Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for their regular meeting Tuesday evening, October 18, to appoint a new member to the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, approve a number of ordinances and contract awards, and hear a sales, use, and excise tax report for the month of August.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Dave Frank, Doug Glaspell, and David Reed met in City Council Chambers along with city staff. Councilor Ed Ulibarri was absent.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
YOUTH CITY COUNCIL INTERVIEW
The council held a brief interview with Caitlin Dovey, a local student who had applied for an appointment to the City of Montrose Youth City Council for the 2022-2023 term.
The Montrose Youth Council was established by the Montrose City Council to encourage greater youth participation in the city’s government and is charged with actively advising 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.
For more information visit: www.cityofmontrose.org/497/Youth-Council
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the October 3, 2022, special City Council meeting and the October 4 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.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION APPOINTMENT
City Councilors voted unanimously to appoint Jeremy Omvig as a regular member of the City of Montrose Historic Preservation Commission for a term that expires on October 16, 2025.
Find out more about the Historic Preservation Commission here.
RETAIL LIQUOR STORE LICENSE TRANSFER APPLICATION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the transfer of the retail liquor store license at 113 West Main Street from Phil’s Enterprises LLC, also known as West Main Liquors, to Quick Stop LLC, doing business as West Main Liquors, for consumption off the licensed premises.
The City Council is the local liquor licensing authority for the City of Montrose. The council held a public hearing before voting to approve the transfer.
ORDINANCE 2597 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2597, on second reading, repealing subsection 6-1-28(L) of the Official Code of the City of Montrose to remove a reference to a graffiti fund.
City Attorney Ben Morris said this code revision was recommended because the city’s Municipal Court does not get many graffiti cases. Currently, the city pays for graffiti removal from other General Fund accounts. The goal of the code change would be to allocate more funds for graffiti removal from fines paid to the Municipal Court.
STORMWATER UTILITY FEE STUDY CONTRACT AWARD
City Councilors voted unanimously to award a contract to Carollo Engineers, Inc in the amount of $54,404 for the completion of a Stormwater Utility Fee Study.
Street Division Superintendent Nik Pridy said city staff has requested proposals from consultants that specialize in utilities, such as stormwater and the funding mechanisms that exist in communities similar to Montrose, to conduct a comprehensive Stormwater Utility Fee Study.
According to Pridy, an analysis of stormwater fees, which the city doesn’t currently charge, is intended to help address the aging stormwater infrastructure within the City of Montrose and increasing stormwater treatment requirements from the State of Colorado.,
In order to provide a recommendation for rate fee structures for the Montrose City Council to consider, this study will evaluate possible rate and fee structures based on industry benchmarks and an analysis of structures used by other agencies within the state of Colorado. One approach could be the use of a monthly stormwater fee based on a property's impact on the stormwater system. The fee structure would be designed to create a system in which properties pay for their portion of the stormwater system's expenses and provide a predictable and sustainable funding source to properly maintain and update the stormwater system.
This phase of the project is the “study”, in which the consultant will provide recommendations for rate structure formats and options for the City Council to consider for a later “implementation” phase of the project.
The consultant will work closely with the city’s Finance Department to ensure that the proposed options provided align with the existing billing system.
The city received three bids for this project. Carollo Engineers of Broomfield came in as the low bid and was determined to be highly qualified to perform the work.
CONTRACT AWARD FOR SAFEGUARDING OF HISTORIC POWER PLANT
City Councilors voted unanimously to award a $74,261 contract to safeguard a city-owned structure at 30 W South 4th Street, also known as the Bullock Power Plant.
Facilities Manager Mark Armstrong said the city purchased the former Bullock Power Plant in 2021. It has since been protecting the site and structure for future development possibilities and preparing to pursue grant funding to remediate environmental hazards at the site.
The focus of this contract is to secure and protect the interior of the building from the weather, wildlife, and the potential trespasser. While the city pursues grant funding to remediate hazardous materials such as asbestos, securing the structure will help prevent the spread of these materials.
Due to the presence of hazardous materials, a licensed abatement contractor is required to perform the work associated with the building’s security. The work will consist of the securing of any existing boards covering windows and doors, the installation of new plywood and framing over any openings large enough for wildlife to enter the structure, filling of mechanical and electrical system ducts and pipes protruding from within the structure, and the barricading of existing doors and posting signage with the proper warnings of environmental hazards. This work may require the removal of some of the trees that have grown next to the building.
The city received three bids for this project. Orion Environmental Inc. of Brighton was the low bidder and is well qualified to perform the work.
BASECAMP SUBDIVISION FINAL PLAT
City Councilors voted 4-1 to approve a final plat for the Basecamp housing development.
City planner William Reis said the Basecamp Subdivision is a multi-family residential development at the southern end of the Montrose Urban Renewal Authority (MURA) boundary. The property is approximately 3.6 acres in size and is bordered on the east by North Grand Avenue, on the west by the Uncompahgre River, and on the south by the future extension of North 6th Street. The property is zoned “I-1” Light Industrial District and is part of the MURA project initiated in 2017. City Council approved the preliminary subdivision plat on March 2, 2021.
The Basecamp Planned Development (PD) was created to replace the Colorado Outdoors Planned Development of which these properties were originally a part. This PD will remain a part of the Montrose Urban Renewal Authority. It meets the minimum 20% open space requirement for Planned Developments. City Council also approved the preliminary and final planned development on March 2, 2021.
Applicant: Kurt Soukup, Manager, COF3 LLC
ORDINANCE 2598 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to place the Knights of Pythias Building on the city’s historic registry.
City planner William Reis said on September 27, 2022, the City of Montrose Historic Preservation Commission considered an application for historic property designation of the Knights of Pythias Building, located downtown at 33 S Cascade Ave, according to Section 4-15 of the Montrose Municipal Code. The commission voted unanimously to recommend City Council approval for the designation.
The structure meets the eligibility criteria per Montrose Municipal Code 4-15-3 (B) as follows:
a. The building is over fifty years old.
b. The building is significant for its association with the history of fraternal lodges in Montrose, having been erected as the second lodge hall in the city erected by the Knights of Pythias.
c. The building, although altered, represents the Classical Revival style popular during the early twentieth century through its cornice with brackets, concrete courses, two-story pilasters with stone trim, and windows with arched lintels
The structure has been found to also meet the integrity criteria per Montrose Municipal Code 4-15-3 (C).
STAFF REPORTS
Finance Director Shani Wittenberg delivered the sales, use, and excise tax report for August 2022.
Read the reports in their entirety here.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilor David Reed thanked staff for a great budget open house which was held in the City Council Chambers prior to Tuesday’s council meeting.
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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.