By Kimberly Adams
TRINIDAD — “Typically, we like to keep Trinidad money in Trinidad,” Trinidad Mayor Pro-Tem Carol Bolton at the City Council weekly work session March 10. Commercial Street in Trinidad is gearing up for street improvements this Spring while the Kit Carson Park Bandstand will get a makeover. Both projects will be done by a local contractor based in Trinidad. Purgatoire Valley Construction, Inc. of Trinidad was awarded the street project against two out-of-town contractors by the Trinidad City Council March 17 during their regular meeting. Their bid was the lowest at over $1.99 million. Lacy Construction of Crested Butte, Colo. came in with the highest bid at nearly $2.66 million while Avalanche Construction of Canon City quoted city officials with a bid of approximately $2.17 million. The Commercial Street construction project is part of a three-phase public works improvement project in the downtown area which is partially financed by a $1.72 million grant awarded to the city by the Department of Local Affairs Energy Impact Assistance Fund. The city’s Capital Improvement Funds will match the grant with $540,512. The design aspect of the Commercial Street project was awarded in April 2014 to Colorado based engineering firm SGM. According to a summary given to city council members
during the March 10 work session, Phase I of the Commercial Street project includes the area of Commercial from the bridge to Plum Street. Phase II will be the section of Commercial from Plum Street to Main Street. Phase III is for round-a-bout design at the five points intersection. The April 1 start date in this phase of the project includes construction and rehabilitation of Commercial Street from Main Street to the Commercial Street Bridge at the Purgatoire River. It will include new sewer and water mains, light bases, storm sewer, curb ramps, curb, gutter, sidewalk and both brick and concrete paving. Trinidad council person and Commercial Street business owner Liz Torres, expressed concern regarding the timing of concrete pours and other construction disruptions on Commercial Street during peak tourist season. “It was determined during the design that combining Phase I and II into one project would be best in order to minimize disruption of traffic and businesses through the construction area,” Trinidad Public Works/Utility Director Mike Valentine said in a briefing to the city council during the March 10 work session. Valentine also said weekly meetings will be conducted with construction personnel throughout the project. The remediation work of the Kit Carson Park Bandstand will also be done by Purgatorie Valley Construction under approval from the city council. The $80,957 dollar project slated to start April 1 is funded by 2015 Lottery budget and capital improvement funds from the Park Maintenance budget. According to Valentine, the scope of the bandstand work includes the demolition of the substandard concrete floor and substructure and installation of a new flooring system with proper slope for drainage along with new LED accent lighting in the interior of the dome, new paint, an electrical upgrade, and tuck and pointing or replacement of deteriorating sandstone. A summary of the bandstand project indicates in 2011, an inspection of city owned property by CIRSA, the city’s insurance carrier, pointed out the concrete floor and substructure of the bandstand was deemed unsafe and in need of repair. The project initially went to bid in 2013, but no one was awarded it due to lack of funds at the time, Valentine explained to the council.
