MONTE VISTA – The City of Monte Vista is moving forward with the Lariat Ditch Project and submitted the paperwork for a $12.4 million nonmatching grant, City Manager Gigi Dennis said during a Monte Vista City Council meeting earlier this month.
Dennis said it was a non-matching grant, and the city should be notified by Labor Day, if they were successful in obtaining the grant. It was submitted in the first week of August.
The Lariat Ditch Project was introduced as part of the city’s RERC (Recreation Economy for Rural Communities) plan that was implemented with an EPA grant to Monte Vista. The plan for the Lariat project, according to City Planner DJ Enderle, is to pipe ditch line in the city and cover it with a paved pathway. The path would begin near Monte Vista High School and go in an easterly direction finishing the Polished Bean.
Dennis also said that the EPA grant that Monte Vista received for RERC planning was gaining notoriety. Chris Perkins, of Jackson, Wyo., visited Monte Vista. She said Perkins is starting to travel all over the country and visit some of the communities that have been successful with the EPA grant. Perkins is from an organization called the Outdoor Recreation Round table, based in Washington DC.
“He wanted to come to see what work we have been doing and what we have got going,” Dennis said, adding that Perkins wrote a letter of support for the Lariat Ditch Project, as the organization is a big support system of outdoor recreation.
During the city council meeting, Charles Spielman gave an update on the attempt to save two old cottonwood trees at the Monte Vista Golf Course.
“As you’ll recall in your meeting on June 20, I presented a petition signed by over 100 citizens. The petition had two goals, to preserve two cottonwood trees shading the number two tee at the Monte Vista Golf Course, while also preventing damage to the adjoining running track, on high school grounds from Cottonwood tree sap. Today I report to you that we have succeeded in the first goal but have not successfully accomplished the second” he said.
On June 20, Monte Vista School District Superintendent Scott Wiedeman stated that there was a need for the City of Monte Vista to step in and “do something”, with two cottonwood trees that were presenting a danger to the running track right next to the golf course.
Wideman was concerned that branches from the trees could fall on someone using the track and that the damage the branches would cause to the track surface.
In addition to the petition, Spielman presented the idea of bringing in a tree specialist to check the health of the trees and that the golf course had agreed to help purchase a cover for the track to protect it from damage.
Spielman said the trees were examined by a specialist who reported that both trees were in good condition.
Spielman said according to Monte Canvas and Upholstery a covering would cost about $3,800 to manufacture and install.
The MV golf club board members agreed to pay for the cover, Spielman said. But they had hit a snag because the company that just installed the new track had indicated that a fabric cover could cause condensation that might be harmful to the track.
“So, the question of a cover, is still unresolved,” Spielman said.
Council members thanked Speilman for the update but did not make any decisions regarding the trees.
City Manager Dennis said she visited with the golf course and asked why it was so important that the tress remain there, and they had expressed that they were coming up on their 100th anniversary, and those trees had been there longer than they had been around.
In other matters, Dennis also stated that due to the passing of an ordinance, she needed council members to appoint a board of adjustments. The city would begin seeking applicants and present them to the council at a future meeting.
The next city council meeting will be held on Aug. 15.
