Council reviews draft budget, discusses pool deficits, fire department funding and development proposal

The Gunnison City Council on April 1 reviewed a draft budget that highlighted ongoing operational pressures and several potential capital needs.

Dennis, the city’s treasurer/staff presenter, told the council the municipal pool has run multi-year deficits after shifting from part-time to full-time management, citing past transfers into a newly created pool roof reserve. "We were supplementing the pool with Jeremy $5,060,000 dollars" he said, explaining personnel benefits and full-time staffing contributed to the losses and that periodic equipment failures—boilers, filters—drive repeated $20,000–$40,000 hits.

Council members discussed solutions including soliciting competitive bids, forming a small council committee to vet options, and the tradeoffs of using utility-tax revenue to cover operations. "You could almost say, you know what? We're gonna give it to you for free," one councilor observed, adding that doing so would shift the subsidy onto general taxpayers.

The council also discussed roof replacement alternatives for the pool facility. Members said options include installing a metal roof over the existing membrane or removing the membrane and placing panels sized to accept solar arrays; tradeoffs include additional lighting needs and cost differences. No final choice was made; several councilors favored collecting bids and returning a recommendation.

On the fire department, Dennis and Gary (staff) described a shrinking savings balance—roughly $140,000—and warned that current burn rates and debt payments mean reserves could be exhausted within a few years unless member cities increase contributions or a sustainability plan is adopted. Gary noted that, under the current arrangement, the cities contribute about $70,000 plus an additional debt payment, and that the department has already drawn heavily on savings this budget cycle.

Dennis also said the city will apply for an Outdoor Recreation Planning Assistance grant and plans to seek about $100,000 to study expanding the existing pressurized-irrigation pond into recreational uses such as fishing ponds, trails and trailheads. "We're going to go after $100,000 to help start this process of looking at expanding the irrigation farm," he said. Staff proposed setting aside $30,000 from irrigation reserves and $70,000 from the water fund if the grant is not awarded.

The council reviewed water-fund revenues and noted several one-time or grant-related inflows tied to the Clark Canyon well project and a Tarkanian project. Dennis reported roughly $930,000 in annual water sales and outlined proposed transfers, including $326,000 from the water fund to the general fund and a $70,000 transfer to the irrigation fund; he stressed that some monies are restricted to water/sewer purposes.

On a separate funding question, staff reported the state will reimburse the city for a series of underbilled accounts—an expected inflow of nearly $180,000. Dennis asked whether the council would consider using a portion of that one-time revenue to replace a battered 1997 cemetery flatbed dump truck. Estimated new-vehicle costs including outfitting were roughly $105,000; staff noted surplus alternatives at lower cost but higher mileage. Council agreed staff (JD) should pursue purchase options and return with budget amendment language and a public-hearing schedule before any purchase.

The council also heard a rezoning application for the old Main Street elementary site proposing conversion of the school to office space, a 40-room hotel and retail on the Main Street frontage, and behind that 120 apartments and 80 townhomes. Dennis said the planning commission recommended either a special zone for the 10-acre parcel or a development agreement; councilors raised questions about maintenance, affordability and code amendments and scheduled a public hearing so neighbors can comment.

The meeting ended after routine approvals and a reminder about an upcoming cities-and-towns conference and related training.