Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for their regular meeting Tuesday evening, November 15, to consider a number of ordinances, funding for relocation to the new City Hall, and a number of emergency expenditures to repair critical city equipment.
Councilors Dave Frank, Doug Glaspell, David Reed, and Ed Ulibarri met in City Council Chambers along with city staff. Councilor Barbara Bynum was absent.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the November 14, and November 15, 2022, special City Council meetings and the November 15 regular City Council meeting.
The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found on the new Public Meetings Portal and at CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION APPOINTMENTS
City Councilors voted in favor of appointing Catherine Stroh and Darlene Mora to the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.
The council appointed Stroh as an alternate member of the commission for a term that expires October 16, 2025, while appointing Mora as a regular member of the commission for a term that expires October 16, 2023.
More about the Historic Preservation Commission can be found here.
LODGING AND ENTERTAINMENT LIQUOR LICENSE TRANSFER APPLICATION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the transfer of a lodging and entertainment liquor license at 511 East Main Street from Precedence Productions to The Temple LLC for consumption on the licensed premises.
The City Council is the local liquor licensing authority for the City of Montrose. The council held a brief public hearing before voting to approve the transfer.
ORDINANCE 2606 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2606, on first reading, amending Ordinance 2567, which approves a supplemental budget for the fiscal year 2022.
Each year the City Council has the authority, if needed, to approve a supplemental budget if unexpected expenses arise over the course of the fiscal year.
ORDINANCE 2607 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2607, on first reading, vacating a portion of a public utility easement.
City Engineer Scott Murphy said the City of Montrose will be replacing, relocating, and 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 location/easement challenging to perform. The line’s location within the center of the yard also encumbers the lot for future redevelopment or expansion. As a remedy to these issues, the city proposed to construct the new waterline along the eastern property 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 will be abandoned and vacated.
Because the easement is a property interest held by the city, its vacation required council action by ordinance.
Murphy said the relocation of the waterline to the eastern property boundary is considered mutually beneficial for both parties and the new easement is approximately equal in area to the existing easement being vacated. As a result, no compensation is proposed for the easement swap.
ORDINANCE 2608 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2608, on first reading, amending Title 3, Chapter 1 Sections 6 and 7 to correct a codification error.
ORDINANCE 2609 - FIRST READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2609, on first reading, disconnecting property at 67365 Sunshine Road.
City Planner William Reis said this request is to allow a property that is currently within the Montrose city limits to revert back to being outside of the city limits. This process is known as a disconnection or de-annexation. The property is approximately 25.82 acres in size.
ORDINANCE 2601 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2601, on second reading, amending the zoning district designation of 820 6650 Road from “R-2” low-density district to “R-5” low-density/manufactured housing district.
Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt delivered a short presentation about the ordinance before the council formally voted to adopt the first reading of the ordinance.
ORDINANCE 2602 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2602, on second reading, annexing the Hilltop North Addition into the City of Montrose.
City Planner William Reis said the Hilltop North Addition is approximately 10.01 acres in size. The parcel is located east of 6600 Road, addressed as 540 6600 Road. The property is within the city’s Urban Growth Boundary, the City of Montrose Sewer Service Area, and the Tri-County Water Service Area. Annexation of this property will allow for future multifamily residential development.
ORDINANCE 2603 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2603, on second reading, providing for the zoning of the Hilltop North Addition as an “R-4” high-density district.
ORDINANCE 2604 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2604, on second reading, adding the historic Montrose Electric & Power Company building, located at 44 South Grand Avenue, to the city’s register of historic buildings.
City Planner William Reis delivered a presentation detailing the building’s history in the City of Montrose and its qualifications for joining the city’s historic register.
ORDINANCE 2605 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2605, on second reading, adding the historic Montrose Radium Ore Sampler building, located at 112 West Main Street, to the city’s register of historic buildings.
City Planner William Reis delivered a presentation detailing the building’s history in the City of Montrose and its qualifications for joining the city’s historic register.
VACTOR #361 JET-VAC REPAIRS
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve funds to repair City Unit #361 Jet Vac by Farris Machinery Inc., for $105,000.
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 the truck is critical to the city’s utility work.
CITY HALL RELOCATION PROJECT CONTRACT AMENDMENT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a contract totaling $1,135,000 for the second phase of the City Hall Relocation Project, which includes the amendment of a contract with FCI Constructors Inc. to serve as the project’s 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 in the construction process, phases 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.
EMERGENCY DUMP TRUCK REPAIR
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve $70,000 for the repair of a damaged dump truck, City Unit #256.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the damage occurred when a Streets Division employee was picking up a load of hot-mix asphalt at the United Companies facility, which has two overhead silos that load trucks from above. In a turn of unfortunate events, the plant operator did not communicate with the city’s driver and, while awaiting direction about which silo to pull under, four tons of 300-degree asphalt dumped on the cab, hood, and through the windshield of the truck.
The driver escaped with only minor injuries, but the truck was totaled by the insurance company and is inoperable. The hot asphalt melted many of the in-cab controls.
This particular truck plays a vital role in the Streets Division’s snow removal operations. Currently, the city has a four-route snow removal plan and the four large plow trucks used by the city each have their own unique route within the snow removal tiers. Without one of those trucks, operations are hamstrung and other route drivers have to take up the slack. The loss of a plow truck will significantly impact operations and the city’s level of service this winter season.
The lead time on a new truck is over a year and a half and used trucks with a snow plow and sander that the city has found are single-axle trucks that do not work well for the City of Montrose’s year-round street operations. Scheid said Public Works has received a quote from our local Mack dealer for repair costs and lead times. They were able to locate a used cab and hood and estimated that repairs would take five weeks.
Scheid said this truck, Unit 256, is scheduled for replacement in 2023 (realistically expected for delivery in 2024) and, at that time, would be sold in operable condition, which would yield a much higher price than if it were sold in its current condition. Repairs to Unit 256 will be funded from the Fleet Fund, which will be reimbursed when the insurance payment is received.
YOUTH CITY COUNCIL
Youth City Councilor Maggie Kusar said the youth council is working on a social media campaign and with local nursing homes to visit and spend time with patients.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
The City Council said the Parade of Lights on December 3 was a huge success.
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