Rifle City Council approved more than $1.5 million in infrastructure contracts at its May 20 regular meeting, including a $1.31 million street and water line reconstruction on Whiteriver Avenue, a booster station backup generator, and building audits for the Rifle Heritage Center and Senior Center. Council also passed two ordinances on first reading — one loosening accessory dwelling unit parking requirements to unlock state grant funding, the other embedding traffic impact study criteria into the city’s development code — with the ADU measure drawing the meeting’s only split vote.
Whiteriver Avenue — $1.31 Million to CW Construction
Council unanimously awarded the Whiteriver Avenue Improvements contract to CW Construction at $1,314,858. Civil Engineer Craig Spaulding told council the project covers the stretch from 9th Street to 16th Street and combines a full street rebuild with replacement of an aged, brittle water line that has broken multiple times, including one failure that split multiple sections simultaneously. A sloughing bank between 9th and 10th Streets — where guardrail posts have worked free of the soil — will be stabilized with a concrete retaining wall matching the one installed on Morrow Drive. Whiteriver will close to through traffic during construction, with Morrow Drive serving as the detour; residents and apartment tenants will keep access. The project came in under its $1.5 million budget. The city also received a $400,000 Garfield County Federal Mineral Lease District grant toward the work.
The bid opened a discussion about Rifle’s local preference policy. A council member noted that on projects at $500,000 or more, a City of Rifle vendor receives only a 2% discount and a Garfield County vendor gets 1% — a rate that shrinks in practical impact as project costs rise. Waller confirmed the policy dates to roughly 2022 and offered to schedule a workshop to compare Rifle’s approach with other jurisdictions. No action was taken.
ADU Parking Ordinance Passes 5-2
Council passed Ordinance No. 13, Series of 2026, on first reading 5-2, removing the requirement for one off-street parking space per ADU bedroom provided on-street or off-street parking is available nearby. Community Development Director Zach Higgins said Rifle is not in a metropolitan planning area and the change is not legally required, but adopting it allows the city to apply for DOLA grant funding and makes residents eligible for CHAFA financing. Grant approval would allow the city to offer pre-approved ADU plan sets, lowering construction costs. Higgins noted the parking requirement can be reinstated if the policy does not work. Councilors Jonathan Rice and Chris Bornholdt voted no. The ordinance advances to second reading.
Traffic Impact Study Standards — Unanimous
Council unanimously approved Ordinance No. 12, Series of 2026, on first reading, adding a section to the municipal code directing developers to the Traffic Impact Study Criteria in the city’s Public Works Manual. Council also unanimously approved adding Appendix B — the criteria itself — to the manual. Higgins explained the ordinance does not establish the criteria but makes them easy for developers and applicants to find. Spaulding noted the criteria include safety analysis of historical crash data at intersections with known concerns.
Park Avenue Bridge Streetlights — Up to $208,000
Council unanimously authorized City Manager Patrick Waller to execute a streetlight installation contract with Xcel Energy for the Park Avenue Bridge and Roadway. Spaulding said Xcel has provided preliminary drawings and the timeline is tight — the typical agreement process runs 150 days, but the Park Avenue bridge is on schedule to arrive in mid-June. The budgeted amount is $208,000; staff expects the final cost to fall between $75,000 and $180,000 depending on the number of lights and transformer requirements.
Northeast Booster Station Generator — $201,238
Council unanimously approved a bid award to R&A Enterprises for construction of a backup generator at the Northeast Booster Station, not to exceed $201,238. Utilities Director Jared Emmert explained the station supplies the Northeast Tank, which pressurizes the city’s northeast zone. During extended outages, that tank depletes quickly. The design contract with JVA came in at $33,300, putting the combined project at $234,538 — under the $300,000 budget.
