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Court weighs options for Montana Vista Community Center as operating lease nears expiration
Summary
With the current services agreement set to end in September 2025, commissioners discussed options for the county-owned Montana Vista Community Center — ranging from a new RFP for operators to reclaiming the building for county operation — after staff reported immediate maintenance needs including a failed septic system.
El Paso County Commissioners on Monday discussed the future of the county‑owned Montana Vista Community Center, which is operated under a services agreement by Centro de Salud Familiar La Fe and whose current contract expires Sept. 30, 2025.
Irene Gutierrez of the Community Services Department provided the court a history of the facility and said the center’s current operator exercised all contract extension options in a two‑decade relationship. Gutierrez told the court staff had inspected the facility and identified immediate repairs: “the septic tank is in disrepair, it has collapsed so it needs complete replacement,” she said, and the site also needs a replacement water heater, fire‑panel work and repairs to a detached portable structure that currently lacks a working HVAC unit.
County information technology staff provided a rough estimate for bringing the building to current county network and security standards, and facilities staff estimated immediate repairs of roughly $40,000–$80,000 (the briefing cited $41,000 in immediate items and roughly $79,000–$80,000 in additional repairs to reach a functioning standard). Gutierrez told commissioners the county could proceed in several ways: issue an RFP for a nonprofit operator (a process staff estimated would take four to six months), reclaim the property for direct county operation, negotiate a different facilities‑use arrangement with the current operator, or sell the property.
Commissioners discussed options; several said they would like to preserve services to the community and avoid leaving the building vacant. Legal staff said they were researching whether the court could extend or renegotiate the existing non‑profit contract without running a new RFP and noted the county could also use a facilities‑use agreement to permit nonprofit partners to continue service provision if the county reclaimed active maintenance responsibilities.
The court gave staff direction to pursue a needs assessment survey of the Montana Vista community and to return with legal analysis about contracting options and with cost estimates for immediate and longer‑term maintenance. Gutierrez said staff could complete a needs assessment within roughly three months and would prepare an RFP package if the court directed that route.
No final vote was taken Monday; commissioners instead requested additional information and asked staff to present next steps and budget implications in a future meeting.
