Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for a work session Tuesday morning, February 28, to consider a couple of contract awards for city projects and hear an amendment to the 2022 Municipal Budget.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Doug Glaspell, Dave Frank, and David Reed met in City Council Chambers along with city staff. Councilor Anthony Russo was absent. Members of the public were also able to attend in person or via Zoom.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
WEST MAIN REVITALIZATION DESIGN CONTRACT AWARD
City Councilors were presented with contract recommendations for design services for the West Main Street Revitalization Project
According to City Engineer Scott Murphy, the award of a professional services contract to KLJ Engineering in the amount of $367,001 is for the completion of design studies, alternatives evaluations, and civil design associated with the project. The contract award is contingent upon concurrence from the Colorado Department of Transportation, CDOT.
West Main Street, a part of State Highway 90, runs approximately 0.5 miles from Townsend Avenue to the Uncompahgre River. Although owned and generally maintained by CDOT, this stretch of roadway runs through downtown Montrose’s urban core and, as a result, serves as the primary access and frontage for adjacent businesses.
West Main also provides a vital vehicular and pedestrian connection between downtown businesses, nearby residential centers/Spring Creek, and the city’s Uncompahgre Riverway Trail and West Main Trailhead.
Over the years, the City of Montrose has implemented various capital projects to improve and streetscape portions of Main Street both east and west of Townsend Avenue, according to Murphy.
This work has generally extended from Park to Selig Avenues and has included the installation of decorated medians, tree rows, decorative lighting, “bulb-out” curb extensions, and conversion of four-lane roadways to two-lane roadways with diagonal parking (Cascade to Park only). However, West Main Street west of Selig Avenue has generally remained in its outdated, vehicular-focused configuration over the past several decades. This includes two travel lanes in each direction, shoulders for undefined parallel parking, and narrow, non-ADA-compliant sidewalks and driveways on each side of the roadway.
In its current configuration, West Main Street is a problematic pedestrian and bicyclist corridor due to narrow/non-compliant sidewalks and is generally incompatible with a Main-Street style business that relies on comfortable access, pedestrian activity, and opportunistic sales. Furthermore, outdated and undersized storm sewer and water infrastructure within the corridor are in need of replacement and upsizing.
To remedy to these shortcomings, the West Main Street Revitalization project looks to accomplish the following:
1. Install ADA-compliant, widened sidewalks along both sides of the street.
2. Install bicycle facilities along one or both sides of the street, as space allows.
3. Improve crosswalk safety within the corridor where practical.
4. While accommodating future traffic volumes, reconfigure (and eliminate if possible and necessary) travel lanes within the corridor.
5. Develop and implement a modern streetscape standard for the corridor to include trees, lighting, pedestrian facilities, targeted parking, and restaurant seating areas (as budget allows).
6. Properly size and replace aged water and storm sewer infrastructure. Due to budget constraints, it is likely that storm sewer improvements will be limited to areas directly affected by the project’s construction activities (e.g., inlets and laterals may be upgraded as part of curb extensions but not main trunk lines).
To help accomplish these goals, the City of Montrose was recently awarded a $2 million Revitalizing Main Streets Grant from CDOT to be utilized for West Main Street. With the city’s match of approximately $500k (20%), the total project budget is $2.5 million for design and construction.
Murphy said the city received three bids for the design work and selected KLJ Engineering of Montrose following a standard review process.
Project Schedule
Project design is expected to last into the spring of 2023, and construction is tentatively scheduled to begin shortly after, subject to approval from CDOT and the Montrose City Council.
MONTROSE PAVILION CARPET REPLACEMENT CONTRACT AWARD RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were briefed on a proposed award of funds in the amount of $114,031 for the replacement carpet within the Montrose Pavilion. The contract with Carpetrends, Inc. is in the amount of $103,664.
According to Jim Scheid, Public Works Manager, the difference between the amount appropriated for the project and the contract to Carpetrends Inc., would be used to fix any underlying issues with the floor underneath the carpet.
Scheid said the replacement of the carpet throughout the main level of the Pavilion’s event space has been scheduled and budgeted for in 2022. The existing carpet was installed in the 1990s and will be replaced with high-quality commercial carpet squares specifically suited for event venues.
The city received bids from two local companies: Carpetrends Inc and Stryker and Company.
2022 ADJUSTED BUDGET ORDINANCE
City Councilors were presented with a draft of an ordinance to amend the 2022 budget.
City Finance Director Shani Wittenberg said Ordinance 2567 states that the Health/Dental Management Fund would be combined into the Internal Service Fund along with Fleet Management, Information Services, and Facility Management. The Health/Dental Management Fund will need to remain separate to maintain the integrity of a separate checking account, according to Wittenberg.
The City Council will consider the ordinance and hold a public hearing on March 15, at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located at 107 South Cascade Avenue.
2023 BUDGET MEETING WITH CITY COUNCIL
City Finance Director Shani Wittenberg said “it was never too late to start planning,” and asked the City Council for feedback on meeting scheduling for the 2023 budget.
Development of the city’s annual municipal budget is an ongoing process that requires staff and council to meet throughout the year. City staff and council agreed to hold the first budget meeting on Monday afternoon, May 16, following the work session, and an all-day budget retreat on Thursday, September 8. Both meetings are open to the public.
Members of the public who want to get involved can sign up to be a member of the city’s budget committee by reaching out to City Manager Bill Bell or City Finance Director Shani Wittenberg.
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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 through the city’s Public Meetings Portal.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.