Monte Vista council approves annual audit contract, 3-mile plan, DOLA housing grant pass-through, separation settlement and manager pay increase

The Monte Vista City Council approved several formal actions at its regular meeting, including an audit engagement letter, reauthorization of the city’s three-mile plan, authorization to serve as fiscal agent for a predevelopment housing grant, settlement of a personnel claim, and a 4% salary increase for the city manager.

Audit engagement: The council approved a commitment letter with Wall Smith and Bateman to perform the annual audit for an amount not to exceed $29,500. Staff told the council the increase of about $6,400 over last year reflects the need to perform a single audit because of federal dollars received in the year. The motion to accept the audit proposal passed by roll call (Howard: yes; Lorenz: yes; Watson: aye; Mayor Becker: aye).

Three-mile plan: Council reauthorized the Monte Vista three-mile plan (statutorily required municipal planning boundary) with no boundary changes. The reauthorization passed by roll call (Howard: yes; Lorenz: yes; Watson: aye; Mayor Becker: aye).

DOLA predevelopment grant and fiscal-agent authorization: The council adopted Resolution 2025-04 authorizing the City of Monte Vista to apply to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Housing, for an affordable-housing predevelopment grant and to act as fiscal agent for the Urban Renewal Authority. The resolution delegates signature authority to Duane Inderle, city planning and community development director, for payment requests and grant reporting related only to this grant. The motion passed by roll call (Howard: yes; Lorenz: yes; Watson: aye; Mayor Becker: aye).

Separation settlement: Council approved a separation agreement with former police chief Sean McDonough. The settlement totals $35,000, which staff said will be paid half by the city and half by the relevant insurance/association entity. The motion to authorize the city manager to sign the separation agreement passed by roll call (Howard: yes; Lorenz: yes; Watson: aye; Mayor Becker: aye).

City manager compensation: Council approved a 4% raise for City Manager Gigi Dennis and directed staff to amend her contract accordingly; the motion passed by roll call (Howard: yes; Lorenz: yes; Watson: yes; Mayor Becker: yes).

Why it matters: The approved audit engagement and fiscal-authority resolution enable the city to meet statutory and grant-administration requirements. The separation settlement concludes a personnel matter the council and staff said will allow the police department to move forward with staffing, and the manager raise reflects an administrative personnel decision the council ratified.

Votes at a glance: - Motion to modify the agenda (remove G2, N2, N5): Approved by roll call (4–0; Mayor Pro Tem excused). - Consent agenda (minutes of Feb. 6 and accounts payable): Approved by roll call (4–0). - Audit engagement with Wall Smith and Bateman (not to exceed $29,500): Approved by roll call (4–0). - Adopt 2025 three-mile plan update (no changes): Approved by roll call (4–0). - Resolution 2025-04 (apply to DOLA Division of Housing and act as fiscal agent for URA): Approved by roll call (4–0). - Separation agreement with former police chief Sean McDonough ($35,000, split half by insurance/association): Approved by roll call (4–0). - City manager 4% raise and contract adjustment: Approved by roll call (4–0).

Provenance (excerpted): Motions and votes are recorded throughout the meeting record: audit and audit motion around transcript block ~2434; three-mile plan adoption around ~2569–2731; DOLA grant resolution around ~3298–3586; separation agreement discussion and vote around ~3591–3705; manager raise around ~5692–5761.