Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for a work session Monday morning, May 16, to meet a handful of new employees, hear a proposal to simplify the Municipal Code, and hear a number of proposed contract awards for city projects.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Doug Glaspell, Dave Frank, and Ed Ulibarri met in City Council Chambers along with city staff. Councilor David Reed joined via video conference.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW CITY EMPLOYEES
City Councilors were introduced to a group of new city employees Monday morning. Kevin Walters was hired as a code enforcement officer. Dave Copeland was hired as a [olice officer. Quinn Hughes joined the Black Canyon Golf Course as an assistant to the grounds superintendent. Ryker Wright joined Public Works as a parks and special projects worker. And Camille Dick was hired as a part-time animal shelter technician.
UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT CODE PROJECT
City Councilors were presented with an overview of the Montrose Unified Development Code Project, an effort to reorganize the city's land and development regulation into a simpler, easy-to-use, unified development code.
Ann Morgenthaler, deputy city manager, introduced Martin Landers from Plan Tools, LLC to make the presentation.
Landers said the project objectives include the establishment of rules and processes in a user-friendly format that is legally sound. The process will also address a potential Municipal Code update for development areas identified in the Envision 2040 Montrose Comprehensive Plan. (LINK)
The unified code pertains to sections in both the Montrose Regulations Manual and the Montrose Municipal Code.
The new code sections will feature a more user-friendly format with updated charts and graphics and a glossary and appendix to improve user searches. The process will also aim to reduce confusion by eliminating redundancy within the code.
The project will include public input to make it a truly comprehensive, community-wide effort.
Project Schedule:
- Phase 1: Code Diagnosis from March to May 2022.
- Phase 2: Code Update from June 2022 to September 2022.
- Phase 3: Code Adoption from October 2022 to November 2022.
More information about this project will be published when it becomes available.
6700 ROAD EXTENSION DESIGN CONTRACT
City Councilors were presented with a recommendation to award a contract to Del-Mont Consultants, in the amount of $97,200, for the completion of design studies and civil design associated with the 6700 Road Extension Project.
City Engineer Scott Murphy told the council that the City of Montrose Comprehensive Plan calls for the eventual completion of 6700 Road as a minor arterial. This project has remained a high-priority capital project due to continued traffic growth in the area; however, the city did not own all of the rights of way necessary to complete this missing link between Sunnyside and Miami Roads. The city recently entered into a development agreement to secure the necessary right of way, which is now allowing the road design to move forward.
Request for Proposals and Design Team Recommendation:
On April 7, 2022, the City of Montrose issued a request for proposals to procure a design team for the road design project. This design team would be responsible for performing the following key tasks:
- Perform all property and base map surveys for the project area
- Perform geotechnical, hydrologic, and hydraulic design studies to aid in the design of project elements (pavement thickness, pipe sizes, stormwater retention pond sizing, etc).
- Design utility extensions for water and sewer utilities.
- Perform horizontal and vertical design of the new roadway. This roadway will be configured at Miami and Sunnyside as traditional intersections initially but the design will establish footprints for the eventual construction of roundabouts at these intersections once future traffic volumes warrant their construction. This exercise will ensure that all utility construction and relocations are situated such that they would be outside of any future roundabouts.
- Prepare plans for the relocation of conflicting utilities, irrigation infrastructure, and undergrounding of electrical infrastructure.
- Prepare project plans, specifications, and cost estimates.
- Assist with the platting of adjacent remnant parcels as half-acre residential lots (six lots per side)
Murphy said the city received three bids for the project:
- Del-Mont Consultants of Montrose for $87,200.
- KLJ Engineering of Montrose for $121,815.
- River City Consultants of Grand Junction for $219,480.
The scope of work does not include the following design elements as their scope is not yet defined:
- Bureau of Reclamation Permitting. The 6700 Road extension will cross the “H-Drain” ditch owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and operated by the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association. Construction of infrastructure crossing this ditch requires special permitting with the BOR. The BOR also disallows urban stormwater discharges into this particular facility, which will require special design and permitting considerations.
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Permitting. The H-Drain may contain jurisdictional wetlands that may require special permitting with the USACE in order to pipe the ditch where it crosses the new roadway.
In order to provide an allowance for these undefined design elements, city staff recommends award of an additional $10,000 to the as-bid contract price for a total contract award of $97,200. All work for the project will be contracted on a time-and-materials, not-to-exceed basis.
MAIN STREET STREETSCAPING PROJECT AUTHORIZATION
City Councilors heard a proposal for the authorization of $238,000 for improvements to the northeast corner of the intersection of Park Ave and Main St. Included in the proposed authorization is a contract with Kuboske Construction, LLC in the amount of $215,909.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said city staff is recommending the use of a qualified and reputable contractor to further beautify the downtown by completing a façade improvement and a streetscape improvement at the same time. Kuboske Construction, LLC is scheduled to complete a façade improvement for Montrose Hardware in 2022. City staff has requested that Kuboske also provide pricing for a streetscaping improvement in the same area. The city provided Kuboske with a conceptual sketch of the streetscaping and specifications to match the other downtown infrastructure such as decorative lights and trees. Kuboske Construction provided a detailed bid and city staff reviewed it in detail to ensure that the pricing is fair. The existing sidewalk and curb and gutter surrounding this building are in poor condition and lack the lights and trees that are unique to our Main St.
The owner of Montrose Hardware, located on the corner of Park Ave and Main St, received a façade grant through the city’s DART program and has committed to completing the improvements in 2022. If the streetscaping is approved, Kuboske would complete both the façade and the streetscaping at the same time in the late summer of 2022.
Oversight and management of this project would be handled through the city’s Streets Division. As an unbudgeted project, funding would be pulled from the General Fund reserve.
ASBESTOS ABATEMENT CONTRACT AWARD
City Councilors were presented with a proposal for the authorization of funds in the amount of $77,616 for asbestos abatement in the city facility at 400 E. Main St (previously the Wells Fargo building). Included in the proposed authorization is the award of a contract with Asbestos Professionals LLC in the amount of $67,492.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the city hired Grand River Environmental to perform a non-destructive interior asbestos assessment of the 400 East Main Street facility in early 2022. This assessment revealed a number of interior finish materials that contain asbestos. Grand River Environmental developed a scope of work and bid documents for the abatement project. Utilizing the formal invitation-to-bid process, the city received two qualifying bid packages for this project:
- Asbestos Professionals LLC. of Aurora Colorado for $67.492.
- MFH Environmental Corporation of Littleton Colorado for $74,875.
Contract Administration and Project Financials:
City staff recommended the award of the abatement contract to Asbestos Professionals LLC. of Aurora, Colorado. Included in the authorized funds is a 15% owner’s contingency to cover unanticipated costs associated with the project. The total project budget, including the owner’s contingency, is $77,618. The costs associated with the purchase and remodel of the building at 400 E Main are being funded from General Fund Reserves.
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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 and on-demand through the city’s Public Meetings Portal.
For more city news visit CityOfMontrose.org.