Montrose, CO — City Councilors met for a work session Tuesday morning, February 21, to meet new employees, see conceptual designs for the new Main Street City Hall, and hear a purchase recommendation for crack seal material.
Councilors Barbara Bynum, Doug Glaspell, and David Reed met in the Community Room at the Montrose Public Safety Complex along with city staff. Mayor Dave Frank and councilor Ed Ulibarri were absent.
The following is a summary of the primary topics discussed during the meeting.
Watch the meeting here.
INTRODUCTION OF NEW CITY EMPLOYEES
City Councilors met four new employees who are backfilling a number of positions in various departments.
- Christy Sheedy – Police Records Technician
- Larry Graves – Police & School Resource Officer
- Hannah McRae – Operations Assistant, City Manager’s Office
- Mason Blair – Parks & Special Projects Division Worker
MONTROSE CITY HALL PHASE 3 AUTHORIZATION RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were presented with a proposal to authorize $4,547,213 to be used for the design and construction of the third phase of Montrose City Hall, including an amendment of a contract with FCI Constructors, Inc. as the Construction Manager/General Contractor (CM/GC).
Public Works Manager Jim Scheid said the recommendation is for the next phase of an ongoing project to relocate City Hall operations from South First Street to the former Wells Fargo building on Main Street.
The first and second phases of this project included the abatement, restoration, and remodeling of the interior spaces on the first and second floors of the structure located at 400 E. Main St. The third phase includes the removal and replacement of the building’s white brick façade.
The project team (which includes Blythe Group, FCI Constructors, Inc., and Dynamic Program Management) has worked with city staff to generate conceptual-level renderings of the new City Hall and provide budgetary cost estimates.
Members of the Blythe Group presented conceptual designs to the council Tuesday, which would remove the white brick shell of the building and return the look to a more traditional Main Street feel. The designs include brick masonry and an enlarged corner feature that would make the building feel like a cornerstone of downtown.
City Councilors asked the group about areas the project where costs could be reduced without compromising the integrity of the building. As the cost of building materials has grown dramatically since the pandemic, the council is looking for ways to keep project costs under control.
With the authorization of the proposed budget, the project team would begin developing the design package including a schematic design, design development, and construction documents.
Throughout the design process and particularly at each stage of design, FCI’s pre-con team would be providing cost estimates and constructability feedback. When the design is complete enough to provide adequate information for construction, the existing CM/GC contract with FCI Constructors, Inc. would be amended to include the scope of work for phase three. This would be performed as a Guaranteed Maximum Price, GMP, amendment similar to phase one and phase two of this project.
It is anticipated that design work would begin immediately after authorization of this recommendation and construction could begin in late summer of 2023 with completion in late spring of 2024.
The construction process will take place while City Hall is fully operational. This will require sequencing of some aspects of the work to prevent disruption of the operations within the facility. It is expected that construction activities will occur around the entire facility, requiring pedestrian detours and protected walkways through the construction site.
2023 CRACK SEAL MATERIAL PURCHASE RECOMMENDATION
City Councilors were presented with a recommendation to purchase crack seal material to be used on city streets this year.
Streets Superintendent Nik Pridy said the crack seal material from Dissco (Denver Industrial) in the amount of $93,741 is to be used by the city’s Streets Division.
The City of Montrose Streets Division is preparing for the upcoming crack seal project that will be self-performed. This includes 36.1 lane miles of streets that will be crack sealed for zone D of our Street Maintenance Plan.
The material used is specific to our area and local climate. The city has utilized Low Tack Type 1 from Denver Industrial Sales & Service Company for the last several years with great results. For compatibility and warranty with existing equipment, a Sole Source waiver is being requested for the purchase of this material. The pricing provided is comparable to other crack seal materials and to what has been purchased in the past by City of Montrose Streets and Engineering Divisions.
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