City of Grand Junction Projects with Travel Restrictions

F ½ Road Closure West of 31 Road – Lewis Wash Bridge Replacement Project

• F ½ Road will be closed to through traffic between 30 Road and 31 Road, 24/7
• Detour route will be in place
• Residents living west of Lewis Wash and Thunder Mountain Elementary School traffic use 30 Road
• Residents living east of Lewis Wash including Allegheny Drive use 31 Road
• Anticipated completion – mid April.

Reeder Mesa Road – Water Line Replacement

• Watch for truck and heavy equipment traffic along both Reeder Mesa Road and Lands’ End Road
• Expect occasional daytime closures
• Message boards at each end of Reeder Mesa Road will give specific closure dates
• Detour route will be in place on days of closure
• Anticipated completion – May.

Orchard Avenue Safe Routes to School Project –Sidewalk Construction

• New curb, gutter and sidewalk, south side of Orchard between 29 Road and Melody Lane
• Construction hours will be 7am to 4pm
• Accommodations will be made for pedestrian traffic
• Motorists can expect delays during work hours
• Anticipated completion – April.

Orchard Avenue Irrigation Project from Melody Lane to 28 ¾ Road

• Crews will be installing new irrigation pipe along the south side of Orchard Ave
• Expect alternating one-lane traffic with delays
• Alternate route is advised
• Anticipated completion – April.

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Non-City of Grand Junction Projects with Travel Restrictions

32 Road Sewer Line Replacement Project – Clifton Sanitation District Project

• Watch for utility construction (various locations) along 32 Road between I-70B and D Road
• Please slow down through the work zones and obey traffic control signs and personnel
• Motorists may experience intermittent lane closures and detours
• Anticipated Completion – September.

29 Road & D ½ Road Asphalt Patching – Colorado Mesa University Project

• Tuesday, March 26, asphalt patching is scheduled across 29 Road at D ½ Road
• Expect lane restrictions and delays.

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Contact:  Sam Rainguet, Communications Manager   970-244-1507 or samr@gjcity.org

The City of Grand Junction distributed a community survey in late 2018. The purpose of the study was to gather community feedback on City of Grand Junction services and priorities. Results of the survey were completed in February. This survey research effort and subsequent analysis were designed to assist the City of Grand Junction in updating its Comprehensive Plan as well as to guide decision making in other aspects of the services provided by the City.

A total of 5,000 surveys were mailed to a random sample of Grand Junction residents in November 2018. The survey was conducted using two primary methods: 1) a mail-back survey sent to a random sample of City residents, and 2) an online, invitation-only web survey to further encourage response from those residents already within the defined random sample. The final sample size for this statistically valid survey was 889, resulting in a margin of error of approximately +/- 3.3 percentage points calculated for questions at 50% response.

Key findings of the survey include:

• Roughly two in three residents said Grand Junction is going in the right direction. Many of these respondents highlighted the growing economy, new businesses, focus on recreation, and increased diversity as reasons for their positive response.
• Overall, satisfaction runs high for the information that the City provides to citizens. In particular, residents are quite satisfied with the friendliness and helpfulness of City employees.
• Overall, residents are satisfied with the quality of services provided by the City of Grand Junction, with 76% providing a rating of 4 or 5 where 5 means “very satisfied,” and less than 5 percent provided a rating of 2 or 1 where 1 means “not at all satisfied.”
• Residents are particularly satisfied with all aspects of Fire & EMS services, friendliness of City employees in each department, water/sewer services, refuse services, proximity of parks to their homes, overall quality of Police services, and quality of City trails.
• A Community Center was selected as the top priority for Parks & Recreation facilities to add or improve in Grand Junction to better meet household needs. Beyond a Community Center, residents would be willing to support increased funding for several other community priorities.

