Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for their regular meeting Tuesday evening, February 2, to consider funding childcare needs study and approving a number of contract awards for construction projects around the city.
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, City Councilors Roy Anderson, Dave Bowman, Barbara Bynum, Dave Frank, and Doug Glaspell met online along with city staff via the Zoom platform. The public was also invited to attend. The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No members of the public offered comments.
CONSENT AGENDA
Councilors voted unanimously to approve the consent agenda, which included the minutes of January 19, 2021, regular meeting. The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found at CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
WATCH Tuesday’s meeting here.
CHILDCARE SURVEY AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT FUNDING REQUEST
City Councilors voted unanimously to fund a study of childcare needs throughout the community to better understand issues related to working families and determine what improvements could be made to improve childcare services in Montrose. The city’s portion of the study approved Tuesday totals $18,950.
For years the City Council has recognized the need for improved childcare services in Montrose. The council has concluded that better childcare services would contribute to the overall health of the local economy and attract working families to the Montrose area. According to various city studies, childcare services and housing rank at the top of the list of the most pressing issues facing Montrose residents.
The study aims to collect more data from the community to better pinpoint solutions to the growing childcare needs in Montrose.
Assistant City Manager Ann Morgenthaler said Tuesday that members of the Uncompahgre Valley Alliance (UVA) are working with a company to conduct the assessment survey.
UVA members who were in attendance at the meeting described a wide variety of ways that children benefit from structured childcare and early childhood education.
UVA members have conducted interviews throughout the county, from Olathe to the West End, and determined that the number one issue keeping families from thriving throughout the area is the availability of childcare services.
The UVA has concluded that a majority of two-parent and one-parent households in Montrose have working parents and a lack of childcare availability is hindering them from meeting their most basic needs.
Carol Keeney of the UVA told the council that the lack of available childcare providers in Montrose is now at a "crisis" level.
UVA has secured local funding to help the city work with Root Policy Research to conduct a comprehensive survey. The Montrose Childcare Survey and Needs Assessment will cost $38,950, according to Morgenthaler.
Tuesday’s approval clears the way for data collection for the study to begin this year.
2021 ANNEXATION REPORT AND THREE-MILE PLAN
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the City of Montrose 2021 Annual Annexation Report and 3-Mile Plan, an annual approval as stipulated by Colorado statutes.
Senior City Planner Amy Sharp said the city is required to adopt and file a plan each year that contains written policies and maps to illustrate annexation priorities, eligible enclave annexations, existing city limits, growth areas, and transportation routes. The plan will fulfill the statutory requirement to have a “plan in place” for the annexation of new properties in 2021. The Planning Commission reviewed the plan at its January 13, 2021, meeting.
Notable figures in Sharp's presentation include the total number of acres annexed into the city in 2018 (55.7 acres), in 2019 (17.68 acres), and in 2020 (63.6 acres).
ROTARY AMPHITHEATER CM/GC CONTRACT AWARD
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract award for the construction of the Rotary Amphitheater in Cerise Park.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid updated councilors about the project, which is set for construction in 2021 at a cost of $3.2 million. Scheid said the design process took into account the native areas of Cerise Park, adding that the building’s design is aimed at blending into the landscape within the park.
City Manager Bill Bell said the Montrose Rotary Club has contributed almost $200,000 toward the project and the Montrose Recreation District has contributed $50,000.
The city has been saving funds since 2017 to build the project. Local construction company Stryker and Company Inc. will serve as the project’s Construction Manager, CM, and General Contractor, GC.
Councilors recorded several comments received from members of the public attending the meeting via the Zoom platform.
Scheid said the city received six qualified proposals and, after the thoughtful debate, the proposals were shortlisted to three firms. The shortlisted firms were Asset Engineering from Grand Junction, CO, FCI Constructors, Inc., also from Grand Junction, and Stryker and Co from Montrose. The three firms were asked to prepare a detailed construction estimate and general condition costs and participate in an interview.
Scheid said the proposals, GC costs, estimates, and interviews were evaluated and Stryker and Company, Inc. was chosen by a selection committee as the best-qualified applicant.
Once the contract award was approved, Scheid said, the city’s construction management team would review the construction estimate with Stryker and then proceed with the procurement of subcontractors and suppliers. This will enable the team to establish a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP), execute a construction contract with Stryker, and issue a notice to proceed, likely by mid-February, with a groundbreaking as early as March 1, 2021.
To prepare for the project and reduce its overall cost, city crews have completed the access road to the building site and an extensive cleanup of the forested area around it. Completion of the access road also gives the contractor a head-start on the site work and construction of the building and allows for the final project completion date to be set at November 1.
