Posted on: September 5th, 2023

GOLD HILL TOWN MEETING NEWSLETTER

Minutes of the August  14, 2023, Zoom Meeting

Next Town Meeting is Monday, October 9, 7:00 p.m. 

 The meeting was called to order by Chair Marcus Moench.  Twenty people attended: Marcus, Vice Chair Elisabeth Caspari, Boyd Brown, Secretary Gretchen Diefenderfer, Member at Large Dan Maedke, Treasurer Chrissy Maedke, Watershed Collective member Maya MacHamer, Shannon Lindow and Eli Zabielski (new to town in Terry Walter’s house) Marybeth Neal, John Hatlelid, Val Crist, Dick Cole, Kevin and Clare Tone, Bear Carlson, Kris Gibson, Deb Yeager, Kris Gibson, and Jeff (last name unknown).

Minutes – were approved as published as there were no corrections or additions.

Elections – First order of business was our annual election.  Marcus announced that he and Elisabeth are planning to step down because of travel plans and commitments to Mountain Stewards and mitigation.  He asked who might be interested in running, adding that there are a lot of interesting things coming up to deal with: cycling, traffic, shooting, ATVs, WF Mitigation.   Chrissy reported on the various positions and duties noting that there a lot of active entities in town and it takes a lot of people to keep it all going and to make a meaningful input on issues affecting our town and adding that there is a lot of support for everyone who does step in.  Deb also wanted to encourage the new members in town.

      Chair – Bear nominated Dan Maedke and Boyd seconded (Bear was nominated, but declined) and Dan was elected unanimously.  And, with that, Dan took over managing the meeting and elections.

     Vice Chair – After quite a bit of discussion and encouraging to the newer, younger members of the community,  Marcus nominated Eli Zabielski, Val seconded, and as there were no further nominations, Eli was elected unanimously as our new Vice Chair.

     Treasurer – Marcus nominated Chrissy, Gretchen seconded, no further nominations, and Chrissy was elected unanimously.

     Member at Large – Bear nominated John Hatlelid, who is particularly interested in cycling issues and Switzerland Trail safety, and he was elected unanimously.

     Secretary – Gretchen agreed to continue, there were no further nominations, and she was elected unanimously as well.

For a description of the GHTM and our bylaws, go to the town website   goldhilltown.com  and on the left, under Community Info, click on
What it the Gold Hill Town Meeting.

Sunset Trail Running Festival – Maya reported that the race is the morning of Sunday the 20^th.  It was last held in 2019 and now is happening again – a little scaled down to lessen the impact on town.  It will start and end at the beer garden.  They will have buses  shuttling people up from Boulder, they know some people will drive, and there will be paid parking for them.  The profits will go to Gold Hill for mitigation projects.  They are looking for volunteers to help.  Please direct any questions to her (maya@nullboulderwatershedcollective.org).  In 2019 they raised $4200 and is was the seed money that has allowed them to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for mitigation projects over the years since.  The small start has had big results and we’re grateful to Maya and the Watershed Collective.

Gold Hill Mill update – Gretchen contacted Dick Cole and he sent this email:

The Decision date for the Conversion Application 1, CN-1, at the Gold Hill Mill, Permit File No M1994117 has been extended from July 10, 2023 to September 20, 2023.

 Colorado Milling Company still has several compliance issues to address by this date. 

Contact at DRMS is Patrick Lennberg 303 866-3567 x8144 or <patrick.lennberg@nullstate.co.us>

 here is the link I used:   https://dnrweblink.state.co.us/drms/search.aspx

Customize…use Template

Template…use DRMS Permit Index

Permit No….use M1994117

Search start date, end date

ATV Usage on public roads and the Switzerland Trail (ST) – Kevin and Clare Tone report no big updates except that rental use in unexpectedly down for this time of year.  They still encourage people to call in illegal use to the Boulder County Sheriff non-emergency number 303-441-4444 .  John added that he’s been biking up here for 6 years and has seen a major change in safety on the ST.  Marcus added that there is a legal line between groups of rental people and individual locals – attitude and the safety piece – friendly, mindful people versus speeding rental people driving off road and degrading the ST.  Clare urged the town to get together with the county and develop a unified approach.

