Documenter Name
Nanci Wendland
Agency
Johnstown Town Council
Date & Meeting Time
April 15, 2024, 8 p.m. – 9:41 p.m.
Members Present
Mayor Michael Duncan; Mayor Pro Tem Chad Young; Council Members – Dianne Morris, Andrew Paranto, Damien Berg, Jesse Molinar, Jr, and Dee Anne Menzies.
Others Present
Interim Chief of Police Ryan Oglesby; Town Manager Matt LeCerf; Deputy Town Manager Mitzi McCoy; Town Clerk Hannah Hill; Town Attorney; Director of Finance, and Utilities Director Ellen Hilbig.
Meeting agenda
Meeting packet
Recorded Meeting
Available on Facebook – Town of Johnstown, CO – Government page
From the Johnstown website: “Enhance the quality of life of our residents, businesses, and visitors through community-focused leadership.”
Key Points
The newly elected Mayor, Michael Duncan, and one newly elected Council Member, Dee Anne Menzies, were sworn in to the Council tonight, along with re-elected Council Members Berg, Paranto, and Young.
Mayor Duncan requested an item be added to new business for discussion: termination of a previous signage contract and reallocation of the budgeted $1.2M for more dire needs of the community. The council unanimously approved.
The Council voted on a new Mayor Pro Tem, Chad Young, who will replace Damien Berg.
Resolution No. 2024-20: Adoption of Level 2 Drought Condition Water Conservation Measures was unanimously approved. Utilities Director Hilbig requested the summer watering schedule remain unchanged for summer 2024. The schedule allows residents to water lawns 3 times per week. Hilbig said having a schedule helps grass remain resilient throughout the summer should drought conditions become present. The ordinance is for lawn watering only and does not apply to hanging flower baskets and/or outdoor pots.
Council Member Menzies asked if the verbiage “drought” can be dropped from the code. She says the word drought implies there is no water available and that’s not necessarily true. Town Manager LeCerf agreed and said water conservation should be the focus. He thinks the schedule should be permanent and suggested modifying the utility code after this summer season. Then after modifying the code, he thinks the town should put together a marketing campaign emphasizing water conservation to help the lawns and future needs of the town.
Town employees and council members listened to residents who previously spoke out about the waste of money for additional signage in Johnstown. Some said the new signs were hideous (March 4 notes). As a result, Phase II of the signage project, currently on pause, has been terminated. According to Town Manager LeCerf, no money has been spent on Phase II yet, so he asked the council to approve terminating the contract. LeCerf said with 30 days’ notice, there should be no penalties for terminating the contract. The remaining $1.2M in funds for the project are already budgeted and available for use in a Capital Improvement fund.
Mayor Duncan asked for a vote to terminate the project. The Council voted unanimously to terminate the signage project. Mayor Duncan wants to proceed with a Town Council Work Session to discuss options for the remaining funds. Once the Council has a list of potential improvement projects, he wants final public feedback before deciding.
Approximately 1 hour and 5 minutes into the new meeting (2:19:56 on the video), online viewers lost audio on the town Facebook page. A Public Hearing had been scheduled for Yellow Roof Annexation. It is unclear whether the hearing proceeded or if it was postponed to a future Council meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 9:41 p.m.
Next Meeting
May 6, 2024 @ 7:00 p.m. 450 S. Parish Ave., Johnstown, CO 80534, or online Town of Johnstown Facebook page.
Questions to Consider
When will the summer watering schedule begin?
Will a statement be added on the town’s website, so the online public knows what happened when the audio failed?