City council discusses plans to improve Gunnison infrastructure and potential rises in electric rates

At this week’s Gunnison city council meeting, some serious ground was covered in terms of discussions on the many projects being finalized in the coming weeks and months. 

The meeting began with a short announcement from parks and recreation director Dan Vollendorf, alerting attendees that the south entrance of the Rec Center will be closed while work is done on the surrounding area, which slightly affects the RTA stop. City engineer Carly McGowan informed council of a temporary stop change, slightly further down Spencer Avenue. 

Western student liaison Townes Bakke announced new Student Government Association elections have taken place on the Western campus, as well as plans for a 125-year celebration for the university, which will take the form of a block party in late August. 

City Finance Director Ben Cowan presented the council with background information regarding a 10% increase in electric rates, which is included in the city’s annual budget. With the rising cost of wholesale power, Cowan presented data that showed why the increase was necessary. Cowan also stressed that the new rates were staggered from January tax increases to avoid mid-winter house heating cost jumps for Gunnison residents. 

The council offered an opportunity for public input, which there was a lack of during the meeting, however, the official vote on the matter will take place at the next city council meeting May 26, and if approved, the new rates will go into effect June 1. 

Vollendorf brought a more finalized version of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan to council. The project has been taken on by Norris Design, and is nearly ready to commence. Vollendorf approached council with the intention of receiving critiques based on whether the plan reflects community priorities, now and in the future, if there was anything missing or underemphasised in the plan and if there are any changes that should be made prior to official adoption. The council addressed contingencies they’d hoped would be amended. Councilors were asked to bring further comments to the May 26 council meeting, where the plan will potentially be approved. 

The council then voted unanimously to approve budget amendments to support a City Chop expansion and additional revenues in the water fund to support the existing appropriations for water system improvements. Both ordinances were unanimously approved. 

Pete Rice approached the council with plans to begin a contract with Eidos Architecture to construct construction documents for a public works building expansion to improve employee workspaces and encourage collaboration. The basic plan is to create a communal space where each faction of the public works team can connect, while also creating more workspaces.