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Montrose council weighs LGA split, parks and street funding in preliminary budget
Summary
Council discussed routing LGA dollars among partner development, capital and general funds, debated a $300,000 street improvement levy and the adequacy of $100,000 for parks, and considered trails land acquisition and ADA surfacing costs.
City staff outlined options for allocating this year’s LGA funds and asked council whether to place roughly $140,000 into parks (partner development), $136,000 in capital, and the remainder (around $459,000) into the general fund for 2025.
"This year, a 140,000 went to partner development, a 136,000 went to capital, and the remainder of roughly 459,000 went to general," the staff member said, asking whether council wanted to keep the same distribution or reassign amounts into parks or capital for specific projects.
Council members discussed a $300,000 street improvement line (levy 4) included in staff’s draft as a placeholder, with one member noting that the CIP typically budgets $100,000 per year but that amount would be insufficient for the city’s backlog. "I threw a $300,000 street improvement number in here to levy 4 just to get something in there," staff said.
Parks and trails needs drew attention: participants pointed out that many parks require maintenance and that new playground surfacing that meets ADA standards (rubber surfacing) is more expensive than traditional options. Staff and council also noted trail connections would likely require land acquisition, which $100,000 would not cover.
The staff member also raised a county coordination question about how the county treats certified amounts for budget certification and said they would check with the county before finalizing allocations.
Why it matters: Decisions about how to allocate LGA and levy funds determine which capital projects proceed and how quickly the city can address maintenance backlogs, from streets to park surfacing and trail connections.
Next steps: Staff will follow up with the county on certification rules and bring refined LGA allocation recommendations back to council in a future meeting. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn that passed 4‑0.
