City council discusses updates to public infrastructure

Tuesday’s city council meeting gave way for more discussion regarding updates to Gunnison infrastructure and community morale. 

Bill Nesbitt has served as a representative on the Gunnison Basin Roundtable, basin-wide, collaborative public body established under Colorado’s Water for the 21st Century Act to address water management issues affecting the Gunnison Basin, for the past 15 years. He resigned in December, leaving the position open. After interviewing multiple candidates for the role, the joint review committee recommended that the council move to recommend Nicole Bogenschuetz, district engineer for Mt. Crested Butte Water and Sanitation District, for the role. The council unanimously agreed. The position is a five-year term. 

Two Gunnison High School students approached the council to report the successes of last week’s prom. The students wanted to make this year stand out, so they applied for the Youth Challenge Grant, requesting $1,000 for catering and a photo booth to help collect memories from the night. The grant is a way for the city to fund new and creative endeavors for our younger citizens in Gunnison, while helping to keep them off substances. The students reported that the prom was substance free, and had an attendance of over 160 GHS students. 

Many comments were made by public works director Pete Rice as he assisted on almost every presentation regarding infrastructure updates to the City of Gunnison including a discussion about traffic calming policies, street lighting evaluations and more updates to the water treatment plant plans. 

The Gunnison Valley Home Energy Advancement Team, now a program managed by Gunnison County, connects Gunnison residents to programs aimed at making homes more energy efficient, comfortable, affordable and safe by providing energy efficiency and electrification services. State funding for the project was slashed by over 50%, GV-HEAT requested of the council $42,500 to help fund the shared mission. Council approved the funding unanimously. 

The 2026 Concrete Replacement Program addresses deteriorated or ADA noncompliant infrastructure throughout the city. CS Limited of Salida produced the winning bid on the project, and council moved to approve the $583,448.35 for the program. 

Gunnison does not have an economic development staff or an independent organization that is charged with guiding the city’s economic growth. Wilson informed the council of a proposal to provide alignment on said economic retention and development, proposing the implementation of an interorganizational cooperation from leaders within the public and private sector, and non-profit organizations, who are part of the backbone of the local economy. The council authorized Wilson’s proposal for the Economic Retention and Development Partnership, which will work to support new and existing businesses in Gunnison.