Story by: Kaia Hofmeister, Hometown Highlight Editor
Photos by: Olivia Paleaz
There was a bit of back and forth arguing during the last Grand Junction City Council meeting due to concerns from Council members and local contractors.
The Grand Junction City Council recently held a meeting to discuss a proposal to extend the Riverfront Trail from Leach Creek to Redlands Parkway Trail.
The proposal had been discussed extensively for the past few weeks, and while it was previously said that a decision had been made, it had not yet been brought to a council vote. Ultimately, the council voted against the proposal, with three council members voting in favor and three voting against.
A witness at the council meeting said that the proposal included a bid to Sierra construction for $647,482.80, but part of the council is arguing that the city should complete the construction in order to save tax payer money.
During the public comments section of the meeting, William Ogle, Vice President of Sorter Construction, suggested that the decision was swayed and that the council did not consider different bids. He also pointed out that the city did not have the budget for the project.
Paul Burdet, a member of the contracting community, questioned whether the city bid fairly and suggested that the construction industry provided their own bids.
Council member Abe Herman expressed his concerns about the proposal, noting that the project was intended to be self-performed to save taxpayer money. He also stated that if the council went with the proposed bid, they would be spending thousands of dollars more than necessary. Simpson and Herman clashed during the meeting, with both trying to justify their arguments.
“I also have pretty serious concerns about the precedent that was set by the fact that this was decided by council and two weeks later we want a do-over because ya know, I guess, some council members didn’t like the outcome of that,” Herman said. “There are multiple things in the two years that I’ve been on council that I didn’t like the outcome of the vote but that’s what you do as part of an elective body. You move on and you accept what the decision was of council as a whole unless there are some new facts. But there are no new facts here.”
Paul Burdet, a member of the construction community in Grand Junction, raised his concern for himself and his fellow contracting team during the meeting as well.
“The contracting community specifically asked the question, ‘Are we wasting our time and efforts bidding this work against the City of Grand Junction when no policy or parameters have been defined by the City to do so?”
At the end of this meeting, the council voted 3-3, creating a tie in the proposal — meaning the proposal for the asphalt portion of the Riverfront Trail from Leach Creek to Redlands Parkway Trail to be converted to concrete would not pass.
Council member Randall did argue that stakeholders and council staff will ultimately need to work together to find a mutually agreeable solution.
The council decided that before they can make further motion, they must carefully consider all bids and the impact on taxpayers before making any decisions.
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