by Ariell Trujillo
The Kremmling Town Council and a committee formed to deal with the issues surrounding storage containers met on Wednesday, September 20. The focus of the meeting quickly shifted from storage containers to the bigger underlying issue regarding aesthetics. Right now the focus is on our main thoroughfare through Kremmling by way of Highway 9 and 40. First call to action? To weed out the not so aesthetically pleasing weeds.
Erik Woog indicated the groundwork for this movement is already laid out in the form of well written ordinances already on the books. Now it is a matter of enforcing those ordinances. “There is a process that the Town can commit to to resolve these issues with citizens, and that was instead of having an enforcement officer go by and establish contact – a lot of these issues can be dealt with with a simple letter to the individual,” said Woog. This letter would give these individuals a certain amount of time to take action, or it will be taken care of for them at their expense. Two days later 24 letters would go out via certified mail. Although this method of enforcement was mentioned early on in the meeting, there seemed to be different viewpoints of what the next step should be.
Jeff Miller questioned whether the Town was setting an example, that maybe the first step should be to look inward and set the precedence. Many agreed these principles are “infectious” and if the Town and local businesses were diligent and took steps toward beautification of their property and its overall appearance, others would follow suit. Local business Hotel Eastin was mentioned for their recent renovations as one positive example of this. Dave Hammer mentioned how far we have come and the progress we have made compared to over a decade ago. Kremmling now has street lights, flower baskets, and way finding signs. He also mentioned positive feedback from passersby that “love our little town.” However, he acknowledged we still have a lot to do and knows “it will not happen overnight.”
There was mention of launching a preemptive campaign to spread the word in a nonthreatening way. There was talk of contests, and different ways of raising/ pooling funds to help offset costs for business or property owners that may need help with the expense associated with varying degrees of renovations. There was mention of needing unity and involvement from the Town, the Chamber, and the citizenry. There was no representation from the Chamber at this particular meeting, but the Chamber did organize a volunteer effort to clean up one home on Hwy 9 in June. A group of 4 or 5 individuals cleaned up two pickup trucks full of garbage and gathered more to be taken at a later date when dumpsters could be onsite.
All of this discussion led back to using the tools the town already has it in its toolbox that aren’t being utilized. The letter and existing ordinances are such tools. In the meeting, it appeared these letters would be issued by the Town and signed off on by Mark Campbell, Town Manager, or Rhonda Shearer, Town Clerk. However, it appears enforcement has been turned over to Scott Spade, Chief of Police. The letters directly serve as notification of violation of Kremmling Municipal Code section 8.24.040 pertaining to prohibited weeds and brush; removal compelled. The letter eludes to having 15 days to comply, and if you need more than 15 days or more information, to contact Chief Spade at 970-724- 3318. Throughout the meeting, it was evident the common goal is to take steps toward improving the appearance of Kremmling, and working together as a community to do what we can to make Kremmling a better place to live, while keeping in mind many citizens’ opposition to strict regulations and HOA’s.
The Town Council meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month at 6:30 pm at the Kremmling Town Hall and the public is encouraged to attend.
