HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Study Session 2014-12-02
Town of Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado December 2, 2014
Minutes of a Study Session meeting of the TOWN BOARD of the Town of
Estes Park, Larimer County, Colorado. Meeting held at Town Hall in the
Board Room in said Town of Estes Park on the 2nd day of December, 2014.
Board: Mayor Pinkham, Mayor Pro Tem Koenig, Trustees Ericson,
Holcomb, Nelson, Norris and Phipps
Attending: All
Also Attending: Town Administrator Lancaster, Director Muhonen and Town
Clerk Williamson
Absent: None.
Mayor Pinkham called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m.
TRUSTEE COMMENTS & QUESTIONS.
Trustee Norris stated he reviewed the Urban Land Institute report and found it contained
a lot of useful information. He requested the report be discussed at a study session
during the first quarter of 2015.
FUTURE STUDY SESSION AGENDA ITEMS.
The future study session agenda list was reviewed and the following are the outcomes:
Discussion of Board policy 1.4.7.2 Special Trustee Assignments and Trustee
participation in community committees and groups in place of Community
Service Grant discussion on December 9, 2014.
Reschedule Community Service Grant discussion to January 13, 2015.
Possibility of joining the RTD scheduled for February 10, 2015.
Consistency of Interviewing for appointed Boards added to December 9, 2014.
Discuss use of funds repaid by the Housing Authority added to December 9,
2014.
Remove logo discussion from list of potential topics.
Flood plain fees discussion would be heard by the Community
Development/Community Services Committee and removed from the potential
topics for study session list.
EDC report would be added to the Town Administrator’s report at the Town
Board meeting to update the Board on EDC activities.
ESTES PARK TRANSIT HUB PARKING STRUCTURE.
Director Muhonen provided the Board with an overview of the current location of the
parking structure east of the Visitor Center on the north side of the river, including land
ownership, proximity of the structure to the highway, utility location, and access by both
vehicles and shuttles. He further indicated the shuttles would be required in the current
configuration to use the west entrance and exit closer to the Elkhorn/Hwy 34/Hwy 36
intersection. The traffic impact study completed for the project demonstrated the shuttle
delay for a left hand turn out of the parking lot could be up to 10 minutes, thereby further
impacting the congestion in the area.
The Town submitted a request for bids on the project and received four bids. Three of
the four bids did not meet the federal bid requirements and were eliminated from
consideration. The remaining bid was the third highest bid at $5.7 million for the full
structure. Director Muhonen indicated the Town could rebid the project; however,
substantial reductions in cost would not be realized. He would recommend reducing the
Town Board Study Session – December 2, 2014 – Page 2
requirements of the contractors to have experience with precast structure similar to the
complexity of a parking structure in an effort to receive additional bids. The request for
bids was limited to bidders with specific experience constructing parking structures.
The project budget summary was reviewed and noted that five funding sources,
including FTA, FHWA, CDOT, Town of Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park
were involved in bringing the project forward. Mayor Pro Tem Koenig questioned the
level of funding by the Park and suggested the Town request additional funding. The
total project funding to date of $4.9 million has been utilized to fund design costs, NEPA
process, bidding and construction administration, and other miscellaneous items for a
total expense of $1.1 million. The Town has approximately $3.77 million to build the
project. To reduce the cost of construction administration, staff would recommend
hiring a limited term project manager to oversee the parking structure, thereby providing
additional funds for construction.
The bids received did not include the restrooms; however the following deducts were
requested:
Deduct Alternate #1 - Stone base on the lower level
Deduct Alternate #2 – Heavy timber porch located on the lower pedestrian area
Deduct Alternate #3 – Perforated metal and heavy timber cladding
Deduct Alternate #4 – Heavy timber staircase
Additive Alternate – Electric car charges
Director Muhonen presented the Board with four options to move forward, including
Option 1 – Award bid to responsive bidder, Option 2 – Rebid the project at the current
location, Option 3 – Revise the design and bid the project located in the southern
parking lot across the river from the Visitor Center, and Option 4 – Cancel the project
and reject the bids. Option 3 would move the parking structure to the south campus of
the Visitor Center complex and be located largely on Bureau of Reclamation property
adjacent to the golf course. The new location would create 190 new parking spaces,
increase the foot print of the parking structure by 15 feet, preserve the current parking at
the Visitor Center on the north side of the campus including RV spaces, maintain
current access for the shuttles thereby decreasing traffic congestion otherwise created
by the parking structure on the north side, decrease the cost per parking stall from
approximately $79,000 with current bid to approximately $38,000, require a special use
permit by the Bureau of Reclamation and a new NEPA study (a year long process),
reduce the cost of utility relocation, reduce visual impact as the first level of the structure
would be below grade, and increase the cost with a new design process required. For
approximately $1 million in additional funding the Town could double the parking at the
Visitor Center campus. Further reductions in construction cost could be realized with
the elimination of decorative costs with the structure below grade. An additional option
would be to leave the parking structure on the north side and relocate the shuttles to the
south parking lot with some minor modifications.
Director Muhonen met with the Bureau of Reclamation and received support for the
parking structure at the south location. The NEPA study would be conducted by the
agency with the Town picking up the cost of approximately $75,000 to $100,000. The
Bureau would not charge the Town for the use of the property and would investigate the
potential of conveying the property to the Town if the parking structure is built. The
access to and from the parking structure would remain the same as the current
configuration as there is no competing traffic adjacent to the parking lot with the
undeveloped hillside.
The Town has clarified with the funding agencies that the funds allocated for the project
could be extended and the Town would not be at risk of losing the funding. The funds
must be used to develop a parking structure outside of the downtown corridor to
intercept cars before they reach downtown. CDOT was not aware of the increase traffic
impact created by the design of the structure at the north location.
Town Board Study Session – December 2, 2014 – Page 3
Administrator Lancaster stated the Town has reviewed the budget and would support
the additional funding of $1.3 million. The funds could come from the sale of Lot 4 - $1
million, $70,000 match not needed for the Sarbane trail grant, and savings from the
MPEC project. This would provide the Town with funding to build the basic structure
and build the additional decorative features in phases. The Town may find its self in a
better position a year from now with flood recovery efforts wrapping up and
reimbursements received, allowing for additional funds to be used on the project. The
Town may reach out to the funding agencies to discuss the new option to increase the
parking and ask for additional funding.
The Board consensus was to move forward with rebidding the project on the southern
parking lot. Mayor Pro Tem Koenig suggested a shuttle lane from the Fairgrounds
transportation hub be investigated linking the two locations and providing an incentive to
use the outlining parking lot. The new location would be less impactful to the visitors
and allow construction to take place during the summer, which is normally cheaper than
winter construction. Trustee Ericson requested staff provide a project timeline as soon
as possible. Staff stated the project once construction begins has been estimated at 10
months for full completion.
There being no further business, Mayor Pinkham adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m.
Jackie Williamson, Town Clerk