Parker council approves easements and IGA to advance Lincoln Avenue–Jordan Road widening project

Parker Town Council approved an intergovernmental agreement with Stonegate Village Metropolitan District and two accompanying easement ordinances to complete the final property acquisitions needed for the Lincoln Avenue–Jordan Road widening project. Council members voted unanimously in favor of the three measures during the meeting.

Town staff described the Stonegate agreement as an exchange: the district will convey deeded right of way and permanent and temporary easements needed for the roadway widening in return for the town designing and constructing updated medians on Jordan Road from Stonegate Parkway to Prairieland Drive. “This ordinance is, as you mentioned, for the intergovernmental agreement, between the town and Stonegate Village Metropolitan District,” said Patrick Burke, the town staff presenter, explaining the proposed swap and the background of the widening project.

Burke said the easements conveyed by the district for the project total roughly 0.3 acres of deeded right of way, about 0.9 acres of permanent easement and about 2.2 acres of temporary construction easement. He told council that the town’s consultant estimated the construction cost for the median improvements at about $300,000 and that the Stonegate board had approved the agreement earlier in the week. Under the agreement the town will design and build the medians and the district will remain responsible for ongoing maintenance of those medians after construction.

Council also approved two ordinances to acquire the last private easements the project needs. Burke said the First Bank parcel acquisition includes 1,925 square feet of deeded right of way, 3,003 square feet of permanent easement and 3,649 square feet of temporary construction easement; staff presented a combined cost for those three areas as $319,119. The University of Colorado Health parcel was described as a 1,663-square-foot permanent sidewalk easement with a cost of $56,500. Earlier in the presentation staff referenced a single figure for the easements “presented tonight” (reported as $369,619 in the transcript); the line-item figures that Burke read ($319,119 and $56,500) sum to $375,619. That discrepancy appears in the meeting record and is noted in clarifying details below.

Staff told council these acquisitions complete work begun in 2023 to secure easements from 25 property owners for the widening project. Burke said the construction contract had been put out to bid, with bids due February 6; if bids are acceptable, staff expects to bring a construction contract to council in March and to have a contractor on site in late March or early April. Burke said the project’s estimated completion date is Oct. 31, 2026.

Council members voiced support for the agreements during deliberations, characterizing the median exchange as a negotiated, mutually beneficial approach to securing right of way without relying solely on purchase. No members spoke in opposition and no public commenters addressed these agenda items.

Votes at a glance: - Ordinance 9.382 (IGA with Stonegate Village Metropolitan District): approved 6-0. - Ordinance 1.639 (right-of-way purchase/sale for First Bank parcel): approved 6-0. - Ordinance 1.640 (sidewalk easement with University of Colorado Health): approved 6-0.

Next steps: staff said the project cannot proceed to construction until the easement and right-of-way ordinances are in place and the construction contract is awarded following the scheduled bid opening.