Montrose mayor urges spot repair for Lenerman Industrial Park sinkhole; council approves $18,200 bid

Mayor Console opened an unscheduled agenda item describing "we have a sinkhole" next to the east side of Lenerman Industrial Park and said the hole was "Pretty substantial hole." She told council staff had received two written quotes: one to replace the entire storm line and one for a spot repair.

Council members questioned whether a spot repair would only delay a larger failure. One member asked whether the city would face repeat collapses similar to problems the council experienced in other neighborhoods; Mayor Console acknowledged the concern but said the city lacks the $112,000 immediately needed to fully replace the line and recommended taking the lower-cost spot-repair bid so the planned mill-and-overlay road work can proceed. Staff noted the line in question is a 21–24 inch corrugated storm pipe that serves much of the industrial area and that crews will camera and visually inspect the pipe as part of the work.

A motion was made to approve the spot-repair bid for a 24-inch inspection/repair at a total of $18,200. The motion passed on a 4–0 voice vote. Council and staff agreed to plan for a full replacement in a future budget cycle and to include inspections to track the remainder of the pipe’s condition in coming years.

Council discussion stressed trade-offs between immediate road-schedule timing and the longer-term lifecycle cost of repeatedly spot-repairing the line. Staff flagged limited general-fund flexibility and noted LGA allocations previously committed to other projects, leaving no clear source to pay now for a complete replacement.

Next steps: crews will mobilize for the spot repair and report findings to council at the next meeting; staff will include the full replacement as a future budget item for further planning.