Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for about two hours Tuesday morning to hear and consider a number of upcoming projects around the city during the council’s Work Session. The Work Session was held Tuesday due to the Presidents Day holiday.
PROJECT 7 UPDATE
City Councilors were updated on long-term water treatment and back-up municipal water system projects currently in development by Project 7 Tuesday during a work session held in City Council Chambers located at 107 South Cascade Ave.
Project 7 Water Authority Manager Adam Turner told councilors the authority is developing a plan to construct a water treatment facility north of Ridgway Reservoir, along with several, water delivery pipeline upgrades around the city. These improvements will help make sure there is enough potable water for residents in case of service outages.
Turner said as plans become more complete, project updates and how those updates relate to rate users and water customers will be delivered to the council.
The City of Montrose buys treated, potable water wholesale from Project 7 and then distributes the water through the city’s municipal water system.
The Project 7 Water Authority is a cooperative water service utility serving the City of Montrose, the City of Delta, the Town of Olathe, Tri-County Water Conservancy District, the Chipeta Water District, the Menoken Water District, and the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association.
City Councilors were also updated on the following agenda items:
RESTORE COLORADO GRANT PROGRAM APPLICATION
City grand coordinator Kendall Cramer delivered an update to the council regarding the city’s application for hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant funds from the Restoration and Stewardship of Outdoor Resources and Environment Grant Program to implement phase one of three restoration projects on a 0.65-mile section of the Uncompahgre River.
CERRO RESERVOIR OUTLET WORKS REPLACEMENT CHANGE ORDER
City Engineer Scott Murphy updated the council about a change order to complete the Cerro Reservoir Outlet Works Replacement Project. The city owns a small reservoir near the top of Cerro Summit that serves as a back up for the city’s water supply. The reservoir was drained to replace a century-old pipe at the base of the dam. In order to refill the reservoir with the spring runoff, contractors need to be hired to complete the work.
SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE OF RAPID DEPLOYMENT BOOM
Utilities Manager David Bries related that the utilities department needs to update to one of its large sewer trucks with a new boom system to aid in waterline excavation. The new boom system will also improve safety for truck operators, according to Bries.
CENTRIFUGE REPAIR SOLE SOURCE RECOMMENDATION
Utilities Manager David Bries informed the council that a large, eight-foot-long centrifuge used to collect biosolids at the city’s wastewater treatment plant needs to be taken out of service and transported to California — to the manufacturer — for scheduled maintenance.
BLACK CANYON GOLF COURSE EQUIPMENT PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
To update aging equipment, three new pieces of equipment need to be purchased for the Black Canyon Golf Course. One new greens mower, one general grounds mower, and one self-propelled sprayer need to be purchased to meet the golf course’s operational needs.
PURCHASE OF BODY WORN POLICE CAMERAS
City Police Chief Blaine Hall told the council that the department is pursuing the use of body cameras and new in-car cameras to help ensure department accountability and officer safety.
The Montrose Police Department began using in-car camera systems in 1999. Presently, department officers do not use body-worn cameras.
Hall said the department is working with a provider to purchase the cameras and new video storage infrastructure to archive all department video. A total project budget will be presented to the council at a future meeting.
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All regular City Council meetings are open to the public and are held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. All city council meetings are recorded and made available online via on the city’s website and cable channels 191 for Charter subscribers and 970 for Elevate subscribers. Replays of council meetings are also broadcast at 6 p.m. on the same channels on days council is not in session.
In addition, each regular meeting is archived on the City of Montrose’s YouTube channel.
Work sessions are also open to the public and are usually held on the first and third Mondays of each month and are designed to give councilors the opportunity to hear background information, ask questions, and have informal discussions about city policies and current issues before taking action through a public vote during regular council meetings.
Replays of work sessions will be aired nightly following replays of the City Council’s regular meeting. Work sessions will also be archived on the City of Montrose’s YouTube channel.
Residents can watch all regular City Council meetings and work sessions live online through the city’s website at CityOfMontrose.org/Video.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.