On Wednesday, the Mancos town board voted to pave three street sections as part of an agreement with the local Family Dollar.
When the store first planned to build a location on 560 W. Menefee St., the owners gave the town $27,000 in lieu of paving the street themselves, but the agreement stated the town would have to do the paving project instead. Although the money from Family Dollar will pay for some of the project, Interim Town Administrator Heather Alvarez said the town would still need to use about $86,500 from the general fund reserves to finish it. Although the agreement only requires the town to pave Menefee Street from the North Beech intersection to the Overlook Apartments, Alvarez recommended paving North Oak Street from the Menefee to Sunset Street intersections as well.
Although the Family Dollar was built in 2015, the streets around it haven’t been paved.
“This one pains me,” Alvarez said. “We are contractually and financially obligated to do that.”
She said the town sent out requests for proposal on the paving project in 2016 but received no responses. This year, the staff met with the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Grand Junction-based paving company Oldcastle SW Group Inc., and received a $218,600 quote for the entire project, including street sections near the Family Dollar that weren’t in the original agreement. Mancos has about $37,000 set aside for street paving in the area, including the $27,000 from Family Dollar. Alvarez asked that the rest of the funding come from the general fund reserves.
The agreement with Family Dollar also proposes installing pavement on South Walnut Street, South Beech Street and Railroad Avenue, but Alvarez said the town couldn’t complete those projects until 2018.
Alvarez said the town could cut costs by paving only the part of the street they were contractually obligated to finish, but board member Cindy Simpson said the nearby streets would still need to be paved eventually. She said it would be in the town’s best interest to finish as much of the project as possible this year, despite the cost.
“I think we take advantage of doing it all at once,” she said. “If you start pulling away from the project, the prices may go up.”
The board voted unanimously to approve the paving project.
Other actionDuring their meeting, the Mancos town board also:
Heard an update on weed management from Parks Manager Terry Jennings.
Discussed draft language for a possible revision to the town’s burn ban.Discussed possible solutions for an illegal dump on County Road 39 and agreed to conduct more research.Renewed the liquor license for Chavolo’s Mexican Restaurant.Heard the town’s second-quarter financial and work plan updates.