MEEKER | It’s been a little more than a year since the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) requested public comment on a proposed wildfire mitigation project which would involve a planned fuels reduction treatment along the north and west portion of the town of Meeker. This action would create a fuel break that would improve firefighter and public safety by reducing the hazardous fuel loading, which would decrease the likelihood that portions of the town of Meeker would be impacted by a wildland fire.
Tuesday the Town of Meeker approved a letter of support on behalf of the Eastern Rio Blanco Fire Protection District for a grant application to help with project funding. Town Manager Mandi Etheridge said the project “hasn’t gotten a lot of traction to date,” but Fire Chief Luke Pelloni, RBC Emergency Manager Eddie Smercina, and Landon Smith at the BLM are working together on the project.
Trustees awarded a $59,930 bid for the Housing Assessment and Action Plan to Ayres Associates from Fort Collins on the recommendation of Etheridge and Town Planner Carly Thomson. The company recently completed a rebranding project for the Main Street program in Meeker and is familiar with the community. The assessment is expected to take about six months to complete. Once a contract is drafted, it will be brought to the board for approval.
Revisions to the land use code are also scheduled to come before the board after a public comment period. Thomson said the updated code will be available for review and comment at Town Hall and online prior to the first public hearing April 18. A second public hearing will be held in May.
Meeker Chamber of Commerce Director Stephanie Kobald thanked the board for its support of the chamber. Kobald is leaving her position after 10 years at the Chamber. She’ll remain available on a limited basis to help with the transition and keep things moving along.
Kobald provided an update on Chamber activities and the Main Street program, which is applying for “graduate” level. “Only eight towns of 23 communities are at that level,” Kobald said.
The program has also been “refreshed” with a new name and branding. Formerly Meeker: Project 45, the local Main Street program will now be called Uplift Meeker. “It’s a great refresh of the program.”
At the graduate level, the town will be eligible for up to $10,000 in grant funds annually. Currently, the program is applying its remaining grant funds toward an interchangeable banner across Highway 13 at the Seventh Street intersection, “accessories” for the parklets, and has received nine more bike racks requested by local businesses.
Providing visitor information surveys is also on the agenda, particularly for events; improving education for visitors about RVs and OHVs; replacing the billboard west of town; and completing the business center remodel on the second floor of Town Hall.
The chamber has 211 members this year, five of whom are new.
Upcoming meetings and projects for the town include a bid going out for resurfacing 11th and 12th streets, a workshop about Ute Park on April 25, a presentation from the Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District’s project manager on April 18, to which trustees said the RBC Commissioners should be invited, and a preliminary meeting for a Meeker Restaurant Association on April 12 at 4 p.m. in the Chamber Business Center (Town Hall, second floor).
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com
