Revenue in Kremmling is up again this year. First-quarter sales tax saw a growth of $33,268 in revenue over last year’s number for Kremmling, and the second-quarter numbers are expected to be more than last years as well.
Town Manager Dan Stoltman has officially hit his 90-day review. He was initially hired at $68,000 with an option to have his salary increased to $75,000 by the Board after his 90-day review.
“In the first three months as town manager Dan has been easy to work with and his communication has been excellent,” said Mayor Grover Pryor. After further discussion of his performance, the board unanimously approved the salary increase.
New ordinance to address car covers
New Ordinance 690 addresses a car cover provision in an existing ordinance for non-operating vehicles.
Stoltman has been spending a lot of time familiarizing himself with Kremmling and its current codes. Earlier in July, he recommended an amendment to an existing code (Sec. 8.24.30) that addresses the unlawful accumulation of rubbish, including trash, junk, non-operating vehicles, and garbage to address clean-up. The amended code specifically addresses non-operating vehicles stored outside. The amendment removes the provision to allow a car cover to be placed over a non-operating vehicle to come into compliance with the code. The new ordinance will also apply to boats that are non-operating which includes out of date registration. With the removal of fitted car cover provision, Stoltman hopes to address blight.
“This is a first step in the long process of cleaning up,” said Stoltman. Stoltman is also beginning to work on next year’s budget.
Mosquito Mitigation
Mosquito fogging has been taking place around town in the evenings this summer. The mosquito control company, Vector Disease Control International, LLC (VDCI) was contracted to also provide aerial spraying and larvae control to the Town for more aggressive mosquito control. The Town budgeted $55,000 for mosquito control this year compared to $40,000 in 2018. In addition to the fogging, the contract included weekly inspections of mosquito traps set around town and inspections of larvae in the surrounding wet areas outside of town, two aerial sprays and larvae control. This year the first aerial spray scheduled for June was not used because of the colder temperatures. Traditionally the Town sprays before Kremmling Days, the 4th of July and before the Middle Park Fair & Rodeo.
The Town also strengthened their relationships with property owners surrounding Kremmling to coordinate mosquito control efforts.
In the future, Town Manager Dan Stoltman hopes to have a package option with the mosquito control company to be able to pick what items the Town would like to use to mitigate mosquitoes. Stoltman also commented he would be comparison shopping with other communities.
Town trustee Dave Sammons commented, “We want to make sure we are getting our money’s worth and not just giving an open check.” VDCI control efforts are determined by what stage of development and the number of mosquitoes found in their mosquito traps.
Mayor Grover Pryor felt the mosquito mitigation efforts were noticeable comparing the swarms of mosquitoes when you leave Town.
Town to decide whether to meet once or twice a month
At the August 7 meeting, the town board will decide whether to meet once or twice a month. They currently meet twice a month.
In previous discussions, Stoltman outlined the benefits of meeting only one day a month. He said it was a recommendation from him and the staff and would give staff more time to prepare for the meetings and get the information out to the public sooner. Currently, the staff has about a week to prepare between meetings.
Trustee Sammons asked about the logistics of paying bills because routinely this is done at each meeting.
Stoltman replied that Town Treasurer Doris McCallie felt a Trustee may need to come in to sign checks but it could be handled once a month.
The Town Trustees are compensated $50 per meeting. The Trustees questioned whether they would be continued to be paid $100 monthly. Town Manager Dan Stoltman is currently checking on the policy.
With the exception of Hot Sulphur Springs and Grand Lake, most town board members in Grand County are compensated for their time. Fraser is the most comparable with one meeting a month being compensated at $100 and the mayor being compensated at $120.
Granby trustees are paid $500 a month ($250 per meeting) while the Granby mayor is paid $800 a month. In Winter Park, trustees are compensated $400 a month or $200 a meeting, and their mayor is compensated $800 a month or $400 a meeting.
