Wellington Board of Trustees 2/13/24
by Nanci Wendland
For more information (including members in attendance) see the full notes document here.*
View the meeting agenda and packet.
A video recording of the meeting is available here.
From the Town of Wellington website: “The purpose of this board is to provide outstanding municipal services for the community of Wellington both today and tomorrow.”
Key Points
Lori Garcia Sanders is an Eaton resident and Republican candidate running for the Colorado State House of Representatives. Sanders introduced herself and her website: https://garciasanderforhouse.com/about/ for anyone interested in viewing her profile and platform.
Green Events Inc. applied for a special events liquor license. The Northern Colorado “Spring Equinox Race” is in its 9th year and is moving from Fort Collins to Wellington. Green Events Inc. is partnering with Sparge Brewery and will use the vacant field south of Sparge to start and finish the race, with 1 free beer for all participants 21 and over who finish the race.
Caitlin Morris, Community Business Liaison, reviewed the 2023 Main Street Year End report. Caitlin was hired in 2023 to build on Wellington’s participation in the Main Street America program. Main Street America is a 45-year-old nationwide program for rural towns across America. The program has a 4-point approach:
- Economic Development assistance
- Design
- Organization
- Promotion of the town
Wellingtons main street program partners with local businesses, the Wellington Chamber of Commerce, American Legion, and others to bring events, revenue, people from different regions, and new business to Wellington. Caitlin said she will be introducing the community to their new 2024 campaign, “Love Where You Live.” Details are on www.wellingtonmainstreet.org website.
Several downtown businesses closed in 2023. Trustees asked Caitlin if she knew why. Caitlin said she hasn’t done any exit interviews herself, but NOCO Ready sent out questionnaires. Caitlin will review the responses. She also encourages residents to shop locally.
Two resolutions regarding the joint agreement for Animal Control Services with NOCO Humane were moved to the March 12 meeting.
One resolution for increased fees for research and retrieval of public records was moved to the Feb. 27 meeting. The town wants to update their policy to match a 2019 state legislative change increasing fees after the first hour from $30/hour to $33.58/hour. This would be the only change to the policy at this time.
Parks & Recreation Manager Cooksey received approval in 2022 to purchase a new truck for the department with a budget of $30,200. The current truck is at 182,000+ miles and needs a lot of expensive repairs. Manager Cooksey just recently began pricing new vehicles due to low inventory in 2022-2023. New trucks are now priced between $50K and $55K. He’s found a used truck, in good shape with about 103,000 miles on it, for $28,900. The trustees thanked him for staying within the original 2022 budget amount and reminded him he didn’t need their approval.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:22 p.m.
Next Meeting: Feb. 27, 2024 @ 6:30 p.m. online or in-person at The Leeper Center, 3800 Wilson Avenue, Wellington, CO
Questions:
- When is the Spring Equinox Race? How will residents be notified of the new location?
- Do Wellington residents know they have a Community Business Liaison and what that person’s responsibilities are?
- Has Wellington scanned public records, or thought of scanning the public records for easier retrieval?
*Citizen Observers further the commitment of the League of Women Voters to its principle of Citizens Right to Know, however, we are not acting as journalists. Omissions and errors are possible. It is assumed that users of this information are responsible for their own fact-checking. This could include contacting a government clerk, conversing with an elected official or staff, and/or asking us to speak to the Observer who attended.