At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Berthoud Board of Trustees, the board heard a very informative presentation regarding access to Larimer County emergency telephone service. The board also made note that the inaugural Summer Scorch Fest, a first-of-its-kind event that is catered to the Berthoud teenage population, is still in need of volunteers for the end of July. Those interested in volunteering can contact the town for more information.

Larimer County Sheriff Office (LCSO) Deputy James Anderson, Patrol Sergeant of the Berthoud squad of the LCSO, spoke glowingly of the need for Berthoud residents to take advantage of the services offered through the new program, Sgt Anderson stated, “This is a real important thing we’ve been working on for a few years now,” before introducing Kimberly Culp, CEO of Larimer County Emergency Telephone (LETA 911), who gave a presentation regarding the services offered that was exceptionally well-received by the Aboard.

LETA 911 is funded through an IGA (Inter-Governmental Agreement) which work to oversee the traditional 9-1-1 services, absent the 9-1-1 personnel, and work to enhance the services provided. The organization assures that all manners of calls are handled appropriately, and the best emergency services are provided to residents. The group is funded by a monthly surcharge (currently $1.10) attached to billable lines.

Culp’s presentation focused most specifically on the NoCo Alerts program – one that represents over 30 agencies in the area – and is, according to the presentation, far more responsive, adaptive and community-specific than previous systems in place.

The organization is authorized by FEMA and allows users to opt-in via text messages to 888777 and to 888777-Berthoud for alerts, with detailed, but user-friendly, customization available for residents specific to their household’s specific needs. Culp citied situations such as forest fires in the area as well as aspects related to the COVID-19 pandemic whereby alerts can be tailored to the user and their unique circumstances.

We have built a multi-layered approach,” explained Culp. “And it’s best to build upon it on technology evolves.” Culp explained the app and program at large have protocols in place to protect user safety and assure private information stored on the user’s device is kept confidential. Measures that allow someone who may be lost or involved in a dangerous situation to keep their anonymity.

Mayor Will Karspeck expressed support for the program, citing a situation where he was lost during a hiking excursion and needed to contact emergency services who were able to locate him quickly. Trustee May Soricelli, who previously served in an administrative capacity with the Berthoud Fire Protection District, was equally supportive, saying the system is, “Going to revolutionize active incidents. It’s very easy … really every single person who opts in and gets involved is a life saved.”

Four Berthoud residents submit applications for vacant trustee seat

Berthoud Town Clerk Christian Samora provided the Surveyor with the results of the application process for the open town trustee seat on Monday. Four residents have submitted applications to fill the open seat.

For background, during the trustee reports portion of the board meeting on May 24, Trustee Lonnie Stevens, who was elected to the board in the regular election in April 2020, announced his resignation as trustee as he will be moving to Longmont, citing “personal and family reasons.” The change in residency renders Stevens ineligible to serve out the remaining 20 months of his term.

The Berthoud Municipal Code authorizes the current, now six-member, Board of Trustees to make an appointment to fill out the remainder of Stevens’ term, which runs through April 2024, and also provides the option for holding a special election. At the regular board meeting on June 14, the board, after being advised against holding a special election by Town Administrator Chris Kirk and Town Attorney Erin Smith, decided to go the application route.

After some discussion, the board decided to allow candidates who ran in the most recent (April 2022) municipal election as well as any resident currently serving on one of the town’s citizen volunteer committees (Planning Commission, Parks, Open Space, Recreation and Trials (PORT) Committee, Historic Preservation Committee and Tree Committee) to submit applications by July 5 for consideration by the board.

By the deadline on July 5, the town received applications from four residents for the open seat. The applicants include Alexander Johnson and Ellyn Rush, both of whom ran in the trustee election this past April, as well as residents Jeff Butler, who currently serves as the Vice Chairman of the Planning Commission and Carolyn Hobson, who sits on the PORT Committee. The board will review the applications of all four, conduct interviews and make an appointment to fill the seat vacated by Stevens. Whoever is chosen to fill the vacancy will serve through the April 2024 municipal election, prior to which they will be eligible to run for a full term if so choosing.

The next meeting of the Berthoud Board of Trustees will take place on July 26.