Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for a work session Tuesday morning, January 17, to meet six new city employees and consider a number of contract awards and purchase recommendations.
Mayor Dave Frank and Councilors Barbara Bynum, Doug Glaspell, David Reed, and Ed Ulibarri met in the Community Room at 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.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW CITY EMPLOYEES
City Councilors were introduced to six new city employees.
DeVerna Rogers - Marketing & Tourism Manager
Jacob Wilson - Marketing & Tourism Specialist
Gabe McCain - Street Division Worker
Bob Tarcsay - Street Division Worker
Drake Horn - Utilities Worker
Katey Crowley - HR Generalist
ADOPTION OF 2020 MODEL TRAFFIC CODE
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to update the city’s traffic code. Currently, the City of Montrose uses the 2003 Model Traffic Code for Colorado Municipalities. City Attorney Ben Morris said the last time the city updated its code was in 2005 and said city administrators believe the time has come to update it again.
City Municipal Judge Charles Greenacre said the local code follows the State of Colorado code and sometimes the state statutes “don’t fit” for local jurisdictions. Greenacre said the City of Montrose made slight modifications to better integrate the state code into the city’s code.
Montrose Police Chief Blaine Hall said he supports the code change.
To formally adopt the 2020 edition of the Model Traffic Code for Colorado Municipalities, the City Council would have to approve the code change at a meeting in February.
Adoption of the new code would change the policy and procedures that the city's Municipal Court follows when Montrose Police Department patrol officers write tickets for traffic infractions. Language pertaining to types and descriptions of traffic infractions, along with updated penalties, are also tied to the code update.
6700 ROAD EXTENSION PROJECT CONTRACT AWARD
City Councilors were presented with a proposed contract in the amount of $4,595,856 for the construction of the 6700 Road Extension Project.
City Engineer Scott Murphy said the proposal includes the award of a construction contract to Williams Construction in the amount of $4,387,256, a survey and engineering support contract to Del-Mont Consultants in the amount of $133,600, flashing crosswalk and school zone signage expenditures of $25,000, and up to $50,000 in expenditures to Delta-Montrose Electric Association for costs associated with powerline relocation and undergrounding alongside the project.
The City of Montrose Comprehensive Plan calls for the completion of 6700 Road as a minor arterial by constructing the missing-link section between Sunnyside and Miami Roads. This project has remained a high-priority capital project due to continued traffic growth in the area, according to Murphy. However, until recently, the city did not own all of the rights of way necessary to complete this missing link. The city secured the right of way in the summer of 2022, allowing the project to move forward. Concurrent with securing the rights of way, the project was being designed by Del-Mont Consultants of Montrose throughout 2022 and was ready for bid in early December.
The project design includes through lanes in each direction, a center turn lane, bike lanes in each direction, and detached sidewalks on each side. This is the same configuration that was used on the South Hillcrest Extension which was completed in 2018 and the East Oak Grove widening project which was completed in 2014.
Upon completion, it is anticipated that traffic volumes on 6700 will be much higher than on the intersecting streets (Sunnyside and Miami). As a result, 6700 Road will be given the through priority with stop signs controlling the side streets. Neither intersection meets industry standard warrants for use of a four-way stop. As buildout continues in the area and traffic volumes grow on these sidestreets, these intersections will eventually transition to four-way stops, then to roundabouts.
It should be noted that volume thresholds to warrant roundabout intersections are likely at least 15 to 20-plus years out.
Project Bidding and Associated Expenditures
Construction of the 6700 Road Extension Project was put out for bid on December 4 and bids were publicly received on January 11, 2023, from four contractors. Williams Construction of Norwood submitted the lowest bid for the project.
2023 TRASH TRUCK PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to purchase three trash trucks from Kois Brothers Equipment in Commerce City, Colorado, in the amount of $1,226,495.
Public Works Manager Jim Schied said the city’s curbside trash and recycling operations use six Automated Side Loader (ASL) trash trucks. Due to growth in the number of trash and recycling customers, the city budgeted for an additional ASL trash truck in 2022.
This additional truck was budgeted in the Trash and Recycle Division’s 2022 budget.
The City of Montrose Fleet Division replaces vehicles and equipment based on the life expectancy and maintenance cost of each unit. The city’s ASL trash trucks are on a seven-year replacement schedule to maximize the useful life of the equipment and maintain the lowest cost of operation. One replacement was scheduled in 2022 and another in 2023. These two replacements are budgeted in the 2022 and 2023 fleet budgets.
This brings the total number of ASL trash trucks to be purchased in 2022 and 2023 to three.
The City of Montrose authorized the purchase of two ASL trash trucks in December 2021 for the 2022 budget year. This award was not honored by the vendor selected for the chassis, which resulted in the order being terminated. The amounts budgeted for 2022 were rolled over into 2023 for the purchases recommended above.
On December 6, 2022, the city received bids for the three new ASL trash trucks. Unfortunately, none of the bids met the specifications in the bid packet and were rejected.
Since then the city has been requesting quotes from any vendors that provide the specific equipment that is needed. Of these requests, only one quote was received from Kois Brothers in the amount of $1,226,495.
2022 FORD VEHICLE PURCHASE AMENDMENT
City Councilors were presented with a request to approve a price increase for the 2022 Ford vehicle order that was previously awarded to Sill-Terhar Motors.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said on December 9, 2021, the city issued a purchase order to Sill-Terhar Motors for 20 new Ford vehicles. Since placing this order, the City of Montrose has received only one of the vehicles.
This past year has presented many challenges in the automotive industry due to microchip shortages and other supply chain issues.
Due to these issues, the reduced volume of vehicles produced by Ford and other manufacturers has resulted in many orders not being fulfilled within the model year they were ordered. For the city’s order placed in late 2021, 19 out of the 20 vehicles will be pushed to the 2023 model year and 2023 pricing. The 2023 pricing from Sill-Terhar matches the pricing that was awarded on the Colorado State bid for Ford vehicles.
Initial bid: $856,827.52
2023 Pricing: $1,003,658
Total increase: $146,830.48
City staff recommends accepting the price increase.
2023 EQUIPMENT DISPOSAL LIST
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to dispose of city-owned vehicles and equipment to be replaced in 2023, ranging from police interceptor vehicles to a greens roller used at the Black Canyon golf course.
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said city departments replace outdated and obsolete equipment and vehicles throughout the year. These items are typically low-value, unserviceable, or outdated items. These items are disposed of in various ways, including internet and local auctions and donations and sales to surrounding communities. All items are disposed of in accordance with Section 1-16-5 of the Municipal Code.
Proceeds from the sales are applied to the Fleet Fund.
GENERAL CITY COUNCIL DISCUSSION
Mayor Dave Frank said the council was pleased about the first Montrose Police Department's first in-house recruiting event to be held at the new Montrose Public Safety Complex on January 14. Montrose Police Chief Blaine Hall said the event was a success as many in the community turned out to find out more about becoming a police officer in their hometown.
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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.