LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEALT WITH FEMA, DOGS AND CHICKENS IN ‘23
County broke ground on new building at fairgrounds
From new personnel to continued arguing with FEMA and discussions about dogs and chickens, there was plenty to keep county and city government busy in 2023.
At the beginning of the year, the Board of Logan County Commissioners welcomed two new members, Jerry Sonnenberg and Mike Brownell.
Throughout 2023 they dealt with continued frustration with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s over violations of the flood plain management program. At the beginning of March, FEMA gave the county until the end of the month to address the violations or it would be suspended from the National Flood Insurance Program and by the deadline the county had no viable solutions so it was suspended. In August, when a resident who wanted to build an equipment storage building near Proctor sought advice about FEMA requirements in order to build in an “undetermined’ flood plain zone, Sonnenberg indicated he was no longer interested in FEMA’S judgment in the matter
At the end of August, the commissioners declined to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with FEMA and Colorado Water Conservation Board to participate in updating of flood plain maps after County Attorney Alan Samber and County Planner Rob Quint both told them there was no benefit to signing the MOA. In October, the board allowed an Atwood farmer to build a hay storage barn in the South Platte River flood plain.
In June, the commissioners rescinded the county’s Covid-19 disaster emergency. The disaster emergency had been declared by the board on March 17, 2020, and had been in effect since then but the county was able to rescind it thanks to the pandemic continuing to recede.
The commissioners did continue a freeze on all wind and solar projects in the county, at least through May, when the board finally adopted new wind turbine regulations after nearly two years and numerous delays and amendments. The new regulations were in the works for nearly two years, ever since residents of the areas around Fleming objected to wind turbines being installed in the Niyol Wind Farm. In August, final amendments to the regulations governing wind turbine installations in unincorporated Logan County were adopted.
Regulations for solar power development are still in the works.
In May, the county joined efforts to stop Proposition HH, an attempt to win approval from Colorado voters to use TABOR tax refunds to backfill revenue that would be lost by slashing property taxes on residential properties. After Proposition HH was defeated by voters in the November election, Logan County was unwilling to wait for the results of a special session of the Colorado General Assembly and announced that it would reduce the county’s mill levy by .679 mills to try to hold down property taxes in the county. In December, the commissioners formally accepted $4.5 million from the now-defunct Logan County Water Conservancy District and announced that money would go into the county’s general fund and the county would apply an equivalent amount in the form of a tax credit to property owners on their 2023 taxes.
There was reason to celebrate in June when the commissioners held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Allen and Judi Mitchek Event Center, an addition to the current exhibit center that was funded in part by a $500,000 gift the Mitchek family made to the county.
In City of Sterling news, chickens and dogs took up much of the city council’s time this year. Several citizens spoke to the council in March to advance the idea of allowing Sterlingites to raise chickens in their yards, with one person offering a draft ordinance. In July, the council decided to put the question to voters, and in November, voters approved the measure 1,591 for and 1,420 against.
An ordinance allowing chickens to be kept in the city was approved by the council in December, though it is likely to see changes in the future.
The City Council also decided in July to ask voters if marijuana sales should be allowed in the city. In a reversal of the same question eight years ago, voters approved the measure with 1,591 “yes” votes or 52 percent of the vote, and “no” votes tallying 1,442 for 48 percent. However, a question on taxation of marijuana failed with 1,615 “no” votes or 53 percent, and 1,380 “yes” votes, or 46 percent
In that same election, Mat Foos ousted Mayor Brenda Desormeaux, Megan Wolf defeated incumbent Frank Angell for the Ward 1 seat, Kellan Raffaeli defeated incumbent Mandy Ritter for the Ward 2 seat and Dean Haynes was unchallenged in Ward 3. All four took their new seats in December.
In September, several people approached the former City Council with concerns about an increasing number of dogs acting aggressively and attacking people and no one seeming to know how to handle them. In October, representatives from the Logan County Humane Society told the council they were working to address the
concerns by hiring more employees and looking into why dog bite reports weren’t filed.
But in November, eight residents approached the council to demand that the city “do something” about the attacks. Police Chief Tyson Kerr told the council his department was working to resolve the issue and had made recent headway, noting that some of the complaints that night were for old cases.
Increased homelessness was also an issue brought to local government this year. At a “State of the Community” address in January, community leaders were asked about the uptick in homeless people and what could be done to help them. City and county officials, as well as law enforcement, spoke about how they try to help.
In July, a member of the Coalition of Northeast Colorado Veterans, Inc. spoke to the city council about wanting to set up some kind of temporary housing for veterans who have no home.
The increase in homeless individuals continued this fall. In October, Jordan Jensen of Northeast Agri-services urged the city council to come up with a viable policy to address homelessness in the city, sharing that it had become a problem for public safety and businesses as employees are fearful of transients camping near her business and others who are urinating in public and getting stoned. No policy has been presented yet.
In other news, in April, the Sterling City Council joined the growing number of municipalities opposed to Colorado Senate Bill 23-213, which would impose strict state-wide regulations on all planning, zoning and land use activities by Colorado municipalities. The bill died in the last hours of the legislative session.
By November, there was reason to celebrate when the city completed its project to replace the original force main pipeline on the city’s wastewater treatment system.