In its meeting Tuesday, the Cortez City Council will vote on the next step toward building a park on the site of the old Montezuma-Cortez High School.
The city approved the purchase of the property from the RE-1 School District earlier this year with the help of a Great Outdoors Colorado grant, and plans to turn it into the first large park on the south side of Cortez. On Tuesday, the council will consider awarding a bid for park planning and design services to Connect One Design.
The 7:30 p.m. meeting’s agenda also includes a bid for consulting services on the Main Street median project.
The Parks and Recreation Department is asking permission to award a $19,260 bid to Connect One Design, based in Basalt, Colorado, to plan the new park. Connect One is the mid-price bidder, according to a memo from Director Dean Palmquist. Its bid was more expensive than the Durango-based DHM Design, which offered a $15,000 bid, but Palmquist wrote that he was impressed by Connect One’s commitment to the project, and the company’s detailed plan for public outreach.
The park design process will include four to five public input meetings, and will result in two design and cost alternatives that the city can use to apply for grants and other funding.
Although purchase of the property has been approved and funded, the sale won’t be finalized until demolition of the old M-CHS is complete. That project, which began last summer, has been delayed due to asbestos in the building.
Tuesday’s agenda also includes a potential bid for consulting services on the Main Street median project. In the council’s last meeting, on May 22, Public Works Director Phil Johnson got permission to hire an engineering consultant to ease the burden on city employees of complying with all the Colorado Department of Transportation regulations. On Tuesday Johnson will recommend that the city hire Davis Engineering Service Inc., a company based in Pagosa Springs. Construction on the medians is set to begin June 18.
In a workshop before the regular meeting, starting at 5:30 p.m., the council will discuss setting stricter time limits on public participation in meetings, an issue former city manager Shane Hale suggested the municipal government needs to resolve in order to make meetings more efficient.
Other actionDuring the workshop and regular meeting, the council will also:
Review the Public Works conservation plan.Discuss the next steps in the fiber feasibility study.Discuss a letter from the Montezuma Housing Authority.Vote on whether to award a bid to ME&E Engineering for an upgrade of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at the Cortez Service Center data rooms.Vote on whether to award a bid to D&L Construction for street and waterline improvements on North Dolores Road and East Carpenter Street.Vote on Tom Butler’s appointment to the Board of Adjustments.Vote on a letter of support for moving the National Bureau of Land Management Office to Durango.Hold a public comment period.