The Town of Berthoud is hosting a community meeting to discuss the proposed Xcel Energy natural gas line replacement project in the area west of town on Thursday, Aug. 8 at Berthoud Town Hall, 328 Massachusetts Ave., from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Please attend and discuss alternative routes within the town and Larimer County.
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“Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot ... where good things grow” Thursday, August 8, 2013 © Berthoud, Colorado www.berthoudsurveyor.com
Mosquito control in Berthoud By Rudy Hemmann The Surveyor The Town of Berthoud hasn’t been spraying to control mosquitos like other neighboring towns, such as Loveland. However, the decision to not spray has been the town’s policy for the past several years, according to Town Administrator Mike Hart. “We brought this issue (mosquito spraying) to the board in 2010 and again in 2011,” said Hart, “and both times the direction from the board was to stick with the larvicide program and not spraying. We are still working off the direction of the board in 2010 and 2011.” Hart also noted that when a recent health department document came out regarding West Nile virus danger it was already too late to control mosquito populations through the use of insecticides. Hart pointed out the experts from Colorado Mosquito Control informed town staff if the town had wanted to spray the program should have started a week or two earlier and that two or three applications over the span of a week to 10 days were needed in order to be effective. He also noted the issue could not be brought up for discussion by the board because no board meetings were scheduled until Aug. 13. The cost of spray applications also became part of the staff discussions. That left town staff with the following dilemmas: • Whether to begin spraying without first bringing the issue to the town board, and knowing full well that the board had set a policy of no spraying. • Starting late in the season with a spraying program. • The cost for spraying, ranging from $6,000 to $7,500 per application, would need to be done without board approval. • Looking at a weather forecast that called for a good chance of rain for the following five days. Rain following a spray application would greatly reduce or eliminate the effectiveness of the application.
• Informing the public that spraying would start the following day was problematic. All of the above factors weighed in on the decision to not spray, according to Hart. “Berthoud is surrounded by agriculture, so we are surrounded by water. We have irrigated fields all around town. There is a lot of breeding ground right outside of the town limits that we can’t control,” Hart said, before surmising a lot of the insects “fly in for the night, have lunch and then fly home again.” The Larimer County Department of Health had issued a news release on July 31 “strongly recommending” adult mosquito spraying in municipalities and adjacent urban density areas of the county. “The risk of human West Nile virus (WNV) infection is rapidly escalating,” the news release stated. The health department also reported two individuals, one from north Loveland and the other from south Fort Collins, had recently been infected with serious neuroinvasive forms of the virus, and that it was likely they were both infected during the second week of July, “when the numbers of infected mosquitoes was a lot lower than it is today.” The document also pointed out for every neuroinvasive case an estimated 150 to 250 persons have become infected with the virus, of which 35 to 60 people will have symptomatic illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website, “Most people infected with WNV will have no symptoms. About one in five people who are infected will develop a fever with other symptoms. Less than one percent of infected people develop a serious, sometimes fatal, neurologic illness.” The memo issued by the health department implies the numbers of Culex mosquitoes, which transmit the WNV to humans, has been rising. However, the numbers in Berthoud do not reflect the same trend. Berthoud Parks and Recreation
TOWN cont. on page 2
BUSTED IN BERTHOUD
Photo by Rudy Hemmann
A large contingent of law enforcement officers descended on a Berthoud residence located at 407 Colorado Ave., at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 1 to exercise a search warrant. Larimer County Sheriff deputies and Berthoud police were involved in what can only be described as a raid. Neighbors stated the house is occupied by Patricia Hill and her adult son, Kyle. The Hill’s were not home at the time. Berthoud Police Chief Glenn Johnson would not confirm the reason for the raid as it is still under investigation, however he did report officials “found the evidence they were looking for.” At press time an arrest warrant was being prepared.
Look who’s in the news! Chimney Rock National Monument
Classified.................................... 9 Crossword................................... 7 Health & Fitness.......................... 6 Legal notices............................... 9 Opinion....................................... 4 Then & Now................................ 5 Weather...................................... 2
Volume 10, Number 32
GOATS, RABBITS AND RIBBONS
Photo by Ray Beard
Arika Beard is busy at the fair this year with pygmy goats, rabbits and cake decorating. She earned awards for Grand Champion in Showmanship, Grand Champion Pygmy Goat Wether, Grand Champion Un-freshened Doe, Reserve Supreme Grand Champion Doe, Champion and Overall Grand Champion in her cake decorating division and will represent Larimer County at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. Arika is 11-years-old and will be going to Turner Middle School this year.
