The Gilpin County RE-1 School District Board of Education held a special meeting on January 23, 2024, unanimously approving entering into contract negotiations with ESCO Construction Company for the Wastewater Interconnect Project in 12 to 18 months. The Board also instructed the representative from Stifel Public Finance to put together the financial documents for a $4.2 million dollar Certificate of Participation program in order to complete the financing for the project.

The Wastewater Interconnect Project will connect a sewer pipe from the school campus buildings to the Black Hawk sanitation district via Highway 119. When completed, the school will no longer use their existing treatment facilities and will be in full compliance with state sanitation regulations.

ESCO Construction Co was the low bidder of the three that were submitted. Headquartered in Evergreen, they have extensive experience with construction projects in the mountains. The other companies that had submitted bids, Colorado Civil Infrastructure Inc. and JHL Constructors, were also regarded as qualified to do the work.

The accepted bid was for $8,009,401.05, with construction expected to last 12 to 18 months, over two summer seasons. Construction is anticipated to begin either in late March or early April.

During the period of construction, Colorado Highway 119 will have sections of one-lane traffic between the school and Black Hawk. As part of the negotiations, ESCO will submit a request to the Colorado Department of Transportation to extend the lane closure distance so multiple crews can be working on the pipeline at the same time. If the project can be completed ahead of schedule, then some associated costs, like traffic control, will be lower and reduce the total cost.

Amy Canfield, a Director from Stifel Public Finance, presented a financing proposal that would provide the additional funds needed to complete the project. Her presentation involved a Lease Financing instrument, called a Certificate of Participation, which would provide $4.2 million in available funds to be paid back over a ten-year period. The security instrument would be eligible to be paid off sooner to reduce the overall interest paid.

The Board instructed Canfield to start putting the required documents together for their formal review at either the February 6 or February 20 meeting.

The next regular scheduled meeting of the Gilpin County RE-1 Board of Education will be on February 6 at 7 p.m. At that time the Board hopes to assess progress on the Wastewater Interconnect Project construction contract and financing.

The February 20 meeting will be the last for this school year in the Meet and Confer series of meetings between the Board and staff. This last Meet and Confer meeting will finalize outcomes from the current year and establish priorities for the 2024/2025 school year.

A video of this meeting will be on the home page of the school district YouTube channel, which can be accessed via the link on the published agenda at the school website (gilpin.k12.co.us/en-US). Click on an agenda link and then click on the YouTube link to watch the video.