At its July 28 meeting, the City of Gunnison City Council approved several agreements related to the city’s relationship with the Gunnison County Fire Protection District and their joint effort to construct a new fire station.
The city council first considered an reinstated and amended intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between the City and the Gunnison County Fire Protection District (GCFPD) for fire station replacement.
Mayor Diego Plata explained that the entities had an existing IGA that detailed the funding, design and construction plans for a new fire station.
He said that the amendments in the updated IGA would capture the current status of the project.
Gunnison Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Hugo Ferchau said that the last version of the IGA would need reevaluation if both ballot measures for funding the fire station failed to pass.
In November 2025, voters in the city of Gunnison approved a mill levy increase to help fund a new fire station, but voters in the GCFPD failed to approve an accompanying measure.
Ferchau said that the IGA was revised to capture these events and to document what the district plans to do moving forward.
The IGA indicates that the district will build off of a post-election voter sentiment survey that indicated that more cost certainty and design details would raise voter confidence in the project as well as retaining a currently hired public engagement consultant to help with voter education and committing to consider a ballot measure for May or November 2027.
“I think it’s good to memorialize the changes,” said Councilor Loren Ahonen.
He then asked about the election dates incorporated in the IGA. “Is that a necessity and again, sort of one thing that wasn’t clear to me there and still isn’t, and maybe it wasn’t the clearest read I’ve ever had, is who’s making that call about when that election will or won’t happen?” he said.
“I think it’s just kind of the relationship there is that that expectation is that that’s going to happen in 27 at one of those two dates, and if we don’t do it then, we may need to start revisiting whether or not the city needs to go back and we need to take another look at numbers as time passes,” said Ferchau. “So that’s what that’s based on, making sure we get that sooner rather than later.”
Ahonen asked which entity would determine which election date in 2027 would be chosen.
Ferchau replied that the IGA states that the decision would be made by the GCFPD Board of Directors.
City Manager Amanda Wilson said that currently the board is considering bringing the ballot issue forward in May 2027 and that it could be reintroduced in November if it failed to pass in May.
Ferchau confirmed that this is correct.
The council then unanimously voted to approve the updated IGA.
Next, the council considered authorizing the acceptance of a $332,338 Colorado Department of Local Affairs Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund grant to partially fund design of the fire station.
Ferchau said that the grant would cover about a third of the design costs.
Ahonen thanked the district and staff for their efforts in applying for and receiving the grant. “And it was a deep bench, as noted in the memo,” he said. “Like, you can look through all the small towns and Haxtun and Wray or whomever else is looking for their infrastructure and needs. These are usually competitive processes, in my experience, and I wanted to say thanks and great job.”
“Thank you for that,” Ferchau said. “It was absolutely a team effort. I mean, across the board, that thing moving through city hall and then with the three of us that went and presented, absolutely a team effort. So thanks to everybody who helped.”
Ahonen said that the district and the city have encumbered or plan to encumber between 50 and 60 percent of the approximately $3 million budget for the project this year and asked if this budget was also meant to include a temporary fire station and whether the necessary funds remained.
Ferchau said that the temporary station would be an additional expense dependent on passing the ballot measure for the permanent station.
The council then voted unanimously to authorize acceptance of the grant, subject to the GCFPD also accepting the grant.
As a final item, the council considered a contract amendment for the progressive design/build contract with the Neenan Company for the design and construction of the fire station at a cost of $923,493.
Plata explained that the proposed amendment to the contract would provide for the creation of complete construction documents for the fire station.
Ferchau said this would allow the entities to move the contract forward. “We’re looking forward to our schematic design being finished here in about a month, a little less; it will be Aug. 20 when we get to see those,” he said. “This is that next step and we’re rolling right into it.”
Ahonen asked if a 100 percent design drawing is the same as a construction drawing, which Wilson confirmed.
“Essentially, they’re fully stamped plans, so you can hand them over to a contractor to construct them, and this does get us through that permit review process,” she said. “We won’t actually issue a permit because they’re good for 180 days. … We’ll be able to hit the ground running literally until we have funding for construction.”
The council then unanimously approved the contract amendment.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here