorado for 22 days or more; and

Complete the fi elds marked “required” on the application, including a complete address with apartment or unit number.

Online voter registration is available, too. Those with a state driver’s license or a state department of revenue ID card can register at www.govotecolorado.com. The city clerk’s offi ce said voters can change addresses on current voter registration records and change party affi liations through the online portal. The deadline to complete online registration is eight days before the election.

Finish registering by mail, through a voter registration drive or voter registration agency up to 22 days before the election.

Register in person at the Weld County election offi ce, 1400 N. 17th Ave., Greeley, or any designated voter service and polling location up to and including Election Day.

Those interested in running for council can attend an informational meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, at City Hall, 130 S. McKinley Ave. Questions? Contact City Clerk Mari Peña at 720-466-6101.

More details? Visit https://fortluptonco.gov/181/Election-Information.

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About 160 units going up

BY BELEN WARD BWARD@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

An affordable housing project that calls for 160 units of new housing is in the works for Brighton, in collaboration with Adams Points Redevelopment Project and the Brighton Housing Authority.

The property is on vacant land at 19th Avenue and Bridge Street that Adams County-owned, according to the press release by Adams County and Brighton Housing Authority.

“As someone who has struggled with housing in my past, it’s incredibly important to me to expand the affordable housing options in Adams County,” said Eva J. Henry, chairperson of the Adams County Board of commissioners. “This partnership with Brighton Housing Authority is a win-win for all involved, especially those residents in need of quality and affordable housing.”

There are several affordable housing properties in Brighton that are managed or owned by BHA or with a partnership.

“The affordable housing project mentioned in the recent press release is in the early stages of feasibility. The number and type of units may vary based on the demand and project scope, which is not fully determined,” said Debra Bristol, chief of staff with the Brighton Housing Authority.

The fi rst phase is the feasibility plan the Brighton Housing Authority wants to use to fi nance the project with low-income housing tax credits. Plus, there an agreement that into effect with the county with the help of the Adams County manager’s offi ce, the facilities & fl eet management department and the county’s attorney’s offi ce.

“This is just one of the many ways our employees are working to make a difference in the lives of our residents,” said County Manager Raymond H. Gonzales. “We will continue to include the availability of affordable housing among our top priorities.”

The conceptual plan for only the feasibility discussion for the a ordable 160 units at 19th Avenue and Bridge Street that are in collaboration with Adams Points Redevelopment Project and the Brighton Housing Authority. COURTESY OF BRIGHTON HOUSING AUTHORITY

North Metro survives pandemic in strong shape

Federal assistance, betterthan-expected revenues boost fi nancial reports

BY LIAM ADAMS LADAMS@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Despite the pandemic, Westminster, Thornton, Northglenn and Brighton all increased their net fi nancial position by the end of 2020.

Year-end fi nancial reports show that all four cities performed better fi nancially last year than in 2019, though only after some fi nancial maneuvering and government assistance. The pandemic still caused cities to alter plans originally laid out in the 2020 budget, but nevertheless positioned them well as the pandemic winds down.

“We’re doing better than was expected overall. This is a result of moderate, revenue recovery efforts,” said Westminster City Manager Don Tripp at an April 26 city council meeting. Tripp’s analysis is similar to Westminster’s neighbors.

Westminster, Brighton, Northglenn and Thornton all adapted to the pandemic when it started last spring. Westminster, Thornton and Brighton enacted hiring freezes, while Westminster and Thornton deferred maintenance projects. Many cities reduced parks and recreation programming. Westminster used 2019 carryover revenue to backfi ll 2020 revenue losses.

Meanwhile, all cities received substantial help from the federal government in COVID-19 relief funding. Revenue in the “operating grants and contributions” category went up in Westminster by $11.5 million from 2019, $9.4 million in Thornton, $2,955 in Northglenn and $4.3 million in Brighton.

The federal relief money wasn’t just extra spending money, though. The pandemic introduced new expenses for cities, such as personal protective equipment (PPE) and implementing safeguards to keep city facilities hygienic. Thornton, Northglenn and Brighton all spent more money than they had budgeted for pre-pandemic, according to a comparison of year-end fi nancial reports and 2020 adopted budgets.

Cost-cutting measures and federal stimulus money made a difference for the cities, but so did regular revenue streams that performed better than expected. Earlier in the pandemic, sales and use tax revenue, the largest revenue streams for cities, was down. City fi nance staff were nervous that would continue given the overall slowing of the economy, although that trend ultimately reversed.

“We were very pleased in the end how well we did with sales and use tax revenue,” said Westminster Finance Director Tammy Hitchens at a Westminster City Council study session June 7. Sales and use tax revenue in Thornton and Brighton increased from 2019. It was down in Westminster and Northglenn, but not by a substantial amount.

Despite the fi nancial hardships that all four cities faced, net positions, or end-of-year balance, increased in 2020 from 2019. Thornton’s increased by $72.3 million, Westminster by $57.9 million, Brighton by $45.8 million and Northglenn by $11,267.

MOSQUITOES

its own program. It contracts with VDCI Integrated Mosquito Management to test trapped mosquitos from June through mid-September. The spraying is every Thursday from dusk to dawn.

“We get weekly trap data from them as part of their Integrated mosquito management program. Their program includes preseason larvicide treatments, weekly trap collection counts and weekly spraying in areas when the counts warrant,” said Roy Vestal, director, Fort Lupton Pubic Works.

“The public needs to be vigilant because West Nile Virus have a permanent summer presence in Colorado,” Lawley said.

When an infected Culex mosquito bites, West Nile symptoms can appear within three to 14 days. Most people do not exhibit symptoms but could experience fever, headache, nausea, vomiting muscle aches, weakness and rashes and should seek medical attention immediately. Less than 1 percent of infections develop a neuroinvasive illness that attacks the nervous system which could be fatal, according to the health department.

The health department recommends the four “D” to prevent bites: * Drain weekly standing water around the house such as tires, cans fl owerpots, clogged rain gutters, rain barrels, toys, and puddles; * Dusk and Dawn: Mosquitos are swarming; when outside take safety measures to prevent mosquitos’ bites; * DEET products are effective insect repellents or other products that contain picaridin, IR3535, lemon eucalyptus oil, and paramentane-diol; and * Dress in long sleeves, pants, and a hat.

For more information about preventing mosquito bites and West Nile Virus in Weld County, visit https://www.weldgov.com/Government/Departments/Health-and-Environment/Environmental-Health/ Animal-Related-Diseases/ZoonoticDisease-Seasonal-Updates.