Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for their regular meeting Tuesday evening, September 6, to consider a number of local ordinances, an agreement with the Montrose Veterans Memorial Coalition, and a contract for work inside the City Council Chambers.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Dave Frank, Doug Glaspell, David Reed, and Ed Ulibarri met in City Council Chambers along with city staff.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
* Note: * Due to technical difficulties with the broadcast audio equipment, the first 10 minutes and three seconds of audio during Tuesday's meeting was lost. All attempts to salvage the recording audio were not successful. We sincerely apologize for this error and are working to make sure this does not happen with future City Council meetings. Any questions about this situation can be directed to City of Montrose Communications Manager William Woody via email at william@visitmontrose.com.
PUBLIC COMMENT
One resident voiced her concern over the construction costs of the Montrose Public Safety complex and other city projects that could involve the use of renewable energy. The resident said she hopes the city partners with other local organizations like the Delta-Montrose Electric Association to make more community infrastructure more energy efficient.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the August 15, 2022, special City Council meeting, and the August 16 regular City Council meeting.
The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found on the new Public Meetings Portal and at CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
ORDINANCE 2594 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the extension of the moratorium to prohibit the establishment or relocation of any adult gaming arcade uses within the city limits.
City Attorney Ben Morris said the state legislature took action this past spring to study adult gaming devices and prohibit the proliferation of adult gaming businesses as they colide with state gambling laws.
In September 2021 the City Council passed an emergency ordinance following numerous reports of crime and other illegal activity associated with a number of establishments in the city.
These activities may fit the legal definition of slot machine, gambling device, and/or simulated gambling device, which are prohibited under Colorado state law.
These businesses, which the city is referring to as Adult Gaming Arcades, have had secondary, negative impacts on neighboring businesses. Increased crime has also been reported in the areas surrounding these businesses, including illegal drug use, illegal drug distribution, public intoxication, violent crime, and increased calls for service from the Montrose Police Department.
The City of Montrose is extending the moratorium with the passage of this ordinance. The council will vote on a second reading of the ordinance at the September 20 regular City Council meeting.
ORDINANCE 2595 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2595 on first reading, an ordinance amending Title 5, Chapter 11, Sections 1,3, and 8, of the City of Montrose Municipal Code to reflect recodification of certain sections of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
The council will vote on a second reading of the ordinance at the September 20 regular City Council meeting.
ORDINANCE 2596 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2596 on first reading amending Title 5, Chapter 12, Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10, of the City of Montrose Municipal Code to reflect recodification of certain sections of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
The council will vote on a second reading of the ordinance at the September 20 regular City Council meeting.
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING WITH MONTROSE VETERANS MEMORIAL COALITION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Montrose Veterans Memorial Coalition (Veterans) that would allow the City of Montrose and the Veterans to collaborate to create the “Montrose Veterans Plaza” within Cerise Park.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the Veterans have been working with city staff to evaluate the potential location of a memorial plaza and to review the conceptual-level drawings of the project.
City staff agrees that the location proposed for the memorial would fit the intended use of the park and would allow for the memorial to be recognized during unrelated events that are occurring in the park.
The MOU allows the use of the city property in Cerise Park and dedicates the completed memorial to the city for maintenance and care. This MOU will allow the Veterans to begin fundraising for the project, move forward with design, and ultimately generate completed construction documents for city review and cost estimating.
Net Financial Impact:
There is no financial impact to the city other than staff time during the design process. In the future, after the completion of the construction documents and cost estimating, the Veterans may have a request for financial support from the city
COUNCIL CHAMBERS DIAS CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT AWARD
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the award of a construction contract to Stryker & Company Inc. in the amount of $237,519 for the completion of the Council Chambers Security Improvements Project.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the city contracted with Blythe Group in February to participate in design meetings with City Council and city departments to discuss security needs and utilization of the City Council Chambers. From these meetings, Blythe Group generated construction documents that include adjusting the position of the dais and improving security.
The City of Montrose issued an RFP in July 2022 for the construction of the new dais and the installation of new carpet and paint on the first and second floors of the building. One qualified bid package was received for this project. Stryker and Company’s bid proposal is complete and within the expected range of costs.
The construction schedule that was proposed by Stryker and Company aligns with the 14-week construction timeline that was expected within the RFP, but Stryker has proposed that the construction start in January of 2023 and conclude in April instead of starting in October 2022 and concluding in January 2023. City staff is recommended to accept the adjusted construction timeline and awarding to Stryker and Company.
Contract Administration and Project Financials:
This project was included in the 2022 budget in the amount of $260,000 and will be transferred to the 2023 budget to allow for the work to be completed in 2023.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Mayor Dave Frank referred to the swearing-in of three new officers, Dante Bertorello, Nathan Irick, and Syla Rexhepi, that occurred before the meeting. The new Montrose Police Department officers are recent graduates of the inaugural class of the Western Colorado Law Enforcement Academy, WCLEA, held this summer in Montrose.
Frank said the city staff should be proud to have hosted such a successful academy.
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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 or on-demand through the city’s Public Meetings Portal.