Mayor Barbara Traylor Smith noted, “Reaching out to the community and asking about what people think of the services we are providing and what direction we should be taking is just one of the tools we can use to develop strategy for the coming years. Are we on course? Are we focusing in the right areas? All of this information is useful to us as we strive to serve our community in the best way possible and keep Grand Junction an amazing place to live and work.”

The full results of the Community Survey are available on the City’s website.

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Contact:  Gregory LeBlanc, Assistant to the City Manager       970-244-1557 or gregoryl@gjcity.org  

For more detailed information on any of these items, read the full agendas and/or staff reports here:   http://www.gjcity.org/city-government/agendas-and-minutes/  City Council meeting videos can also be found at the same link.

City Council will discuss the following items this week:

Monday, 3/18/19 – 5:30 p.m.    City Council Workshop     CANCELED

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Wednesday, 3/20/19 – 6:00 p.m.    City Council Meeting   City Hall Auditorium, 250 N. 5^th Street

Regular Agenda

Proclamations

Proclaiming April 14 -­ April 20 as National Telecommunicators Week in the City of Grand Junction

Proclaiming March 31, 2019 as Cesar Chavez Day in the City of Grand Junction

Proclaiming April 2019 as Water Conservation Month in the City of Grand Junction

Public Hearings

6ai. Public Hearing of an Ordinance Amending Ordinance No. 4508 for the Planned Residential Development -­ North 7th Street to Disallow the Use of Vinyl Fencing on Properties Within the District

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Contact:  Sam Rainguet, Communications Manager       970-244-1507 or samr@gjcity.org 

City of Grand Junction Projects with Travel Restrictions

F ½ Road Closure West of 31 Road – Lewis Wash Bridge Replacement Project

• F ½ Road will be closed to through traffic between 30 Road and 31 Road, 24/7
• Detour route will be in place
• Residents living west of Lewis Wash and Thunder Mountain Elementary School traffic use 30 Road
• Residents living east of Lewis Wash including Allegheny Drive use 31 Road
• Anticipated completion – mid April.

Reeder Mesa Road – Water Line Replacement

• Watch for truck and heavy equipment traffic along both Reeder Mesa Road and Lands’ End Road
• Expect occasional daytime closures
• Message boards at each end of Reeder Mesa Road will give specific closure dates
• Detour route will be in place on days of closure
• Anticipated completion – May.

Orchard Avenue Safe Routes to School Project –Sidewalk Construction

• New curb, gutter and sidewalk, south side of Orchard between 29 Road and Melody Lane
• Construction hours will be 7am to 4pm
• Accommodations will be made for pedestrian traffic
• Motorists can expect delays during work hours
• Anticipated completion – April.

Orchard Avenue Irrigation Project from Melody Lane to 28 ¾ Road

• Crews will be installing new irrigation pipe along the south side of Orchard Ave
• Expect alternating one-lane traffic with delays
• Alternate route is advised
• Anticipated completion – April.

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Non-City of Grand Junction Projects with Travel Restrictions

32 Road Sewer Line Replacement Project – Clifton Sanitation District Project

• Watch for utility construction (various locations) along 32 Road between I-70B and D Road
• Please slow down through the work zones and obey traffic control signs and personnel
• Motorists may experience intermittent lane closures and detours
• Anticipated Completion – September.

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Contact:  Sam Rainguet, Communications Manager   970-244-1507 or samr@gjcity.org

City of Grand Junction Projects with Travel Restrictions

F ½ Road Closure West of 31 Road – Lewis Wash Bridge Replacement Project

• F ½ Road will be closed to through traffic between 30 Road and 31 Road, 24/7
• Detour route will be in place
• Residents living west of Lewis Wash and Thunder Mountain Elementary School traffic use 30 Road
• Residents living east of Lewis Wash including Allegheny Drive use 31 Road
• Anticipated completion – mid April.

Reeder Mesa Road – Water Line Replacement

• Watch for truck and heavy equipment traffic along both Reeder Mesa Road and Lands’ End Road
• Expect occasional daytime closures
• Message boards at each end of Reeder Mesa Road will give specific closure dates
• Detour route will be in place on days of closure
• Anticipated completion – May.

