Intrepid Fiber, O&M Building, and Holiday Lights

Intrepid Fiber

At our December 9, 2024 meeting, the Town Board approved a license agreement with Intrepid Fiber to construct a fiber-to-the-premises network within Superior, which would provide residents and businesses with increased access to and options for ultra-high-speed (gigabit) internet service. Intrepid will also partner with the Town to expand our internal (“dark”) fiber infrastructure, increasing resiliency and connectivity between Town facilities.

Intrepid is proposing to install the fiber network in areas not currently served by high speed fiber, including: Rock Creek, Original Town, and Rogers Farm. There will be no cost to the Town for the fiber-to-the-premises installations.

Intrepid has already received their 1st right-of-way permit to begin work in Rock Creek (along Eldorado Drive between Indiana Street and Lasalle Street). Intrepid is estimating that installation in this area will take 60 days and residents will be able to get high speed gigabit internet service from Intrepid beginning this summer.

For more information on the project, and for an interactive map which shows estimated availability by neighborhood, please visit: https://www.intrepidfiber.com/superior-colorado/

Operations & Maintenance Facility

On January 13, 2025, the Town Council approved a design build contract to construct a Operations and Maintenance Facility. The proposed facility will house the Public Works & Utilities (PWU) Department as well as Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) field staff, materials, and equipment. The proposed facility will be located near the Town’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) off of Honey Creek Drive.

Design has started for the proposed 7,400 square foot facility which will include office space, training rooms, and locker rooms for staff, as well as four drive-through bays, including a wash-bay and lift-bay for fleet maintenance. The main goal of this project is to provide our PWU and PROS operations staff with dedicated work and storage space, consolidating field crews, equipment storage, and improving overall operations and maintenance work within Superior. We’re anticipating design and permitting to be complete this summer, with construction scheduled to start in late 2025. The building should be completed in late 2026.

Why was this project necessary? Honestly, the current working conditions for our PWU and PROS staff are embarrassing and contribute to higher-than-average worker turnover. Specifically, our PWU field staff currently operate out of two small buildings and a couple of old storage containers at the WWTP. One of the buildings is the old WWTP Headworks building, which was converted into an office space for operations staff. It has no running water, no bathroom, and is heated via portable heaters. Due to the lack of running water and restrooms, staff must go to another building on site to use the facilities. This other building is also not heated and a portable heater is used to warm the bathroom area.

Another building is used as storage for tools, equipment, and an industrial vacuum truck (vac truck) which must be stored indoors when not in use. Two Conex storage containers are used for additional storage, which do not have lighting or heat, so they are difficult and uncomfortable to access, especially at night during emergencies. There is no additional storage or coverings for other vehicles and equipment. Therefore, in the winter there are no dry or heated bays to work in. Crews must equip trucks for snow removal in the elements, including removing snow from the equipment when they come in to perform plowing operations which usually start at 3am.

Historically, PWU operations team has had higher turnover rates than other positions in Town and staff believe the current office space and available facilities are contributing to these higher turnover rates. A dedicated operations and maintenance facility with adequate office space, facilities, vehicle bays, and storage will improve overall town operations and maintenance, while providing a clean and safe work environment for employees.

As to our PROS field staff, they operate mainly out of the old firehouse on Coal Creek Drive in Original Town, but use storage space at the WWTP. Parking is inadequate, so operations staff park at the WWTP or at the Superior Community Center. The old firehouse also does not have adequate storage space for field staff, so they must drive back and forth to the WWTP to access equipment, tools, signs, etc.

The new operations and maintenance facility will include sufficient office space, facilities, vehicles bays, storage and parking to meet the needs of PROS field staff.

