Trustee Karl Ayers

Newly elected Berthoud Town Trustee Karl Ayers, in a nearly hour-long discussion with the Surveyor earlier this month, explained that the goal of his service on the Berthoud Town Board is to set up the town for long-term success. Ayers outlined in detail his focus on long-range strategic planning, specifically as relates to infrastructure, considering the rapid growth the town is experiencing.

Despite being relatively new to Berthoud, Ayers and his wife moved here in late 2019, he has a great deal of experience in municipal government. While living in Fort Collins, where has for 15 years worked as an educator – teaching Latin and high school history in the Poudre School District – Ayers served on that city’s transportation committee. Once moving to Berthoud, Ayers joined Berthoud’s Parks, Open Space, Recreation and Trails (PORT) Committee and, later, on the town’s Planning Commission.

His move to Berthoud in 2019 was prompted because he and his wife “wanted to stay close but were tired of the cramped feel,” in Fort Collins. “We found Berthoud as a little hidden gem and we jumped on it,” he said.

Karl Ayers

“One of the things I would ask the transportation board and when I was here on PORT, what would you guys have done 20 years ago that you wouldn’t be having to overcome now?” Ayers stated. “One of the answers that kept coming up over and over is make sure the infrastructure isn’t catching up to the development, that the infrastructure is always at level with it or ahead.”

In terms of direct public policy, Ayers said he wants to evaluate the town’s current plans to spend $1 million per year for the next five years on street and sidewalk maintenance, repairs and upgrades, determining how much benefit the town reaps from the currently budgeted level before deciding whether to alter the amount.

Ayers explained he will approach his service on the board with that big-picture view in mind, stating that while increased infrastructure investments, particularly in the areas of roadways and pipelines, in the near term might be expensive, making the needed investments with the future in mind will provide long-term benefits and cost savings for the town and its residents.

Said Ayers, “If it comes down to spending a little bit extra here for A or B, if A is going to be water or something that is going to benefit people in the long term, I would probably always pick that long-term investment.”

While campaigning, Ayers said the number one topic raised by residents with whom he spoke was the always hot-button topic of growth in Berthoud. Ayers explained he is in favor of what termed controlled growth; assuring that as Berthoud grows it grows in a way that maintains the small-town charm while simultaneously enjoying the benefits that growth provides.

“Growth is going to happen; from my point of view, I want to have controlled, more than controlled growth but informed and sustainable growth. I think that stopping growth is not good for the local economy because people will go somewhere else, they’ll spend their tax money somewhere else,” Ayers explained. “One of the things the town can do to control growth, to have sustainable growth, is to continue with the precent the last board set and just continue to increase the guidelines and the direction and the regulations that builders have, that developers have. Limit growth through the control of process rather than just chopping it.”

Ayers noted, specifically, he would prefer to see the town work to emphasize adaptive development by zoning mixed-use and multi-use projects. He mentioned having small-scale commercial incorporated with new residential developments. For example, have developments that include establishments like coffee shops or small, family-owned retail. Having said amenities close to home, Ayers said, will limit the impact of traveling around town or around the region for day-to-day activities.

He stated he believes the town’s new architectural and engineering guidelines, approved late last year, are a big step in the right direction but also that he hopes that the town can continue to work towards more Berthoud-specific, rather than simply conforming with the rest of the Front Range, guidelines and standards.

“What regulation can we set, what guidelines can we set in both the comp plan and the architectural guidelines,” Ayers asked rhetorically, “that is going to make the developments that maybe 15, 20 years out, make sure that when they are built that is a way that is sustainable, that is limiting their impact on our water, on our electricity, on our skyline, on our street view.”

Echoing the sentiment expressed by many around town, Ayers conceded that development of the I-25/Highway 56 interchange is inevitable and that he would prefer to see the town exercise both control over the development process as well as reap the economic rewards that will certainly follow. As he explained, “That aligns with my idea of doing what is going to be good for people 20, 30 years from now and that land is going to be developed and Berthoud is never again going to have an opportunity to have a say.” Ayers did say the town needs to assure that the Turion, and any other, metro district proposals need to be orchestrated in a manner that is beneficial to the town and induvial homeowners, sentiments he also iterated at last week’s board work session on the subject.

Growth will continue in the town and the region, Ayers said, and made a point of mentioning that while some residents may be hesitant to accept national chain retail in town, many of said commercial outfits are locally owned and employ town residents, mentioning the new 7/11 franchise on Mountain Ave. as an example.

Ayers explained he wants to be both available and accountable to the Berthoud residents whom he represents, “I don’t want to be political; I don’t want to be for one side or the other, I want to be an informed representative and I want to be available. If I disagree with one of the constituent’s opinions, I want to make sure I have at least explained why I have disagreed and why I have chosen one thing over another,” he said. “I invite people to contact me, email me, call me.”

