Montezuma County chooses ADA parking layout at fairgrounds; staff to study slab heat options

Fairgrounds staff presented three preliminary layouts for ADA parking at the west-north end of the indoor arena and asked the board for direction. Option 1 preserves three existing trees and places eleven ADA stalls with 6-foot concrete access aisles and short sidewalks to the building; Option 2 would place sidewalks west of the trees but produced steep grades behind stalls and was considered less feasible; Option 3 removes the trees and yields a cleaner layout with the sidewalk directly adjacent to the building. Commissioners favored keeping the trees and moving forward with Option 1, directing staff to complete final plans.

Staff also described a planned 40-by-40 concrete slab adjacent to the building and raised concerns about an electric snow/ice-melt system’s power draw. Engineers estimated a full electric system for the slab would draw about 92 kilowatts, exceeding the property’s current roughly 75-kW service. Staff and commissioners discussed alternatives, including splitting the slab into two zones (40x20 each) to lower peak demand, installing a dedicated hot-water (hydronic) system fed by a 100-gallon electric water heater, integrating with a planned solar system, or exploring geothermal/ground-source options if grants are available. Commissioners advised staff to verify the engineer’s electric load calculations and to explore a hydronic solution and staging the slab work (doing ADA parking first and the heated slab later) if cost or service constraints remain.

Staff said they will work with Empire Electric and the project engineer on final energy/load calculations and return with refined cost and procurement options. There was no formal board vote recorded.