Bridging the Gap

The new Bridge-to-Bridge Trail pedestrian/bicycle bridge has been placed over the Gunnison River south of the twin Highway 50 bridges. Lacy Construction, contractor for the project, brought in a crane on Wednesday and the metal bridge was lifted into place and secured to the concrete bridge footers. The concrete bridge decking will now be poured, surrounding dirt work will be finished and the trail river crossing project will be completed. What a great trails amenity!

Gunnison County is working just below the bridge and trail site on placing boulders in the river for the new Gunnison Whitewater Park water feature. Not only will the new feature be fun and challenging for rafters and kayakers and provide some enticing pools for "fisherpersons", it will also enhance the existing irrigation ditch diversion structure at that location.

Another Busy Weekend

There are lots of activities to keep everyone busy this weekend. The Annual Chamber of Commerce Banquet is this evening, Friday, October 22nd. The "People's Choice Awards" will be presented. The City's Jorgensen Park was selected as the best park and the Gunnison Community Center was selected by the voters to be the best place to take your kids in Gunnison. Thanks to everyone who voted for these City recreation facilities.

It's Family Weekend on the WSC Campus. Welcome to all of the visiting family members! We hope you enjoy your visit in our community. The WSC Cross-Country team hosts the "Mountaineer Open" at 9am on Saturday morning starting at the Gunnison Middle School. Western State College's Mountaineer Football team then hosts the Colorado School of Mines on Saturday afternoon at the College Bowl.

If you're feelin "on-target" sign up your team for the WSC "Splatterfest 2010" a paintball competition starting at 11am at the WSC Crimson Field.

On Saturday morning at 9am - there will be an indoor Community "Yard Sale" in the 'rubber room' at the Fred Field Western Heritage Center at the Rodeo Grounds. Stop by for some bargains and maybe buy a treasure or two. Then stroll into the next room and visit the Gunnison Farmers' Market starting at 9:30am on Saturday morning. Stock up on fresh autumn produce and freshly baked bread and pastries.

Saturday evening at 5pm by the IOOF Park downtown will be the "Thrill the World" dance. Join fellow dancers around the Country in your dancing to "Thriller". It's free and a lot of fun!

Have a safe a relaxing weekend.

Arbor Day in October

Better late than never - the City celebrated Arbor Day on October 20th this year. Mayor Stu Ferguson read a Proclamation declaring the day as "Arbor Day" and City Manager Ken Coleman and the Public Works crew were in attendance to help plant trees.

The City planted 7 new street trees on the City right-of-way that was reworked this summer on the east side of the 100 Block of North Wisconsin. Several old, massive, and rotten cottonwood trees were removed earlier this summer and some of the trunks were carved during the Carvin' Up Colorado event in August! The concrete sidewalk and curb & gutter were repaired/replaced and the new street trees were planted. They will shade and delight our citizens for years to come.

Out at the River..

Work continues on the City's Bridge-to-Bridge trail system. The pedestrian/bicycle bridge is in place and final dirt work should be taking place this week on the North Bridge River crossing trail segment. Out west by the "Twin Bridges", the bridge has been delivered, the concrete is curing on the bridge footers and dirt work continues. Barring really bad weather, the pedestrian bridge on this western trail segment should be set in-place on October 25th or 26th.

Work continues on the 200 and 300 Block of South Boulevard. In preparation work for the new asphalt, it was discovered the base material in the street was clays and sand. This unstable material was dug out and new compactable rock and gravel was hauled in and placed. This will create a much more stable base for the asphalt and will extend the life of the pavement. Also in an effort to extend the life of the paved streets - cracksealing will start soon. The last day to dig in City right-of-way will be November 12th and the City's tree dump will close for the season on Saturday, November 13th. The leaves should be done dropping by then??

Over in the Parks & Recreation Department, the youth soccer and football fall leagues are ending this week. The Jorgensen Ice Rink is in full swing with leagues and clinics. The Grand Valley Ice Club from Grand Junction has even reserved some ice time since their rink has closed. The restrooms in the parks are being winterized and closed for the season. Fall is definitly in the air!

News from Parks & Recreation

The Community Aquatics Center will be open on Monday, October 11th - Columbus Day - from 8am to 9pm. there will be NO early morning swim time that day.

RE1J is in session on Monday and the climbing hours will be 3:30pm to 7:30pm. Since RE1J has no school on Thursday and Friday, October 14th and 15th - the climbing wall will be open from 12pm to 7:30 pm on those two days.

In "cooler news" the Indoor Ice Rink will be opening for the season on SUNDAY, October 10th. For an ice rink schedule - go to http://www.gunnisonrec.com/ Come out and enjoy the fabulous City recreational facilities!

This Week's Happenings

After another beautiful fall weekend in Gunnison, City employees are hard at work around town. Parking spaces and centerline paint stiping will take place on the newly paved 100 Blocks of West Virginia and West Georgia Avenues. Slurry sealing of streets has been canceled for this year due to the cooler temperatures. The contractor was unable to get to Gunnison earlier this year for more favorable conditions. Street work continues on the extension of West Tomichi Avenue (west of 10th Street). Clay soils were encountered when the asphalt was removed, and this unstable material needs to be removed and replaced prior to asphalt being placed on the street. We're hoping for asphalt to go down this Thursday or Friday. Street preparation work, in the form of new concrete drain pans being poured, is taking place on West Bidwell Avenue. Once this concrete work is accomplished, pavement will be placed. The intersection of West New York at South Boulevard will be the next damaged street to be torn out and replaced with new asphalt. Again, the Streets crew appreciates your cooperation in driving around these construction projects. Once re-done, the streets are well-worth the effort and inconvenience.
Out at the Bridge-to-Bridge Trail section on the west edge of town, concrete will be poured for the walls and east bridge footer. This work is best accomplished at low water conditions.
The Electric Crew has placed the underground conduit across WSC's property at the old Ruland School site and they are now pulling the primary electric cable through the conduit. Once the cable is placed, the old overhead electric line will be taken down. This should improve the visual aesthetics of the WSC entry corridor.

Remember - City irrigation ditch water will be turned off late Monday, October 4th or early October 5th. Pull and drain your ditch pump to prevent damage.

The Parks Crew is busy putting the parks grounds "to bed" for the season and are prepping the indoor ice rink for opening next Sunday, October 10th. Fall Recreation programs continue.
The Finance Department is busy processing the October utility bills. These are due by October 10th. The Department is also working on the 2011 City Budget. The budget will be formally presented to Council on October 12th.
The City Clerk's Department is in the initial stages of the new City website development and is processing the case load from the last two weeks of Municipal Court sessions. We're even starting the initial preparations for next spring's Regular Municipal Election.

At the Tuesday, October 5th City Council Work Session meeting, your elected officials will be discussing budget issues. These include: a street plaza; grants and contracts for service; and the Gunnison Housing Authority. Also being discussed is the old City Shop asbestos abatement and an update on the slurry seal project. The public is encouraged to attend City Council meetings.