Trustee Ayers can be reached at his official town email at [email protected].

Trustee Sean Murphy

In Berthoud’s most recent municipal election this April, voters elected two new members to the Berthoud Board of Trustees. One of the new board members is Mr. Sean Murphy, a New Mexico native who previously served on the Berthoud Planning Commission, is a husband and father, and works professionally as an architect.

Trustee Murphy, in a discussion with the Surveyor in late May, repeatedly iterated that a defining tenant of his work as trustee will be centered around listening to residents’ input and working to improve the lines of communication between the town and its citizens.

“I’m here to serve, I’m here to listen to the citizens on the issues, I obviously have my own thoughts on what would be better but ultimately I am here to serve them,” Murphy said.

Murphy pointed out he believes the board, both in its current makeup and in the recent past, along with town staff, have put forth a strong effort to communicate to a rapidly growing community but that more can be done.

Sean Murphy

As he explained, “Personally, I would like to see more involvement, I was disappointed to see only 20% turnout (in April’s election). I want to see more involvement from citizens regardless of their perspectives because we’re going to make better decisions if people are showing up, if they’re sending letters, making comments. There has been a lot of good communication, a lot of upgrades with how the town is engaging, I would like to see that continue.” Murphy mentioned he would like to see the town hire someone to serve in a communications director-type role to centralize and improve outreach.

Murphy, when questioned on several issues currently before or soon to come before the board, regularly hit on the town’s need to communicate with residents and to do outreach to gauge public opinion. Murphy also discussed his desire to assure the town is well-positioned, on a number of fronts, for the long-term future, citing the “sustainability” of the town from a financial and infrastructure perspective.

On infrastructure, Murphy was complimentary of the streets, sidewalks and water infrastructure improvement plans that have been approved and are currently underway but added, “I’d like to see us go faster,” on the projects.

“From what I have heard from citizens in town, the real priority obviously is infrastructure, particularly our utilities and our street infrastructure, I think there is some room to grow there, particularly upgrading our sidewalks, making sure our sewer and water is functioning properly, make sure we’re serving the citizens,” he said.

The rapid growth of Berthoud makes top-notch infrastructure and a reliable water rights portfolio a high priority, he explained. Regarding growth, Murphy said, “I think there is a concern about how fast things are moving, I think we need to take a look at how we can slow things down just a little bit in a way that is strategic, in a way that is considerate of the citizens, but I’m for development to a degree.” He said it is “certainly a priority” to support current Berthoud businesses before working to expand the town’s commercial sector.

Murphy continued, “Development can be good or bad, a priority for me is assuring the public is aware, involved and helps make the decisions of what goes forth. You need to make people aware and involved on the front end so they know what’s coming and they can discuss their concerns, their problems prior to moving forward through the process.” Reiterating his tenants of communication and engagement with the public, he added, “I certainly want to incorporate more input along the way in the process; I think that coming back to these issues not once but twice might have to be done for developments of concern.”

Citing his professional experience and work on the Planning Commission, Murphy was complimentary of the new architectural and engineering standards approved by the board late last year. He stated he believes that, for new developments, he would like to see the town expand oversight abilities by increasing inspections of development projects as they are on-going.

“I’d like to get more inspectors on board with town staff to make sure the work is being done properly in these new developments as well as when we’re going through the process the proper questions are being asked on behalf of the citizens,” Murphy said. “I would like to get engineers out on-site to evaluate what is going in as it goes in, I see that as one area that really could use improvement is just beefing up staff to go inspect these more.”

Murphy stated he would like to see the town engage with the citizens regarding the town’s contract with the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO). “What I would like to see, honestly in the next year or so, I don’t stand on one side or another on whether we should continue (with the LCSO) or if we should institute our own police force, but I think it’s definitely a valid time to reevaluate our police services along with other public safety services and see if they’re actually serving the citizens the way they want, especially with the growth we’ve seen, the town has exploded in the time since we shut down our former police department and went with (the LCSO),” Murphy said. “I would like to do a lot of outreach sessions and do an exploration of whether we can continue with (the LCSO) and that’s effectively serving the citizens or if we should look at building our own police force.”

Murphy stated he was proud to be elected to serve on the Berthoud Board of Trustees and that he feels the current board has a good makeup and priorities are in line. He said he encourages citizens to reach out to him with any concerns or questions they have.

Mr. Murphy can be reached at his trustee email address at [email protected].

Editor’s Note: The Surveyor also reached out to recently elected Trustee Karl Ayers but have thus far been unable to secure a workable time for an interview