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Steamboat hires contractor to clean up medians

Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation has hired Multiservice by Jeffrey Adam, LLC to clean up the medians running from Sundance Plaza to Old Town Hot Springs. (Photo John F. Russell)
John F. Russell/Steamboat Pilot & Today

 

Steamboat Springs Parks and Recreation has hired an independent contractor to clean up several of the medians in town.

Multiservice by Jeffrey Adam, LLC, officially began work last week mowing the medians on U.S. Highway 40 that run between Anglers Drive and Old Fish Creek Falls Road. Once that project is complete, work will move to the medians from Pine Grove Road to Walton Creek Road and the Mount Werner Circle medians and roundabouts.

“If you visit other communities, you notice very well-kept medians and well-kept flower beds,” said Parks and Open Spaces Supervisor Craig Robinson. “It’s just that visual concern because people have pride in what the community looks like.”



Multiservice is a Steamboat-based company, which Parks and Recreation Director Angela Cosby said saved the city a large sum of money. The company is using its own equipment, and the city is paying Adams $45 per hour.

“He’s really doing us more of a favor than he is necessarily making a big profit on it,” Cosby said.



When COVID-19 hit in 2020 and the city projected large losses in sales tax revenue, each city department had to cut large amounts of money from its budget. Rather than shutting down more popular programs like Ski Free Sundays at Howelsen Ski Area or deferring maintenance at city parks and playgrounds, Parks and Recreation chose to cut the cost of maintaining the medians. As sales tax revenue came in higher than projected, the city was able to add projects that had been taken away, and median maintenance was high on the list.

“We had gotten a lot of passionate phone calls and messages about the state of the medians, and we knew we needed to do something about this project that the community sees as a priority,” Cosby said.

Cosby said many community members have expressed disappointment in the state of the medians, and some have even volunteered to maintain them themselves, which Cosby said is incredibly dangerous for an untrained person to do because of heavy traffic flows.

“We’ve had to tell people that it’s just not safe, so please don’t do it,” Cosby said.

The medians were installed 10 years ago and were first maintained by contractors then city employees. Over time, median maintenance became more expensive.

Because of the heavier traffic and worsening drought each year, the city has opted to use stone pavers and smaller landscaped areas with drought-tolerant vegetation in the medians on the east side of town between Walton Creek Road and Pine Grove Road.

This work is scheduled for completion next summer.


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