City Council Meetings

CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018 1. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m., and was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilmembers present were Mayor Karen Sheek, Mayor Pro-tem Orly Lucero, Sue Betts, Jill Carlson, Ty Keel, Mike Lavey, and Gary Noyes. Staff members present were Director of Planning and Building Sam Proffer, Director of General Services Rick Smith, Grants and Special Projects Chris Burkett, Chief of Police Roy Lane, Management Intern Peyton Heitzman, Director of Public Works Phil Johnson, Director of Finance Kathi Moss, City Clerk Linda Smith, City Manager Shane Hale, and City Attorney Mike Green. There were 15 people in the audience. 2. The Consent Agenda items acted upon by Council were as follows: a. Approval of the Worksession and Regular Meeting Minutes of May 8 and Special Meeting of May 15, 2018. b. Approval of the payment of the Expenditure Vouchers of May 22, 2018. c. Approval of a renewal Hotel and Restaurant Liquor License for Ocean Pearl Cortez LLC, DBA Ocean Pearl Chinese Restaurant, located at 300 East Main Street, Cortez. d. Approval of a renewal Hotel and Restaurant Liquor License for Fiesta Mexicana No. 3 Inc., DBA Fiesta Mexicana Family Restaurant, located at 430 North Highway #145, Cortez. e. Approval of a renewal Hotel and Restaurant Liquor License or La Casita de Cortez LLC, DBA La Casita de Cortez, located at 332 East Main Street, Cortez. f. Approval of a lease agreement with Mitchell Toms for parking located between Moose and More and Kelly McCabe’s office during the construction period for the medians. Councilmember Keel moved that Council approve the Consent Agenda with the additional expenditure list totaling $41,542.11. Councilmember Carlson seconded the motion, and the vote was as follows: Betts Carlson Keel Lavey Lucero Noyes Sheek Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Mayor Sheek spoke of the recent school shooting in Santa Rosa, Texas and asked everyone to send their thoughts and prayers. 3. PRESENTATIONS a. Cortez Community Gardens. Reid Brugger stated that he and many members of the community would like to thank the City for working with them on a Cortez Community Garden that is being CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MAY 22, 2018 PAGE 2 completed at the Cortez Recreation Center. Flyers on the project were distributed to Council. Mr. Brugger spoke about the program which began about a year ago when the School to Farm group asked to have their garden outside the Recreation Center be taken over by citizens of the community. Mr. Brugger stated that the garden has been expanded this year with help from the City of Cortez Parks Department. Several members of the group thanked the City for the opportunity to garden in the plot and noted that it is a great community asset. It was noted that the food grown at the garden is shared with the food pantry that helps many people in the community. Mayor Sheek thanked the citizens for their comments and noted that it is always good to hear how nice it is to work with City employees. She complimented the people working on the garden and stated that the garden looks really nice with all the plants coming up. Mr. Brugger stated that the first lettuce was given to the food pantry this week. 4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION – None. 5. PUBLIC HEARINGS a. Ordinance No. 1253, Series 2018. City Attorney Green stated that Ordinance No. 1253, Series 2018, authorizes the City of Cortez to certify delinquent charges, assessments or taxes to the County Treasurer for collection as taxes. He stated that the new ordinance corrects the omission of the word ‘taxes’ in the original ordinance. He stated that the ordinance would authorize the placement of a first and prior lien for charges, assessments, or taxes by filing same with the County Clerk and Recorder. He stated that with the City liens being first and prior, it would create an issue about who gets paid first, and at best collect the City’s money at the event of a meaningful foreclosure from the foreclosing party. He recommended that the City approve the ordinance on second reading. Mayor Sheek opened the public hearing; however, no one spoke and the hearing was closed. Mayor Pro-tem Lucero moved that Council approve on final reading Ordinance No. 1253, Series 2018, authorizing the City of Cortez to certify delinquent charges, assessments or taxes to the County Treasurer for collection as taxes. Councilmember Lavey seconded the motion, and the vote was as follows: Betts Carlson Keel Lavey Lucero Noyes Sheek Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – None. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. Resolution No. 10, Series 2018. Grants and Special Projects Burkett stated that Resolution No. 10, Series 2018, designates the City Manager as the official signature for the Grant Agreement and authorizes expenditures of funds for the Park Property Acquisition – Old MCHS (Montezuma County High School). He stated that the resolution is a housekeeping item providing compliance with the Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) grant requirements. He stated that GOCO was informed that there would be a change in City Manager and they were fine with the signature being signed by whomever is the City Manager at the time signatures are needed. CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MAY 22, 2018 PAGE 3 Councilmember Noyes moved that Council approve Resolution No. 10, Series 2018, designating the City Manager as the