A contract with Brian Fullmer Construction Co. to make improvements on the Molas Lake Dam was approved by the Silverton Town Council on Monday, but it appears the town crew will also have to help out on the project.
Fullmer submitted a bid of $290,000 for the project, but the town has only $197,011 in cash available for the dam improvements.
Town Administrator Elyse Salazar said the dam project will provide the town with additional water storage to implement a water augmentation plan to protect future potable water use. The dam improvements will also address state engineer safety concerns, Salazar said.
Salazar said the town hopes to get supplemental funding from the state Department of Local Affairs, but even so, it looks like the town will face some cost on the project.
“The easiest way is to use the town crew,” Salazar said, to do some work on the project and avoid the town having to lay out the cash.
“We have to find a way to get it done, one way or another,” Salazar said. “Our crew is going to have to be a big part of that.”
Salazar said it will still be a “small contribution” on the town’s part for a million-dollar project.
Town Public Works Supervisor Gilbert Archuleta said the town will probably have to spend some $7,000 on fuel and other equipment costs for the dam work.
“This is a big project that has been in the works for many years,” Salazar noted. “The end is in sight, but now it’s real dollars. We’re at the difficult point of seeing this project through.”
Salazar acknowledged that putting the Town Crew to work on the dam may leave the town shorthanded. Archuleta said scheduling is being worked out.
The contract approved by the Town Council on Monday limited Brian Fullmer Construction’s work to the $197,011 the town has on hand for the project.