Granby’s Board of Trustees meeting Tuesday night had a special guest — Morris the Ace Hardware Cat. Mayor Josh Hardy signed a proclamation officially designating Sept. 14, 2022, as Morris the Cat Day in the town. The proclamation encourages citizens to celebrate their animals and their human handlers and honors Morris’ “fateful journey to the front range.”

Meeting attendees gave Morris a round of applause and seized their opportunity to take pictures with the famous feline.

The board also discussed several water-related issues, including funding options for necessary upgrades to the North Service Area treatment facilities. In a workshop session, Town Manager Ted Cherry and Water Superintendent Doug Bellatty told the board about the related costs and a recently completed rate study for the area.

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The improvements needed in the North Service Area include replacing the existing water treatment plant and purchasing a 500,000-gallon potable water storage tank by 2026. The rate study estimates those costs to be between $18.1 million and $23.5 million. The study lists seven improvements that would come after 2026, totalling $8.2 million.

Bellatty said the upgrades will help prepare the town’s water system for the future. He said the improvements would increase the area’s capacity and resilience, allowing it to handle population growth and abnormal events like wildfires upstream polluting the Fraser River.

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“I don’t want anybody to be super concerned that right now the sky is falling,” Bellatty said. “It’s not that, OK?”

The current treatment plant operates almost exactly as it did when it was built 40 years ago, Bellatty said. As regulations have increased, the treatment capacity has decreased. The updates would require more engineering, which SGM engineering quoted at $152,000.

“We have to do a little bit more exploring,” Bellatty said. “What we see are hazards or concerns for our operating plan, we’re going to try and minimize and mitigate those, whether it be water quality, storage, capacity, taste and odor. Let’s tackle them while we have the chance.”

Other business

• During public comments, Daniela Gosselova spoke to the board about an issue involving trash in ditches near Morales Park.
• Trustees voted to recommend Lauren Huber as the next Granby representative on the Open Lands, Rivers, and Trails Advisory Committee, which reviews relevant grant applications. Huber would shadow the current representative, Bob Saint, until the end of his term in 2023.
• The board approved the purchase of two Ford F350 trucks for the North and South Service Areas. Each truck will cost $44,170.
• Bellatty also spoke to the board about purchasing a new water filling station. Trustees approved up to $100,000 for the purchase and installation of the station. Money for the project will come from American Rescue Plan funds, and the unit alone costs $38,250.
• The board approved the use of a new roadway condition evaluation system that would help staff and town leaders assess roadway conditions and budget and schedule road work maintenance. The staff first recommended the system at the June 28 board meeting.
• Trustees granted the Village at Buckhorn a certificate of partial completion for its primary construction at the development, including water and sewer connections.
• The board approved a resolution that renewed the health, dental, life and disability insurance for town staff.
• Trustees terminated a 2007 agreement that required a developer of three parcels to construct water infrastructure in order to connect to town water services. The infrastructure was never built, and the parcels are all owned by different entities now. One owner requested the agreement be terminated because they want to develop their parcel and the three owners have no interest in working together to build the infrastructure.
• The board passed an ordinance adopting water rates for the West Service Area and an amendment to the water service agreement between Sun River Ranch RV, LLC and the town
• Cherry spoke to the board about two positions the town looks to fill in the near future: assistant town manager and finance director. He gave updates on the assistant town manager search, suggesting an increase in pay range from $80,000-$100,000 to $107,000-$125,000, and talked about strategies for filling both roles.

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Editor’s Note: This story was updated to correct the spelling of a name.