Yuma City Council members held a discussion about shipping containers being used as storage units on properties during the work session held prior to the regular meeting this past Monday at City Hall.
Mayor Tim McClung, Mayor Pro-tem Nathan O’Neal, Jené Rutz and Marc Shay participated in the discussion.
McClung shared that someone was applying to install a container, but was being denied at City Hall. City Treasurer Karma Wells said they have been allowed on commercial and industrial properties, but not on residential.
Wray and Akron have ordinances pertaining to such usages. Wray reportedly allows them only on a temporary basis, and Akron requires it be painted to look like the other structure on the property. Sterling requires such containers to be fully sided.
O’Neal expressed concerns about the aesthetic value, or lack thereof. It was mentioned that likely there are not many residents who want to see them on residential properties.
McClung said the use of such containers appears to be a growing trend all over. There was a lot of discussion about the fact there is a lot of property zoned C-1 or C-2 up and down both highways, as well as on Main St.
It was decided staff would draft an ordinance for shipping containers on C-2 and Industrial properties and bring it to the council at the second meeting in September.
Councilman Jerry Thompson arrived before the end of the work session leading up to the regular meeting. Councilmen Dan Baucke and Michael Fitzsimmons were absent.
Speaking of the work sessions. They have been held prior to the regular meetings since McClung became mayor. However, the council voted 5-0 Monday night to stop having the work sessions and for the regular meeting to begin at 6 p.m. rather than 6:30 beginning with the August 18 meeting.
During Public Comment, Alice Swanson read a letter of thanks to the council regarding the successful Rural Philanthropy Days held in early July. She shared there were many outstandingly positive comments from the more than 220 who attended the three-day event.
Vincent Bukowski shared updated information about the carport at the Harvest Hotel. He said he had documentation from the Colorado Department of Transportation that it was not on CDOT’s right of way. He also had some documents from a lawyer. McClung asked him to provide the information to the city staff. Bukowski said he already had and asked one month ago to be on the council agenda but has been left off. McClung said the city would go through the information and get back to him.
The council received the 2025 audit report from Matt Miller with McMahan and Associates. He said it was a clean audit and there were no difficulties. He went through the various funds and said all were in good shape. Miller noted the General Fund’s ending fund balance was $4.7 million, which is more than six months of operating expenses. He said that falls into a decent range.
City Manager Angela Cordell informed the council she had met with the current owners of the old nursing home property for discussions about what else it possibly could be used for.
Police Chief Curtis Witte, noting Yuma-1 Superintendent Jim Fraley’s presence in the gallery, because new legislation is expanding the distance of school zones, and that the speed limit will be 10 miles per hour instead of 15. It will impact a much larger area around the Yuma schools. August 12 is the compliance deadline, and Witte said new signage was on its way.
Director of Public Works Eric Metcalfe noted that the Third and Fourth avenue paving projects were nearly done, with just some punch list work to be done. He said the crew will be onsite to begin the new swimming pool project, as demolition of the old pool has been completed.
Wells reported that 60 door hangars were handed out for code violations, as well as some letters. She said she is working on state permits to tear down the old Lett Hotel and a burned out residence on N. Birch St.
The council and her held a lengthy discussion about outsourcing payroll.
Council members, during their reports, made comments about an all-county meeting that was held in Wray on July 22. It was noted there does not seem to be much desire for cooperation across jurisdictional lines. McClung noted that “nobody is laughing at us” as has been indicated in this publication.
A change order on the Third and Fourth avenue project, for $5,200 was approved. The project still remains under budget.
The council approved amending the City of Yuma Personnel Manual to reflect updates on vacancies to comply with state law.
Essenza Architecture asked for an amendment to its agreement for services, seeking an extra $49,000 from the city to pay what was charged to Essenza by engineers when the decision was made to go from two buildings to one at the new swimming pool. Council members voiced their continued frustration with Essenza. They unanimously voted to table the request and have O’Neal and city staff have a conversation with Essenza.
A construction contract with Milan Asphalt & Crushing for crack filling was approved 5-0. The city has $100,000 budgeted for the work.
There was an interesting conversation when it came to the last agenda item, selecting a firm for engineering and planning services for Yuma Municipal Airport. The city has utilized Armstrong Consultants for years, but a decision was made to see who else was out there. The new administrative team interviewed three firms recently, each interview lasting for hours.
Metcalfe told the council that all three firms checked all the boxes, and all are really qualified. The administrative staff independently scored each firm, and Metcalfe said “B” scored the highest, so the staff recommends that firm for the job.
Rutz said she was curious how the team scored the firms. Council members asked why they needed to approve a firm through a motion since there is no upfront money involved. It also was questioned why it was a “blind” presentation. Wells said the council has to approve the firm.
The council voted 4-1 to approve “B” which was revealed to be LJA Aviation. McClung cast the dissenting vote, stating he did not feel there needed to be a vote. He said it was not a dig at the administrative team, and council members said they fully trust the administrative team. Cordell emphasized that each interview was extensive and lengthy.