CREEDE – Some residents and business owners from the Creede and Mineral County area attended a Creede Board of Trustees work session on Nov. 19 to discuss concerns about the downtown revitalization project that is scheduled to begin next spring. 

The project was awarded earlier this year with funds from the Colorado Department of Transportation in the sum of $2 Million. The focus of the project is to make the downtown area of Main Street in Creede ADA compliant and increase the safety of visitors and the flow of traffic.  

As some Colorado communities find themselves in the midst of projects like this, one of the main issues of business owners and residents who make most of their money during the summer months, is how the construction will affect profit margins and whether businesses can continue as usual while work is completed.  

Over the past several months, Creede’s neighboring town of Del Norte dealt with some of the same issues that Creede will face moving forward and those in attendance came to voice their concern while trying to find a compromise. 

After a few other items were addressed on the agenda, Creede City Manager Louis Fineberg opened the topic of the downtown revitalization project for discussion, hearing from the attending audience in turn throughout the meeting.  

Fineberg outlined the base of the project highlighting certain factors that were taken into account while planning for the first phase, ensuring people that he hoped to only have construction active during the slower parts of the summer.  

“Our hope is that we can find a contractor that is willing to start in early spring and work until Memorial Day and then pause until Labor Day,” explained Fineberg. 

Many of the business owners expressed that they would rather the work begin and end during the off season in Creede though the scope of the work that entails concrete cannot be done during cold weather.  

Several business owners and residents also expressed concern over receiving shipments and deliveries while construction was underway to which many fellow business owners stated that they would help ensure that they would have help if needed. “A lot of this is going to be sorted out based on the contractor’s schedule. “We will be putting the project out to bid at the first of the year,” stated Fineberg. 

Fineberg continued to state that the City of Creede is hoping to attract a contractor that could simultaneously work on the sewer project as well as the downtown revitalization project, killing two birds with one stone. 

“I am hoping that since we are also doing the sewer project that we might be able to get somebody up here who can start out on Main Street and then shift focus to the sewer lines,” he said. 

By the end of the meeting, it was decided to pursue the project in a way that would affect the flow of business the least during the peak months in Creede which are typically mid-June until after Labor Day.  

Additional planning meetings will be scheduled after the first of the year and all are urged to attend. Meeting dates and times will be announced as soon as possible. For more information or a schedule of coming meetings, visit www.cityofcreede.colorado.gov.