Orchard Avenue Safe Routes to School Project –Sidewalk Construction

• New curb, gutter and sidewalk, south side of Orchard between 29 Road and Melody Lane
• Construction hours will be 7am to 4pm
• Accommodations will be made for pedestrian traffic
• Motorists can expect delays during work hours
• Anticipated completion – April.

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Non-City of Grand Junction Projects with Travel Restrictions

32 Road Sewer Line Replacement Project – Clifton Sanitation District Project

• Watch for utility construction (various locations) along 32 Road between I-70B and D Road
• Please slow down through the work zones and obey traffic control signs and personnel
• Motorists may experience intermittent lane closures and detours
• Anticipated Completion – September.

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Contact:  Sam Rainguet, Communications Manager   970-244-1507 or samr@gjcity.org

Test will advance the protection of recreational opportunities, water quality,
and aquatic species in our community

On Monday, March 11, if you notice a greenish color in the Colorado River, it is not an early St. Patrick’s Day prank, it is simply a test of a recently completed diffuser improvement project being conducted by the City of Grand Junction at the Persigo Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The test, which will be conducted at approximately 10:30 a.m., will involve pouring several gallons of environmentally friendly colored dye into the diffuser and observing how the effluent (the stream of treated water) mixes when it enters the Colorado River. A drone will fly over the dyed area to gather video evidence of proper mixing.

The colored dye does not pose a threat to the environment or public health, but it will be visible to the public for a short period and may briefly change the color of the Colorado River downstream of the Persigo Plant, which is located between Grand Junction and Fruita.

The test is required by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) as part of the recent completion of the Diffuser Outfall Improvement Project, which has been underway since October 2018. The project, which was constructed by Grand Junction’s United Companies, was completed for $5,123,502 and was paid for by Persigo capital improvement funds.

In 2017, CDPHE implemented more stringent regulations related to the discharge of effluent from wastewater treatment facilities. Up to this time, the discharge point for treated wastewater from the Persigo Plant had always been the Persigo Wash. Under the new regulations, this discharge location would no longer be permitted. As a result, the City pursued the construction of a diffuser making it possible to discharge directly into the Colorado River to meet the new regulations.

The Persigo diffuser is a 67-foot long, 54-inch diameter pipe manifold with a series of 17 rubber valves that discharges the treated wastewater effluent from Persigo into the Colorado River providing instantaneous mixing with the river water.

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Contact:  Sam Rainguet, Communications Manager   970-244-1507 or samr@gjcity.org

The local community will enjoy many new and fun cultural events this year thanks to funding provided by the Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture & the City of Grand Junction. Twenty non-profit organizations received funding ranging from $1000 – $3600. Organizations will bring cultural projects from festivals, dance and theatrical performances, art camp, art exhibits, and musical concerts to Grand Junction. The community will benefit from a broad diversity of projects that will reach a wide variety of interests and ages.

Many of these events are free or at a minimal cost to the public thanks to this grant. Organizations are anticipating $564,000 in revenue, paying 1220 artists and projecting attendance/listening audience to be over a million people. Most of these organizations rely on volunteers to provide these projects for the community and this year it’s projected individuals will donate over 22,000 hours of volunteerism. The Grand Junction Commission on Arts and Culture congratulates the awardees and looks forward to an engaging 2019 season of arts and culture in Grand Junction.

The grant program is open to any Colorado non-profit agency for arts and cultural projects that are held in Grand Junction. The process opens in December and closes in February annually. For more information on the grant program and the following projects please visit our website at www.gjarts.org or like us on Facebook.

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For more information, please contact:
Lorie Gregor, 970-254-3876, lorieg@gjcity.org (Out of the office/unavailable March 7 & 8)

Secondary Contact: Callie Berkson, 970-254-3867, callieb@gjcity.org