During a work session held by the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) on Tuesday, Aug. 19, Jack Harper, then the county manager, briefed the board on requests for proposal (RFPs) the county has received for the design and engineering of a new county administration building to be constructed at the 5.5 acre parcel located at 2901 Cornerstone Drive.
The BoCC approved purchasing the parcel for $2,525,480 in May.
Harper explained the county had received three RFPs, and that a committee of himself, Finance Director Chad Eaton and Building and Grounds Manager Daniel Matyniak ranked the proposals.
Harper indicated that the first choice out of the three RFPs was from a company called Anderson Hallas Architects, based out of Golden. The second choice was from Vega Contractors and the third was from Davis Engineering Services.
Davis Engineering helped the county with designing the new courthouse and jail located in Harman Park, Harper noted.
Harper further explained that the reason for choosing Anderson Hallas as the first pick was due to its experience in designing municipal and town hall buildings, while the other two companies did not have the same experience.
Harper added that Anderson Hallas has familiarity working with multiple departments and has the ability to “go ahead and make things come together.”
He explained that, according to the specifications in the RFP, the proposals were simply being presented during the Aug. 19 work session, with the matter to be revisited and a decision to be made during the BoCC’s regular meeting scheduled for Sept. 2.
Harper also noted that each of the three RFPs came out with roughly the same cost for phase one of the project, at around $295,000.
He mentioned that when the county moved monies around to handle the land acquisition and building preparation designs, “the dollars are there to at least go to the phase one component.”
The phase one component outlined by the RFP includes performing preliminary site work and engineering for water and drainage on the property, Harper explained, “which would then lead them to know what portion of the property would be used to do the actual construction.”
Harper noted that phase two includes the final design of the building.
He went on to explain that after the RFPs were received, Coroner Brad Hunt informed the county that the local mortuary is closing and that he may need space for a potential “morgue.”
That was not included in the original RFP, so if the county wanted that included in the design, a new RFP process would be needed, Harper explained.
Eaton also noted that all three RFPs received were “qualified” for the job, but noted that his concern is the ability to work with multiple departments, leading him to favor Anderson Hallas.
“I would be remiss if I didn’t say that obviously things have potentially changed a little bit with where we are at the old courthouse building and at the new Wyndham building, so potentially we’re no longer under that same kind of crunch or timeline,” Harper said.
Commissioner John Ranson asked if any of the RFPs indicated any potential cost and size of the new building.
Harper responded “no,” but explained that he has met with a few local contractors who expressed to him that the county should plan on spending about $500 per square foot for the final building.
“That’s what it is to build,” Commissioner Veronica Medina commented, explaining that when builders proved a final cost per square foot it is not necessarily the “true cost,because it’s all about your finishes, your upgrades.”
Harper confirmed that the final price would be dependent upon certain design options, explaining that in conversations with Interim Development Director Owen O’Dell and with Anderson Hallas, it was expressed that “this is in no way going to be any kind of a Taj Mahal. It’s not going to be anything fancy.”
He mentioned that the building will be more “purpose-driven” and that any specialty designs on the building would conform to the Aspen Village building specifications.
Commissioner Warren Brown noted those would deal more with the exterior design of the building.
Medina asked about the overall cost of the building, with Harper indicating that each of the RFPs projected the total cost to be around $20 million.
Medina also inquired about an expected timeline, with Harper indicating that it would take about two years after phase two is completed, noting the whole process would take about two and half years.
“Wouldn’t we now go back out and do community input? ‘Cause that’s what we said we were gonna do,” Medina stated, noting the county did not have many details or information to really discuss at the last public meeting dedicated to the matter.
Harper explained the county did not receive any RFPs for a facilitator to coordinate community meetings and gather community input, but that each of the three design and engineering companies indicated they could also assist in facilitating meetings and gathering public input.
Medina mentioned that county staff could organize meetings and gather input.
