City Councilors met for their regular meeting Tuesday evening, March 21, to consider a number of ordinances and zoning requests and to award funds to build a new playground at Buckley Park and perform street maintenance work in the city.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Mayor Dave Frank, Doug Glaspell, David Reed, and Ed Ulibarri met in the temporary City Council Chambers in the Montrose Public Safety Complex along with city staff.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
CONSENT AGENDA
City Councilors voted 4-1 to approve the Consent Agenda, which approved the minutes of the March 6 special City Council meeting and the March 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.
The council also approved Resolution 2023-05, authorizing the city manager and the city attorney to execute documents necessary to accomplish the transfer of the real property at 433 S First Street and attend a real estate closing on the city’s behalf.
ORDINANCE 2616 — SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2616, on second reading, to clarify a section of the city’s Municipal Code. The City Council has the authority to amend portions of the code to update language or clarify certain provisions.
ORDINANCE 2617— SECOND READING
City Councilors voted 4-1 to approve Ordinance 2617, on second reading, authorizing the sale of the city’s historic City Hall located at 433 S First Street for use as a functional educational facility and hotel.
Proceeds from the sale will be contributed to a permanent endowment fund in collaboration with the Colorado Mesa University Foundation for further expansion of the CMU-Montrose physical campus and its program offerings.
At the March 7 City Council meeting, City Councilor J. David Reed delivered brief remarks about the history of the university’s role in the Montrose community. CMU, according to Reed, has grown significantly over the years, adding new programs that benefit the local workforce such as welding, early childhood care, and law enforcement — all areas of study that are in demand throughout the city. Councilor Reed asked that these comments also be added to the March 21 City Council meeting minutes.
Mayor Dave Frank opened a public hearing to accept public comments. No members of the public offered any comments.
Councilor Ed Ulibarri was the lone vote in opposition.
RESOLUTION 2023-04
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2023-04 setting May 2, as the hearing date for the Senergy Addition Annexation.
City Planner William Reis said the parcel is located along Miami Road, northeast of its intersection with 6750 Road. It is within the city’s Urban Growth Boundary, City of Montrose Sewer Service Area, and City of Montrose Water Service Area. Annexation of this property will allow for connection to city utilities. An annexation agreement is required.
Proposed Zoning: “R-2” Low Density District
Applicant: Darin Carei, Senergy Builders
DRY CEDAR CREEK PRELIMINARY PLANNED DEVELOPMENT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the Dry Cedar Creek Preliminary Planned Development.
City Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt said The Residences at Dry Cedar Creek is a proposed 60-unit multi-family development in southern Montrose. The site does not have an address but is situated on the south side of Ogden Road to the east of the Ogden Road and Woodgate roundabout and directly adjacent to the east of the Montrose Recreation Center. The entire parcel is approximately 7.34 acres in size, although the Planned Development area proposed is the area north of Dry Cedar Creek, which encompasses 4.41 acres. The property is zoned “R-3A” Medium High Density District. The development proposal includes three buildings.
Building 1 is a three-story multi-unit residential building proposed to contain 36 units. Building 2 is a three-story multi-unit residential building proposed to contain 24 units. The third building is a clubhouse that will include amenities for the residents. The site is proposed to contain approximately 1.82 acres of open space, which accounts for 41.3% of the Planned Development area.
THE GROVE SUBDIVISION PRELIMINARY PLAT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve The Grove Subdivision Preliminary Plat.
City Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt said The Grove is a proposed residential development on the south side of Montrose. The property is approximately 44.64 acres in size and is located at the southeast corner of 6725 Road and Otter Road. The property is zoned “R-2” Low Density District. The subdivision proposal anticipates 129 residential lots and 21.35% of the entire property will be retained as open space
ORDINANCE 2619 — FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2619, on first reading, amending the zoning designation of lot 12 of the Miami Business Park Subdivision filing number one and lots 5 through 11 of the Miami Business Park Subdivision filing number two.
City Planner William Reis said the applicant would like to rezone the 5.56 acres from “OR” Office-Residential to “R-4” High Density District with plans to create a multi-building, multi-family development. The site area comprises 8 parcels and a trail and detention tract located along the 600 block of E Star Court, adjacent to the south side of the Star Drive-In Theatre.
ORDINANCE 2618 — FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2618, on first reading, amending the zoning designation of 122 acres, adjacent to the south side of the Cobble Creek Golf Course and bordering 6400 Road, from “R-3” Medium Density District with conditions to “R-3” Medium Density District without conditions.
City Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt said the applicant, Weststar Development, LLC specifically desires to rezone the 122-acre parcel to allow a subdivision to be built-out to the dimensional standards of a normal R-3 zoned property. Because the existing zoning ordinance (Ordinance 1603) contains other conditions beyond just the density restrictions, city staff has determined that the best way to move forward with this rezoning request would be via a new zoning ordinance. The recommended ordinance would not contain conditions for the 122-acre property, aside from a condition that the owner would be required to sign an Agreement and Declaration of Covenants with the city to retain the infrastructure, right-of-way dedication, and open space conditions imposed in Ordinance 1603.
