Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for a work session Monday morning, November 14, to meet with applicants wanting to serve on the city’s Historic Preservation Commission, review a number of contract proposals, and inspect a supplemental budget for the 2022 budget year.
Councilors Dave Frank, Doug Glaspell, David Reed, and Ed Ulibarri met in City Council Chambers along with city staff. Councilor Barbara Bynum joined via the Zoom platform.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION APPLICANT INTERVIEW
City Councilors met with two area residents, Catherine Stroh and Darline Mora, who have applied to serve on the city’s Historic Preservation Commission. The commission’s role is to review the qualifications of buildings, structures, objects, sites, and districts nominated for historic designation and make recommendations to the City Council.
The council will formally vote to appoint new members to the commission at the December 6 regular meeting.
More about the Historic Preservation Commission can be found here.
LAND USE CODE REVISION UPDATE AND PROGRESS REPORT
City Councilors updated regarding the status of the city’s Unified Development Code project and revisions to the Municipal Code that will be considered in 2023.
City Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt said formalized changes to the code will be presented to the City Council during the first part of 2023, most likely during a work session. Part of Phase 1 will be to make the city’s land use regulations and Municipal Code more user-friendly and easier to read, according to Hochwalt.
Hochwalt said Phase 2, which will likely happen towards the middle of 2023, will involve more community involvement. This work will coincide with the city’s ongoing housing assessment, which is currently studying the housing situation in the City of Montrose to identify critical areas and solutions as they contribute to the current housing shortage.
Consultants hired by the City of Montrose said the goal of the effort is to finalize a more user-friendly unified development code that blends the city’s land use and development code with the Envision 2040 Montrose Comprehensive Plan that was approved in 2020.
More about this work will be updated as it becomes available.
2022 SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REVIEW
City Councilors were presented with a supplemental budget for the 2022 budget year, which contains several line items that have changed over the course of the past 11 months.
Changes to the Public Safety Complex construction project, the purchase of the former Wells Fargo building for the new City Hall location, and purchases to improve the broadcast and audio system inside the City Council Chambers as well as other small items were added to the supplemental budget for the council’s approval.
Each fall the City Council approves the municipal budget for the following year. The council also reviews a supplemental budget that contains unexpected expenses and slight changes to the approved current-year budget to make sure all expenses are accounted for ahead of the city’s annual financial audit.
City Councilors will formally vote on the 2022 Supplemental Budget ordinance in December.
RECOMMENDATION FOR VACTOR #361 JET-VAC REPAIRS
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to repair one of the city's sewer Vactor trucks.
City Utilities Manager David Bries said the city's Jet-Vac (Vactor #361) truck experienced a catastrophic failure of the blower on the vacuum system. The truck was transported to Faris Machinery in Grand Junction for evaluation and diagnosis.
Bries said he is recommending fixing the truck for a cost not to exceed $105,000 to bring the truck back into service.
NORTH TOWNSEND WATERLINE EASEMENT SWAP
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to consider vacating a public utility easement across a property at 1330 North Townsend Avenue in exchange for a new easement along the eastern property boundary.
City Engineer Scott Murphy said the City of Montrose will be upsizing an existing waterline running north from San Juan Avenue towards the Montrose Regional Airport in 2023. A portion of this existing line runs through the center of a drywall supply yard located at 1330 North Townsend.
Several buildings have encroached near the existing waterline, making replacement within the existing easement challenging to perform. Furthermore, the line’s location in the center of the yard also encumbers the lot for future redevelopment or expansion. As a remedy to these issues, the city proposes to construct the new waterline along the property’s eastern boundary within a new 20-foot utility easement. Upon completion of the new line, the existing line and associated easement through the center of the lot would be abandoned and vacated.
Because the easement is a property interest held by the city, its vacation requires council action through an ordinance. The anticipated sequence of events for the easement “swap” is as follows:
- Council consideration of an easement vacation ordinance.
- Property owner dedication of a new easement.
- Construction of a new waterline and placement into service.
- Abandonment of the old waterline and recording of a council ordinance to vacate the easement.
CITY HALL RELOCATION PROJECT CONTRACT AMENDMENT RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to authorize $1,135,000 for the second phase of the City Hall Relocation Project, including the amendment of a contract with FCI Constructors, Inc. to serve as the Construction Manager and General Contractor (CM/GC).
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the City of Montrose began the design process for the interior renovation of 400 East Main St, formerly known as the Wells Fargo building, in June of 2022. An authorization and award recommendation was brought to the City Council in July of 2022 to begin the City Hall Relocation project. The initial authorization was for the first phase of the project, which included mainly the first-floor renovations and some of the long-lead items such as asbestos abatement and roof replacement. The total authorized for the first phase of the project was $1,500,000, which included an award of a CM/GC contract with FCI Constructors.
Since the authorization of phase one in July, design documents have been completed and construction documents have been generated. From the construction documents, the design and construction teams have been able to create a Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for phase one and phase two of the project.
The GMP for phase one has been amended into FCI’s CM/GC contract as approved in the recommendation made in July. The CM/GC process made it possible for FCI to begin construction work in mid-October of this year. Although it is early, phase one and two of the project are on schedule to be completed in February of 2023.
Progress has been made on the owner-provided items on this project as well. The asbestos abatement is complete, the long-lead IT equipment has been ordered, the lower roof replacement has been procured and awarded, and the furniture design is nearly complete and will be ordered soon.
The remaining portion of the owner-provided items and the GMP for phase two of the renovation have been included and approved as part of the city’s 2023 Budget in the amount of $1,135,000.
Contract Administration and Project Financials
The initial authorization for this project, granted in July of 2022, was for $1,500,000. The Council’s authorization of the $1,135,000 in this recommendation would bring the project total for phases one and two to $2,635,000. The owner-provided expenses include items like design consulting, roof replacement, asbestos abatement, and furniture. The owner-provided expenses total $653,000. FCI Constructors is the CM/GC for this project and their contract would be amended to include the GMP for the second phase of the project, bringing their contract total to $1,750,451. Also included in the overall budget is an owner’s contingency of $231,549 (8.7%).
GENERAL CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION
Mayor Dave Frank asked the city’s legal department to interpret and advise the council about what the recent legalization of psychedelic mushrooms means to the City of Montrose. City Attorney Ben Morris said his department will look into the issue and report back to the council.
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