Fruita City Council Minutes 1 September 29, 2026
FRUITA CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP
SEPTEMBER 29, 2026
6:30 P.M.
CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL
The workshop of the Fruita City Council was called to order at 6:34 p.m. by Mayor Matthew Breman.
City Council members in attendance were Aaron Hancey, Jeannine Purser, Rich Parris, Amy Miller,
Todd Kumro and Jared Prochnow.
City Staff in attendance included City Manager Shannon Vassen, Assistant City Manager Dan Caris,
Management Analyst Kaydee Lucero, City Engineer John Boulden, Finance Director Christa
Yamashita, Public Works Director, Special Projects Coordinator Steve Martinez and Special Counsel
Dalton Kelley with Butler Snow (in attendance audibly only via speakerphone).
AGENDA ITEMS
- PRESENTATION – ACCESS CONTROL PLAN (ACP) AMENDMENT FOR THE
FUTURE CDOT WIDENING PROJECT BY MATT CASEY, DESIGN ENGINEER
AND MARK BUNNELL, TRAFFIC SAFETY ENGINEER (6:30 – 7:25 P.M.)
City Engineer John Boulden introduced Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Design
Engineer Matt Casey and Traffic Safety Engineer Mark Bunnell.
Matt Casey and Mark Bunnell introduced themselves and provided an overview of their
responsibilities. The US 6 West/SH 139 Access Control Plan (ACP) project begins at the western end
of 18 Road (South Pine Street) and goes along Highway 6 all the way to 22 Road. The project will
entail widening Highway 6 from two lanes to four lanes with a raised median. The proposed concept
warrants an ACP Amendment for accesses into private property/businesses along Highway 6.
There will be some U-turns and Continuous Green-T intersections to channel left turns and allow
eastbound traffic to continue to flow. The CDOT representatives stated that they will still need to go
through more analysis.
Other slides in CDOT’s PowerPoint presentation included information about the following:
• Aerial photos of existing Continuous Green-T intersections
• Project Intersection Concept: Right-In, Right-Out (RIRO) movement with dedicated U-turns
• Entities affected by the US 6 West/SH 139 ACP Final Report include:
✓ Colorado Department of Transportation
✓ City of Grand Junction
✓ Mesa County
✓ City of Fruita
• Specific revisions to the ACP (last amended June 2010)
• Access Management Manual
• Purpose of Access Management is to:
✓ Reduce the number of accesses
✓ Strategically locate accesses
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✓ Reduce/eliminate left-turns
• Results of Access Management are as follows:
✓ Reduce crashes
✓ Improve traffic flow
• Diagram illustrating percentages of driveway crashes involving left turns (3 out of 4 crashes at
driveways involve left turns)
• Diagram illustrating that U-turns are safer than direct left turns from driveways
• ACP Strategies
• Aerial photo examples of the following types of accesses:
✓ Shared accesses
✓ Accesses on opposite sides
✓ Reducing number of accesses to one property
✓ Accesses of corner properties from side streets
✓ Local roads parallel to I-70
✓ ¾ movement accesses
✓ RIRO accesses
• Aerial photo examples of location and spacing of major intersections
• Illustrations of amendments for alternate accesses by type and property location
• Timeline as follows:
✓ September 2026: Presentations to local agencies
✓ October 2026: Updated ACP Open House
✓ November 2026: One-on-One property owner meetings
✓ January 2027: Updated Intergovernmental Agreement
Council members inquired about the possibility of CDOT holding an additional Open House for Fruita
residents and property/businesses owners due to how engaged the Fruita community typically is.
- PRESENTATION AND OVERVIEW OF 2027 CITY MANAGER’S RECOMMENDED
BUDGET (7:25 – 8:40 P.M.)
City Manager Shannon Vassen reviewed the schedule for upcoming Budget presentations at Regular
and Council Workshop meetings.
Vassen commended Management Analyst Kaydee Lucero and Finance Director Christa Yamashita for
their work in creating the Draft 2027 Budget.
Other highlights included:
• No big surprises in the 2027 Annual Budget
• All budget items are included in all of the City’s Master Plans
• $30.9 million fiscal impact overall (including Transfers)
• $30.4 million in Expenses
• $535,000 in fund balance to spend.