This project was discussed during our annual Town Budget planning meetings on August 28 and September 10, as well as during the public hearing held on our budget approval on October 14 and 28. I also highlighted it during my annual State of Superior address on October 17, 2024. We’ve been budgeting for this project for a few years and it will be paid for out of the following funds:

Here’s a breakdown for the estimated cost of design and construction of this project:

• Design: $362,294
• Construction: $4,542,616
• Contingencies (Design & Construction): $387,524

The total cost for this project is $5,292,434. Please note, the Town has applied for an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Grant administered by FEMA through Congressionally Directed Spending. This project has been recommended in the House of Representatives by Representative Neguse as well as in the Senate by both Colorado Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper. The project has been recommended to receive $1,023,405 through the House Appropriations Committee, though this dollar amount is subject to change. The Town will know if and how much is funded when the 2025 Federal budget is passed in Congress.

While this is certainly a substantial project, Superior will be better served if our staff has adequate facilities in which to work, maintain equipment, and store supplies. Their current working conditions are deplorable, but we will be better served by making this investment in our town staff and our community as a whole.

Holiday Lights

In the 2000s and early 2010s, the Town and the Rock Creek HOA each maintained their own holiday lighting displays. The Town placed holiday lights on Town-owned properties and in commercial areas, while the Rock Creek HOA placed holiday lights in various areas throughout the residential Rock Creek neighborhood.

In the early 2010s, the Rock Creek HOA Board approached the Town with a proposal to partner with the Town on holiday lighting, to leverage economies of scale, and save residents money. The Rock Creek HOA proposed that the Town hang holiday lights in Rock Creek neighborhoods (in addition to the other areas the Town would hang the lights) and in exchange, the HOA would help pay for the expenses associated with holiday lighting.

This partnership worked well for years and residents enjoyed the festive displays throughout Superior during the holidays. The Rock Creek HOA covered $50,000 per year towards holiday lighting. But then in 2020, the HOA decreased that contribution to $25,000 and then ended their contributions altogether in 2021.

Following the pandemic and the Marshall Fire — and notwithstanding the fact that the Rock Creek HOA stopped contributing towards our holiday lighting costs — the Town Board at the time decided to fund all of the holiday lighting displays, even those in residential areas in Rock Creek. The Board felt that our Town had just been through a catastrophic event with the Marshall Fire, and we wanted to bring some sense of normalcy and joy to the community.

But now that we are three years removed from the fire, the Town Council has decided that it isn’t fair to all the residents of Superior, if we only place holiday lights in residential areas in Rock Creek. There are other residential areas in Town without holiday lights and consequently, the Council is moving back towards its historic practice of just funding holiday lighting for Town-owned properties and commercial areas (Town Hall, Community Center, Superior Marketplace, Downtown Main Street, etc.)

I met with members of the Rock Creek HOA and proposed that they restart the previous partnership with the Town and help fund holiday lighting in Rock Creek, or alternatively, the HOA can plan to arrange for its own holiday lighting displays.

Holiday lighting isn’t cheap — especially when we’re hanging lights and large snowflakes in mature trees that require specialized equipment. Case in point, the Town spent $115,837 in 2024 on holiday lighting.

For your reference, here are costs for holiday lighting at certain locations in residential areas in Rock Creek that the Town has decorated the past few years. The Town has shared these costs with the Rock Creek HOA:

• Rock Creek & Indiana – $5,780
• Rock Creek & McCaslin – $17,500
• Coalton & Indiana – $4,308
• McCaslin & Indiana – $5,400
• 88th Street Roundabout – $7,000
• McCaslin & Christianson – $5,700

We’re not trying to be Grinches.  As a Rock Creek resident myself, I’d love to see our neighborhood decked out for the holidays.

—

Want to learn more about Superior’s new Waste Contract or read about our Pool projects? How about some upcoming road projects or an update on the Town’s litigation with RMMA? Check out those write-ups here:

https://marklacis.com/2025/03/superiors-new-waste-contract/

https://marklacis.com/2025/03/pool-projects/

https://marklacis.com/2025/03/upcoming-road-projects/

https://marklacis.com/2025/03/rmma-update/