Grammy Celebration a huge hit

At Tuesday night’s meeting during the Town Hall segment, Jeremy Henn of Uptripping thanked the council for granting the Special Event Permit for the celebration commemorating PJ Olsson’s Grammy win. The event doubled as a fundraiser for the Remi Olsson Memorial Fund, which awards up and coming middle school and high school students with studio recording time at Eagle Wind Sound. Henn told the council they raised over $4,000 at the event held in the Arts District on March 24th.

KFFR Business Challenge Grant

Next, Winter Park resident Joanna Goodman presented the council with the KFFR (88.3 FM) Business Challenge Grant. Goodman started out by thanking council for the $5,000 grant they’d given in 2018 toward construction of the new station. She told council that the nonprofit radio station is now actively seeking members to help pay for the continued costs associated with running the radio station. “I am asking for your support to keep this station alive”, said Goodman. She told council “a local radio station adds to a more vibrant community. We all listen to the radio when we drive and when you can turn the dial and hear your neighbors, it’s a great thing. We are growing a lot here. I see new faces all the time and a radio station is the thing that gets everyone involved”.

The membership drive runs from April 18-30, kicked off with an Open House at their new studio on the second level of the Fraser Valley Shopping Center on the 18th and a success party at Hernando’s on the 30th.

She explained that a $200 pledge would come with 10 days of on-air PSA/outreach messaging and a $500 pledge comes with 30 days. “We want more engagement from the community and our local businesses”, said Goodman, adding, “PSA’s tell listeners what’s going on”.

Mayor Jimmy Lahrman asked whether they had contacted the Winter Park & Fraser Chamber. Station owner, Dennis Moynihan, told council that KFFR is a Chamber member and they are in the process of sending out a direct mailing to 350 Chamber members.

“Our goal is to raise $15,000. So far, we are at $1,500, and we are just getting the word out. There are a lot of people approaching us, asking about it”, said Moynihan. He explained that the grant model has an on-air component. During the grant period, the town of Winter Park would be featured and any donations received in that timeframe would be matched, dollar for dollar, up to $200…$500, whatever amount the town chooses to pledge, essentially doubling the amount contributed. Moynihan said that 10-20 businesses have already signed on. “We are inviting business representatives and council members to come in and kibbitz on air”, he said.

“We are almost done with the major part of building the station and are looking for a good, stable, locally-sourced funding stream”, said Moynihan, adding, “a lot of funds so far have come from outside the county”.

Moynihan also pointed out the station’s SEC license is designated as Winter Park, which is mentioned throughout the day. “The town is getting great built-in branding.”

Councilman Chuck Banks asked about the station’s range across the county, since you can’t get the station much past Red Dirt Hill. Moynihan told council they are currently broadcasting at 4,000 watts, but the station operating license is for 10,000 watts. They have had challenges with the county which he hopes to overcome in time for this summer’s construction season to get the new tower built. When finished, they’ll be able to broadcast from Empire to Hot Sulphur Springs and Grand Lake and even over to Nederland.  

Councilman Ferrari motioned to put in $500, noting it would not impact the budget since they’d recently reduced the amount of one of their commercial enhancement grants. “We could use our 30 days of outreach and let staff formulate how we can take advantage of that”. Council approved the motion unanimously. Councilmen Periolat and Seemann were absent.

Saunders Construction awarded CMGC contract

Capital Projects and Parks manager, Gerry Vernon, presented Resolution 1682, awarding the bid for CMGC services of the new Public Works Facility to Saunders Construction.

The results of the RFP process for a Construction Manager/General Contractor (CMGC) of the Public Works Facility was vetted by six selection committee members. The process began in January and received a total of six submitted proposals. “The town was quite fortunate”, said Vernon. “What it boiled down to was three things: expertise, value and capacity.”

“90% of all Saunders projects are CMGC projects”, said Vernon. “They’ve completed five public works projects since 2017. They know what works and what doesn’t work and will help the town make decisions to maximize the facility at the lowest cost.”  The CMGC oversees the project, hires subcontractors and acts in the best interests of the town.

The proposed Saunders team recently completed the Winter Park Resort Gondola project. Construction Manager, Nathan Wilks, described the variety of projects Saunders is overseeing, including facilities in Broomfield, Aurora and the CDOT campus in Denver.

Mayor Lahrman asked Wilks how long he thought the project would take. Wilks said it could take 9-10 months, with demolition, to construct the new facility. A lot depends on the type of structure that is designed and finalized. He told them a metal structure is the quickest build and, if they can break ground by June, it could be enclosed by November, before winter sets in.

Variables include wetlands mitigation, utilities and permits. “We can get the building down in a couple of weeks”, said Wilks, following grading and foundation work. Wilks also confirmed they are also able to install solar, if the town opts to utilize.

Town Manager Keith Riesberg told council the contract “brings Saunders to the table with our architects so they can work on finalizing the design”. He added that a June 1st start is a little aggressive. “The sooner we get to a guaranteed final price, the sooner we can move forward.”

Council unanimously approved Resolution 1682, awarding the bid to Saunders Construction for pre-construction services not to exceed $9,375 and an overall profit margin of 3.95% of the final guaranteed maximum price.

“Good luck – get moving!” said Mayor Lahrman.

To learn more, visit: wpgov.com.