• Capital Projects in 2027 are fewer and smaller than last year and include:
• Biggest project = $2 million for construction of J Road from Wildcat Avenue to Skiff
Road to connect Highway 6 & 50 to J Road (Fremont Street) (staff is trying to secure
grant funding to help fund this project) (Almost all Capital dollars going to this project
– no overlays or Chipseal next year).
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• Pedestrian improvements/Sidewalk Replacement Program: $100,000
• Security improvements such as security cameras
• Added card reader so keys won’t be required
• Locks at Civic Center are being replaced in the next two weeks.
• Adding new features at FCC for potential future lockdowns
• $50,000 for LSW Park irrigation system updates and the purchase of water rights
• $50,000 Idea Factory projects – poles and lights in alley
• $45,000 in electrical upgrades at Civic Center Memorial Park
• $75,000 Expansion of Fruita Community Center Feasibility Study (Mesa County
Library may be moving out because they’ve run out of space) (may relocate at old Fruita
Middle School or new MWC location)
• $45,000 Needs Assessment Study at the WWRF
• $175,000 roof replacement for library at the FCC (they’ve had a lot of leaks)
• Capital Equipment in the 2027 Budget includes:
• $350,000 for Camera Van replacements in the Sewer Fund
• $320,000 for four Police Trucks (completely outfitted)
• $55,000 cardio equipment replacements at FCC
• $50,000 to purchase variable message boards (signs)
• $31,500 for Parks ATV vehicle replacement in Public Works
• Personnel expenses = the largest expense for City
• Compensation – Benefits Survey showed benefits are well-received by employees.
• Over last couple of years, the City has put a lot of money into personnel.
• Parks and are PD fully staffed except for one seasonal position in Parks.
Mayor Breman asked when increases in staffing costs will taper off from the larger increases
experienced over the last few years. City Manager Vassen explained that the City’s previous goal was
to get its employees to market rate and while most have been updated to market rate, a few positions
remain that will require increases such those for Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WWRF) Operators.
• Police Officers are currently at market rate
• WWTF staff will have pretty big salary adjustments (out of Sewer Fund)
• Public Works reorganization – close to market rate
Councilor Miller asked about security efforts at the WWRF. Public Works Director John Carillo
responded that staff is currently in those conversations and noted that a security audit was recently
completed when the City changed its IT provider.
• 4% increase for full and part-time staff
• Council pay will increase beginning next year for the first time in several years.
• Health insurance is going up 4.5%, which is much better than last year’s increase of 13%.
• Continued funding of the City’s Paid Family Medical Leave (PFML) Program, which allows
eligible employees to take up to eight weeks of paid time off in the event of a serious medical
issue and other qualifying life events (separate from FMLA)
• New and reclassified positions include:
✓ New police officer
✓ Transitioning two seasonal Parks workers to full-time
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✓ Communications and Marketing Specialist – Staff will bring marketing and promotion
efforts in-house to focus on general communication and tourism marketing.
✓ Community Services Director - Will oversee the Communications and Engagement
Department, Parks and Recreation Department and focus on arts/culture, special events,
and more. Due to upcoming scheduled leaves, Vassen shared that he would like to fill
these positions sooner to support continuity of operations.
✓ Transitioning Police Lieutenant to Deputy Police Chief
✓ WWRF staff changes due to certifications/recertifications
• Legal costs for The Launch (staff will continue to self-perform many construction projects at
the site)
• Master Planning recommendation: moving forward with an Economic Development Master
Plan budgeted at $75,000 (includes a $25,000 grand match from the Colorado Department of
Local Affairs (DOLA)
• Marketing and Promotion Fund: Funds are budgeted for the redesign and reprinting of the Fruita
Gravel Adventure Guide and the Fruita Visitor Guide. The Visitor Guide is distributed at
Welcome Centers throughout the state.
• $100,000 is budgeted from state grants for two Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) programs to
help offset fees for an ADU and for sample spec plans.
• $200,000 is reappropriated from the prior year for the second payment to the Oaks to restrict
all 62 units at the property to residents at 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
• Fruita Commons Project – staff is pursuing grant funding to help with improvements to the site
to support the development of 90 workforce dwelling units (50 for-sale units and 40 rental
units)
Vassen requested the Council’s feedback about potentially moving permanently to a drone show
instead of fireworks because every year, staff has to make a decision at the 11
th
hour considering the
drought Fruita has been experiencing. In 2026, the City spent $22,500 on the drone show while costs
for fireworks plus traffic control and port-a-potties generally run $40,000 to - $45,000.