Building Audits Expand to Both Heritage Center and Senior Center — $58,600
Council voted unanimously to award a building audit contract to AIM Design and Development for both the Rifle Heritage Center and the Rifle Senior Center, not to exceed $58,600, after a councilor pushed to include both buildings rather than phase them a year apart. The original staff recommendation covered only the Heritage Center at $31,300, deferring the Senior Center to the 2027 budget. Parks & Recreation Director Austin Rickstrew said the Heritage Center lacks functioning heat and swamp coolers and has ADA compliance concerns, making it the more pressing facility. Councilor Alicia Gresley argued the Senior Center audit should not wait. Doing both together saves money — the Front Range-based firm would otherwise mobilize separately, pushing the combined cost to $62,600. Waller said a roughly $25,000 contingency line in the capital budget could cover the added cost this year. The audits will produce capital improvement plans for each building and help determine whether repairs or replacement makes more sense for each.
IT Infrastructure Replacement — Up to $200,000
Council unanimously approved purchasing Verge.io software, additional storage, and HPe server hosts to replace the city’s VMware and Nimble SAN systems, not to exceed $200,000. IT Director Kelly Thompson explained council had approved a $200,000 purchase with Scale Computing in December, but Scale could not honor that order without an additional $36,000 due to surging hardware costs. The city canceled the Scale order and moved to Verge.io, a Michigan-based firm. The city already holds three compatible server hosts under warranty; three refurbished hosts and new storage will be added, spread across data centers at City Hall and the police department and mirrored for redundancy. The quoted cost is approximately $177,000; the not-to-exceed authorization provides buffer for additional work.
Golf Course Irrigation Design — $37,710
Council unanimously approved a bid award to Irrigation Technologies for irrigation system design at Rifle Creek Golf Course at $37,710. Golf Course Superintendent Justin Kochevar said the front-nine irrigation system has been in place since 1975 and the back-nine pump station dates to around 1989 to 1991. The equipment is uncommon enough that finding service technicians is difficult, and the system loses water to leaks. The design scope includes electrical upgrades to three pump stations.
Consent Agenda
Council unanimously approved minutes from the May 6 meeting; liquor license renewals for TEDREX, Inc. doing business as Choice Liquors and Imperio Mexican Restaurant LLC; a settlement agreement with Antero Resources Corporation; second reading of Ordinance No. 7, Series of 2026, vacating a section of Fairway Avenue right-of-way; and reappointment of Lydia Allen to the Greater Rifle Improvement Team Advisory Board.
Workshop
Before the regular meeting, council held a workshop covering two items. Interim Chief Mike Kuper updated council on the SPEAR task force, including the transition from the former TRIDENT program, the task force’s mission, and statistics it tracks. Staff also presented the city’s 2026-2031 Capital Improvement Plan. No actions were taken during the workshop.
Public Comment
Leslie Robinson, who owns homes at 436 and 444 West 3rd Street, thanked the construction crew and city staff for accommodating neighborhood requests during the ongoing West 3rd Street water main and road project, including closing the street to through traffic. Robinson asked council to consider a temporary stop sign at the intersection near a small insurance shop on the southwest corner, saying drivers who ignore the closure create a hazard where West 3rd traffic emerges unexpectedly into the intersection.
Comments from Mayor and Council
Councilor Michael Clancy reported attending an Associated Governments of Northwest Colorado meeting held in Rifle and noted the city continues to perform well in competitive grant cycles, though it did not receive its full requested amount in a recent AGNC funding round. Clancy also said the Colorado PUC sunset bill passed without structural changes — the commission remains at three members and is not regionalized — and said he expects to bring ideas to council in the near future about energy diversification options for residents. Councilor Alicia Gresley reported attending a RAFTA board meeting, where the Hugback Route and the Rifle region were designated the number two transit priority for 2027, with direction to RAFTA staff to become more active in pursuing solutions. Gresley also noted the Rifle Senior Center’s upcoming Eco Race Series on June 6 and said volunteers are needed. Councilor Jonathan Rice noted Rifle High School graduation is this Friday and offered unofficial congratulations to graduating seniors, including a personal acknowledgment of a former Rifle student who recently had twins.
City Manager’s Report
Waller reported the city received a $50,000 DOLA grant for a housing action plan. The PATS On Demand transit app — called “Ride PATS” — is available for download, and the PATS team will present an update at the next council meeting. A community reception to meet police chief finalists is scheduled for June 1 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Ute Theater. Emmert thanked his water crew for quickly repairing a water main break Monday that cut service to a significant number of customers; Spaulding located the concealed leak. The comprehensive plan community survey is open through the end of May.
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