OURAY – The Ouray City Council denied a motion by Mayor Bob Risch to shell out $1,000 for a historic plaque in town hall at its March 16 meeting. Risch was the only council member to vote for the measure.

Risch said the plaque would have listed all the historical buildings in the town, but councilmember Betty Wolfe said the timing was not right because the expenditure had not been budgeted.

“This is something we could do next year, and I would like to see it next year,” Wolfe said.

Councilmember Robert Stouffer agreed with Wolfe, even though Risch reminded them that the commission to study acquisition of the plaque was created by the previous town council.

“I think it’s a great idea but I would like to see it held off,” Stouffer said.

Another unbudgeted item was approved, however, when the council agreed to spend $3,100 for youth baseball for improvements to Smokey Joe Wood Field in Fellin Park.

Improvements to the infield will help upgrade youth baseball in Ouray, Risch said, now that more kids are involved in competition with Ridgway and Montrose.

“If we can bring up the standard of the infield, we can bring more games here,” he said.

The money will cover 50 tons of infield material and improvements that will last for years to come and will provide a better playing surface, said town manager Patrick Rondinelli.

“We don’t want to see kids sliding into first on road base,” he said.

Rondinelli also gave the council a report on progress the city is making toward acquiring ownership of the Ouray Ice Park. He said the city will seek funds from Great Outdoors Colorado to help with the cost and now that an agreement with the Forest Service seems imminent.

“We had a meeting with the Forest Service and will get a final map,” he said. “We hope to get finished by late summer.”

Rondinelli said he and Risch met with the Forest Service earlier this month and reviewed minor Forest Service changes to the area being considered that will increase the total land amount by a few acres. The land will still have to be appraised, he said, and while the Forest Service won’t accept a local appraiser, the city will be able to pick an appraiser from a pre-approved list from Cortez.