Councilor Kumro asked if the City pays for some kind of fire suppression. Vassen responded that he
wasn’t sure but would look into it and report back to Council.
Mayor Breman noted that there were some line-of-sight issues at the drone show and suggested that
the City potentially close down more streets in years to come.
Vassen noted that approximately $32,500 is included in the 2027 Budget for a 3
rd
of July display.
Mayor Breman asked whether Council would consider replacing fireworks with a drone show and
using the savings for additional event experiences. Kumro and Miller supported the idea, while Purser
was undecided due to nostalgia for fireworks and concerns about pets. Parrish favored a larger, higher-
quality drone show, noting Fruita’s show had poor music audio. Prochnow also leaned toward drones,
citing strong community engagement, while Hancey requested cost comparisons before deciding and
noted that a drone show could give Fruita an experience different from Grand Junction’s fireworks.
Mayor Breman stated that he was mainly interested in making the 3
rd
of July the largest, most impactful
community engagement event (or events) with the dollars allocated in the 2027 Budget regardless of
whether it is for fireworks or a drone show.
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Vassen’s proposed Budget presentation continued as follows:
• Transportation Services will increase next year from $95,200 to $103,000 as a one-time
increase with the expectation that the City’s contribution to The Regional Transportation
Planning Office (RTPO) and Grand Valley Transit (GVT) will decrease next year.
• $22,500 budgeted for Arts and Culture Board projects
• $48,000 for contributions to outside agencies that provide a service to Fruita that provide
economic and community benefits
• IT challenges – staff is currently having discussions about bringing IT in-house with additional
help desk services but funds have not yet been proposed in the 2027 Draft Budget. Vassen
stated the City’s trash collection services went out to bid this year, but there was an error, so it
will need to go back out to bid and staff anticipates receiving three or four responses.
The 2027 Budget also includes proposed fee increases of 2% for sewer and 5% for trash. The state has
an environmental program that will reimburse the City for its recycling costs. More information is to
come on that.
Councilor Hancey requested that the proposed Budget document be sent out earlier than the Council
packet when Budget presentations are included on upcoming agendas and Vassen confirmed that staff
could do that.
Mayor Breman asked whether there are state regulations on how and when the Fruita Housing
Authority Budget (FHA) gets submitted and what the process is as it relates to City Council. Vassen
explained that pursuant to the FHA’s Bylaws, the Authority has to present its Budget to City Council
annually and recommend its approval in accordance with the City of Fruita’s annual budget schedule.
Mayor Breman pointed out that one of the primary responsibilities of the FHA is fiduciary and knowing
the process helps when Council members receive questions from the public about it.
Vassen also noted that Department heads will again be providing their own Budget presentations this
year.
At 8:44, Mayor Breman called for a ten-minute break. At 8:54 p.m., the City Council Workshop meeting
reconvened.
3. DISCUSSION OF CITY OF FRUITA AMENITY-BASED METROPOLITAN
DISTRICT POLICY (8:54 – 9:30 P.M.)
Special Counsel Dalton Kelley with Butler Snow kicked off his presentation of drafts of the
Metropolitan (Metro) District Policy, Model Service Plan and regulating Ordinance that were revised
to illustrate more common threads throughout all documents. He recalled that the last time he and staff
received feedback, it was on the Model Service Plan and Ordinance to make sure that they reflect the
policy directions included in the Metro District Policy, which is amenities-based.
He noted that there were some questions last time concerning what the best mechanism might be for
making sure the Metro District Policy delivers on the public improvements that an applicant has
represented that they will undertake.
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Kelley stated that he and staff evaluated whether it was best to enter into an Intergovernmental
Agreement (IGA) in the Model Service Plan or handle it when developmental approvals come through,
but ultimately, it was decided that the improvements will be included in the Model Service Plan based
on case law that has been upheld by Colorado courts. Kelley said that if the Metro District requires an
improvement in a Model Service Plan, the applicant is required by law to carry out the Service Plan as
much as is practical and are able to do it.