The Agreement and Declaration of Covenants would be recorded, which would attach the conditions with the land and associated title reports and make clear to the current and future owners of the property what the infrastructure and open space requirements are for any future development. As things stand now, Ordinance 1603 is held in city records but is not recorded and may not show up on a title report. This can create confusion for city staff and any owners of the property who were not involved in the annexation and zoning, which took place in 1996.
The council held a brief public hearing before voting to approve the ordinance.
2023 PARKS TURF CARE CONTRACT AWARD RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract award recommendation for annual parks maintenance to Green and Bearit of Montrose in the amount of $119,988.
The city’s Parks Division contracts the turf maintenance for 13 out of the 28 parks with turf, or 75% of the total city park turf area, not including Sunset Mesa or Cedar Creek Cemetery. The contractor will perform weekly mowing, trimming, and edging of all walks, cleaning up trash and debris, performing irrigation checks, and final clean-up of all sidewalks, roadways, picnic areas, and walkways within those parks.
The city’s maintenance contract expired earlier this year and a request for proposals was issued to renew the contract. The Parks Division received four qualified bids that met all the requirements.
Green and Bearit has been working with the city since 2017, performing on-call services for mowing vacant lots, irrigation maintenance and repair, and helping with other parks when needed. They have been the primary contractor for parks turf care since 2019. Green and Bearit has done an astonishing job and has been flexible for events, weather, or other needs of citizens utilizing the park system.
BUCKLEY PARK PLAYGROUND AWARD RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract for the Buckley Park Playground Replacement Project design/build to Just Be You Inc., doing business as Star Playground of Littleton, Colorado, for the not-to-exceed amount of $420,000.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the Buckley Park Playground Replacement Project is a top priority following a 2021 audit of all city playgrounds.
The audit found that several playgrounds were past their usable service life. A list of replacement priorities based on playground use, condition, and availability of replacement parts was formulated. As Buckley is one of the oldest and busiest parks, it was determined that it would be the best candidate for the first replacement.
The city is looking for unique, inclusive play equipment with engaging features and high play value that will encourage physical activity and enhance motor skill development. Equipment design will include a focus on safety, inclusiveness, and full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the International Play Equipment Manufacturers Association (IPEMA), the American Society of Testing Materials International (ASTM), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) playground safety standards.
The Parks Division requested qualification statements from manufacturers and/or vendors to design, deliver, and install playground equipment for the park. The not-to-exceed contract amount is well within the $475,000 that was included in the 2023 budget. The remaining $55,000 will be used for new concrete curbing and engineered wood fiber safety surfacing around the playground.
The city is planning to host an open house to give the public an opportunity to give feedback on the park’s design.
MOVING MONTROSE FORWARD 2023 CONTRACTED STREET MAINTENANCE CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a construction contract to Oldcastle SW Group, Inc. (dba United Companies) in the amount of $2.9 million for the completion of the Moving Montrose Forward 2023 Contracted Street Maintenance Project.
City Engineer Scott Murphy said the City of Montrose developed the Moving Montrose Forward (MoveMo) initiative in 2018, which placed a renewed focus on street maintenance, reducing traffic congestion, and improving pedestrian and vehicular mobility throughout the community. As part of this effort, each year the city hires contractors to perform some of the larger-scale and specialized street maintenance construction activities. This contracted street maintenance work is in addition to typical routine maintenance activities performed by the city’s Streets Division of Public Works.
The city’s street maintenance and capital plan is available on the city’s MoveMo webpage at www.MoveMo.co. The plan identifies how available funds should generally be allocated between the various types of maintenance activities (e.g., surface treatments, mill and overlays, rebuild of failed roadways, etc). Allocation of these funds is geared towards the creation of a comprehensive street-maintenance program focused on striking a balance between maintenance of the better-condition roadways (keeping the “good roads good” and at a lower cost) and restoring those that have experienced failure and are more costly to repair. Asset management software and modeling are used to help prioritize appropriate maintenance treatments for the city’s roadways and best utilize limited resources.
The city budgeted a record $4.3M for this year’s MoveMo contracted street maintenance efforts. Approximately $2.9M of this funding is focused on asphalt overlays, mill and overlays, and roadway rebuilds. Some of these streets also include aged waterline replacements, curb ramp replacements, and select sidewalk additions where appropriate.
Additional detail on the city’s street maintenance program can be found in the street capital and maintenance plan noted above as well as on the Street Maintenance tab of the Moving Montrose Forward webpage at www.MoveMo.co.
STAFF REPORTS
Finance Director Shani Wittenberg delivered the sales, use, and excise tax report for January 2023.
Read the reports in their entirety.
Police Chief Blaine Hall said the department is working to hire more officers with many promising leads in the works. He said the department’s new building and training center are great recruiting tools.
Deputy City Manager Ann Morgenthaler said the city’s new City Hall will open to the public on Monday, March 27, at 400 East Main Street.
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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 on-demand through the city’s Public Meetings Portal (CityofMontrose.org/Portal).