March 10, 2023 |
Photo – Site for Never Forget Park – Bigfoot99 File Photo
After years of delays, work may begin soon on Saratoga’s Never Forget Park. At Tuesday’s town council meeting, Never Forget Park committee member Stacy Crimmins, presented the mayor with three grant proposals. The $70,000 in applications include an HF Sinclair Community Relations grant for $25,000, a Wyoming Community Foundation grant for $10,000, and a $35,000 grant from the Laura Jane Musser Foundation. Crimmins said the Musser Foundation required the town’s budget report, letters of support from the council, and letters from other organizations. The Musser Foundation application must include letters of support and be accompanied with environmental information, Crimmins said.
The council approved all three grant applications. Crimmins said the town will know by June if the grants were approved.
Crimmins said if everything goes to plan, the first phase of construction will begin this spring. Installation of curbs and gutters will be the first step. Crimmins said to save money, she’ll need volunteers to help build benches.
Crimmins said the Saratoga Encampment Rawlins Conservation District will help plant trees.
After Crimmins finished her presentation, Mayor Chuck Davis said he attended a meeting with the engineering firm responsible for designing the park, WLC Engineering and Surveying. Mayor Davis said he thinks the curb and gutter should be done at the same time as paving.
The park design is set up in stages. Phase 1 includes curb and gutter, irrigation, and electrical. Paving wasn’t supposed to occur until Phase 4. Mayor Davis said the town paid WLC $7,000 to design a new plan. The new plan included the paving to occur during the beginning of construction.
Mayor Davis said the town would pay $42,000 to have WLC on site to perform all necessary testing during construction. He said a local engineering firm said the price seemed reasonable.
Mayor Davis said it would be a better idea to do most of the construction on the park at once, instead of in phases. With the infrastructure in place, the town could take its time putting on the finishing touches.
Local contractor, Randy Raymer, questioned the amount of money the town was preparing to spend. He said the streets department could perform most of the work. Raymer said expensive testing was unnecessary for such a simple project.
Mayor Davis said the town would need to have experts come in to make sure the work was done right. He agreed the engineering costs were already too high.
Citizens attending the meeting expressed frustration about the lack of progress.
Mayor Davis said building the Never Forget Park is important to him. Mayor Davis said combining the construction phases is the best way to complete the park.
Councilman Mike Cooley asked Crimmins if she thought the town should move forward with the new plan or wait for a less expensive option. She said waiting may result in construction missing the onset of spring. Crimmins added she will inform the public of how much money the Never Forget Park is expected to cost.
The public continued to voice their concerns about the cost of the engineering firm and how long planning has been going on. Afterwards, Councilwoman Kathy Beck said she appreciated everyone’s input. She said the town would get its money’s worth out of WLC Engineering.
Councilwoman Beck acknowledged using the streets department would save the town money. However, she said they are too busy with town work to help with construction. She recommended the town go with WLC’s plan.
Councilwoman Beck motioned to accept the $42,000 WLC Engineering proposal. The motion was seconded and passed. With a finalized design document, the town can open the construction up for bid. Assuming a reasonable bid is received, work on the Never Forget Park can begin in the spring.
