JACKSON, Wyo. — The new Core Maintenance Facility, located on Karns Meadow Drive right next to the START facility is slated for completion by the end of February, according to Assistant Public Works Director Johnny Ziem.
In an email to Buckrail, Ziem said the project is roughly 80 percent complete and the original timeline for completion was pushed back a few months, “mostly due to weather events which caused some lost workdays and some additional work added to the overall contract scope.”
“I am very excited to have this project completed because it will really allow our Fleet team to expand services to local government,” Ziem said. “We have outgrown our current garage shops here at Public Works, so added space will not only increase our efficiency but also our storage needs as well.”
The construction was funded by 2019 SPET funds, originally approved by voters in 2019 at a price tag of $18.5 million. At the time, Town Administrator Larry Pardee said the need for a new vehicle maintenance facility is “not a matter of should we or shouldn’t we. We absolutely have to.”
In 2022, The town of Jackson allocated an additional $14.2 million to the project, increasing the project budget to about $32.4 million. Inflation and labor shortages were blamed for the shortfall.
The final cost of the project came in below, at $30,026,724, Ziem confirmed.
According to the town, once the facility opens, it will be the first time mechanics will not have to fix machinery outside in the winter. The facility will be used to maintain and upgrade town and county fleets which include snowplows, street maintenance vehicles, law enforcement vehicles, water/sewer maintenance vehicles, emergency vehicles and buses.
