At its April 18 meeting, the Pagosa Springs Town Council discussed different design options for the future 1st Street pedestrian bridge to be constructed over the river connecting sidewalks from the museum to the Malt Shoppe.
Town Planning Director James Dickhoff briefed the council on the topic, explaining the town needs to choose a bridge design in order for the Colorado Department of Transportation to move forward with its review of the project.
He noted the town received four bids for the design.
“We’re glad we went out to bid,” he said, explaining the price of the bid “was much lower than the original estimate for this bridge.”
Dickhoff explained that town staff recommend using BCS Fabrication, a Colorado company located on the Front Range, noting that would help with the costs since the bridge would need to be trucked in on two wide loads and assembled on-site.
“I think this could be one of the most used bridges once it’s constructed,” he said, adding that it will provide more connectivity throughout the downtown area.
Dickhoff explained the design includes a 10-foot-wide concrete deck, providing enough room for two-way bicycle traffic to pass through and leave room for people to stop and hang out on the bridge.
According to the agenda brief, the total cost for the recommended option is $247,058.
“We really came down to the concrete deck as being the least expensive over time and really not that much more expensive up front,” Dickhoff said.
Dickhoff explained that other work will still need to be done, including finding the water lines in the area and another bid process for the actual construction and placement of the bridge.
“So, right now, we are trending to be within and currently under budget based on the estimates we have with the bridge. But, there’s a lot of other costs associated with environmental, hydrologic study of the bridge abutments and the river,” he said.
Dickhoff also explained during the meeting that the town has been unsuccessful so far in finding the water lines in the area where the bridge is to be constructed.
He noted the town hired someone to locate the lines, but due to rising water levels, they were unsuccessful.
Council member Mat deGraaf questioned if the uncertainty of where the water lines is could potentially cause an increase in the total costs of the project.
“I’m glad you brought that up,” Dickhoff said, explaining the original plan was to construct a 150-foot-long bridge, but “because of the water line issues and the potential need to skew it a little bit and not go directly perpendicular to the river … these estimates are actually based on a 165-foot bridge, in case we have to go a little bit longer.”
Council member Matt DeGuise made a motion to approve BCS Fabrication as the selection for the bridge manufacturer, approving a down payment of up to $70,000 from the capital fund reserves for a 10-foot-wide concrete deck bridge.
The motion was seconded by deGraaf and approved unanimously by the council.
Workforce housing project
Also at its regular meeting on April 18, the council voted unanimously to approve a $430,000 guarantee to a construction loan with the Bank of the San Juans to assist with funding needed for the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corporation (PSCDC) to begin construction on workforce homes.
Town Manager David Harris explained to the council that PSCDC made an application for a construction loan with the Bank of the San Juans for $3.35 million, which needs a 20 percent guarantee for full funding.
He noted that Region 9 has already agreed to provide $200,000 toward that 20 percent, leaving a total of $430,000 for the town to guarantee.
Harris explained that the town has “quite a bit of funds already in that bank,” and that it would be a “good use of our reserves to essentially loan that to them for the period of 12 months.”
DeGuise noted that during the construction timeframe the town would not be able to access those funds.
“We do have sufficient reserves for the gen fund, both in COLOTRUST and Bank of the San Juans that if we needed cash we can access additional cash,” Harris explained.
Mayor Shari Pierce mentioned that the town is also putting up two of the homes along with their lots as collateral, meaning that if something goes askew with the PSCDC workforce housing program, the town would receive those two homes and the lots.
The PSCDC is planning to build 40 new homes in the Trails and Chris Mountain II subdivisions over the next few years to provide workforce housing to the community.
The homes will be sold at an “attainable price point” targeted at community members who earn between 80 and 120 percent of the area median income, according to the PSCDC’s website.
“We’re so close to making this happen and this was a little hiccup,” Lindner said. “If we can get these homes built, it’ll be successful in getting them purchased and getting workforce housing for our community.”
deGraaf spoke in favor of the topic, stating, “These are the things we can do to help facilitate workforce housing, affordable housing for our community members that don’t involve us being on the hook for millions upon millions of dollars in a project.”
Williams also commented, saying, “It’s a nice affordable housing approach.”
clayton@pagosasun.com
