County staff ask for more references before approving Cutative cost estimate for Garden Ranchi project

County staff told Huerfano County commissioners on June 17 that a two-phase, $11,990 cost estimate from a California firm called Cutative would provide a more thoroughly verified construction estimate for the Garden Ranchi project, but commissioners asked staff to collect local references and to return with more information before proceeding.

A county staff member said the proposal from Cutative would “help us dial in a whole lot tighter to what we think the costs are gonna be” and described the firm’s estimate as more detailed than an initial engineer’s guesstimate. The staff member said the total cost for Cutative’s work would be $11,990 and that the proposal is split into two phases.

One commissioner questioned whether the firm had sufficient local experience. “They sound like a pretty amazing company out of California,” the commissioner said, adding that most projects the firm had done appeared to be in California and under regulatory conditions unlike those in Huerfano County. That commissioner said the hourly fees and total proposal seemed high and asked staff to check references and local examples of the company’s work.

Staff said the county could wait a few weeks to gather references. They also noted that one remaining project hurdle is drainage; once drainage issues are resolved, the project would be ready to be packaged for funding. Commissioners directed staff to return with additional information, including references and any local work examples, before the board takes further action on the Cutative estimate.

The board did not take a formal vote on the Cutative proposal at the meeting and left the item for a future agenda.