2021 EQUIPMENT PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a purchase of two machines for use by the city's Streets Division. The city will purchase a Craftco crack seal machine from Denver Industrial Sales and Service for $107,149, and a BC1800XL Vermeer wood chipper from Vermeer at a cost of $60,220.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the Streets Division has shifted its focus over the last few years from street construction to street maintenance. One of the most cost-effective ways to extend the life of city streets is through an effective crack-sealing plan. The Streets Division is focused on efficiency and completing as much of the maintenance items, like crack sealing, in-house, resulting in significant cost savings.
Scheid said the crack-sealing crew has been using a single-wand crack seal machine that was purchased in 2015. An evaluation of crew performance has revealed that this machine is limiting productivity. As a result, the city has resorted to contracting some crack sealing work. The cost savings of performing this work in-house will pay for an equipment upgrade in a single year.
An upgraded crack seal machine is included in the 2021 budget. The new machine has a higher capacity, higher BTU output, a conveyor loading system, and a dual-wand setup. With decreased downtime and a higher capacity machine, the Streets Division will be able to do more crack sealing in-house.
Public Works makes heavy use of a wood chipper to process tree branches and limbs. The recommended upgrade to a new chipper will increase capacity and reduce repair costs and downtime.
The budgeted amounts for the crack seal machine and the chipper are included in the Fleet and Streets Division budgets for 2021.
GOLF COURSE EQUIPMENT PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a purchase proposal for a pair of Toro Greensmaster 3150 mowers, one new Toro Reel Master 5410-D Fairway mower, and one Toro Versa Vac from LL Johnson Distributing Company at a cost of $177,900.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the Black Canyon Golf Course maintains all of the turf at the course (approximately 90 acres) with city staff and equipment. All of the pieces of machinery listed above are direct replacements for existing equipment and are on the fleet replacement list for 2021.
The cost of the equipment is included in the 2021 Fleet Division budget at a total cost of $141,500. The amount budgeted is $36,400 less than the cost of the equipment. This additional cost will be covered in the Fleet Fund where a total of $1,246,590 is budgeted in 2021 for the replacement of vehicles and equipment throughout the fleet. Due to savings recognized in 2021 for other equipment purchases, there is no concern about exceeding the budgeted amount.
FRONT 9 IRRIGATION PUMP ASSEMBLY CONTRACT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract award totaling $102,010 for fabrication and installation of the front 9 Irrigation Pump Assembly project.
Assistant City Manager Ann Morgenthaler said the pump house, located on the front 9 of the Black Canyon Golf Course property, has reached the end of its useful life and many replacement parts can no longer be found to fix broken components.
The city currently owns a front 9-irrigation pump station was built in 1992. Due to the age of the pump station, parts are becoming extremely difficult, if not impossible, to locate, as are service contractors. During the summer of 2020, course personnel was not able to find the required parts and resorted to manually operating the system with only 60% of the water needed to maintain the course.
The city determined the necessary capabilities of a new pump station and worked with multiple vendors to identify the best options for replacement. The pump station will be placed in the existing location on hole number 6 (see figure 1), which will remain in service until the new pump station arrives. Construction of the project was put out for bid on December 29, 2020, and bids were publicly received on January 14, 2021. Only one bid, from Watertronics of Denver, was received. Black Canyon Golf Course staff worked with City Engineer Scott Murphy and Utilities Manager David Bries to issue the request for bids and evaluate the bid.
Watertronics is considered qualified to perform the work. Although the city has not worked previously with the company, they have a very good reputation in the golf industry. They have installed over 31 pump stations in Colorado since 2015.
The project is scheduled to be completed ten weeks after contract approval.
Contract administration and project management of the new pump house construction will be performed by the superintendent of the Black Canyon Golf Course. The 2021 budget includes $100,000 for this project. The $2,010 in additional cost will be allocated from the Black Canyon Golf Course maintenance budget.
YOUTH COUNCIL REPORT
Youth City Councilor Gunnison Clamp said the council has enjoyed a great turnout for its food drive in partnership with MADA. In February the council is working on public service announcements about the dangers of drugs and to promote drug and alcohol addiction treatment resources available to local residents.
CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilor Dave Bowman said he was grateful that Horsefly Brewing Company was expanding their business while employing dozens of local residents.
Mayor Barbara Bynum said she was glad that a number of new local businesses have opened around Montrose over the past several months. She also applauded Montrose County Public Health for its continuing efforts to vaccinate local elderly residents during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
More information about local vaccine distribution can be found at www.montrosecountyjic.com.
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All City Council meetings are recorded and made available online via 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.
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.