Kelley continued that the Model Service Plan is now set up so that certain improvements can be
designated as mandatory and when the Service Plan is issued, it needs to be issued for those
improvements first before the applicant can finance other improvements that are in the “permissible”
category. He stated that hopefully, Council finds this mechanism satisfactory to ensure Metro Districts
deliver what an applicant has represented they are going to build.
Kelley stated that it was a good segway into the Mayor’s question about a letter that was received by
City Council regarding what a law firm perceives to be legal. He said the law firm is trying to push
forward the idea that somehow it’s a land use approval, but the Model Service Plan is the approval for
the creation of a quasi-municipal governmental entity to organize within Fruita’s boundaries and has
nothing to do with land use. Additionally, there’s no mandatory approval criteria under Title 32, so no
one is entitled to a Metro District coming into the City to finance development.
Kelley also explained that:
• The mechanism for ensuring that a Metro District actually delivers the improvements proposed
under a Service Plan is legally permissible,
• That the City is regulating Metro Districts as a Home Rule community,
• That most of Title 32 by its terms do not apply to the City of Fruita, and
• That it’s commonplace for Home Rule municipalities across the state to regulate Metro Districts
beyond what’s in Title 32.
Kelley advised that if the Council still had questions and needed further legal advice, it could be
provided in Executive Session, but as far as just responding to the letter, he wanted the public to
understand the distinction between what a landowner is allowed to do through zoning versus whether
a quasi-judicial governmental entity has governmental powers to provide public improvements and
services.
Vassen noted that Assistant City Manager Dan Caris and Councilor Miller gathered feedback on the
Metro District Policy at the Associated Members for Growth and Development (AMGD) monthly
meeting in September of 2026. In addition, the Metro District Policy was submitted to the City’s
economic development partners for review.
Caris reported that about a dozen people attended the AMGD meeting, where discussion addressed
concerns based on past Metro District problems. He said the conversation was constructive, with no
negative feedback from attendees. Criticism he had heard elsewhere focused on Fruita’s decision to
prioritize commercial development over mixed-use Metro Districts, which he clarified was a City
Council decision.
Caris pointed out that Metro Districts are not a tool that’s commonly used in the Grand Valley and he
finds it somewhat questionable whether or not they are something that is widely known about within
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the development community, but it seems like it has been enough of a topic in other places like Grand
Junction and Mesa County as people have become more interested in them.
Caris noted that the class about Metro Districts followed the presentation given by himself and
Councilor Miller and staff immediately put the information on the City’s website and made sure it was
spread all throughout the associations. He added that he expected to receive more information from an
individual at the end of the week that has done Model Service Plans and would make that information
available in the coversheet for the First Reading of the Ordinance.
Caris pointed out that Fruita will be the only entity in the Valley that has done what it is doing for
Metro Districts. He said that the City of Grand Junction has taken the approach that they will handle
the applications as they come in, which will likely translate into quite a larger legal expense.
Kelley said developers and attorneys often push for more developer-friendly Metro District plans.
Establishing a City policy will create consistent standards and expectations for all Metro Districts,
allowing staff to compare plans objectively, identify deviations and reduce future City costs. He added
that it is not uncommon for jurisdictions to receive pushback from developers like Fruita has received.
Mayor Breman pointed out that the City Council has rarely regretted taking more time to make
decisions in a careful and thought-out manner and doesn’t want to be pressured or rushed into adopting
something that they are uncomfortable with.
Mayor Breman asked the Council members if they had any specific concerns about Metro Districts and
Metro District Policies.
Councilor Purser expressed concern that the Metro District Policy and Ordinance allow residential uses
in the Downtown Mixed-Use District. Kelley clarified that at least 90% of development must be
commercial or industrial, with residential uses limited to less than 10%. Council could still prohibit
proposed residential uses, but allowing some provides flexibility.
Councilor Miller stated that she was comfortable with the Amenities-Based Metro District Policy and
proposed Ordinance.
Mayor Breman pointed out that future Councils could always adjust the Policy if they saw fit while
Councilor Kumro said that once property has developed, it cannot be undone.
Councilor Purser asked Vassen and Caris if they saw Metro Districts as having great value in Fruita.
Vassen said it is just another tool to encourage development and if Metro Districts can make
development possible to achieve Council’s goals, staff recommends that the City allow them. Caris
pointed out that sin