Several contracts were approved during the Sept. 6 Chaffee Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) meeting.
- Commissioners reviewed and unanimously approved a contract with Encore Electric for generator work at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds. The $104,491 contract covers work that the county has been trying to get completed for some time.
- Chaffee General Administration Building remodeling project — After some discussion, the BoCC accepted a pre-construction contract recommendation for the construction manager/general contractor for the remodeling project at the Chaffee General Administration Building. Commissioner Rusty Granzella expressed concern over taking on debt. “What else are we committing to? I’m OK with the $20,000 if it gets us to the point where we make a decision after that.”
The Chaffee County Fairgrounds Main Building. Photo by Dan Smith
“The question becomes, are you OK with pre-construction services?” said Colleen Kaneda. “Per the contract, they would need to come to the BoCC to present a guaranteed maximum price – including their subcontractors, their fee, and their markup of services … this lets Diesslin and the subs know how the design will be finalized.”
As the renovation process proceeds, the plan still calls for completion of the construction by the fall of 2024. If the county at some point wanted to adjust that date, it may be possible to save some money to slow the process and perhaps skirt the rapid price increases that have resulted from current supply chain challenges.
Chaffee Engineer Gary Greiner noted that the county always does bid packages and that it could be bid as funding released in two to three phases. His one caution related to the ordering of steel if reinforcement of the stone structure is required. “Sometimes we have to order steel because there’s a year lead time, but we’re not there yet. Once we start talking, then we’d hit a stage to commit … Shoring up the building, the steel, that is important. I have set monitoring points to make sure that the building doesn’t settle.”
Granzella made the motion to approve the recommendation for Diesslin Structures for the Administration building as recommended by the committee. It passed unanimously.
- Consider the Contract with Sarah Whittington for General Services/ Architectural Retainer
Greiner explained that the $75,000 contract ” will make it easier for her to be contacted for small design issues that we have as we proceed …. so we don’t have to keep coming back to you …. with Sarah it’s a total of up to $75,000/year
Granzella made the motion to approve and Commissioner Keith Baker seconded. It passed unanimously.
- Consider First Amendment to Diesslin Hanger Contract
Salida Airport Manager Zech Papp explained the amendment to the existing ground lease is necessary because one of the owners of a hangar (co-owned by Don Dubin and John Diesslin) is exiting the ownership. John Diesslin, the remaining owner, is amending the contract. His lease will now include the entire structure, including hangers G1 and G2. Baker made the motion, Granzella seconded it and it passed unanimously.
- Consider Andrew Mark’s Request to Add a Bathroom with a Holding Tank to Hanger C
Papp explained the request and noted that it might be good to get a variance approved for the whole airport, so the airport might avoid leach fields at the site. Legal staff noted that a holding tank variance could be created for all the hangars with approval from Public Health and the involvement of the Chaffee Engineering Department.
Not all the hangars are heated, but Papp said if improvements are done, the hangar owners are responsible for their own utilities. The request passed unanimously.
- Consider contract with Green Mountain Salvage for five acres of mitigation not to exceed $25,000.
Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) Manager Josh Kuehn explained the project up along Poncha Pass is more fire break mitigation work. “It’s grant money, we’re not spending new money.”
The funds come from the RESTORE Grant and will be used to do important mitigation on steep slopes. “It’s more machine work, and a lot more hand work,” said Kuehn, adding that “CSFS coordination is multi-jurisdictional.”
“This is great continuity, Josh,” said Commissioner Greg Felt. “This is hand work on steep slopes. Because of that, it’s more expensive than what we’ve been doing.”
The BoCC approved the contract unanimously and gave the CSFS the authority to proceed.
Featured image: The Chaffee County Fairgrounds got a new bandstand area in 2019, which began the process of a major upgrade of the fairgrounds facilities. Next up is a long overdue upgrade of the generators. Photo by Stephen Hall.