official signature for the Grant Agreement and to authorize the expenditure of funds for the Park Property Acquisition – Old MCHS (Montezuma Cortez High School). Councilmember Lavey seconded the motion, and the vote was as follows: Betts Carlson Keel Lavey Lucero Noyes Sheek Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes b. City Hall Solar Project. City Manager Hale stated that City Council identified developing a solar farm as Goal #3 under Critical Success Factor of Infrastructure during their 2017 retreat. He stated that there are many regulatory hurdles to developing a solar farm with the largest factor being Tri State doesn’t allow for ‘virtual net metering’ and the rate of investment (ROI) for producing solar at the wholesale rate just doesn’t make it possible to cash flow the project in any reasonable or practical amount of time. He stated that given this challenge, staff has focused its efforts on rooftop solar, and believes that the City Council will still be able to achieve its goal of making long term investments in renewable energy that saves the taxpayers money on the back end. He stated that the system on City Hall actually outperformed projections by 7% in its first year and staff believes that the 15% design on the City Hall roof should be increased to 100%. He stated that the basics of the deal for consideration has annual payments of $35,833 and a balloon payment of $35,835 ( in effect a sixth payment versus a balloon). He stated that City would pay $215,000 total over six years with the system cost for the array at $374,040, with a discount of $59,040. He stated that the forecast is for the City to save 64.42% over the life of the array, instead of paying $604,000 to Empire Electric over the next 25 years, the City would pay $215,000. He stated that the City Attorney has reviewed the agreement and has given his approval. Councilmember Lavey moved that Council approve an addendum to Solar System Lease No. 15-D dated October 15, 2016, adding an 88.2 KW system to City Hall and authorize the Mayor to sign the addendum and site lease agreement. Councilmember Keel seconded the motion, and the vote was as follows: Betts Carlson Keel Lavey Lucero Noyes Sheek Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes c. Request from Montezuma Cortez RE-1 School District. City Manager Hale stated that the school district has requested the City refund $4,844 for an unused water tap. He read the request sent from Carla Hoeh, Finance Director for the School District, which noted that when the School District sold the Calkins building and adjacent soccer field last year, it was anticipated that the school district would continue use of the food service warehouse and a 3/4” water tap was purchased from the City. She continued in the letter that circumstances have since changed and it appears that the district will not actually need the water tap and asked that the City refund the amount paid of $4,844. City Manager Hale stated that earlier this year, staff developed a Water Tap Sales Procedure in order to give everyone direction on how we handle water taps. He stated that the school district had purchased the tap prior to the official procedure; however, two points in the document come into play with the discussion. He noted that one section requires that the lot must be legally platted within the City limits and all water taps that are purchased are at the owner’s risk with no refunds. He stated that the lot for the district was never legally platted, which if the new CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MAY 22, 2018 PAGE 4 procedures been in place at the time, the school district would not have been able to purchase a tap. He stated that the City has not put any resources into the tap as it has not been installed. He noted that the receipt shows the Housing Authority paid for the tap; however, a copy of the check was received from the school district showing they paid the Housing Authority for the tap as the Housing Authority was the property owner at the time. Discussion was held on future precedents that may be set with giving the refund. Mayor Sheek noted that the school district is a tax paying supported institution and everyone knows money is tight for them. She stated that the money should be returned as it has been spent on something they can’t use. Councilmember Keel moved that Council approve the reimbursement of $4,844 to the Montezuma Cortez Re-1 School District because they were sold a tap for a lot that wasn’t legally subdivided and have not made any attempt to connect to the City’s water infrastructure. Councilmember Carlson seconded the motion, and the vote was as follows: Betts Carlson Keel Lavey Lucero Noyes Sheek Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes d. Request for Professional Civil Engineering Services. Director of Public Works Johnson stated that he would like to send out a Request for Proposal for Professional Civil Engineering Services. He stated that the request is being made after staff has determined that it is in the City’s best interest to hire a consulting engineering firm to manage the downtown median project. He stated that given the work load of the City’s other capital projects, along with supporting private construction review and permitting, the hiring of a professional civil engineering company would be the best way to manage the project. He stated that the authorization would be for up to $50,000 for the services. He stated that Intergovernmental Agreement for the 2018 Cortez ADA Ramps on US 160 and Downtown Safety Improvements