Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for their regular meeting Tuesday evening, January 3, to consider a number of ordinances, a new intergovernmental agreement with the Montrose Rec District, and funding for emergency culvert replacement.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, 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.
PUBLIC COMMENT
One concerned resident brought to the attention of council members a drainage area in a Montrose neighborhood that has frozen over and is potentially dangerous to the residents who live nearby.
CONSENT AGENDA
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the December 6, regular City Council meeting, the December 13, 2022, special City Council meeting, and the December 19 special City Council meeting.
Also in the consent agenda, the council approved the reappointment of Richard Rogers, David Fishering, and Chad Huffman to the city’s Planning Commission.
The city’s archive of past meeting minutes can be found on the new Public Meetings Portal and at CityofMontrose.org/ArchiveCenter.
DESIGNATION OF OFFICIAL POSTING LOCATION
Each year, as required by Colorado state law, the City of Montrose designates an official posting location for public notices and public meetings.
City Councilors were presented with a list of the official posting designations for all City Council meeting notices. Each January the council approves the locations for the year. They include the City of Montrose website, CityofMontrose.org, as the official posting location for meeting notices. Bulletin boards located in the lobby and outside City Hall are designated as secondary locations for use in exigent or emergency circumstances.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT WITH MONTROSE RECREATION DISTRICT FOR SHARED SERVICES
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve a new intergovernmental agreement, IGA, with the Montrose Recreation District regarding shared services throughout the community.
Each year city and district staff review the agreement and discuss any potential changes to meet the needs of both organizations and the public. Morgenthaler said she was pleased to report that staff representatives have reached a tentative agreement for 2023, contingent upon the approval of the City Council and MRD Board.
Notable changes to the agreement include allowing the district the use of the City Attorney on certain legal items. The City of Montrose will also be crack-sealing the Montrose Field House parking lot in 2023.
The city and district have also updated their respective rates for the 2023 calendar year.
ORDINANCE 2607 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2607, on second 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 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2608, on second reading, amending Title 3, Chapter 1 Sections 6 and 7 to correct a codification error.
ORDINANCE 2609 - SECOND READING
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2609, on second reading, disconnecting property at 67365 Sunshine Road.
City Planner William Reis said the property owner submitted a request 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.
RESOLUTION 2023-01
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve Resolution 2023-01 setting February 7 as the hearing date for the Klein Addition annexation.
The Klein Addition is a proposed annexation approximately 1.00 acres in size. The parcel is located west of 6600 Road, addressed as 675 6600 Road. It is within the city’s Urban Growth Boundary, City of Montrose Sewer Service Area, and the Tri-County Water Service Area. Annexation of this property will allow for connection to city sewer service. An Annexation Agreement is required.
Proposed Zoning: “MHR” Manufactured Housing Residential District
Applicant: Kenneth Brison Klein
CEDAR VIEW SUBDIVISION AMENDED PRELIMINARY PLAT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the Cedar View Subdivision Amended Preliminary Plat.
City Planner William Reis said the Cedar View Amended Preliminary Plat #3 is a proposed single-family residential development in eastern Montrose. This Amended Plat renews the remaining unbuilt portion of the Cedar View Subdivision into 86 future lots, in 4 phases. The project is located east of Elbert Castle Ave, Elbert St, and Evans St . The project is in the “R-6” Medium Density/Manufactured Housing District.
PAINTED WALL SUBDIVISION AMENDMENT TO THE BRIDGES AT BLACK CANYON PLANNED DEVELOPMENT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the Painted Wall Subdivision Amendment to The Bridges at Black Canyon Planned Development.
City Planner William Reis said the Painted Wall Subdivision and Amended PD is a proposed residential development on the southern side of Montrose. The property is approximately 3.32 acres in size and is bordered on the north and west by Painted Wall Lane, on the south by Odelle Road, and on the east by the Loutsenhizer Canal. The property is zoned “R-3A” Medium High-Density District. The property is planned to have eight single-family residential lots. This proposal is a reduction in density from the previously approved Bridges at Black Canyon PD, which assigned a 24 multifamily residential development on this lot. This change requires a separate PD Amendment.
PAINTED WALL SUBDIVISION PRELIMINARY PLAT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the Painted Wall Subdivision Preliminary Plat conditioned upon city staff ensuring that all policies, regulations, ordinances, and Municipal Code provisions are met and that the applicant adequately addresses all of the staff’s concerns prior to all conditions being satisfied.
REAL ESTATE CONTRACT
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve the sale of a 0.62-acre property for an amount of $25,000.
Planning Manager Jace Hochwalt told councilors that James Renfrow owns the property at 2400 Columbine Lane, and has approached the City of Montrose to purchase a small unmaintained and undeveloped area of the Black Canyon Golf Course. The parcel is adjacent to the south of Mr. Renfrow’s property. While this area of land is owned by the city as part of the Black Canyon Golf Course, it serves no functional use to the course itself and is not maintained. Mr. Renfrow is acquiring this land in order to functionally maintain and revegetate the area so it is not an eyesore.
EMERGENCY CULVERT REPLACEMENT AUTHORIZATION
City Councilors voted unanimously to approve $81,400 in expenditures to replace two bridge culverts, both of which serve as entrances to the Meadowgate neighborhood.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said concerned neighbors from the Meadowgate neighborhood reached out to Public Works about a failing culvert at the intersection of 6900 Rd. & Openfield Drive in April 2022. Crews were dispatched to perform an inspection/investigation to determine if the road was safe for travel. Settling depressions and a sinkhole were observed in the roadway. The significant undermining of the roadway, up to 12 feet long and 4 feet deep, was observed. At the mouth of the culvert, water was observed flowing under and around the sides of the pipe, causing the collapse of the culvert.
Crews determined the road was unsafe for travel and permanently closed the entry. A week later, a total failure of the roadway occurred. Local neighborhood traffic had been detoured to a secondary entry further south at Overland Drive & 6900 Rd. The replacement was to take place in the spring of 2023 while irrigation water was off and resources could be budgeted. On the week of May 16, 2022, Public Works received multiple calls regarding the condition of the neighborhood's backup entrance. Upon investigation, streets personnel observed signs of a partial collapse occurring in a similar timeframe and manner as the event on Open Field Drive. Streets staff and engineers placed road plates in tandem over the weakened area to help prolong the function of the roadway. In July, Street crews installed a temporary bridge on Open Field Drive. Now that water has been shut off, the culvert on Overland Drive will be replaced promptly. Replacement of the culvert on Open Field Drive will follow after Overland Drive is reopened.
YOUTH CITY COUNCIL
Youth City Councilors recently made several visits to area nursing homes to visit with local seniors while continuing their social media campaign.
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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 or on-demand through the city’s Public Meetings Portal