Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for their regular meeting Monday evening, September 20, to consider a number of ordinances, resolutions, and new annexations into the city. Council members also made appointments to two civic boards.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Dave Frank, Doug Glaspell, David Reed, and Anthony Russo met in City Council Chambers along with city staff. Due to changing COVID-19 protocols, members of the public were allowed to attend in City Council Chambers or online via the Zoom platform.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
PUBLIC COMMENT
No members of the public offered any comment.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the September 7, special meeting and the September 7, regular City Council meeting.
The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found on the new Public Meetings Portal (CityofMontrose.org/Portal) and at CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
YOUTH CITY COUNCIL APPOINTMENTS
City Councilors voted unanimously to appoint Gunnison Clamp, Harrison Hall, Grace Hotsenpiller, Amy Scriffiny, Jasmine Hemenway, and Indica Taylor to the city's Youth Council for the 2021-2022 term.
The Montrose Youth Council was established to encourage greater youth participation in the city’s government and is charged with actively advising the City Council with thoughtful recommendations on issues concerning youth and assisting city staff in considering youth perspectives in its planning efforts. Members are selected near the beginning of each school year from a pool of applicants.
PLANNING COMMISSION APPOINTMENT
City Councilors voted unanimously to appoint Steven Ball to the city’s Planning Commission as an alternate. Ball was one of three residents who submitted applications to the city. The other two were Catherine Buckley Hoffman and Tina McFarlin. The council interviewed all three candidates during previous public meetings.
RESOLUTION 2021-20
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2021-20, authorizing the filing of a Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Revitalizing Main Streets: Small and Multimodal Economic Resiliency Project grant program application.
Community Program Specialist Briceida Ortega told council members that the council’s authorization was needed to allow city staff to file for the grant to help with efforts to make improvements to the Pocket Park, located on Main Street.
ORDINANCE 2553 - SECOND READING
Councilors voted unanimously to approve a change to the Municipal Code that will further the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the City of Montrose.
City Attorney Stephen Alcorn said the current code language from 1988 states that the City Clerk will collect fingerprints and personal background information from people who install police alarm systems in homes and businesses.
The law was created to gauge the moral character of those installing such systems in Montrose. The policy is difficult to enforce and Alcorn said city staff has concluded that it needs to be discontinued.
ORDINANCE 2554 — SECOND READING
Councilors voted unanimously to approve an ordinance vacating portions of a right of way within the city.
City Engineer Scott Murphy said the City of Montrose possesses a right of way adjacent to the Uncompahgre River. It was originally dedicated in Montrose County and portions of this right of way no longer serve a public need or benefit.
The right of way is located near the Riverbend RV Park on the city's south side.
The city has the power to adopt the ordinance as set forth in the city's Municipal Code pursuant to the authority granted to home rule municipalities.
ORDINANCE 2555 - SECOND READING
Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2555 on first reading to annex the Riverbend RV Park into the city.
According to Senior Planner Amy Sharp, the Riverbend RV Park Addition II is a proposed annexation of approximately 0.26 acres in size. The parcel is located east of Chipeta Road, west of the Uncompahgre River, and north of Chipeta Lake. It is within the city’s Urban Growth Boundary, the Chipeta Water Service Area, and the City of Montrose Sewer Service Area. Annexation of this property will clean up an orphaned strip of land not annexed into the city in 2009 with the parent parcel. All land surrounding this strip is already within city limits. An annexation agreement will not be required.
This property is adjacent to the river and the existing trail network. Annexation will allow the owner to include this strip of land in an overall consolidation of the RV park property. A replat is planned to include this property and several other parcels in one new consolidated parcel. Access from the consolidated parcels to the city's trail system will allow persons visiting the RV park a direct pedestrian and bike connection to city parks and retail/commercial areas.
ORDINANCE 2556 — SECOND READING
Councilors voted unanimously to approve an ordinance on first reading officially zoning the Riverbend RV Park Addition II as a “B-2” Highway Commercial District.
ORDINANCE 2558 — SECOND READING
Councilors voted unanimously to approve an ordinance to vacate a portion of Pinon Way.
According to Senior City Planner Amy Sharp, a neighboring property owner is requesting that the city vacate a portion of the right of way along Pinon Way for future development of a 4-plex for workforce housing. The southerly half of this ROW would be vacated to the adjacent landowner. The northerly half would be retained by the city for future use.
ORDINANCE 2559 — SECOND READING
Councilors voted unanimously to approve an ordinance to change the language to the city's Municipal Code as it pertains to Planning Commission compensation.
According to Senior City Planner Amy Sharp, city staff has undertaken a review of the Municipal Code Title 2, Chapter 2, Section 1 (2-2-1) in order to update the compensation of Planning Commission members. This modification changes the Planning Commission members’ compensation from $40/month to $80/month and the chairperson’s compensation from $60/month to $100/month.
BEAR CREEK SUBDIVISION AMENDMENT #3 PRELIMINARY PLAT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a preliminary plat of the Bear Creek Subdivision Amendment #3.
According to Senior City Planner Amy Sharp, the Brown Ranch Subdivision Amendment #3 Preliminary Plat is a proposed single-family residential development in the southeastern portion of the city.
The property is approximately 5.574 acres in size and is located south of Ogden Road and east of 6725 Road. The property is zoned “R-2” Low-Density District. The proposed subdivision will include 22 single-family residential lots. A final plat will also be required within five (5) years of approval of this preliminary plat (City of Montrose Municipal Code, Section 4-7-5(C) (1) (a)).