requires a certified Colorado Professional Engineer. He stated that the request would not impact the Street Improvement Fund because the City has saved money by receiving the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant and funds from the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) for the ADA ramp portion. He stated that if the project was tasked to Ken Torres, City Engineer, it would take most of his working hours for oversight of the project. He spoke about the bid process and when the bid would be presented to Council for approval. In answer to a question from Councilmember Keel, Director of Public Works Johnson stated that the contract would be for the downtown median project only. Councilmember Noyes asked if the City was not aware of this need at the start of the process and Director of Public Works Johnson stated that staff had a discussion about how far stretched they would be should they add this project to their already busy schedule. Mayor Pro-tem Lucero moved that a Request for Proposals be sent out for Professional Civil Engineering Services. Councilmember Carlson seconded the motion, and the vote was as follows: Betts Carlson Keel Lavey Lucero Noyes Sheek No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes 8. DRAFT ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS – None. 9. OTHER ITEMS OF BUSINESS – None. CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MAY 22, 2018 PAGE 5 10. ADDITIONAL CITIZEN PARTICIPATION – None. 11. CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT a. Absent from Next Council Meeting. City Attorney Green stated that he would be absent from the next Council meeting scheduled for June 12, 2018, as he would be returning from a training. 12. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT a. Clean Up Day. City Manager Hale thanked Council and the community for helping with Clean Up Day. He stated that there were over 75 people that helped clean up the town and he hopes the event will continue. b. Goodbye. City Manager Hale thanked the community for the opportunity to serve as City Manager for 6 ½ years and stated that he and his family have been really happy here and have made life long friends. He wished Council well and complimented staff on their dedication to the community. 13. CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE REPORTS a. Cortez Cultural Center Meeting. Councilmember Lavey stated that he attended the Cortez Cultural Center meeting and discussion included proceeds from the gift shop which are projected to be the same as last year. He stated that Sergeant Rex Brinkerhoff gave recommendations to staff on how to deal with shoplifting. He spoke about projects that will be completed this year in the plaza and events that have been held as well as future events coming this summer. b. Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Advisory Board Meeting. Councilmember Lavey stated that he attended the Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Advisory Board meeting on Friday, May 18, 2018. He stated that a ribbon cutting will be held at the South Softball Complex playground structure on June 4, 2018, at 6:00 p.m. He stated that the pickleball courts are almost complete and the BMX track had their first race on Friday, May 18, 2018. c. Birding Festival. Councilmember Keel stated that he drove for the Birding Festival and thanked the City for lending vehicles for the tours. He stated that he took his group to McElmo Canyon which also included a visit to Guy Drew’s vineyard. d. Historical Preservation Day. Councilmember Betts stated that three tours of downtown Cortez were completed on Saturday, May 19, 2018, honoring Historical Preservation Day. She stated that 34 people attended the tours. e. Mesa Verde Country. Mayor Sheek stated that discussion at the Mesa Verde Country meeting included Lodger’s Tax which is up from this time last year. She stated that the Colorado Tourism office held a meeting in April with people in the southwest area to discuss what everyone has in common. She spoke about farm and ranch tours that are being offered this year with Mesa Verde Country and the Cortez Cultural Center working together on the tours. Councilmember Noyes CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MAY 22, 2018 PAGE 6 noted that discussion was also held on the write-up of Cortez that was included in a German newspaper. Mayor Sheek stated that Kelly Kirkpatrick has done a great job on reaching out to tour operators all over the world to encourage them to bring their tour groups to Cortez. f. Mayor’s Report on Workshop. Mayor Sheek stated that the workshop training was completed on IT Security and a presentation was made on the City’s Employee Wellness Program which includes a new Health Insurance Premium Rebate program. She stated information was shared on the broadband project and noted that a community meeting would be held on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, at 6:00 p.m., in Council Chambers for the public to view the presentation which Council had received. She stated that Council held discussion on information shared at the last Council worksession on ‘Suggestions for Success’ noting that Council will continue discussion on how to handle time limits on speakers at the Council meetings at the next worksession. Also, the next steps for hiring a new City Manager were reviewed. The regular meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. ________________________________ Karen W. Sheek, Mayor ATTEST: ___________________________ Linda L. Smith, City Clerk