La Plata County has changed a project to provide emergency shelter at the county fairgrounds after a state grant came back short of the original request.
In December, La Plata County Emergency Management announced it received $145,500 from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to add new natural gas generators to buildings at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. The amount is about $50,000 short of the initial request, requiring county officials to scale back the project while trying to achieve the same results.
On Wednesday, General Services Director Mark McKibben said the county can do this by reusing generators and changing the way the labor is compensated.
“We went back to the drawing board to see if we could still accomplish what we want with the DOLA money and our match,” McKibben said. “The original design concept involved taking out the existing generator from the Exhibit Hall and adding all new generators in the facilities. We were able to find a solution: Instead of installing a new generator at the Extension Office, we’ll reuse the generator.”
That will save the county about $36,000.
Costs will be further reduced by bidding the work to an electrical contractor, and have subcontractors complete other tasks, such as laying concrete.
“At the end of the day, we were able to achieve enough savings to make this viable,” McKibben said.
The project is intended to improve fairground facilities to provide residents a warm, equipped haven in emergency situations.
Including the grant, county match and a 7 percent contingency, the project totals $291,000. Work is slated to begin this spring.
“When you look through the course of time, we’re obligated to prepare for our citizens, and we’re woefully unprepared in this respect,” County Emergency Management Director Butch Knowlton said. “Times are tough, money is short, but it will be a benefit to us.”
jpace@durangoherald.com
