The town of Fraser held a ribbon cutting ceremony at the new bike park on July 22 to celebrate the start of construction on the park, which began earlier in July. Since construction is estimated to take about four months to complete, the bike park is expected to be completed by October.

In a news release, the town stated that the bike park project is about increasing access to the outdoors and building up local riders. The park’s final design was approved by the town at the July 17, 2024 board of trustees meeting.

Prior to the ribbon cutting, trustees were previously faced with the fact that project costs had increased beyond the previous contract with Avid Trails. The item was brought to the board of trustees during their June 4 regular meeting.

Avid Trails, contractor for the project, was previously awarded the contract for construction back in December 2024 and the contract required that project costs not exceed $1 million.

Funding for the bike park comes from donations, grants, town commitment and future sponsorship opportunities. The town of Fraser has committed $177,000 so far, in addition to securing grants including a $389,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado and a $250,000 grant from CDOT’s revitalizing main street program grant.

At the June 4 meeting, assistant town manager Sarah Catanzarite explained that the estimated cost for the bike park construction is $1,087,678 with the total project cost sitting at $1,131,878. She spoke with representatives from Avid Trails who provided options for cost savings if needed, which mostly involved removing different features from the park. Additional items that added to the project’s cost included landscaping, split rail fencing and a water tower necessary for park maintenance.

Catanzarite said that the town had $986,160 in commitments as of June 4 and that this number did not include pending grants or sponsorships.

Project manager Justin Lax and design director Jay Hoeschler with Avid Trails were present at the meeting to answer questions from trustees about details including landscaping the park and what features are necessary to have in order for the park to be functional.

Catanzarite presented the board with several options to move forward, since the park is projected to exceed the previously determined budget of $1 million for construction. One of the options was to increase the “not to exceed” amount in the contract to $1,100,000.

Lax said that Avid Trails is seeking to be a good community partner on the project and that he would be open to exploring some creative cost saving options through collaborations with the town.

Fraser town manager Michael Brack said that he expected the project to see more funding through the sponsorship program.

Ultimately, Trustees unanimously passed a resolution that allowed the town manager to enter into a contract with Avid Trails for services and construction of the Fraser bike park for an amount not to exceed $1,100,000.

The resolution writes that town staff and community partners will continue to actively fundraise and seek sponsorships to help cover the remaining gaps in funding for the bike park.