3390
City
ofGunnison
City
Council
Meeting
Minutes
Regular
Session
-Tuesday,
September
22,2026
at
5:30pm
City
Hall,
Council
Chambers,
201
W.Virginia
Avenue
Gunnison,
CO
I.
Presiding
Officer
CallsRegular
Session
to
Order
(recording
begins
at0:15).
TheGunnison
City
Council
Regular
Session
meeting
was
called
toorder
on
Tuesday,
September
22,2026,
at5:30
p.m.
by
Mayor
Plata
inCouncil
Chambers,
located
at
201
W
Virginia
Avenue
inGunnison,
Colorado.
Remote
access
wasavailable
via
Zoom.
II.
Announcements
(recording
begins
at
0:29).
Council
provided
announcementsabout
meetings
and
events.
Staff
gave
updates.
III.
Western
Colorado
University
Liaison
Announcements(recording
begins
at
7:12).
Western
Liaison
Jestyn
Smith
gave
announcementsrelated
toWestern
Colorado
University.
IV.
Public
Input(recording
begins
at7:37).
One
Gunnison
resident
addressed
Council.
V.
Consent
Agenda
(recording
begins
at11:44).
None.
VI.
Proclamations,
Recognitions,
and
Appointments
VI.
A.
ResolutionNo.11,
Series
2026:A
Resolution
of
theCity
Council
of
the
City
of
Gunnison,
Colorado
Recognizing
the
125th
Anniversary
of
Western
Colorado
University
(recording
begins
at
11:47).
Forbackground,
this
isaresolution
recognizing
Western
Colorado
University’s
125th
anniversary.
Staffinitiated
this
resolution.
Councilor
Ahonen
introduced
andmoved
Resolution
No.11,
Series
2026.
Councilor
Schwartz
seconded
the
motion
tointroduce
Resolution
No.11,
Series
2026,
andread
theresolution
aloud
in
full.
Roll
call,
yes:Zahradka,
Schwartz,
Plata,
Ballesteros,
andAhonen.
Socarried.
Roll
call,no:
None.
Mayor
Plata
readResolutionNo.
11,Series
2026
aloud,
infull.
He
presented
Resolution
No.11,
Series
2026,
to
Shelley
Thompson,
the
Vice
President
of
AdvancementandExecutive
Director
of
the
WCU
Foundation.
Pictures
weretaken.
VP
Thompson
made
afew
statements
about
Western
Colorado
University
regarding
the
beginning
ofthe
2026-27
academic
yearand
thanked
theCity
of
Gunnison
for
acknowledgingWestern’s
125th
anniversary.
VII.
NewBusiness
VII.
A.Amendment
to
the
City
of
Gunnison’sLand
Development
Code
(LDC),
Chapter
15.90
Existing
Nonconformities
(recording
begins
at
21:17).
For
background,
the
LDCcurrently
limits
allowed
changes
toexisting,
non-conforming
uses.
Existing
nonconformitieswere
not
changes
in
the
recent
update
tothe
LDC.
Proposed
changes
aim
toprovide
additional
flexibility
for
suchuses
for
the
purpose
of
protecting
property
values
and
supporting
revitalization.
Senior
Planner
Andie
Ruggera
spoke
on
thistopic.
Discussion
occurred.
Staff
addressed
questions
from
Council
to
clarify
information.
Staff
concluded
that
they
would
draftan
ordinance
for
Council
to
consider
an
amendment
to
theLand
Development
Code.
VII.
B.
Contract
Award,
Engineering
Services,
Gunnison
Electric
Main
Substation
Design
(recording
begins
at35:10).
For
background,this
proposed
design
project
involves
replacing
and
upgrading
major
components
and
conducting
specialized
engineering,
testing,
andcommissioning
to
ensure
all
new
systems
function
correctly.
Electric
Superintendent
WillDowis
gave
ahigh-
level
overview
of
the
project
and
explanation
of
the
improvements.Staff
answered
questions
from
Council.
Councilor
Schwartz
moved
and
Councilor
Zahradka
seconded
themotion
to
authorize
theCity
Manager
to
execute
Cross
Canyon
Engineering’s
Task
Order
4for
electrical
design
and
commissioning
services
for
the
Gunnison
Main
Substation
upgrade
fora
total
amount
notto
exceed
$192,800.
Roll
call,yes:
Schwartz,
Plata,
Ballesteros,
Ahonen,
andZahradka.
So
carried.
Roll
call,
no:
None.
VII.
C.
Consideration
ofAlleged
Noncomplianceby
Planning
and
Zoning
Commission
Members
(recording
begins
at41:17).
Forbackground,
the
Planning
andZoning
Commission
adopted
the
Commission
and
Committee
Member
Charter
on
August
26,
2026;
however,
two
members
have
declined
tosign
the
required
acknowledgment.City
Council
will
review
the
3391
circumstancesandconsiderwhetherto
initiatethenoticeandhearingprocess,request
additional
information,
provideotherdirection,ortakenoaction
atthistime.CityAttorneyFogocorrecteda
misstatementinthe
agendareportbyclarifyingthatPlanning
andZoningCommissionersdonot
havetermlimits,but
thetermexpiresattheconclusionoffive
years
of
service.Discussion
occurred.
CouncilorSchwartzmoved
andCouncilorZahradkasecondedthemotiontoinitiatetheformal
noticeand
hearingprocess.
Rollcall,yes:
Plata,Ballesteros,Ahonen,Zahradka,andSchwartz.So
carried.
Rollcall,
no:None.
VII.D.
Firemen’sPensionBoard
Semi-AnnualUpdate(recordingbeginsat1:01:00).For
background,
thebylawsoftheGunnison
Firemen’sPensionFundrequireareporttobeprovided
to
CityCouncil
semi-annually.Noaction,reportonly.
VIII.Regular
SessionMeetingAdjournment(recordingbeginsat
1:02:07).
Withnofurther
businessbeforeCouncil,theRegular
Sessionwasadjournedat6:32p.m.
Mayor,DiegoPlata
Official
audio
recording,andpublicly
noticedmeetingagenda,packet,andminutesofCity
Councilmeetingsare
availableonlineat
GunnisonCO.2ov/CouncilMeetings
Videosalso
availableon
YouTube,
City
ofGunnison
City
EricaBoucher