The Board of Trustees for the Town of Berthoud met Tuesday night for their final meeting of 2022. All trustees were in attendance.

Consent agenda items were approved after Trustee Sean Murphy asked to discuss the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office 2023 statement of work and bike lane bid award separately. Murphy wanted to know if monthly reports from the sheriff’s office could be sent to Trustees directly, Town Administrator Chris Kirk said it wouldn’t be a problem. Regarding the bike lane bid award, Murphy wanted to know why planned bike lanes on the southern part of Berthoud Parkway had been removed from the latest plan. Kirk said that it was a cost issue and that widening the road would be done over time as the land near the parkway is developed. After that, the board approved the two remaining consent items.

Next was an appointment to the Tree Committee. There were two applicants for the vacancy. “Both were very strong candidates,” said Murphy. After a difficult decision, it was decided to appoint Kathy Michell for a term to end on Sep. 30, 2024. The board unanimously approved the appointment.

Next was a presentation from Wade Shelton, Hannah Redmon and Don Thorn. Shelton and Redmon were both from the Trust for Public Lands, while Thorn is the Executive Director of the Colorado Future Farmers of America (FFA) Foundation. The three took turns presenting a grant request for $200,000 toward the Lewis Heritage Farm Project to the board.

Southeast of Berthoud, Lewis Farm is in the process of being conserved by the Colorado FFA Foundation. The Trust for Public Lands is helping to finance and facilitate this process. The end goal is for Lewis Farm to be conserved as a farm and promote agriculture literacy. “You can’t make people appreciate agriculture, but you can fascinate them with it,” Thorn said quoting an old saying in agriculture.

Further fundraising is needed, and Thorn asked the board to contribute towards the conservation effort. “Any help from Berthoud is an immediate win,” said Thorn. He explained that this is the end of a six-year process to conserve the farm and that Berthoud can help with fundraising at the end and see immediate results as the farm transitions into a mixed educational and agricultural space.

The board was intrigued by the proposal with inquisitive questions and positive comments, but no actions were taken during the meeting.

Next up was a request for the board to enter into an agreement with the House of Neighborly Service (HNS) for $35,000 for utility payment assistance for Town of Berthoud residents. Brian Dubois, Assistant to the Town Administrator recommended that the board approve the agreement. Jinger Tomassi, Assistant Director of the HNS, explained how the organization helps people unable to pay their utility bills. “The need is great and we can’t do it alone,” said Tomassi. The board was supportive and approved the agreement unanimously.

After the ‘exciting’ part of the town board meeting, building codes, the annual budget and a new sewer plan were next up for discussion.

At the last meeting on Nov. 22, Curt Freese, Planning Director for Berthoud, announced the three-year update of building and energy codes. Changes to the code were made to keep up with international standards and to match the codes in surrounding cities like Longmont and Fort Collins. With no issues from the board or the public, the trustees unanimously approved the new codes.

During Freese’s presentation, he also announced that he was moving to Beaufort, South Carolina in January. The board was sad to hear of his departure but thanked him for all his hard work over the years. Kirk mentioned that Freese’s tenure as a planner coincided with the biggest building boom in the history of Berthoud and was especially thankful. The board gave Freese a standing ovation.

Kirk then mentioned that Adam Olinger, Berthoud’s other town planner, is taking a job in Boulder and will also be leaving soon. He reassured the board that there wouldn’t be a gap in planning capacity. Baseline Engineering, which the town contracts for a lot of engineering is also able to be contracted for municipal planning needs. The town is expected to post job listings for town planners immediately.

The final budget approval was next. Kirk and Cindy Leach, Director of Finance and Human Resources for the town presented the final changes in the budget to the board. Changes were minor and mostly administrative. Leach also said that the only change in fees was in recreation to meet their needs. With no questions from the board or the public, the trustees unanimously approved the 2023 budget.

The last agenda item for the night was a presentation on the Frist Street Sewer Plan from Ken Matthews, Director of Water Utilities for Berthoud. According to an analysis by Baseline Engineering, the First Street sewer system is ‘overloaded’ now. This doesn’t mean that sewage is spilling out onto the streets, but that the 1st Street system as a whole is nearing capacity and in need of repairs.

Matthews presented a plan that would be broken into three phases to revamp the First Street sewer line to accommodate future growth in Berthoud. “This isn’t a new problem for the town,” said Matthews about the sewer infrastructure. The board then agreed unanimously to direct staff to implement the plan.

After an executive session to discuss water rights the board unanimously approved a resolution directing town staff to file a water court application to appropriate water from the South Platte River.

The town board will hold its next regular meeting on Jan. 10, 2023.