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Board de‑obligates DOLA grant for Columbine Park expansion, citing rising construction costs
Summary
Rio Blanco County voted to de‑obligate Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) grant funds for an enlargement and emergency‑operations‑center conversion at Columbine Park after bids far exceeded the county’s combined local and DOLA budget; staff will return funds to DOLA per the agency’s portal instructions.
Rio Blanco County commissioners voted July 22 to de‑obligate the county’s DOLA grant (EIAF‑08372) for the Columbine Park emergency operations center and evacuation site project after construction bids and revised subcontractor estimates put the project well above available funds.
Eric (county staff managing the grant) told the board the project had been scoped as a 900‑square‑foot expansion (an additional ~900 square feet) to create a multiuse office that could serve as an emergency operations center (EOC) and potentially house 4‑H uses. The county paired $100,000 of locally budgeted funds with a DOLA award that would have brought the project to about $200,000 total. After the county completed design and solicited bids, the low construction bid returned at about $525,000; the county then attempted to reduce cost by directly contracting and soliciting subcontractors and reported a revised estimate of about $375,000 — still roughly $175,000 short of available funding.
Eric said rising construction costs and DOLA’s energy‑efficiency and emergency‑operation center requirements (which included electric heat pump HVAC and other efficiency standards) drove part of the increase. He told the board he had discussed the issue with DOLA staff; DOLA’s representative told county staff the funds should be returned if the county could not proceed.
Commissioners debated options including re‑scoping or adding county funds. Commissioner (last name recorded in roll) asked whether removing the energy‑efficiency requirement (for example, allowing a gas furnace) would close the gap; Eric and county staff said it would reduce costs but not enough to bridge the shortfall to the county’s $200,000 combined budget. Eric said DOLA had indicated the county should de‑obligate funds if it could not proceed as scoped and follow the portal instructions for returning funds.
Action and vote: the board approved a motion to de‑obligate the funds associated with DOLA grant EIAF‑08372 “due to insufficient available county funds to complete the project as originally scoped resulting from escalating construction costs.” The motion passed on roll call with Commissioners recorded as voting “Aye.”
Ending: County staff will notify DOLA through the agency’s portal and return the grant funds; staff said they would consider alternative, lower‑cost site improvements or future grant opportunities when market conditions change.
