The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My Public Portal About3 Bi-Weekly Update 28 July 2017Town Happenings The Town of Fraser is excited to bring you “Picnic in the Park” featuring live music every Tuesday evening starting July 11th from 6-8PM. Come on out, bring some food, and hang out with good people! J u l y 2 8 , 2 0 1 7 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Highlights  Picnic in the Park  Business Boot Camp  Public Works  Recycling and Trash Initiative  Transit  Finance Upcoming Events July 27-30 CO Freeride Festival August 1 National Night Out August 4-13 Middle Park Fair and Rodeo August 5 WP Half Marathon and 5K Race August 5 WP Beer Festival August 5 Epic SingleTrack Series Race 5 P a g e 2 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Picnic in the Park Despite terrible weather and a dismal forecast, Gary Key boldly set up to play Picnic in the Park during a very rainy and gloomy evening. Unfortunately, he didn't get too far. The July 25th Picnic had to be shut down. Just as Gary started playing his first song of the evening, a nearby transformer blew resulting in a broad power outage. For safety reasons, and to avoid electrical problems with any of the equipment, everyone agreed the best thing to do was pack it up. This may go down in history as the lightest attendance (10) and shortest duration (less than a third of one song) in the long history of Fraser's Picnic in the Park. On the other hand, July 18th’s picnic produced a great turnout in both attendence and sunshine. Andy Straus and the Real McCoy played up the tunes while the PAC (Public Arts Committee) provided a good time with some barn quilt painting for everyone willing to wield a paint brush. P a g e 3 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Business Boot Camp We’re excited to share this Destination Business Bootcamp opportunity with the Fraser business owners! So far, two businesses in Fraser are applying for the program. This complements the strong economic drive and energy the Town of Fraser’s business community is striving for! Please contact Allie Heon at 970-726-5491 x218 or at aheon@town.fraser.co.us with any questions about the program and most importantly about the application process! Public Works This update on the 2017 Union Pacific Railroad (UPR) and Eisenhower Waterline project is intended to provide the Fraser community with a more comprehensive understanding of where we are at with the project today along with some of the challenges we have encountered along the way. The work began July 10th and involved closing the railroad crossing on Eisenhower Drive and at the intersections of Railroad Ave. and Leonard Lane. Immediately, we became aware of an alignment issue that was corrected in order to keep the new water line out of the UPR right -of-way (ROW). Due to the minimal depth of the existing waterline, it was apparent for the need to insulate the new connection point and tie-in. The same issue was addressed at the Byers Ave and Railroad Ave. tie - in location. The design of our project utilized steel trench boxes that are intended for deep trench work including minimizing the amount of asphalt/concrete surfacing that needs to be removed and replaced. Unfortunately, as a result of unstable sub-grade material beneath the existing asphalt surface on both sides of the project, this material began sloughing into the pipe trench thus now creating the need to remove and replace additional asphalt material not anticipated in the original unit quantities resulting in increased project costs. Another issue encountered on July 21st during the tie -in of the west side new waterline was when the existing waterline in Eisenhower was being connected to the old pipeline. Construction practices from 30 plus years ago apparently did not see the need to use mechanical joint restraints on the pipeline which allowed the old pipe to ‘blow apart’ from the pressurized main causing local water outages, filling up the excavation trench and further delaying the construction progress resulting in more time delays and cost overruns including overtime for town staff as well. P a g e 4 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e P a g e 5 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Public Works Cont’d Moving along the project, the pipe alignment along Leonard Lane is directly underneath a steel gas line for a portion of the distance for which we were not able to utilize the trench box method and were required to ‘open-cut’ the other half of the pipe trench, losing the balance of asphalt on Leonard Lane causing additional unanticipated cost increases to the project. Given the additional costs incurred and unexpected underground surprises, we will not be pursuing the replacement of the Byers Avenue water main at this time. In addition to resulting in budget overruns, we believe this portion of the work should be re -evaluated given what we’ve discovered to date. Additionally, we’d like to further evaluate the water main under the west end of Byers Avenue as this may also be problematic. Regardless, the work to date will resolve problems related to the 2016 water main break and improve water quality and fire flows in the neighborhood. Following completion of this work, we’ll begin working on evaluating the net benefits and potential projects for 2018. Transit Our public transit system is proving to be a very popular, yet expensive operation. Ridership continues to increase and we are currently working on finalizing routes for the upcoming season. Despite the challenges, Fraser’s Town Board is working with the Winter Park Town Council on an intergovernmental agreement to memorialize Fraser’s commitment to public transit. P a g e 6 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Recycling and Trash Initiative Following our Waste Diversion Study last year, we sought and were awarded a $60,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Health and Environment for a trash and recycling drop off facility. The facility would provide “pay as you throw” trash drop off (similar to the Grand Lake program) and a free recycling drop off facility (funded in part by revenues from trash fees). We believe this will provide an important community service and help residents and guests better manage their costs. This project is also part of the Town’s commitment to sustainability and quality of life. Our greatest challenge at the moment is finding a suitable location for the facility. Staff is currently working diligently on site analysis and acquisition with the goal of having the facility operational this year. Finance Let’s talk money! We’re doing great with solid increases in sales tax revenue beating every month last year and effectively increasing our transit budget by $22,507 in just the first five months of this year. For the overall revenue collection, we have received 9.6% more sales tax revenue than last year. This is a great reflection of our growing business community and healthy consumer trends! Did You Know… Did you know you can find great information about important topics such as how to better understand your utility bill, how to better understand your community, how your water supply works, how to handle a sewer line backup, a guide to identifying and handling noxious weeds, animal control, and an overview of the snow management plan of Fraser? You can access this information online at our website at www.frasercolorado.com “I Want To” “View” “Town of Fraser Brochures” or just stop by the Fraser Town Hall and pick them up along with other helpful educational handouts. Having a plan before the worst happens is a great way to protect you and your family. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or more information about your home and our vibrant town! P a g e 7 Bi-W e e k l y U p d a t e Town of Fraser PO Box 370, Fraser, CO 80442 - Office 970-726-5491 - Fax 970-726-5518 www.frasercolorado.com Please feel free to contact me with any questions Jeff Durbin Town Manager 970-726-5491 x202 jdurbin@town.fraser.co.us Our Town Board engaged in a fun team building exercise thanks to the PAC by assembling a collection of puzzle pieces that were recently painted at Fraser’s Picnic at the Park.