Shooting – no news

Parking Issues – Boyd reported that the amount of music and big gatherings, plus many more days of the week, has increased, sometimes creating dangerous conditions.  Emergency access is threatened when events at both the Pub and the Inn basically set up one way streets in town.  What to do?  There is just not enough room in town,  particularly if people park on more than one side of  the road (the only place where both sides can accommodate parking is the block in front of the Inn and not really there if people don’t park carefully).  People also park in front of residents’ driveways and take up all the parking in front of their houses.  We need to do some problem solving.  Marcus pointed out that the Pub does have a shuttle now for some situations.  Val added that, having run traffic for the 4^th of July parade, she supports signs indicating parking on only side all the time, and no parking on a number of streets.  Bear, living on Gold Run Street, agreed that it’s getting harder and harder to get around.  Gretchen added we really need no parking signs on one side of Horsfal – when people park on both sides it can be almost impossible for even a car to get through. Kris Gibson reported that Saturday night there was no way to get a fire truck down the cemetery road and there needs to be no parking here to corner signs at intersections because there is no way to turn a fire truck if people park right next to the corner.  Gretchen reported that she has contacted the County Road Engineer, Josh Trickey, and he will come up, meet with us,  and help us with ideas.  Chrissy added that we all know we’ve exceeded our capacity to accommodate the traffic and parking up here – what can we as a community do?  Maybe put logs or boulders in some problem areas?  Dan has reached out to the businesses and asked if they could put something on their websites.  Shannon Lindow suggested a nice map of where it is OK to park would be very helpful to include on business websites or paper flyers or any event marketing (eg. races).

     The consensus is that we don’t want to involve law enforcement, but we might have to.

     Chrissy suggested brainstorming – charge people to park in driveways? Valet parking from up the hill? Make streets one way?!  John suggested painting the fence posts at the intersection red (universal signs for no parking) .  Dan added that the businesses are open to ideas and will put info on their websites.

    Boyd is concerned about the character of the town.  The weekends have always been busier, but now there are so many days and so much more traffic, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and now some Wednesdays, too.    We all like being nice and supporting our local businesses, but sometimes people can live with things because it lines their pocketbooks.   Maybe they could tail back a little.

    Bear suggested informal parking tickets – we could put notes on windshields letting people know the issues.  Kris asked if the tables in the street in front of the Pub couldn’t go behind the Pub and not narrow Main Street.  Deb pointed out that the bicyclists’ group in Boulder has provided a bike rack in back of the Pub, and she suggested a sign in front to point to it.  Whitey is aware of the congestion.

    John asked about cones and homemade signs to maintain the town character, but Kris replied that she, Marie, Val, and the Red Store people have been trying cones at the crossroads for ages and it’s not a sufficient answer.  Dan will talk to the businesses again.

Addendum: Several of us did meet with Josh Trickey – report to follow.

COMMITTEE REPORTS –

AirLink – Chrissy is working on a Ham class in the fall – more info to follow.

Cemetery – no report

Community Events and Fundraising – Dan is in discussion about a September event – the goal of holding these events is high on the list.  They do have new pint glasses.  There was a lot of support expressed for our bake/rummage/craft sale.

Gold Hill School – Chrissy reports that school starts on Wednesday, August 16 and they  are excited to have Whitey’s daughter-in-law, Raelee Debroux, working with them as the Office Manager.  There is also a new Principal this year, Jess Sievers.

They will be having their traditional fund raisers and field trips and are working on the details and dates for their calendar.

The big thing is the 150^th Birthday Party over the Labor Day Weekend – details to go out and  posted on the town website.

Historic Zoning – Bear reports that the only news is that Eli and Shannon are putting new gutters on their house (Terry Walters’ old house)

IMA – Pam Sherman sent an email reporting –  there is actually  no IMA report for GHTM at this time. The only real important news from the ODM (Office of Disaster Management) meeting I attended was the new ODM website–very easy to use. The Office of Disaster Management (ODM) is replacing the previous Office of Emergency Management (OEM)

     In terms of preparedness, the IMA is just starting to write a Mountain Resilience Toolkit which will go on the ODM website, but that’s just starting, so no news yet, nothing to view. 

