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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 10/04/2011 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 128, 2011, APPROPRIDATE: October 4, 2011 STAFF: Kathleen Benedict AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL 11 SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 128, 2011, Appropriating Unanticipated Revenue in the Capital Projects Fund for the Veterans Plaza Project at Spring Canyon Community Park. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Veterans Plaza at Spring Canyon Community Park creates a public venue, bringing community members together to recognize and commemorate the sacrifices and dedication of service members who have served our country. The plaza is located on approximately three acres of land near the main entrance of the Park at Horsetooth Road. This Ordinance will appropriate funding in the amount of $60,000 for the final phase of the Veterans Plaza project. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The concept to honor veterans from northern Colorado with a memorial originated in 2008. Spring Canyon Community Park was identified as a suitable location for the Plaza. A minor amendment to the park site plan was approved by the Planning and Zoning Board on September 2, 2008 to designate the proposed area of Spring Canyon Community Park as the future Veterans Plaza location. The first phase of the project incorporated concrete walks, a grass and stone seating amphitheatre, shade trees, a soil garden with poppies, and a platform stage for celebrating the liberties and freedoms that have been protected by our service members. The final phase of the project will include a bronze statue, conveying the story of generations of sacrifice and two stone memorial walls which will be embedded with touch screen/interactive monitors, allowing visitors to search for and view the names, photos, and biographies of veterans who have ties to northern Colorado. This phase will also include flagpoles, a stone wall behind the stage with military insignia, as well as stone monument pillars at the entryway to the Plaza. FINANCIAL / ECONOMIC IMPACTS The first phase of the project is complete and cost $177,187. The final phase of the project is estimated at $182,813. The estimated cost for the total project is now $360,000 and includes the monitors and software. $300,000 was previously appropriated for the project. This Ordinance will appropriate revenue in the amount of $60,000, to finish the Veterans Plaza. The Veterans Plaza Committee has solicited donations from the community and raised funds for the final phase of the project. Honoring veterans from across the northern Colorado, the Veterans Plaza draws visitors from throughout the region. Excitement for the project has produced strong partnerships with area veterans’ organizations, the City, and various interested donors. The final annual operation and maintenance cost for landscaping, trees, sidewalks, and the plaza is estimated at $5,000. Funding is available in the Parks Maintenance budget in 2011 and in future years. The Veterans Plaza Committee is also raising funds to create an annuity fund for ongoing maintenance of the software and hardware utilized in the touch screen/interactive video monitors of the Veterans Plaza. The $100,000 annuity fund is estimated to generate an additional $5,000 per year. October 4, 2011 -2- ITEM 11 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS The landscape around the Plaza will be irrigated utilizing the raw water system that is already in place at Spring Canyon Community Park. The Plaza site has been previously accounted for in the park’s stormwater and water quality management system. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION The Parks and Recreation Board was briefed on the project throughout 2009 thru 2011, and the Board will be updated as the project progresses. PUBLIC OUTREACH Veterans Plaza Board members and other supporters have promoted the project through meetings with groups such as the Lions Club, Rotary clubs, Northern Colorado Honor Flight groups, and local veterans’ groups as well as the media. ATTACHMENTS 1. Location Map Veteran’s Plaza Project ATTACHMENT 1 Aerial View The Veterans Plaza being planned for Spring Canyon Community Park will incorporate concrete walks, shade trees, and a grass amphitheatre with a stage. Adjacent to the stage will be a platform with an ap- proximately 8’ tall bronze sculpture of a soldier and a child, created by artist Susan Raymond. The sculpture, “The Soldier’s Gift,” will overlook the Plaza and convey the story of generations of sacrifice by the men and women who have served in our armed forces. It will depict a World War II American soldier with his right arm around the shoulder of a young boy. With his left arm, the soldier makes a sweeping gesture as if showing the boy the promise of the future. Veterans VeteransDonation Plaza Art Donation Drawing of Proposed Sculpture ORDINANCE NO. 128, 2011 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING UNANTICIPATED REVENUE IN THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND FOR THE VETERANS PLAZA PROJECT AT SPRING CANYON COMMUNITY PARK WHEREAS, in 2008, a group of Fort Collins citizens initiated a project that will honor veterans in the community through the construction of a memorial to be constructed on City property (the “Project”); and WHEREAS, Spring Creek Canyon Park was identified as a suitable location for the Project; and WHEREAS, the Project was designed by an independent landscape architect retained by a group of citizens known as the Veterans Plaza Committee (the “Committee”), with oversight by City staff; and WHEREAS, the first phase of the Project has been constructed at a cost of $177,187 and incorporates concrete walks, a grass and stone seating amphitheatre, shade trees, a garden with poppies, and a platform stage; and WHEREAS, the final phase of the Project, the cost of which is estimated at $182,813, will add a bronze statue, flagpoles, and other amenities, including two stone memorial walls embedded with touch screen/ interactive monitors that will allow visitors to search for and view the names, photos, and biographies of veterans who have ties to northern Colorado; and WHEREAS, the Committee has raised sufficient funds to cover the final phase of the Project; and WHEREAS, all funds received by the Committee are being donated to the City to be expended on the Project; and WHEREAS, $25,000 of the total Project cost of $360,000 was appropriated by the City Council in the form of Keep Fort Collins Great tax revenues through adoption of the 2011 Annual Appropriation Ordinance, and $275,000 of donated revenues has also been appropriated by the adoption of Ordinance No. 4, 2011; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance appropriates the remaining $60,000 of revenues from existing and future donations; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9, of the City Charter permits the City Council to make supplemental appropriations by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year, provided that the total amount of such supplemental appropriations, in combination with all previous appropriations for that fiscal year, does not exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received during the fiscal year; and WHEREAS, City staff has determined that the appropriation of the revenue as described herein will not cause the total amount appropriated in the Capital Projects Fund to exceed the current estimate of actual and anticipated revenues to be received in that fund during any fiscal year. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS that there is hereby appropriated from unanticipated revenue in the Capital Projects Fund the sum of SIXTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($60,000) for the Veterans Plaza Project at Spring Creek Community Park. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 4th day of October, A.D. 2011, and to be presented for final passage on the 18th day of October, A.D. 2011. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ Chief Deputy City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 18th day of October, A.D. 2011. _________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk