Silverton trustees direct staff to negotiate SID construction contract with $1.31M cap

The Silverton Board of Trustees on June 15 voted to direct town staff to negotiate an amended construction contract for the 8th & Bluff Special Improvement District (SID), setting a construction-cost cap of $1,311,358.

Town staff presented three courses of action for moving the SID infrastructure project forward and recommended negotiation with the apparent low bidder, Animas Excavations, as the fastest way to begin construction this season. Clay Ortiz, the staff lead on the project, told trustees the options were to (1) negotiate with the contractor and remove certain service-line items while adding contract language that makes SID owners responsible for overages, (2) amend the bid documents and request revised proposals, or (3) reissue a full request for bids. Ortiz summarized, “We presented them in that order… The quickest, shovel on the ground, obviously, would be coa number 1.”

Why it matters: Trustees said the timetable is tight for the construction season and landowners, contractors and local businesses are counting on work beginning this summer. At the same time, some trustees and a property owner’s attorney urged additional geotechnical study to reduce the risk that unforeseen conditions could produce cost overruns that affect landowners or, indirectly, the town.

Public commenters representing SID landowners urged the board to move forward. Patrick Champaloux, who identified himself as “part of the SID,” said the SID legal structure "is part of state law and was built specifically as a solution for these types of growth challenges in Silverton," adding it provides collateral protections for the town in the event of owner default. Jeff Deener, an SID landowner representative, said contingencies make sense but argued more soil cores are redundant if the contract already contains contingency language; he also cited specific bid line items: “the contractor has a line item in the bid of 53,000, and that’s specifically for rock excavation... the regular excavation number comes in at 277,000, and that’s a fixed line item.”

A resident-owner’s lawyer, Michael Hoffman, said he represents a property owner at 746 Snowden Street and asked the board to consider option 3 — a full geotechnical investigation — "to advance [my client’s] interest in protecting your property." Trustees debated both the risk and timing: several favored option 1 with a contractual clause making SID owners responsible for cost overages to preserve the construction timeline; others preferred further geotechnical analysis, noting it could add two to three weeks and possibly delay work past the feasible construction window.

After discussion, a trustee moved to direct staff to negotiate under option 1 and to limit total construction cost to $1,311,358. The motion was seconded, put to roll call and passed (Yes: Missy Brosh; Justice Halverson; Harper Tim Shippen; Mayor Harper. No: Mister Graham; Mister Wakefield). The board’s direction requires staff to return with contract language reflecting the negotiated cap and the owners’ indemnity provisions before the contract is executed.

Next steps: Staff said it will attempt negotiations with Animas Excavations and, if an agreement is reached, bring contract language back to the trustees as soon as possible. If negotiations fail, the board retains the option to pursue the alternate routes staff outlined.