Rifle City Council on July 2 approved an energy and resilience plan aimed at reducing emissions and improving community preparedness for climate impacts, awarded bids for several infrastructure projects, and heard updates ranging from police mental health funding to a proposed condominium conversion on Stillwell Avenue.

A property owner on Stillwell Avenue is seeking final plat approval to convert a four-unit apartment building into a four-unit condominium. The proposal would not alter the structure itself, only the ownership arrangement, with the building owner retaining overall control.

An appointment to the alternate seat on the Rifle Planning and Zoning Commission was scheduled but ultimately postponed after the applicant withdrew. The seat remains vacant.

The Rifle Police Department once again applied for a $5,000 grant, an annual ask for their Peace Officer Behavioral Health Grant for their mental health check-ins and access to counseling in case officers need to speak with someone. 

“I’ve said it every year, I think it’s really important,” Mayor Sean Strode said. 

CLEER Energy and Resilience Action Plan

The Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER) team presented its Energy and Resilience Action Plan to Rifle City Council. The plan aims to focus on energy efficiency, renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission reduction while adapting to the impacts of a warmer climate and creating a more diverse and vibrant economy. 

“A lot of the focus of this plan is on benefits to the community, benefits to residents, businesses,” said Morgan Hill, associate director of CLEER. “As well as to the city of Rifle government.”

The city began pursuing alternate energy in 2008 with solar installations on municipal properties and joined the Garfield Clean Energy collaborative in 2012.

“One of the things we want to highlight as to why this work is so important, is to point out that residents and businesses are paying over $13 million a year on their energy bills,” Hill said. “When we identify energy saving opportunities for these residents and businesses, that money can go back into the economy.”

Almost a quarter of respondents to a survey by CLEER said that their utility bills make it hard to pay other bills, and over half said they can easily pay it, but it’s higher than they would like. CLEER also displayed energy costs from residential and commercial accounts from 2023 for Xcel Energy, and the two are almost evenly split into $6.5 million to make up the $13 million, with commercial accounts paying only around $6,000 more. 

CLEER also identified rising extreme heat, drought and wildfire smoke as primary climate risks and emphasized strategies to help vulnerable groups, including older adults, children and commuters. The plan outlines initiatives such as improving access to cooling and air purification, enhancing local transit options, conserving energy through land use, and supporting local businesses.

“This was strongly community driven, which was a great asset for it,” Strode said about the CLEER strategy plan. 

The plan was unanimously approved, with Councilors Alicia Gresley and Michael Clancy absent.

Awards for bids

Council approved several project bids, including one for a new pump at the city’s raw water pump station. The station was originally designed for four pumps but currently has three.

“The plumbing was stubbed in, the electrical conduits were stubbed in,” Jared Emmert, utilities director for Rifle said. “It’s sort of a plug-in place scenario, you just have to make sure the pump fits correctly.”

$50,000 was budgeted for this project and the bid was awarded to Industrial Services Solutions LLC for around $46,600, coming in under budget. 

Next, the city awarded a bid to CW Construction for the Ninth Street and Whiteriver Avenue sewer replacement. The lines have collapsed and the material is unrepairable. The project was budgeted for $190,000 but is costing almost $435,000. While severely over budget, there are existing funds due to the lift station project not taking place this year. 

Morrow Drive Avenue has long been a project for the city due to the amount of maintenance it takes to upkeep the road. A $1.5 million project to overhaul the road will reduce the amount of maintenance spent on it. Budgeted for 2025, however, it will only cost around $1.2 million. There was $250,000 in grant revenues for this project, but those revenues were instead applied to the Penwell Project. 

“Birch is going to be impacted, Morrow’s going to be impacted, Fifth and Ute is already underway,” said Patrick Waller, city manager of Rifle. “16th Street is going to be really busy, residential traffic…the next couple months will be impactful to folks.”

Councilor Chris Bornholt voted no on this item, but it passed with approval from the other councilors. 

The final bid awarded was to the Otis Elevator Company for the modernization of the city hall elevator, which has been in use since 1982. The average life expectancy of an elevator is around 15 to 20 years. After 43 years, the city was required to get replacement parts that aren’t made anymore, meaning it cost more than the average elevator to get maintenance. 

The new elevator will cost a little over $189,000 well under the $257,500 budget.