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| DATE:
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2/18/2014 7:00:00 PM |
| SUBJECT: |
| Council Consideration of a Resolution Authorizing Submission of an Application to the Business Ready Community Grant and Loan Program for a Community Enhancement Grant Project on Behalf of the Governing Body for the City of Gillette for the Downtown Convertible Street - Public Plaza Project in the Amount of $500,000.00. |
| BACKGROUND: |
The project aims to design and construct a public plaza, which will be a full block in length in downtown Gillette to serve as a public gathering area. Its location, along Third Avenue from Gillette Avenue on the east side to Kendrick Avenue, places it in the center of the business district. The plaza will be open for public events, while the street will be closed. Otherwise the street will remain open for traffic movement. The proposed plaza is part of the downtown revitalization effort which has been ongoing for several years. The City is rebuilding Gillette Avenue this calendar year at a cost of $ 6.1 million, of which one $1 million is being provided by the Wyoming Business Council with a Downtown Development Grant. The estimated budget for the Downtown Plaza project is $1,036,715. The grant request for $500,000 is matched by the City in the amount of $536,715.
The plaza will feature a street section of 40-feet-wide colored concrete. The sidewalks will be 10 feet wide. Removable bollards will be used along Gillette Avenue, at the alley and along Kendrick Avenue, to close a portion of, or the entire length of the plaza, depending upon the expected crowd size for an event or gathering. Planters on both sides of the plaza will feature trees. Seating is also available on both sides of the plaza.
The project is an important step in the multi-year effort by the City of Gillette, the Main Street Program and the downtown business community to revitalize the area. The first phase of the redevelopment effort, the rebuild of Gillette Avenue is scheduled to start construction in April, 2014, and be completed by November, 2014. The proposed plaza is to be built after the rebuild of Gillette Avenue, with design in the fall of 2014 and construction anticipated during the summer of 2015. |
| SUGGESTED MOTION: |
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I move for the Approval of a Resolution Authorizing Submission of an Application to the Business Ready Community Grant And Loan Program for a Community Enhancement Grant Project on Behalf of the Governing Body for the City of Gillette for the Downtown Convertible Street-Public Plaza Project in the amount of $ 500,000.
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| STAFF REFERENCE: |
Christy Schomer, Grants Writer/ Special Projects Coordinator
Charlie Anderson, City Attorney |
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