City Council Meetings

CORTEZ CITY COUNCIL/BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL WORKSHOP TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2015 The workshop began at 5:30 p.m., with dinner served. Councilmembers present were Mayor Karen Sheek, Mayor Pro-tem Ty Keel, Tom Butler, Bob Archibeque, Shawna McLaughlin, and Jim Price. Councilmember Orly Lucero was absent. Montezuma County Commissioners present were Chairman Keenen Ertel, Larry Don Suckla, James Lambert, and staff included County Attorney John Baxter, and County Administrator Melissa Brunner. City staff present included Director of Public Works Phil Johnson, Director of Planning and Building Sam Proffer, City Clerk Linda Smith, and City Manager Shane Hale. There were six people present in the audience. 1. Courthouse Building Permit Fee. Discussion was held on the construction of an approximately 27,000 square foot administration building/courthouse to be located at the southwest corner of Park Street and Driscoll, due south of the jail. County Administrator Brunner gave background on the proposal and asked if there were any exemptions the City could give in the way of building permit/water tap fees for the project. Discussion was held on the fees that would be required for the project. City Manager Hale stated that the City cannot waive the water tap fees as the City has a bonded debt on the City service. In answer to a question from Mayor Sheek, Chairman Ertel stated that they hope to break ground for the new facility in the spring and be completed by year end 2016. City Manager Hale spoke of the PUD Subdivision design guideline requirements. Chairman Ertel commented that the new Justice Building would benefit everyone in the community and asked that the City consider alleviating the costs by waiving some of the fees. 2. Future of Justice Center. Discussion was held on the current Justice Building and it was noted that the County owns the building and the City has joint management of the parking area. City Manager Hale stated that the City does not have an interest in the building; however, if the building were leveled the property could be added to the park. The County stated that they may have several entities interested in the building including the Bridge Shelter which currently operates out of the building. The County stated that they may offer the building on the market and Council asked that the County keep them apprised of any changes that may occur at the Justice Building. 3. Co-Owned Roads. City Manager Hale stated that there were seven roads that are co-owned by the City and County and that it made sense for the City to take over ownership and maintenance of four of the streets: Alamosa Street, East Empire, Hawkins Street, and West 7th Street. Discussion was held on each of the streets and where they connected at the City and the County lines. The County stated that they would want to speak with their Road and Bridge Supervisor Rob Englehart before moving forward with the ownership of any roads. Discussion was held about the completion of East 7th Street to Road 27. It was determined that the City would not participate in any 7th Street improvements, due to its limited street funds and plans to develop Cactus Street in 2016. 4. Blight. A brief discussion was held regarding the blight throughout the City and County and it was agreed that there are properties that need to be cleaned up. The County advised that they were limited with what they could do regarding code enforcement. 5. County Road L Impact Fees. City Manager Hale stated that the City owns the former Four Corners Material Property (19 plus acres) which was purchased with an intent of developing an addition to the current Industrial Park as the existing Industrial Park is completely built out. He asked about the road impact fees that would be required by the County for development of the property. County Chairman Ertel stated that the County would be interested in working with the City on the road impact fees if a business were to be interested in the property that would be a benefit for everyone, such as bringing new jobs to the area. Discussion was held on swapping City building permit fees for the new courthouse in exchange for road impact fees for the development in the Industrial Park. 6. 7th Street Extension. Discussion on the extension of 7th Street to Road 27 was held during the Co-Owned Road discussion (item 4). 7. 3-Mile Plan. City Manager Hale stated that all municipalities in Colorado are required to have a 3-mile plan per CRS 31-12-105. He stated that the plans include any necessary IGAs, possible agreements regarding urban growth boundaries, joint land use planning and/or annexation and that the City would be updating its plan through the Land Use Code update process. City Manager Hale continued that on a related subject the City has not been receiving notice of developments within 2-miles of the City limits in time to have the City’s Planning and Zoning Commission offer their comments on the project before the County’s Planning and Zoning Commissioner’s make their recommendation to the County Commissioners. Discussion was held on having the County notice the City at least 21 days prior to the County’s Planning and Zoning meeting so the City would have the opportunity to offer their comments. In replying to a question raised by Chairman Ertel, City Manager Hale advised that while CRS 30-28-136 requests that notice be given within 2-miles, the City’s biggest concern relates to development much closer to its borders. City Manager Hale also inquired as to the County’s willingness to consider establishing a joint Planning Commission regarding any development within a mile of the City’s border due to the impacts of this development on the City and the likelihood that these properties will eventually be annexed. 8. Landfill Charges. The County stated that they are looking at a 10% increase at the landfill for 2016. County Commissioner Suckla spoke about the County’s new recyclables program and commented that it will take several years before the program could possibly break even. Chairman Ertel noted that the landfill increase proposed for 2016 is partially due to the replacement of the scale and the need to reline the baler. He stated that the fee increase does not have anything to do with the loose fill versus the bale operation of the landfill. The County spoke about changes which they are making at the landfill and discussion was held regarding the cost effectiveness of recycling. 9. Golf Course/Armory Property and Easement. City Manager Hale stated that the County would like to have an entrance onto the armory property for their fleet vehicles from the new access road the City recently developed to the golf course shop. He stated that staff  does not see any issues with the access; however, an Intergovernmental Agreement needs to be completed so that each entity knows their responsibilities for the access maintenance, as the City has done 100% of the maintenance up until now. Final Discussion included the City supporting the County in opting out of Senate Bill No. 152 (regarding broadband) and live streaming of the City Council meetings. The County noted that they would review their road plan with their supervisor and get back to the City on the co-owned road situation. It was noted that City is not interested in participating in the extension of 7th Street and the County stated that they would try to notice the City 21 days prior to the County’s Planning and Zoning meetings on any development that is located within 2-miles of the City. The County commented that the landfill fees are proposed to be increased by up to 10% in 2016. The City will research ways in which they can help the County in regard to building permit fees for the new courthouse and the County will get back to the City on an equitable way to deal with the impact fees for County Road L. Commissioner Lambert suggested that each entity waive the same percentage of fees, for example: the City waive 50% of the building permit fees and the Board of County Commissioners could waive 50% of the road impact fees. A brief discussion was also held on a future solar garden that could be jointly used by the City and County. The workshop was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.