Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for a work session Tuesday morning, January 18, to hear a presentation about a local restaurant expansion, an intergovernmental agreement with the Montrose Recreation Center, an equipment purchase recommendation, and a potential new annexation.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Doug Glaspell, Dave Frank, and Anthony Russo met in City Council Chambers along with city staff. Councilor David Reed attended online. Members of the public were also able to attend in person or via Zoom.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
TRATTORIA DI SOFIA EXPANSION SUPPORT
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to help expand a local restaurant.
According to City Manager Bill Bell, Trattoria Di Sofia is an Italian dine‐in and take‐out restaurant currently located at 110 North Townsend Avenue, where they have operated since November 2015.
The owners of Trattoria Di Sofia, Sergio and Xochitl Zamora, are relocating their restaurant to a space in the new Flex Building within the Montrose Urban Renewal Authority in order to double the current seating capacity, offer outdoor dining, and provide new menu items such as gourmet pizza. The owners estimate that their investment in the expansion project will be $88,000.
The City Council and the DART board have discussed supporting the creation of a new commercial kitchen in our community. Doing so would increase dining options and benefit any future occupant of the new restaurant commercial kitchen space as well as the Montrose economy.
A new restaurant opportunity in Montrose will yield additional avenues for sales tax generation. Customers of restaurants in Montrose pay a total of 9.33% in sales tax, of which 4.38% is retained by the City of Montrose.
City staff and the Trattoria Di Sofia owners shared information about the expansion and discussed the city’s options for providing financial support.
Councilors will formally vote on the proposed expansion project at a future City Council meeting.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH MONTROSE RECREATION DISTRICT
City Councilors were presented with an annual intergovernmental agreement, IGA, with the Montrose Recreation District regarding shared services throughout the community.
According to Community Program Manager Kendall Cramer, each year city and district staff review the agreement and discuss any potential changes to meet the needs of both organizations and the public. Cramer said he was pleased to report that staff representatives have reached a tentative agreement, contingent upon the approval of the City Council and MRD Board for 2022.
Notable changes to the agreement include the addition of an exchange of services between the parties for lawn maintenance at the new Montrose Rotary Amphitheater and crack sealing of the parking lot at the Community Recreation Center. Additional language regarding the scheduling of events at the Cerise and Amphitheater Fields has been added. These two changes required additional time to ensure both organizations are able to fulfill the commitments in the agreement.
The 2022 agreement is scheduled for formal consideration by the Montrose Recreation District Board on January 27 and by the City Council on
February 1.
EQUIPMENT PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were presented with recommendation for the purchase of two dump trucks from Jackson Group Peterbilt in Grand Junction, for $493,079.
According to Public Works Manager Jim Scheid, the city’s Fleet Division has budgeted to replace two dump trucks in 2022. These two Peterbilt 367 dump trucks will come with new plows and one new sander to assist with snow removal operations.
The pricing is utilizing a Sourcewell Cooperative Purchasing Agreement (CPA) contract 060920-PMC. The CPA is what allows the city to take advantage of previously awarded government pricing. Both trucks would be purchased through Jackson Group Peterbilt because the company is the regional vendor for these trucks. The pricing is for dump trucks that match the city’s existing fleet.
The Fleet Division has collected a total of $464,000 over the last 17 years for the replacement of these trucks and that amount is included in the 2022 Budget. The budgeted amounts were based on quotes received in July of 2021 and included the anticipated inflationary increases that were known at that time. The purchase amount exceeds budget by $29,079.
NIAGARA ROAD ADDITION ANNEXATION
City Councilors were presented with a proposed annexation application by the City of Montrose for property located off Niagara Road.
According to City Planner William Reis, the Niagara Road Addition is a proposed annexation approximately 0.456 acres in size. The property is located on the northern half of Niagara Road, approximately centered at the intersection with St. Mary’s Dr.
The property is within the city’s urban growth boundary, the City of Montrose Water Service Area, and the City of Montrose Sewer Service Area. Annexation of this property will clean up an orphaned parcel of city right of way. A resolution to set a hearing date is not required for this annexation as it is a city-owned property.
Proposed Zoning: “B-2” Highway Commercial District
Applicant: City of Montrose
Proposed schedule:
January 18: Council Work Session Overview
February 9: Planning Commission zoning hearing
March 1: City Council Annexation hearing, 1st reading of annexation ordinance,
and 1st reading of zoning ordinance
March 15: 2nd reading of annexation and zoning ordinances
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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 Public Meetings Portal.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.