By Lyndsie Ferrell
CREEDE— During the meeting of the city board on Sept. 18, board members were presented with a plaque design commemorating the completion of the flume project. Board members reviewed the proposed design and added a few changes including the names of project manager Guinevere Nelson-Freer and the contractor that helped bring the project to life.
During the discussion, Trustee Teresa Wall suggested that the technology and engineering class led by Jason Whitehorn could possibly create the plaque instead of having it made by an outside company. Wall asked Nelson-Freer what the timeline was for having the plaque finished and was told that Mays Construction Inc. had already set a frame in the flume and that there was no real timeline as to when the plaque could be finished.
Board members made a motion to have Wall present the project to the technology and engineering class to see if they would be interested or even able to build the plaque which was approved by the board. “I also want the board to know that Mays Construction has offered to donate $100 to help pay for the plaque, and if the students are able to create the plaque it would go towards their class,” stated Nelson-Freer.
Board members also stated that they would take Nelson-Freer’s recommendation on which direction they needed to go once they received an answer from the school on the plaque. “If for some reason the school is not able to complete the plaque, we still have the quote for a bronze or aluminum plaque from another company,” said Nelson-Freer.
Now that the flume is complete the city is looking to the future as far as maintaining the structure to ensure that no further damage is done as much as possible. Nelson-Freer provided the board with some maintenance suggestions during the meeting held at the beginning of September which included removing any new trees that grow at the edge of the flume and advised the board to not push snow into the flume during winter months.
Nelson-Freer also suggested continuing public education about the flume and to ask that other materials such as yard trimmings, trash or any other type of debris not be placed in the flume to ensure that it is protected from further damage. Nelson-Freer continued, stating that the board needs to figure out how they want to continue the education process and enforce any new regulations to protect the new structure of the flume from any further damage.
Other issues that were discussed were future repairs that still need to be done on the flume to address future security concerns. “We hope this will last the next several years, but there is still a lot of work that needs to be done sometime in the future once funding has been found,” stated Trustee Frank Freer.
Board members thanked Nelson-Freer and Mays Construction Inc. for the hard work and dedication that went into the project and also thanked them for their continued support throughout the duration of the project.