MONTROSE – When possible, the City of Montrose and Montrose County plan to work together on future road and bridge infrastructure projects, possibly sharing resources and equipment, to benefit taxpayers.
That was the general consensus reached at a joint Montrose City Council and Montrose County Commissioner meeting held on Thursday, Feb. 7, in Montrose.
“It would be a good goal to have at least one cooperative project on a yearly basis,” County Road and Bridge Director Brian Wilson said of the possibility that the county and the city will cooperate on infrastructure projects crossing city/county boundaries.
A good starting point for a cooperative project could be the reconstruction of a section of Kinikin Road, from the city boundary out to Pahgre Road. Another project, Wilson suggested, might be reworking the surface of Chipeta Road.
It was agreed that collaborative details would still have to be ironed out, and that nothing could be solidified too far in advance due to annual budgeting processes. Still, everyone at the meeting also agreed that an intergovernmental agreement between the city and county could be accomplished.
“With declining revenues, things like this are going to become more and more important,” Commissioner Gary Ellis said.
“It sounds like we can look at the Kinikin project in the next month or so, and then maybe work on a long range plan,” Mayor Thomas Smits said.
At the meeting, councilors and commissioners also discussed the possibility of more equipment-sharing, to cut down on rental costs or potentially expensive equipment purchases. It was agreed that the county’s Road and Bridge department and the city’s Public Works Department could collaborate amicably, if the timing works.
Commissioner Ron Henderson expressed some concern that sharing could lead to damaged equipment.
“I can never remember having a piece of equipment coming back better than what it left as,” Henderson said. “It’s kind of like girlfriends. The fact of the matter is, I hope that [given] your understanding of life processes, you can visualize the problems that can be involved that are real when sharing equipment.”
Also slated for discussion were concerns surrounding the use of Public Safety Sales Tax dollars, but the meeting was adjourned before that topic could be hashed out.
gjarvis@watchnewspapers.com
Twitter: @gusgusj
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