With a number of issues having proved to be problematic for the Town of Monument’s code enforcement efforts, a new ordinance should now clear up enforcement protocol and make future additions easier.

The Monument Town Council had its regular meeting March 18 at town hall where it approved an ordinance amending the Monument municipal code concerning code enforcement matters. Last summer, the Monument Police Department dealt with some constraints it had with its previous town code on enforcement code violations, police chief Patrick Regan said.

Since then, the department has been working with town attorney Bob Cole among others to not only strengthen the code but hit all the points which were problematic in the past and brought up in discussions with the council months ago and clarify them, the chief said.

“It needed to define who could issue citations for violations. We needed to define what the instrument was, to say a ticket or a referral,” Regan said. “We did all that and we outlined a fine structure too.”

Regan said the process has been long and resulted in a 23-page ordinance, but he felt it met the goal to “do it one time.”

“I don’t think any of us were under the misconception we were going to get everything in this, so if there are things that we need to add, we have a great framework to start,” the chief said.

If one-time code enforcement situations come up where it’s not clearly defined in the now existing ordinance and needs to be addressed, Regan said they are ready to do so.

Among other actions by the council, a resolution to approve a contract with Envision IT Solutions for managed service provider services was approved 7-0. In addition, council approved the inclusion of a property to receive water supply outside its present water service boundary..

The property owned by John Clark, which sits in El Paso County land, just outside town limits, has been using its own well water for supply. However, Director of Public Work Tom Tharnish said the well is deteriorating. Fortunately, the town’s water system already has a water main existing on the property’s side of the roadway in front of it, and tying into that main would not be difficult.

Town council asked why the property owner does not desire to annex into the town. Clark said he had applied for annexation before but ran out of time to complete the process. Since there is only one building which houses Clark’s business, with minimal staff and water facilities, and no need for exterior irrigation, the fees involved with annexation outweigh those of paying a tap fee and an elevated water rate for being outside the Monument boundaries.

Clark said if he ever decides to develop the land further, he may revisit annexation as a possibility. For now, he has no plans to do so, he said.