RIDGWAY BRIEFS

No Longer Able to Cover Employees’ Dependants

RIDGWAY – With a reduction of work schedules for some town employees being enacted because of budget restraints, the Ridgway Town Council approved a resolution on Dec. 9 that would allow employees working 32 hours a week to receive medical insurance coverage. Town Manager Greg Clifton, during the discussion, also briefed town council on how rising insurance costs have dramatically affected what the town can afford to provide its employees, leading them to change insurance plans.

Clifton said the town has faced “double-digit” insurance premiums for some time but last year they were hit with with a 47 percent increase in insurance costs.

“If we were to stay with the same plan, it would have been a 47 percent increase,” Clifton said. “We could not absorb that. So we shopped around and worked with our agent. She was instrumental in changing our plan and changed it to an option of three plans that vary in terms and deductibles.”

With the insurance plan changes, Clifton said the town is still able to cover employees but will no longer be able to cover employees’ dependants.

Green Building Codes Still in Works

Ridgway Building Inspector Bill Behan told Town Council on Dec. 9 that he is still drafting green building codes and hopes to present them to council at its next meeting on Jan. 13.

Behan said the building codes were initially going to be based on a point system but the committee working on the codes subsequently decided on a prescribed energy code, believing it to be a better fit for the Town of Ridgway.

“Some things have caused us to move away from the point-based system,” Behan told council. “A well designed point-based system has failed in other towns due to the lack of resources to administer the codes. Most of the jurisdictions in our region started moving away from point-based green building codes and have adopted prescriptive energy codes.”

Behan said the committee has restructured its goals and objectives for green building codes to now include efficient and healthy structures, education for green building objectives, and incentives for energy conservation. With those objectives in mind, Behan said it would make sense to work with the nonprofit organization The New Community Coalition based in San Miguel County to help accomplish its goals.

Councilmember Rick Weaver said he is happy with the direction Behan and the committee is going and with their progress toward creating green building codes.

“I want to compliment Bill and Jen [Coates] on doing a lot of good work on this,” Weaver said. “I think they are taking the right steps and it is a good work in progress.”

Balloons ‘N’ Varooms Needs Sponsors

Balloons ‘N’ Varooms organizer Gary Woods announced to the Ridgway Town Council last week that he is moving forward with planning the seventh annual event, slated for May 7-9, but sponsors are needed for the event to take place.

Councilmembers agreed to fund one town-sponsored balloon but said, with a tight budget, they may not be able to sponsor a second. Woods said it was his goal to host at least 24 hot air balloons for the event along with more than 50 classic cars. The event will be similar to last year’s with three days of flying, a classic car show, refreshments, live entertainment, and an evening balloon glow.

Woods said the price of sponsoring a balloon is $600, the same as last year. Sponsor benefits include a balloon flight for two, a balloon basket banner featuring the sponsor’s name, tickets for two for the pilot/sponsor dinner and tailgate brunch, and business name exposure on all event advertising.

Woods said any sponsors committing with full payment by Dec. 31 may deduct $100 from the fee. Two businesses or individuals may share a balloon sponsorship at $350 each or $300 each if the total is paid by Dec. 31.

Unless sufficient sponsorships are received by Dec. 31, the event may be cancelled and all monies would be refunded.

Smyths Pub and Chophouse Scheduled to Open New Year’s Weekend

A transfer of ownership of the restaurant and liquor license from River’s End Bar and Grill to Chez What LLC and shareholders Peter and Cara O’Brien, who plan to open Smyth’s Pub and Chophouse at 257 Sherman Street, was approved by the Ridgway Town Council on Dec. 9.

According to Peter, the two plan to open the restaurant on New Year’s weekend.

“We are planning on an intimate chop house downstairs with pub food upstairs,” he said.

Council Approves 2010 Town Budget

The Ridgway Town Council unanimously approved the 2010 budget at its Dec. 9 meeting.

According to the approved budget resolution, the money necessary to balance the budget for general operating purposes from property tax revenue is $304,349. With the 2009 valuation for assessment of property taxes totaling $35,180,754, council approved a levied tax of 8.651 mils for each dollar of the total assessed property value in the Town of Ridgway.

Council approved appropriating $1,159,685 in total general fund expenditures, $356,131 for total water fund expenditures, and $328,522 in total sewer funds.

Plat Conditions Extension Expires for Ridgway Hotel Project

For now, the book seems to be closed on what was to be a 72-room, three story hotel and pool complex located at the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 550 and Colorado Hwy. 62 . The lot’s new owner did not show up for the Dec. 9 Ridgway Town Council meeting to discuss plans to move forward on the pre-approved project.

The final plat for the Dreamcatcher Lodge at the Ridgway Hot Springs Planned Unit Development was originally approved by the Ridgway Town Council in early 2008. The planned hotel would have contained over 41,000-square-feet of room space and an 18,000-square-foot pool area. The review process for the project took almost five-and-a-half years, but for the approval to be finalized, several plat conditions had to be met by the developer, one of which included paying off a $20,000 outstanding bill to the town for costs associated with the review process.

A year and a half and four extensions later, the new owner of the property, Stan Kaatz, told council last November that he was evaluating how to proceed with a project since its original developer, Adam Dubroff, defaulted on his loan.

Kaatz told council last month that he wasn’t sure if he wanted to move forward with a hotel project but if he wished to proceed, he would return to speak with councilmembers in December. With the expiration of council’s most recent extension and Kaatz’s absence from the meeting, council effectively killed the project.

Mayor Pat Willits said he has a clear conscience about letting the plat extension expire and said that council did everything it could to help the developer through the long process.

“He is not here and decided to not pay the money,” Willits said. “It was on him, not us. I don’t have any problem with letting this plat lapse at this point.”

Council then directed Town Attorney John Kappa to see if they can put a lien on the property until the $20,000 they are owed is paid.