BEAR CREEK SUBDIVISION FILING #7 FINAL PLAT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a preliminary plat of the Bear Creek Subdivision Filing No. 7 to create 22 new residential lots.
According to Senior City Planner Amy Sharp, the Brown Ranch Subdivision Filing No. 7 Final Plat proposes to create 22 single-family residential lots along with Mocha Court and Honey Locust Drive. The property is zoned “R-2” Low-Density District. The property is located south of Ogden Road and east of 6725 Road. The public infrastructure (sewer, water, dry utilities, drainage, sidewalks, and streets) has been completed as part of previous filings for this subdivision. No new public infrastructure will be constructed with this final plat.
TOWNSEND UTILITY REPLACEMENTS CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract award to complete a utility replacement project on Townsend Avenue.
The contract, in the amount of $1,345,278, is for work that will begin to rehabilitate portions of the roadway in 2022.
City Engineer Scott Murphy said the City of Montrose Utility Department owns and operates several miles of sanitary sewer and water utilities within Townsend Avenue (US 550) right of way.
Select reaches of the water utility within the Townsend Avenue corridor are over 50 years old, have reached the end of their useful life, and are in need of replacement.
Furthermore, many of the sanitary sewer manholes along Townsend Avenue have also reached the end of their useful life or have sunken excessively below the adjacent pavement.
In response to these issues, the city is looking to replace select reaches of the waterline and rebuild the tops of all sanitary sewer manholes on Townsend Avenue.
This work is being performed prior to and in anticipation of a 2.5-inch mill and overlay project that the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) plans to begin around April 2022.
Murphy said the city chose the lowest bid from among the six received. Mountain Valley Contracting of Grant Junction was the lowest bidder, according to Murphy, who added that the city has worked with the company on several capital projects in the past.
Project Schedule and Traffic Control
The utility replacement project is scheduled to begin in November 2021 and extend into April 2022, after which CDOT’s overlay project will begin. Motorists can anticipate single-lane closures and lane shifts on Townsend Avenue during the city’s utility project. When work is taking place at intersections with city side streets, these streets will be temporarily closed and traffic detoured around the work area. Access to residences and businesses will be maintained at all times throughout the project.
Contract Administration and Project Financials
Contract administration, project management, and inspection will be performed by the City of Montrose Engineering Department.
The city budgeted $1 million in 2021 for the first year of this multi-year project (fall 2021 to spring 2022). Now that the project has been bid and the contractor’s schedule/split between budget years is known, it is anticipated that approximately 10% of this amount will be expended in 2021. The balance of the project will be budgeted in 2022 and will be funded through the water and sewer capital enterprise funds.
PUBLIC WORKS SHOP DESIGN CONTRACT AWARD
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract amendment for the Public Works Facility Design Contract with Chamberlin Architects to add the scope of work for a Phase II environmental site assessment at a cost of $48,500.
According to City Engineer Scott Murphy, the City Council awarded a design contract to Chamberlin Architects on June 15, 2021, to perform environmental assessments, evaluate space needs, and prepare a conceptual plan for the eventual replacement of the Public Works shop facility located at 1221 6450 Road. This initial contract included a formal EPA Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), which was completed in August.
The completed Phase I ESA looked at historic property uses both within and adjacent to the site to determine if these uses would warrant further environmental investigation. Given the site’s history as a vehicle maintenance facility with underground storage tanks, and given the historic presence of an asphalt batch plant, a Phase II ESA was warranted at the site.
The Phase II ESA will dive deeper into the environmental characterization of the site. This includes the collection and analysis of surface and subsurface soil samples and groundwater and radiation detection to look for the presence of uranium mill tailings, which were known to be used as fill material throughout the Western Slope. The results of this assessment will be used to develop remediation plans (if necessary) and/or determine how the site plan may be sequenced and laid out.
The scope of work and plan for the Phase II ESA was dependent on the results of the recently completed Phase I ESA. With the Phase I ESA now complete, this second phase of environmental work was scoped out at a cost of $48,500 on a time-and-materials, not-to-exceed basis and is based on negotiations with Chamberlin Architects’ environmental subcontractor, Grande River Environmental (Grand Junction, CO).
Contract Administration and Project Financials
Contract administration and general project management will continue to be performed by the city. As with the original contract, this amendment will continue to be funded out of reserves (2021) and budgeted funds (2022) from the recent sale of the city’s Banner Road property.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT FOR LIQUOR LICENSING SERVICES
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve an intergovernmental agreement that allows the City Clerk’s Office to process additional liquor licenses.
According to City Clerk Lisa DelPiccolo, the city was recently approached by Montrose County to determine if the City Clerk's Office would be willing to process applications for liquor licenses, renewals, and permits in unincorporated Montrose County.
The Board of County Commissioners, (BOCC) would remain as the liquor licensing authority for these licenses and permits. Under the terms of the agreement, the city would retain the application fees. The City Clerk would oversee the application processes, forward information to applicable county staff members for review, and present the applications to the BOCC.
The IGA was approved by the BOCC on August 18.
STAFF REPORTS
City Finance Director Shani Wittenberg delivered the sales, use, and excise tax report for July 2021.
Read the report in its entirety here.
Wittenberg also delivered a second-quarter budget review report to the council, stating that all the city’s funds are healthy and that revenue collection and budget expenditures are progressing well.
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Residents can watch all regular City Council meetings and work sessions live through the city’s Public Meetings Portal (CityofMontrose.org/Portal).
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