Woodland Park DDA drops two-bid requirement, asks applicants for itemized estimates for $5,000 microgrants

WOODLAND PARK — The Woodland Park Downtown Development Authority directed staff to remove a requirement that applicants supply two contractor proposals for the DDA’s microgrant program and instead asked applicants to submit an itemized cost estimate that includes materials and labor.

The change emerged during a prolonged discussion of the $150,000 microgrant program, which offers reimbursement-based awards of up to $5,000 per project for improvements to publicly accessible structures inside the DDA boundary. Josh, a staff member who drafted the program materials and briefed the board, said the program is intended to “help stimulate the improvement and beautification of physical spaces, structures, buildings, exterior and interior, that are open to the public that are within the DDA’s boundaries.”

Board members said the two-proposal rule risked excluding small local applicants and slowing projects because it can be difficult in the area to obtain multiple bids within the program’s timeline. After discussion the board signaled general consensus to remove the two-proposal requirement and require an itemized estimate of costs with the application.…