Last week’s Woodland Park City Council meeting opened with a once-in-a-lifetime celebration. As city resident Harold Ahrendt will turn 100 on Thursday, Oct. 28, Acting Mayor Hilary Labarre proclaimed the date of the council meeting, Oct. 21, as Harold Ahrendt Day.

Ahrendt spoke about his service during World War II and how he developed his own businesses. He introduced his second wife and spoke about the death of his first wife after aneurism surgery.

Council and the audience sang “Happy Birthday” and Labarre gave Ahrendt a city challenge coin.

In other business, Council approved a rezone requested by Woodland Park Community Church. The church is located on land that was originally zoned commercial but was, “for some strange reason,” rezoned suburban residential when the city overhauled its zoning matrix in 1997, Planning Director Sally Riley said.

Church construction began in 1994 and a preschool was opened in 2000. When officials recently sought a building permit to expand the school, they learned that large preschools/daycare centers are prohibited in residential zones. The rezone to community commercial will allow the preschool to legally continue operations.

With Labarre recusing herself, council granted a conditional use permit to Stuft Food Emporium to operate as a family restaurant in the vacated Denny’s restaurant building. Chef Mike Andersen said the restaurant will have its grand opening on Nov. 13.

Councilman Robert Zuluaga quelled a rumor that the restaurant would become a “gentleman’s club.”

“It will be a family restaurant and not a strip club,” Andersen said.

Supplemental appropriations for the 2021 budget were presented on initial posting by Finance Director Aaron Vassalotti at the Oct. 7 council meeting. At that time, because of opposition from Zuluaga and Councilwoman Stephanie Alfieri, council agreed to pull proposed $100 vaccine incentives for city employees.

Councilman Rusty Neal said pulling the incentives is his reason for voting against the amended appropriations ordinance. He said he agreed with the rest of the ordinance but can’t support it without the incentives.

“The slides you (Zuluaga) put into the record at the last meeting were from the Humans are Free website,” he said, adding that this site has been rated “Tin Foil Hat,” and “Quackery” on mediabiasfactcheck.com.

Neal said he compared how the mediabiasfactcheck.com site rates other news outlets and found it to be credible.

The appropriations will pay for mid-year cost-of-living raises for qualified employees, replace the Victims’ Advocate vehicle, move the $500,000 savings account for debt service into expenditures ,and move the Lodger’s Tax from the general fund to its own line item.

The appropriations also authorize the use of American Rescue Plan funds to pay hazard pay to employees who worked the front lines during last year’s COVID-19 shutdowns and fund Phase I of the municipal broadband deployment plan.

The ordinance passed on a vote of 5-1.

Council approved two other items. One vacates 90 feet of an unimproved alley between Gunnison Avenue and County Road. The other is a resolution to participate in Colorado Opioids Settlement.

Riley requested approval of a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Colorado Department of Transportation to accept Multimodal Transportation

Options Funding totaling $1.04 million with a 50% match from the city that would come out of the 410 Capital Improvement Fund.

Five council members voted to table the request to the Nov. 4 council meeting to give them more time to go over the memorandum, which was sent to them via email, and for Riley to obtain more information.

“I don’t see why we have to wait because some council members didn’t monitor their emails,” Councilwoman Kellie Case said. “I will be voting no.”

Alfieri said it is important for the public to hear the answers to council’s questions in an open hearing.

Interim Police Chief Steve Hasler introduced Interim Deputy Chief Rodney Gehrett, a Green Mountain Falls resident who retired from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Department three years ago. The city is searching for a permanent new chief and deputy chief.

Council approved George Jones to serve on the Charter Review Committee. The city will continue to advertise for citizen volunteers.

Alfieri, who serves on the committee, reported that it is considering revisiting gender-neutral language, franchise and utility regulations, conflict of interest definitions and discrepancies pertaining to the city manager’s authority.

Councilwoman Catherine Nakai read a list of the Main Street Program’s accomplishment and then announced that the program’s board will reevaluate its purpose and its benefits to the city and will not ask for funding in the 2022 budget.

Zuluaga said the Pikes Peak Are Council of Governments is taking a close look at proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rules.

“They’re doing their best to be diplomatic and firm in making sure Colorado isn’t penalized for pollutants from out of state,” he said.