City Council agrees to consider higher priority for Bancroft bandshell fix
District 3 City Councilmember Keith King.
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After a brief discussion at the council work session Feb. 27 and formal meeting Feb. 28, a consensus of the elected body agreed to take up the issue at its next work session March 13.
The bandshell sustained an estimated $34,000 in damage Jan. 27 from a fire that an unknown person started on the stage late at night.
Expediting the repair process would be in contrast to the current strategy by City Parks, which announced soon after the blaze that it was telling event promoters to plan for the park not having a bandshell this summer.
Nearly a month went by before Parks brought in a structural engineer and insurance adjustor to assess the damage - after which Parks boarded up the
District 1 City Councilmember Don Knight.
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“I've been in contact with people on the Westside and I think this is a really important issue for their neighborhood,” said City Councilmember Keith King during the Feb. 27 work session, whose District 3 includes Old Colorado City. Parks has said the insurance deductible is $25,000; “we need to find it [in the city budget] and go forward with it,” he said.
Joining King in the advocacy was Don Knight, whose District 1 is just north of D-3; and Council President Merv Bennett. “I think it's [the issue] very important,” Bennett said. “That park's a critical component of the activities that happen in the summer season in Old Colorado City.”
Annual events using the park bandshell include Taste of OCC (April 30), Territory Days (May 27-29) and Paint the Town Blue (typically eight weekly concerts - 2017 dates not yet announced).
Westside Pioneer article
(Posted 2/28/17;
Community:
Public Safety)
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