Chaffee County commissioners voted to award the vehicle–wildlife collision mitigation planner role to Eco Resolutions to support the county's federally funded Safe Streets for All safety action plan.

County planning staff said the contract will make specialized expertise available to the team developing the full transportation safety plan and will help the county seek future infrastructure implementation grants. Miles, Community Planning and Natural Resources staff, told the commissioners the county had received five responses to a request for qualifications and that Eco Resolutions’ local knowledge and prior work on a Western Slope prioritization study were key reasons staff recommended them.

The county previously received a $440,000 U.S. Department of Transportation Safe Streets for All grant to complete a county safety action plan, staff said; the county expects a possible $110,000 match from DOLA to cover the planning portion. Staff emphasized that no implementation funds were committed at the meeting: the selected planner will assist with project scoping and budget estimates that will be finalized when the county issues the RFP for the overall safety action plan.

Why it matters: vehicle–wildlife collisions account for a significant portion of Chaffee County’s reported vehicle collisions, staff said, far above the state average. The planner role is intended to produce evidence-driven recommendations and to position the county for larger implementation grants.

Commission discussion and outcome: commissioners praised the quality of applicants and the benefit of hiring a local principal who had authored a regional prioritization study. A motion to award the contract to Eco Resolutions and direct staff to finalize the contract passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff will finalize a contract with Eco Resolutions and proceed with issuing the RFP for the safety action plan so the planner can coordinate with the prime consultant.