Roundabout proposed for Meeker road

MEEKER I The results of a traffic study for Ute Road estimate the cost to prepare for traffic generated by the new elementary school at more than $1 million.
“DOLA (Department of Local Affairs) has agreed to increase our grant request to $925,000. But that requires match money. If the town contribues $100,000, we’ve asked the county to put in CCITF funds of $150,000 contingent on other entities (school, town) not asking for CCITF funds,” Town Administrator Sharon Day told the Board of Trustees.
The $100,000 in match money for the grant proposal will come from dollars appropriated toward the installation of curb and gutter on Market Street this year.
“We can’t begin that project without a number of studies from CDOT, which they haven’t even outlined yet,” Day explained.
Meeker Mayor Mandi Etheridge said she’s “pleased” the town approved the traffic study.
“The better product we have from the get-go, the less maintenance we have to put in. This is going to be a community road accessing three very important community entities,” Etheridge said.
The current proposal includes the construction of a “roundabout,” Day said. Roundabouts are being used in road construction because they keep traffic flowing, are considered a traffic “calmer” and are cheaper to install than turn lanes and traffic signals.
Representatives from Meeker’s Chamber of Commerce approached the board with a request to the town for an additional $2,500 to cover the “seed money” toward $4,800 worth of semi-permanent aggregate flower pots to replace the half-barrel pots which have fallen apart. The chamber has raised $2,300 from local businesses for the project.
The board agreed to donate the cost of one pot, at $300, which includes the price for flowers and a year’s worth of maintenance, but denied the request for the additional $2,200.
“I would rather see this primarily funded by donations. That’s a substantial chunk from our line-item budget for the community,” Mayor Etheridge said.
The pots will be placed on private property and maintained by one individual. The chamber is still accepting donations toward the project.
In other business, the board approved the planning commission’s special review request to use the old library space in the Fairfield Center for administration offices. The county commissioners, building and zoning departments, and office of veterans affairs, among others, will be relocated to the former library after substantial remodeling to accommodate the departments.