Craig Daily Press / Council amends outdoor vendor regulations

Archive for Wednesday, November 26, 2008

November 26, 2008

At its Tuesday meeting, the Craig City Council:

• Approved the second and final reading of an ordinance to increase fees for residential and commercial refuse collection. Monthly landfill fees for residences will increase from $6 to $9. Fees for temporary construction also will increase. All changes are effective as of Jan. 1, 2009.

• Approved the second and final reading of an ordinance to increase water and wastewater fees. All city water users within city limits will see a 90 cent increase in monthly service fees, as well as a 25 cent increase in usage fees for each 1,000 gallons of water used. Those outside city limits will see a $1.80 increase in monthly fees and a 25 cent increase in usage fees.

For sewer customers, residential users will pay an additional 90 cents each month. Commercial customers will see a 90 cent increase, too, as well as a 20 cent increase in usage fees.

Changes are effective as of Jan. 1, 2009.

• Set a public hearing for Jan. 13, 2009, to consider a conditional use permit for a single-family home in a Light Industrial zone district at 1536 E. Victory Way.

• Awarded a bid for $7,458 for two picnic shelters to Wood Site & Playscapes, at the request of the Parks and Recreation Department. It was the low bid submitted.

• Approved additional expenses for the Water Treatment Plant project, totaling $154,294. So far, the city has spent $331,140 on additional expenses, which amounts to about 4 percent of the original total contracted cost of $8,102,000. City Engineer Bill Earley said this is a "responsible amount" for a renovation project.

• Approved the second and final reading of the 2009 budget.

The Craig City Council has taken a first step toward reforming its outdoor vendor ordinance, a move the mayor said was prompted by a recent visit from a regional car dealership.

At its Tuesday meeting, the Council approved the introduction of an ordinance to amend the city's bond requirements for outdoor vendors, thereby securing a greater amount of sales tax revenue should a business not pay what it owes.

When Grand Junction-based Grand Valley Auto opened its tent sale at Centennial Mall earlier this fall, it was required to show proof of a $300 bond to city officials.

The city would be entitled to collect the bond amount if it did not receive all its due sales tax.

At the Council's meeting Oct. 28, City Manager Jim Ferree said $300 would not have come close to making up for the roughly $21,000 in sales tax that Grand Valley owed after its sale.

Although the city was not harmed in the Grand Valley case, the Council was bothered that the city was so unprotected against fraud.

The ordinance amendment considered Tuesday would raise the required bond amount from $300 to 3 percent of the estimated sales tax owed after a vendor's license was up, with a minimum bond of $300.

The amendment also adds a stipulation that if a vendor has not paid what it owes in city sales tax within 90 days of its license being up, the city will collect the full bond amount and possibly request the Colorado Department of Revenue to audit the vendor's finances.

Councilor Joe Herod said the change was necessary to protect the city and its taxpayers.

"There was no control," he said. "If we don't get these guys upfront, then there's nothing making them pay what they owe later. We just need more control over the vendors."

The ordinance will need to pass a first and second reading before being adopted, which will take place over the next two Council meetings. The Council usually meets the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, but its upcoming schedule may be affected by the holidays.