Durango City Council approved more funding for new Parks and Recreation Department buildings at Greenmount Cemetery on Tuesday night.
The city’s initial estimate for the project was $2.3 million, but revised plans for buildings will require an additional $240,000. The city will cover the cost with Colorado Conservation Trust funds, which are supported by the Colorado Lottery.
Mayor Sweetie Marbury questioned the additional costs and said she would like to see the construction come in under the new budget.
“I am glad there is money to do this. I know it is long overdue. It is just a staggering amount of money,” she said.
Costs are up because the Parks and Recreation Department needs a larger office than originally planned, but staff members kept costs below an estimate received earlier this year, Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Metz said.
Staff members cut $200,000 by redesigning parts of the project, including the access road and by planning to have parks and rec employees complete parts of the project, Metz said.
“We know this has been a sensitive issue for the council,” she said.
Parks and rec employees will demolish the shop, landscape the site, install irrigation and finish the shop’s interior, Metz said.
To help keep costs down, the department also revised designs. Instead of a 5,760-square-foot heated shop, the city is planning to build a 3,600-square-foot heated space and a 1,500-square-foot unheated storage building, she said.
The new space will replace a shop that could collapse under a heavy snow or high wind, Metz said.
The new 4,100-square-foot office will replace a renovated two-bedroom house that serves about 35 employees in summer. The city previously planned to build a 3,700-square-foot office.
Metz said she wants to ensure the new shop and office will serve existing and future needs.
“We want to make sure we build a building that will last for the next 50 years,” she said.
The city has already moved parks and recreation staff members from a building at Greenmount Cemetery into the Mason Center on East Third Avenue in preparation for construction, which is expected to start in June, she said.
The cemetery will stay open during construction.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
