Committee seeks corrections to DRB decision and presses to time bids before funding windows close

Committee members reviewed the Development Review Board (DRB) decision and identified two items needing clarification.

First, members found an apparent tree-count error in the DRB decision: the final DRB text lists “99 trees” at the pickleball court location, but the committee said the DRB had summed multiple tree counts and the 99 figure is incorrect for that single location. The committee agreed to ask Tyler (town permit staff) and Duncan (town staff) to request a DRB correction to ensure the decision matches the intended planting plan.

Second, the committee confirmed the DRB waived the town’s 20-foot commercial driveway requirement down to 18 feet for the project; members instructed staff to ensure the parking-lot pricing reflects an 18-foot driveway when soliciting bids. Committee members also discussed a narrow window for putting the parking-lot work out to bid (before March) to capture lower bid prices and noted uncertainty over FEMA reimbursement timing — if FEMA reimbursement is delayed, the town had previously lent money to cover flood-related work and that will affect cashflow for new projects.

Procurement and trees: The committee reviewed a Gardener Supply quote and discussed ordering trees in batches (under the town’s procurement threshold) to avoid formal bidding; members proposed planting priority trees for the pickleball court first and staging remaining plantings to meet the DRB’s final conditions.

Next steps: Committee will ask town staff to request the DRB correct the tree-count/location wording, will price the parking-lot work as an 18-foot driveway, and will continue to press town administration on FEMA reimbursement timing to preserve favorable bid conditions.