BY LINDA BENTLEY | February 17, 2016
Carefree votes to complete town center gateways
Councilman Mike Farrar stated, ‘These will be iconic structures’
CAREFREE – During a special council meeting last Thursday Councilwoman Melissa Price provided council with an update and breakdown of the costs for the town’s gateway construction project.
Price said, “I’m convinced the gateways will separate us from the surrounding communities,” as she thanked those who served on the gateway committee.
Price also recognized the businesses that agreed to contribute financial support to the project, including Manship Builders, August Reno Architects, LLC, Anasazi Stone Company, Inc., Bertram Signs & Graphics, LLC, Cave Creek True Value Building Supply, Let There Be Light, LLC and T’s Construction & Development, Inc.
Brian Gold (from left) of Let There Be Light, Howard Bertram of Bertram Signs & Graphics, and Augie Reno of August Reno Architects each made a brief presentation to council during last Thursday’s special council meeting regarding their work on the town’s gateway project.
Price showed a breakdown of the estimated total cost to the town of $454,014, which included a 15 percent contingency of $59,214, in addition to the value of donations at $112,597.
There will be a plaque mounted on each of the two gateways dedicated to the residents and town center businesses with recognition to the above mentioned contributing businesses.
Council gave the business owners a standing ovation.
Howard Bertram gave the town an overview of the lettering materials.
He showed a picture of what the stainless steel hollow letters will look like and said they will be 28 inches tall by three inches deep with a titanium gold electroplated finish.
Brian Gold of Let There Be Light said there were new challenges to making the lighting bright enough to be seen clearly without being too bright as to distract drivers.
Gold said it measures 26 feet to the top of the archway and the lanterns on the columns will be placed high with downlighting.
He said the street sign lettering on the columns will be backlit and appear as silhouettes.
Price said they will also include an electrical outlet in the event the town wants to hang a wreath or other items.
August “Augie” Reno explained how the gateway was redesigned to allow for a concrete ring at top of the columns to carry the weight.
He said otherwise the columns would have required a steel framework inside.
The redesign, he said, substantially reduced the cost.
Councilman Mike Farrar stated, “These will be iconic structures.”
Price moved to authorize the additional funds to continue with the project and clarified the funds were over and above the $90,000 already spent on undergrounding utilities.
Farrar asked if they had any idea what the secondary gateways will cost.
Peterson said they could look into that further after the two primary gateways were completed and stated, “We may not need the other ones.”
With Gene Orrico absent, council voted unanimously to authorize the additional funds to complete the two gateways.
Farrar asked what the timeline was for completion.
Councilman Glenn Miller said it would be around the same time as the bike lanes – mid June.
