ALAMOSA — After cancelling their regular meeting scheduled during the third week of June due to council members attending the Colorado Municipal League Conference, city councilors will be back in chambers at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night with a full agenda.
At the meeting's start, Alamosa Police Department Officer Jareb Aziz will be recognized as the drug officer of the year.
The council will also consider appointing individuals who have expressed interest in serving on various advisory boards, including the Planning Commission, the Homeless Coalition and the Library Board.
Sidewalks don’t just add aesthetic value to a neighborhood, they also help (a lot) in assisting people walking through a neighborhood. However, the ordinance outlining requirements for adding or upgrading sidewalks hasn’t been reviewed since 2001 while construction costs have soared, a factor that is involved in determining when a sidewalk needs to be installed.
With those factors in mind, the council will be taking a look at next-best steps going forward.
Along that same line, there will be a discussion on the Sidewalk Replacement Fund Policy, which addresses the city agreeing to partner, financially, with homeowners who need to have their sidewalks repaired or replaced. With the passage of the Street Trust Fund sales tax, the annual sidewalk replacement budget is now $100,000 per year. The council will decide the best way to allocate that funding to help the community.
On the agenda will be a review of some hefty increases in fees and fines for violating ordinances in the city. The current schedule, which had not been evaluated for five years, was reviewed by APD Police Chief, City Clerk/Court Administrator, Municipal Judge, and City Prosecutor with recommendations for increases made.
The council will take a second look at an ordinance authorizing the police chief to sign the San Luis Valley Drug Task Force Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This is in connection with the creation of a Drug Task Force by District Attorney Anne Kelly, designed to address a more Valley wide, resource sharing approach to battling a crime that, literally, knows no borders.
Also to be discussed are the next steps to take regarding the provision of electrical service at St. Benedict encampment for people who are without shelter.
The history of the issue was summarized in a staff prepared, pre-meeting communication distributed to members of council.
As described in the coversheet sent to council members, “From the beginning, staff has struggled with the misuse of electricity at St. Benedict. Although the electricity was installed to just charge mobile devices, residents were regularly running electrical cords for use. Staff changed the electrical panel from traditional electrical outlets to USB ports. This reduced the improper use of electrical cords. Staff has also had to repair the electrical boxes several times due to residents breaking into them and messing with the wires. This has been an ongoing frustration and concern.
“Recently, an individual electrocuted himself while messing with the electrical boxes. While the individual is fine, this was the last straw, appropriately so, for Xcel Energy. Xcel pulled the electrical box ending the service. This also removed the power for the City's security cameras.
“Staff is working with Xcel to find out what would be required to bring service to just the security cameras. We cannot bring back service to the residents of St. Benedict unless the City makes improvements that prevent the vandalism of the electrical boxes.
“Staff is currently brainstorming what those improvements would need to look like, but the costs are estimated between $3,000-$10,000.
The Council needs to provide direction regarding whether staff should move forward with the improvements to bring back electrical service for charging portable devices.
At some point in the meeting, the council will also go into executive session to discuss amending the city's opioid litigation to include claims against pharmacy benefit managers Express Scripts and OptumRX and opting into a settlement with Kroger in the national MDL opioid litigation. (Opting in to this Kroger settlement will allow the city to avoid litigating the issue independently while also directing funds reached in the settlement to the valley’s Regional Opioid Council, just as the prior funds have been.)
Alamosa City Council meets at 7 p.m. in council chambers, 300 Hunt Ave. Anyone wishing to attend via Zoom can do so via the Zoom Webinar Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85753492744 or by calling 1-719-359-4580 with webinar ID: 857 5349 2744.
