Montrose, CO — City Councilors met Tuesday evening, April 21, to select the mayor and mayor pro tem for the 2020-2021 term and discuss a number of issues, ordinances, and city projects during the council’s regular meeting. Councilors Roy Anderson, Dave Bowman, Barbara Bynum, Dave Frank and Doug Glaspell met for about one hour, 16 minutes. The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch Tuesday’s full meeting here.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the March 24 regular City Council meeting. The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found at: CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF OUTGOING CITY COUNCILOR
Judy Ann Files was presented with a plaque celebrating her eight years of service on the City Council. Files was recognized for her work with local broadband, parks and trails development, and her two terms as mayor. She was also thanked for her efforts to celebrate diversity in the community.
"Judy Ann, there are just not enough words to thank you for all the things you have done for this city," Councilor Dave Bowman said.
Following the presentation, Files’ term as City Councilor officially ended.
SWEARING IN OF NEWLY ELECTED OFFICIALS
Councilors Roy Anderson, Barbara Bynum, and Dave Frank, the successful City Council candidates in the April 7 municipal election, were sworn in. Anderson and Bynum each were re-elected and Frank was elected to replace Judy Ann Files who was term-limited.
SELECTION OF MAYOR AND MAYOR PRO TEM
City Councilor Barbara Bynum was selected as the new mayor of Montrose, succeeding Dave Bowman, for the 2020-2021 mayoral term. Councilor Doug Glaspell was selected by the council to become the new mayor pro tem.
Although city councilors are elected by the public to fill four district seats and an at-large seat, the mayor and mayor pro tem are selected by the council as defined by the City Charter as a home rule municipality under the Colorado Constitution.
A roll-call vote of all city councilors was conducted to confirm both appointments..
PRESENTATION TO MAYOR
Following her appointment to mayor, Bynum recognized Bowman for his leadership and professionalism during his tenure as mayor from April 2019 through April 2020.
"Thank you for everything you’ve done to lead this council to serve as our mayor for the past year. You also leave some big shoes to fill and I’m sure I’ll be asking you for advice and help along the way," Bynum said.
4152 N. TOWNSEND ADDITION ANNEXATION
The City Council unanimously approved a resolution and ordinance on first reading approving the annexation of property located at 4152 North Townsend Avenue into the city limits. Ordinance 2501 will return to the council for a second and final reading on May 5.
ORDINANCE 2502 (4152 N. Townsend zoning)
Councilors unanimously approved an ordinance providing for the zoning of the 4152 North Townsend addition as a B-3 General Commercial District.
The ordinance will return to the council for a second and final reading on May 5.
FUEL CONTRACT AWARD
Councilors approved a fuel and oil contract with Parish Oil of Montrose to supply the city with fuel. Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the bid Parish Oil submitted was the best value to the city moving forward.
ASBESTOS ABATEMENT CONTRACT CHANGE ORDER
Councilors approved a contract change order in the amount of $9,050 for asbestos abatement during the demolition of city-owned structures to make room for the new Police Department headquarters. ARC Abatement discovered and handled asbestos that was not previously discovered during surveys of the buildings.
SALES, USE AND EXCISE TAX REPORT
Finance Director Shani Wittenberg delivered the city’s February tax collections report comparing February 2019 and February 2020. The report showed City collections were up this year over 2019 numbers.
City Manager Bill Bell said the city should receive numbers from March 2020 in the coming days, which will be the first look into how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected city finances so far this year.
More information will be released in the coming days.
COVID-19 UPDATE
City Manager Bill Bell said the city is following direction from the governor’s office in relation to reopening commerce in the city after local businesses were forced to close due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bell said a soft opening would begin on April 27, with precautions in place such as the use of personal protection equipment or PPE. On May 4 more easing of restrictions will take place. Bell said area employers will be required to stagger shifts and use social distancing, including the use of masks, to bring employees back to work. These public health work restrictions will be led by Montrose County. Bell added that the city will continue to lead efforts to help businesses recover from production and revenue loss as a result of COVID-19.
More up-to-date information can be found in the business resources section at www.CityofMontrose.org/COVID19.
Police Chief Blaine Hall told councilors that there are presently 79 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the community with nine confirmed deaths. Hall said even though soft opens are being planned throughout the state, the virus is still continuing to infect people.
"This is not just the light switch is turned on nationwide, this is still a very serious and dangerous situation," Hall said.
Hall said city employees are required to wear protective masks and gloves on and off duty. He said he continues to see residents not wearing masks, which could lead to new infections of COVID-19.
"We need to model correct behavior," Hall said of city employees.
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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 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.