Monticello City approves ordinances for volunteer committees and gets water and pickleball reports

Members of the Monticello City Council received a positive water report, an update on pickleball pricing and approved ordinances related to volunteer committees at their latest meeting.

Members of the city council passed an ordinance amending residential qualification for municipal planning commission members at their October 13 meeting. The ordinance requires that all three planning commissioners reside inside Monticello city limits.

Members of the city council also unanimously adopted a resolution standardizing bylaws across all Monticello city advisory committees. The resolution updates administrative rules for the airport, recreation, and parks and beautification committees.

Those by-laws require that at least two of the five committee members be residents of Monticello, allowing those outside the city limits with a vested interest in Monticello to still serve on volunteer committees.

Members of the Monticello city council also approved a resolution entering into an agreement with the Town of Bluff for building inspection services.

Assistant City Manager Megan Gallegos explained the shared service model will help Monticello, Bluff and San Juan County handle rising building permit demands efficiently with expected savings for city funds in the long term.

Members of the city council also revisited a consideration to build two new pickleball courts. An estimate of $110,000 was provided to the city by Jones & DeMille Engineering including concrete slab construction, perimeter fencing, court surfacing and line painting, not including lighting for the courts. The quote was much larger than an initial city estimate of $50,000 that covered basic concrete and excavation labor only.

Council discussed the difficulties of financing the project with tighter municipal recreation budgets following the expiration of local ZAP (Zoo, Arts, and Parks) tax funding. The tax could be renewed by voters but not until late 2027.

While City Manager Kaeden Kulow shared that the city could cover it with reserve funds that would completely drain the city's savings. Council members expressed an interest in a 50/50 cost-sharing strategy. With the city hoping to find the other half of those funds through community donations, local business matching, and potential recreation grants. 

Members of the Monticello City Council also received a water report which showed an increase in municipal water supply following heavy storms in early October.

Total intake flows from both North and South Creek peaked near 2,000 gallons per minute in early October which helped Loyds Lake see a rise in water stores.

City staff reported levels at Loyds stood at 7,125 feet 2 inches on October 13 which showed a net rise of six inches over two weeks. Monticello’s 125-acre storage pond reportedly sits at 69-percent capacity , while the 25-acre secondary pond is 100-percent full ahead of slated winterization and drainage starting next week.

In other matters, secondary water delivery to the city golf course measured at 126.3 acre-feet, supplemented by 17.3 acre-feet from city well pumping. That combined consumption remained below the 150 acre-feet for the season, showcasing a steep drop from historical usage that had previously ranged between 220 and 260 acre-feet annually.

City staff also reported that a newly acquired street sweeper and tractor equipped with a brush hog has already seen successful use in clearing heavy street debris as well as autumn leaves.