Mountain Stewards – Marcus reports that they are looking at the AIM Grant to continue with wildfire mitigation and support energy stuff (heat pumps, EV charging station, etc.)  More info to follow.

Museum – Deb reports that the Museum is continuing to be open Saturdays and Sundays through September.  They finished the Community Outreach event.  Chrissy is excited that the Museum of Boulder will come up to the School Celebration on Sunday, September 3 at the GH Museum and Sylvia Pettem will also attend and write an article!

NeighborLink/SafeLink – Deb reports no changes – NeighborLink is basically a phone tree and will alert people (text or phone) in case of emergency or evacuation, etc.  She is looking for tech people to help.

Weed Management – no report

Fire Department – Boyd reports that there are a lot of things going on with figuring out the budget given the mill levy increase, the change in the Chief situation, and working on strategic planning for the future.  There is a lot of good energy on the board and they’re working well together. The goal is to be more communicative and to include more areas of the district as far as services and resources.  They’re working on engineering stuff with the firebarn (the trucks are very tight with our narrow, short doors) and we need to house the UTV.  The MOU with Fourmile and Lefthand designating Bret Gibson and Chris O’Brien acting chiefs is going really well. 

     Firewood at the Ashram: Yes, a town day has been designated for Saturday, August 26 and possibly another on September 16 if there is wood left.  There is still a lot of green wood that won’t be available until next year.  The wood from the Ashley property is all being removed and sold by the contractor.

Fall Bocce Tournament – Bear announced that the new date is Saturday, September 9, in deference to all the school festivities over the Labor Day weekend.

Treasurer’s Report – Chrissy’s report

Starting date: 5/27/23
Opening Balances			Accounts	Amount
		General	3449	$8,533.66
		Grants	7018	$500.00
		Savings	7000	$2,080.00
		Total Opening Balances:		$11,113.66
Income	General 3449	Cemetery Donation		$300.00
		Income for Town Cleanup (Transferrred from savings)		$1,431.00
		Total		$1,731.00
	Grants 7018
		Total		$0.00
	Savings 7000
		Total		$0.00
		Total Income:		$1,731.00
Expenses	General 3449	Western Disposal		$1,086.22
		Cemetery Maintenance		$497.24
		Total		$1,583.46
	Grants 7018
		Total		$0.00
	Savings 7000
		Total		$0.00
		Total Expenses:		$1,583.46
Ending Balances		General	3449	$8,681.20
		Grants	7018	$500.00
		Savings	7000	$2,080.00
8/14/23		Total Closing Balances:		$11,261.20

 

 

She also reports some successes: we now have a unique id number for the Aim Grant, and  0 Pine Street (our property behind the Red Store along Lickskillet) is now tax exempt and backdated.  We still have some other adjacent properties that could be consolidated.  She brought up the idea of, “What if the town were able to own the Latham lots ?”  The County has been approached to adjust the fees for us as a non-profit, but it’s a long process and requires a survey which is expensive.

     October is designated as our budget meeting, so ideally our committees should assess their needs/possible fund requests and bring them for our proposed budget.  Then we can roll with an approved budget for 2024 although there is not much money available.  We have applied for some small grants.

OTHER NEWS – Deb asked what happens in the future if a film company comes to town?  We should have guidelines.  Gretchen added,  particularly for communication.  Marcus added, not just for movies, but other big events that have the potential for major disruption/inconvenience.  Deb approached the movie folks about not using the name Gold Hill, but they said if it’s on a map, they can use it.  Bear said that we have some precedent with the County with Historic Zoning.  Guidelines have been established and the County doesn’t approve permits until Gold Hill has weighed in.  We need to set up basic guidelines/standards for any major event and Dan volunteered that should be doable.  Bear added that we now have a vibrant young film making group in town and maybe get them involved.  Marcus added that we need to find out who is the permitting agency with the County and get in communication.

Next GHTM Meeting – October 9.

Respectfully submitted, Gretchen Diefenderfer, Secretary

 

If you know of anyone who would appreciate getting the newsletter, please let me know and I will add them.  Also, if you are no longer interested, let me know that, too, and I’ll get you off the list.

Thanks, G