Berthoud Weekly Surveyor | Covering all the angles in the Garden Spot

Trustees set sights on recreational amenities

March 01, 2018 | Local News

Rudy Hemmann

The Surveyor

The town trustees spent the first few minutes of Tuesday evening’s meeting setting the stage for master planning recreational amenities at Berthoud Reservoir and to develop a unified trail system in and around Berthoud.

Having a master plan in place is the first step for both projects.

According to an information sheet for the Berthoud Reservoir project, “Town staff recently sent out a Request For Proposal (RFP) for design and consultation services for development of a master plan that will include recreation programming at the reservoir for community use. Staff received many proposals and worked with PORT (Parks, Open space, Recreation and Trails) committee members through the application/interview process to determine the best firm for the project.” The selection committee recommended the board enter into an agreement with WENK Associates.

The proposal from WENK includes, among other things, public meetings to help determine amenities the public would want, multiple concept alternatives, the master plan, and a probable construction cost estimate. WENK’s proposed estimate to develop the master plan is $25,830.

The board members were impressed with the progress made by staff so far, and a motion authorizing the town administrator to enter into a time and materials agreement with WENK Associates for an amount not to exceed $25,830 without prior written authorization … and authorize the town administrator to negotiate and approve any unforeseen expenditures related to the agreement in an amount not to exceed 10 percent ($2,583) of the initial cost was made. The motion was seconded and unanimously approved.

The unified trail system master plan was handled in much the same way. An RFP was sent out, proposals were received by staff, PORT committee members aided in the interview process, and one of the firms stood above the rest and was recommended to the town board. In this case the firm selected to provide the unified trail system master plan is Stanley Consultants.

Stanley’s bid came in at $20,654. Their proposal includes public outreach, creation of trail maps, guidelines for trail standards, a matrix of project priorities, estimated cost of construction, and a recommended trail maintenance plan.

As above, a motion authorizing the town administrator to enter into a time and materials agreement with Stanley Consultants for an amount not to exceed $20,654 without prior written authorization … and authorize the town administrator to negotiate and approve any unforeseen expenditures related to the agreement in an amount not to exceed 10 percent ($2,065.40) of the initial cost was made. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

According to an information sheet provided by staff, “A potential health and safety concern was brought to the attention of park staff” regarding the equipment set up at the skate park. According to several riders who use the skate park regularly, there is not enough landing area for bicycle and scooter riders. The suggested remedy is a deck expansion of 4 feet by 20 feet along the back side of each ramp, creating a larger area to land, making the ramps safer for all users.

The company that installed the ramps, American Ramp Company (ARC), was contacted and their bid to remedy the issue came in at $13,863.62.

Parks and Recreation Director Jeremy Olinger stated due to liability issues it would be in the town’s interest to have the suggested improvements done by ARC.

A motion to approve the recommendation to expend $13,864 for improvements to the skate park equipment was made, seconded and unanimously approved.

An oil and gas exploration company, Aztec Exploration LLC., has expressed interest to the town of drilling exploratory wells under portions of properties which lie within the Berthoud town limits. Aztec has offered to pay the town $87,000 for the rights to drill under portions of the town. A resolution which authorizes the town attorney to negotiate the terms of an oil and gas lease for leasing certain mineral interests held by the town and authorizing the mayor to execute the agreement was brought forward, seconded and approved by the trustees.

In other board action, the board directed town staff to research the compensation paid to the board members of other communities of similar size to Berthoud. During discussion it was noted Berthoud’s board members are at or near the bottom of the amounts paid to board members.

The board accepted a proposed ordinance amending and re-enacting an ordinance creating a qualified municipal court of record for the town. This was the first reading of the ordinance.

related Local News