Carson City Board of Supervisors approve downtown street contract

The Carson City Board of Supervisors Thursday approved the $8.1 million contract to repave and redesign Carson Street through downtown.

Q&D Construction will do the work as Construction Manager At-Risk. As expected, the contract was approved on a 3-2 vote with supervisors Lori Bagwell and Jim Shirk opposed.

The project will completely redesign the street, formerly U.S. 395 through the capital, from William Street/Highway 50 south to Fifth Street, turning the street into three lanes instead of four with a center turn lane, wider sidewalks and bike lanes. There also will be benches, more trees and other amenities designed to make downtown a more pedestrian friendly area and to help revitalize downtown businesses. The center median will be removed.

The plan also includes creation of a small events plaza between Firkin and Fox and Mom and Pop’s on what is now 3rd Street, which is going to be closed.

The contract isn’t to exceed $8,1123,682.85, plus a separate contract with Lumos and Associates for $199,055 for construction assistance services.

Both contracts are funded from the city’s Infrastructure, Redevelopment Revolving Water, Sewer and Stormwater funds.

One person, Doreen Mack from the Downtown 2020 group, was the only public commentator during the meeting. Mack, who’s in favor the project, was seeking information about communication on potential impacts to downtown businesses.

City Engineering Manager Dan Rotter assured the board and audience members the project will be substantially complete before Nevada Day at the end of October.

“We will have a fully functioning awesome Nevada Day,” he said.

The only remaining work Rotter said, will be installation of the crosswalk pavers. He also assured the board everything will be fully ADA compliant.

Shirk and Bagwell both objected to the use of the revolving fund money to do the work.

“I think there are other infrastructure projects in the city that needed these dollars more,” said Bagwell. “I don’t have anything in the project I object to. I think we need to fix all the other roads with the money.”

Jeff Bean of Q&D said the company anticipates 10-hour days and night shifts to get the work done because it plans to work around business access issues to minimize impacts to a number of businesses in the corridor. The actual repaving of the street, he said: “That’ll be a marathon, seven- to 10-days, 24 hours.”

Rotter said some elements of the project are being covered by donations including more than 35 benches paid through the Chamber of Commerce and Muscle Powered for bike racks and garbage cans.

In addition, the board voted to spend $128,148 from the Residential Construction Tax funds to make improvements at Ross Gold Park in south Carson City. Parks Director Roger Moellendorf told the board that park is “badly in need of improvements.” But he and Senior Park Planner Vern Krahn said the funding won’t cover everything the park needed and added there were several other city parks in need of work.

Ross Gold, they said, isn’t in compliance with ADA requirements and the playground equipment is so old the manufacturer doesn’t make repair equipment anymore.

Krahn said parks needs the $128,148 to leverage grant money to do the rest of the work including ADA improvements, land and water conservation work and other parts of the project.

But Supervisor Brad Bonkowski said he’d like to see the actual plans and full cost estimates before approving the spending. He was joined by Shirk but the motion by Bagwell to fund the project was approved 3-2.