“I don’t think we should pick who we’re gonna go with before we have at least one community meeting,” Medina said, adding the county could have more meetings after, as well. “In my opinion, that’s what we said we were gonna do.”
Brown agreed with Medina’s comments, noting that he “meant it” when he said the county would continue gathering community input before making decisions, mentioning that, ultimately, it is the taxpayers that will have to “foot the bill.”
“I think what they have to say is important,” he added.
Ranson commented that he’d like to have a conversation about potentially buying the Wyndham property that the county recently approved entering a lease for county office space.
“I’m not real sure we need it if Wyndham works out, in the short-term. I know in the long-term we need it, no doubt,” Ranson said.
He noted that he does not want to “compete” with other entities in the community that may be going to the ballot for funding, such as the Archuleta School District or the Town of Pagosa Springs.
Ranson explained that he was not saying “that’s the way we need to go” in regard to purchasing the Wyndham property, but that it is “at least worth discussing.”
Ranson commented that the county’s need for a new administration building is not as high of a priority to him as the school district’s facility needs and the town’s wastewater system needs.
Brown agreed with Ranson that discussing purchasing the Wyndham property would be a “worthy” conversation to have.
He expressed concerns about delaying the construction of a new administration building and possibly incurring higher costs later on.
“But, we do have some real needs here and I think we have to have some open conversations about what we do have as a priority and how we move forward,” he added.
Medina commented that if the thought is to not move as quickly as previously anticipated on a new building, “then I think we should have a real conversation about buying the Wyndham building versus paying the rent.”
She noted that the county is entering a two-year lease, expressing concerns about winding up in the same situation as before.
“The timeline hasn’t gone away,” she added.
Ranson noted that the county would not have any debt buying the Wyndham building.
Medina also commented on the coroner’s need for storage space, suggesting the Wyndham building could be the future location for the coroner’s office.
New receptionist position
During the same work session, the BoCC heard a request from Human Resource Director Mitzi Bowman for a new receptionist position to be added to help direct traffic at the county’s new office space in the Wyndham building located at the corner of Village Drive and Talisman Drive.
Bowman explained the building has a receptionist area at the main entrance, indicating that people may wander around the building not knowing where to go or just wait until someone comes out to help them.
Medina explained the idea for adding this position stemmed from conversations with the other elected officials about possible alterations that could be made to the building.
Medina noted the county agreed not to alter the structure of the building as part of its lease agreement with Wyndham.
“We are probably gonna need this same type of position, because they will be able to direct the traffic,” Medina said, adding, “Right now we don’t have the staff or the manpower to be able to direct anybody.”
She went on to comment that she is typically not in favor of adding positions, especially in the middle of the year.
“I’m not a fan at all of, one, adding positions and, two, doing it in the middle of the year,” Medina said, explaining that adding this receptionist position may “help everyone.”
Brown asked about the possibility of the county staff being able to share that responsibility between the different offices that will be housed in the building, which includes Human Resources, the treasurer, assessor and clerk and recorder.
Medina explained that was her first thought, but that “according to the electeds, they just don’t have the staff to put there.”
Bowman explained that a computer could be stationed in the receptionist area and that other staff could rotate and still be able to get work done while helping with receptionist duties.
Medina commented that she thought that was a”fabulous” idea, but reiterated that “the electeds didn’t think they had the bandwidth to do that.”
“I think we all have to give a little here,” Brown commented, mentioning that the BoCC has done that and he appreciates the work being done, “but everybody’s gotta give.”
Ranson indicated that he was “comfortable” with adding the position.
“I’m all for it,” he said.
During the regular meeting held later that, the BoCC unanimously approved adding a new receptionist at the Wyndham building.
According to the agenda, “This position is proposed as a temporary role through the remainder of the calendar year, with the intent to revisit and evaluate the need for continuation during the 2026 budget process. The pay range for this position is $17.92-$25.17.”
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