Rangely trustees review funding levels for 2009 budget

RANGELY — Funding levels for the various town budgets in 2009 were announced recently, and stable growth seemed to be the norm.
The general fund balance is forecast to gain slightly after the year’s expenses and hold at $4.98 million. The water department fund will have a reserve of $7.47 million; gas fund, $2.26 million; wastewater fund, $1.90 million; conservation trust, $117,890; RDA fund, $493,364; housing assistance, $760,114; Rangely Development Corp., $223,328; White River Village, $31,353; and Rangely Public Giving Found-ation, $262,236.
Income and expenditures for all departments were shown to be balanced and any unforeseen emergencies should be covered.
The council also approved a motion to begin developing a Source Water Protection Plan that will give local leaders concise information for details about the drinking water supply. Such plans have already been established in Meeker and Collbran and the response to the outcome has been positive. These plans lead to better safeguards and more responsible development. The 67-page plan document for Plateau Valley was introduced as an example of the finished product that was developed by the Colorado Rural Water Association, in conjunction with local leaders, community members and industrial development interests. It should be noted these plans concern only the local area and are not under the control of any outside agencies or groups.
In other business, it was noted that 38 residential building permits have been issued year-to-date, and 2009 should see an increase of that number.
Alden VandenBrink from the utilities department gave reports on the wastewater system and told of the problems of duckweed infestation at the treatment ponds. His crew removed approximately 45,000 pounds of material from the 100 foot by 200 foot main pond and have had to send two circulation pumps out to be rebuilt from weed induced overload failure.
On the brighter side, he noted that improvements to the overall system are reducing the amounts of detrimental contaminants in the system. In a semi-humorous account, he also told that during a recent investigation of a blocked sewer main on the east side of town, the crew discovered and removed an intact 6-foot-long shovel from the line. Don Reed of Colorado Springs has been hired as a wastewater specialist for the town.
The replacement of the air-conditioning system at town hall will be complete next week after experiencing some minor delays.
On Jan. 27, the Rangely Planning and Zoning Depart-ment will hold public hearings on a commercial and residential project being proposed by Stryker Brown Architects from Aspen for the parcels on the west side of the intersection of River Road and Highway 64 and the northeast corner of the intersection of River Road and West Main. The preliminary plan calls for about 100 residential townhouses (duplexes) and seven acres of commercial development space with new access from Highway 64, west of River Road.
Conceptual drawings for the project can be reviewed at Rangely Town Hall.