Work on Community School expansion starts this week

Local contractors found some work

With the initial paperwork signed by both the town of Crested Butte and the Gunnison REIJ school board, dirt will start to be moved very soon. The Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) detailing conditions of a land swap between the town and the school district for a Crested Butte Community School expansion was signed on Monday. Now the real work begins.

Town staff met with the expansion contractors on the site Tuesday morning. Utility locations will be marked this week. The sewage lift station, currently located along the left field of the Tommy V baseball field, will be moved to its new location across the road.
The old ranch barn, along with six other smaller buildings, will be moved in the next couple of weeks. School district superintendent Jon Nelson says the big barn move is scheduled for Monday, May 18. The buildings will all be relocated to the town shop area. “It’s time to move buildings and break ground,” said Nelson. “This will be a great project, which should take 18 months with a completion date slated for August of 2010.”
There was a major hope throughout the local trades community that the multi-million dollar project would provide some work for area contractors. That has happened.
“Several local contractors will get work out of the project,” explained Nelson. “As an example, Lacy Construction will be doing earthwork and Crested Butte Electric will do the electrical installation at the Crested Butte site.
Several Gunnison contractors were also awarded work and there are still more contracts to be awarded. The complete list will be finalized in early June.”
Town manager Susan Parker said she is communicating with Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to make sure that organization is okay with the field moving across the road. GOCO, which contributes state lottery funds to open space projects, donated $36,115 when the original field was built and must be informed of any major changes.
“When school lets out in a few weeks is when you will see some major changes over there,” she said. “The construction fencing will go up and hard hats will be needed. It will be a construction zone.”
That being said, Parker added there would be accommodations for camping during the Bicycle Tour of Colorado in June.
 According to Nelson, construction trailers will arrive in the next few days and some fencing will start to be installed. “It is time to move. The projects in Gunnison are rocking and rolling,” said Nelson.
Both Crested Butte mayor Alan Bernholtz and school board president MJ Vosburg are glad to have the IGA process behind them and the construction in front of them. “It is like MJ has said—there is sort of an anti-climactic feeling because we all put a lot of work into this IGA process, but it is really just starting,” said Bernholtz.
“I am extremely happy with this,” added Vosburg. “The town, the school board, BOZAR [Board of Zoning and Architectural Review] all took a lot of hits but it will be a great project. It is a great entrance to town.”
The official groundbreaking for all the school expansion projects will take place at Gunnison High School on Thursday, May 21 at 1 p.m.