Bull(y) in the china shop
By Rudy Hemmann The Surveyor
The Town of Berthoud will host a public information forum regarding a route for a replaced natural gas line which Xcel Energy has chosen, and is doggedly adhering to, despite requests from the town administrators to find another route. According to Town Administrator Mike Hart, town staff has been locked in a dispute with Xcel Energy concerning an 80-year-old easement west of town where Xcel plans to replace an existing natural gas line with a much larger gas line using the existing easement. The easement, which Xcel has steadfastly remained committed to, bisects a town-owned property that town staff has designated for development into a site for recreational activities, including ball fields and a possible future recreation center. This site is just one of many other privately held properties which will be impacted, some of them severely, if the project is allowed to proceed under Xcel’s current plan. Quoting from a May 13, 2013, memorandum from Hart to Xcel Energy representatives: “In our last communication we discussed the nature of an alignment placed into service 84 years ago vs. the growth and potential for growth in the Berthoud area in this century. The current alignment in Larimer County west of Larimer County Road (LCR) 19 impairs the ability of this community to grow in the future … Xcel certainly realizes that the long-term benefit for this, and any gas line of this nature, is to minimize the
conflict between the location of the line and other public and private development.” The memo goes on to question why Xcel would “remain mired in thinking from the 1920s regarding the location of this line” when there are obvious alternatives that could be employed which would remove the proposed gas line from all publicly and privately held lands. In a memo to the town trustees Hart reported town staff had recommended the route of the gas line through this part of the county be changed to follow existing road rights-of-way, thus avoiding any properties, either publicly or privately held, altogether. “They have made concessions in Loveland, Fort Collins, and who knows how many other cities along their route, but seem determined to ignore Berthoud’s requests,” Hart noted in the memo. “(Larimer County) Commissioner Donnelly is aware of the situation, and we expect to have a representative from Congressman Polis’ office and (State Senator) Kevin Lundberg present as-well,” Hart’s memo continued. In a July 30, 2013, memorandum to Berthoud area residents Hart states: “The Town of Berthoud has attempted to facilitate agreement between Xcel Energy, the town, and private property owners adjoining the town on alternative alignments for the 84-year-old natural gas line that crosses portions of Berthoud. This line has been in service since the 1920s and is part of the major line replacement that Xcel has been completing in northern Colorado. Over the past one-and-a-half years,
while Xcel has been working on the project, Berthoud has suggested alternative alignments for the replacement line which are more in keeping with current land uses and public safety. Although discussions are ongoing, it is still unclear whether Xcel is amenable to relocation as suggested by the town. The town continues to feel strongly that an easement identified in 1920 is inappropriate in 2013, given the development that has occurred over the past 93 years and the future projected land uses in the area.” Regarding the future recreation site on the western edge of town, Hart writes: “Safety is a paramount concern for this section of the line, and the town has offered to make its property rights-of-way available to Xcel to take the line out of this area. The current easement also bisects many properties west of LCR 19 and south of LCR 8 that could be developed in the future or are currently impacted by the easement. Hart notes that town staff “continues to actively pursue an alternative alignment for this natural gas line. We have worked with Larimer County to consider a shift to county road rightsof-way as an alternative for lands between Berthoud and the Boulder County line to the south and presented these options to Xcel with no success. The town would be interested in hearing from any property owners who may be impacted by this line, both in and out of town limits. The forum will be held Monday, Aug. 12, 2013, at Berthoud Town Hall, located at 328 Massachusetts Ave. from 7 until 8:30 p.m.
Colorado Cares Day includes volunteers in Berthoud
Special to the Surveyor
Many Berthoud residents devoted several hours of their time Saturday, July 28, providing service to a variety of projects on the annual Colorado Cares Day. Projects at the Berthoud Public Library and Berthoud Habitat for Humanity ReStore were part of many targeted by the Loveland Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) for the Saturday activity. Mary Peery, outreach representative of the stake’s Public Affairs Council, noted that the Berthoud residents provided substantial assistance as part of 550 members of the LDS Church who provided service in the area for Colorado Cares Day. Colorado Cares Day is a statewide day of service in honor of Colorado’s statehood on Aug. 1, 1876. This year the Governor’s Commission on Community Service targeted the project to be the largest day of service to date. This is the 14th year of Colorado Cares Day. Steve Garrett, the Loveland Stake president, said that the church has a firm commitment to assist in local projects wherever possible.
Photo by Mary Peery
Loveland resident Lois Milligan (on left) gives instruction to three girls from Berthoud Twin Peaks Ward — Barbara Escudero, Kandis Christensen and Ashlie Mansell. The three girls were among 100 volunteers who assisted in tying 124 quilts for distribution to local charities as part of the Colorado Cares Day July 27.