City of Fruita Tidbits

Thanks to Mary Caywood, the now in process of being built, Fruita Community Center, has just been awarded $25,000 by the El Pomar Foundation. This foundation played a huge role in the construction of Mesa State's wonderful new pool facility. Between the Fruita Senior Task Force and the Penny Possee Citizens Group, the community has raised $1,999,095 through grants and contributions for the Center. More grant applications are in the works, so with good luck the $2 million mark is a real possibility.
There are still those in the community who misunderstand the funding for the center, perhaps due to lack of knowledge about what is really going on. So, one more time, monies "given" to the Community Center are in the form of grants and donations, NOT given from the City. If anyone has suggestions as to how the community can be successfully informed about the Center, how the City can get information to all citizens, this information would be most happily received and acted upon.
The government mandated upgrade of Fruita's Water Treatment Facility is progressing. Everyone has been repeatedly warned about sewer rates increasing. These new rates will hit the bills mid-February.
The amount of the project was increased when the Davis Bacon wage issue (Google this) was suddenly changed when the State struggled with budget. This would add one million to the cost. Cities who had started their upgrades before the decision, are still waiting to see if they are grandfathered in and not effected by the wage issue. Fruita is one of these. Cross your fingers. Fruita's engineering Department has been hard at work as it examined the waste treatment's 5 million dollar interceptor. At present the staff has managed to figure a way to cut that expense by 20 percent or a million dollars. The City Staff is working for its citizens.
The Fruita Planning Commission sent on to the Council three resolutions for approval or disapproval.
The three are: the finding that annexation of approximately 186 acres west of Big Salt Wash, north of Highway 6 and 50, just south of L Road into the City is eligible for such action, the annexation itself to be called Peregrine Village, and a first reading amending the official zoning map and zoning for this Pergrine Village, to PUD or Planned Unit Development.
The Commissioners were happy to see the project, but along with approving the submission of the three requests to Council, they also passed on their determination that the project has to be transparent for both the City and the community to prevent big problems that could arise in the future. The Commissioners felt that the developer's idea is wonderful, but that it has too many unknowns which should be made clear. These unknowns are necessary to be defined and explained for the project to be passed onto the further steps needed for approval, such as street plans, what goes where, housing, commercial structures as well as density numbers plaited. Infrastructure plans that meet Fruita's newly revised Master Plan are needed to meet all proposed construction needs for the project. This project could include a new grocery store and other commercial endeavors, high density housing, single family dwellings and open space.
The Commission approved the submission of Robert Jones', (Vortex Engineering) request for approval of a preliminary plan for
Palmer Heights Subdivision on to the Council for approval. This plan is for a 74 unit, single family residential subdivision to include 46 attached units (townhouses) and 28 detached dwelling units on approximately 18.5 acres of land in a requested CMU, Community Mixed Use zone. The property is located on the west side of 19 Road, south of J.2 Road and north of Wildcat Avenue (J Road). This property had been approved for annexation May 6, 2008.