Montrose, CO — City Councilors met Tuesday evening, March 3, to discuss a number of issues, ordinances and city projects during the council’s regular meeting. Councilors Roy Anderson, Dave Bowman, Barbara Bynum, Judy Ann Files, and Doug Glaspell met for about one hour, 44 minutes. The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the February 18 regular City Council meeting. The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found at: CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
PLANNING COMMISSION APPOINTMENT
Councilors voted unanimously to appoint Steve Mason to the city’s Planning Commission, to fill a vacancy, for a term that expires on December 31, 2020. Mason was interviewed by councilors during a February work session where the council reviewed his application.
ORDINANCE 2498 (Police Department building financing)
City Councilors voted unanimously to authorize a site lease and lease purchase agreement between the City of Montrose and UMB Bank. Under the agreement, UMB will issue up to $16 million in certificates of participation, or COPs, to finance construction of a new headquarters for the Montrose Police Department. Under Colorado law, governmental entities can sell certificates on the open bond market where by investors purchase the certificates and the money is loaned to the city (through UMB) for the construction project. The building is then held in escrow by a property agent, similar to a lease situation, and once the construction loan is paid off, the lease goes away and the city is the sole owner of the property.
Kyle Thomas, who represents a finance team working on behalf of the city’s investment in the new police building, told councilors that the city’s good credit rating, combined with recent volatility in U.S. financial markets, could help the city receive a low interest rate. If the process remains on schedule, the COPs could be ready for investment in late spring 2020.
The ordinance will return to the council for a second and final reading on March 17.
ORDINANCE 2498 (Noxious Weed Program)
Councilors voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance on first reading regarding the city’s Noxious Weed Management Program. The ordinance is an update to the City of Montrose Municipal Code that will enable the city to comply with the Colorado Noxious Weed Act and further the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the City of Montrose.
The ordinance will return to the council for a second and final reading on March 17.
ORDINANCE 2496 and 2497 (Historic Property Designations)
Councilors voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance designating the Missouri Building at 347 East Main Street and the Block Building at 345 East Main Street as City of Montrose historical properties.
The Missouri and Block buildings are now the third and fourth properties to be added to the city’s historic registry since it was created in 2019. Both ordinances will return to the council for second and final readings on March 17.
TRAVEL HOME PARK PERMIT (BPOE Elks Lodge travel home park)
The council voted unanimously to approve a Travel Home Park Permit for the Montrose Elks Lodge BPOE Lodge #1053 at 801 South Hillcrest Drive.
The Montrose Elks Lodge is looking to add 28 mobile home spaces for Elks club members to stay while traveling on vacation. Requirements of the permit state that the lodge must construct an 8-foot privacy fence around the property and, if the property were ever to be sold, the new owner would need to reapply for the same use permit with the City Council.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT HEARING
The council held a public hearing regarding the city’s performance in carrying out a federally funded Community Development Block Grant, otherwise known as Grant 18-042 – Woodgate Trails Senior Apartments. The hearing was held as a closeout requirement of the grant.
CERRO RESERVOIR OUTLET WORKS REPLACEMENT CHANGE ORDER
Councilors voted to award funds as part of a change order for completion of the Cerro Reservoir Outlet Works Replacement Project. The council approved $186,000 to complete replacement of the Cerro Reservoir dam. The reservoir, part of the city’s water storage system, was drained in 2019 to replace century-old infrastructure. Of the total, $146,000 will be awarded to Mountain Valley Construction for the construction work and $40,000 to RJH Consultants for engineering and construction oversight.
SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE OF RAPID DEPLOYMENT BOOM
Councilors approved the purchase of a new rapid-deployment boom in the amount of $62,056.63 for use on a city sewer truck.
Utilities Manager David Bries said the Utilities Department needed to update one of its large sewer trucks with a new boom system to aid in waterline excavation. The new boom system will also improve safety for truck operators, according to Bries.
SOLE SOURCE PURCHASE FOR CENTRIFUGE REPAIR
Councilors approved an agreement, not to exceed $57,085, to repair a large, eight-foot-long centrifuge at the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Utilities Manager David Bries informed the council that centrifuge number 2, used to collect biosolids at the plant, needs to be taken out of service and transported to the manufacturer in California for scheduled maintenance.
NUTRIENT REMOVAL OPTIMIZATION STUDY AGREEMENT
City Councilors voted to approve an agreement with Carollo Engineers Inc. to perform a Nutrient Removal Optimization study at the city’s Wastewater Treatment Plant for an amount not to exceed $85,000. The study will focus on better nutrient management for materials treated at the plant.
BLACK CANYON GOLF COURSE EQUIPMENT PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
The City Council approved the purchase of three new pieces of maintenance equipment at the Black Canyon Golf Course. The council approved $116,296 to purchase one greens mower, one general grounds mower, and one self-propelled sprayer needed to meet the golf course’s operational needs.
PURCHASE OF BODY-WORN POLICE CAMERAS
Councilors approved the purchase of 40 new in-car and 45 body-worn cameras with Aware Plus for the Montrose Police Department in the amount of $135, 862. Funds for the new cameras are coming from the city’s Public Safety fund.
Police Commanders Tim Cox and Matt Smith told council that the department is pursuing the use of body cameras and new in-car cameras to help ensure department accountability and officer safety. This purchase is the first upgrade for the department since it began using in-car camera systems in 1999.
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All regular City Council meetings are open to the public and are held at 6 p.m. on the first and third Tuesdays of each month. All City Council meetings are recorded and made available online via on 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.
Work sessions are also open to the public and are usually held on the first and third Mondays of each month at 10 a.m. These meetings give councilors the opportunity to hear background information, ask questions, and have informal discussions about city policies and current issues before taking formal action through a public vote during regular council meetings.
Replays of work sessions are aired nightly following replays of the City Council’s regular meetings. Work sessions are also 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 website at CityOfMontrose.org/Video.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.