Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for their regular meeting Tuesday evening, March 17, to discuss a number of issues, ordinances and city projects. Councilors Roy Anderson, Dave Bowman, Barbara Bynum, Judy Ann Files, and Doug Glaspell met for about one hour, 33 minutes. The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
NOTE: Due to the April 7 election, the City Council will hold its next regular meeting on March 31 at 6 p.m. The council’s next work session is March 30 at 10 a.m. Both meetings will be televised live online and on the city’s cable TV channels.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the March 3 regular City Council meeting. The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found at: CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
ORDINANCE 2498 (Noxious Weed Program)
Councilors voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance on second reading regarding the city’s Noxious Weed Management Program. The ordinance is an update to the City of Montrose Municipal Code that will enable the city to comply with the Colorado Noxious Weed Act and further the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the City of Montrose.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid told the council the ordinance would provide more clarity and details about the city’s program. Scheid said the city would begin spraying noxious weeds around the city starting in a couple of days. R Residents wanting their properties on the city’s no-spray list could call Public Works at 970.240.1480.
ORDINANCE 2496 and 2497 (Historic Property Designations)
Councilors voted unanimously on second reading to designate the Missouri Building at 347 East Main Street and the Block Building at 345 East Main Street as City of Montrose historical properties.
The Missouri and Block buildings are now the third and fourth properties to be added to the city’s historic registry since it was created in 2019. The designation is designed to help owners of historic buildings in town apply for restoration grants and other tax credits.
ORDINANCE 2499 (New Police Department Headquarters)
City Councilors unanimously approved an ordinance on first reading, vacating three right-of-ways that are part of the new Police Department headquarters project in downtown. The city will vacate the right-of-ways to the city, as it is the owner of the property, and will place the land into a trust that will be part of a lease-to-own arrangement to fund the project.
City Manager Bill Bell said the city is not looking to close south first street for the police building, however, Bell said the city is looking to vacate and close a portion of Uncompahgre Avenue — directly east of the current police facility — for use in the new project.
The ordinance will return to the council for a second and final reading on March 31.
EMERGENCY ORDINANCE 2500 (Emergency Declaration Due to COVID-19)
The City Council unanimously approved an emergency ordinance to extend the city manager’s declaration of a public health emergency until the pandemic is over. On Monday afternoon, the city manager signed a declaration of local disaster emergency, which was effective immediately. Per city code, the city manager has the authority to declare an emergency for up to seven days, but approval of the City Council is required to extend the declaration beyond seven days.
City Manager Bill Bell said the city is following guidance from the state as to how long the emergency declaration will be in effect.
RESOLUTION 2020-05 (Grant Application for Potato Growers Building)
Councilors voted unanimously to approve the filing of a grant application with the History Colorado State Historical Fund to fund rehabilitation work on the old Potato Growers Building on east Main Street.
RESOLUTION 2020-06 (911 Telephone Service)
Councilors voted unanimously to approve a resolution adopting an amended and restated intergovernmental agreement concerning local 911 emergency telephone service.
RESOLUTION 2020-06 (Set hearing date for North Townsend Annexation)
The council approved the resolution setting April 21, 2020, as the hearing date to consider an application for annexation of the property located at 4152 North Townsend Avenue.
CONTRACT AWARD: West Main Underpass Decorative Shotcrete Wall
City Councilors unanimously approved a contract award in the amount of $191,051.30 to Mountain Valley Construction for construction of a decorative shotcrete wall under the West Main Street underpass.
The wall is located on the east side of the underpass along the Connect Trail. This work is the final stage of construction along this section of the Connect Initiative Recreation Trail Project. The wall will have a decorative face that will also feature graffiti-resistant materials. Funding for this contract was included in the original Connect Initiative Recreation Trail Project budget.
The trail underpass is currently open to the public. During the construction of the final wall, the underpass will be closed for approximately four weeks. This closure is expected to start sometime in April when warmer temperatures allow for construction to begin.
CONTRACT AWARD: Owner’s Representative For Police Department Project
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract with Dynamic Program Management (DPM) out of Eagle, Colorado, in the amount of $404,341 to perform as the owner’s representative for all phases of the new Police Department construction project.
The owner’s representative will act on the city’s behalf to ensure the project stays on budget and on schedule and that the quality of work is kept to a high standard.
Montrose Public Works Manager Jim Scheid told councilors that hiring an owner’s representative is a standard practice among municipalities that do not have staff on hand with the necessary type of construction expertise.
The city is in the initial planning stages for the construction of a new Police Department headquarters on South First Street.
City staff followed contract procurement policies before recommending DPM for final City Council consideration.
Staff Reports:
Sales, Use and Excise Tax Report: LINK
POSTPONED: ORDINANCE 2498: (Police Department building financing)
Due to the current market volatility, the City Council will vote at a future meeting to issue certificates of participation or COPs to fund the new Montrose Police Department headquarters. The city, working with UMB Bank, is waiting to see if interest rates even out in the next couple of weeks.
POSTPONED: YOUTH COUNCIL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL
A regularly scheduled report by the Youth Council to the City Council was postponed until further notice.
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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 that the 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 at 10 a.m. These meetings give councilors the opportunity to hear background information, ask questions, and have informal discussions about city policies and current issues before taking formal action through a public vote during regular council meetings.
Replays of work sessions are aired nightly following replays of the City Council’s regular meetings. Work sessions are also archived on the City of Montrose’s YouTube channel.
Residents can watch all regular City Council meetings and work sessions live through the city’s website at CityOfMontrose.org/Video.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.