Old Stoney and Central Park gear up for summer opening

When the snows melt this year, Sundance residents can expect the thaw to uncover a new center point for their town. According to the current trajectory, Old Stoney will be fully refurbished and the park that lies next to it will be available to picnickers and partygoers.

This week will see the Old Stoney rejuvenation project take another large step forward as contractors MAC Construction begin to pour concrete for the elevator. The elevator proved a sticking point when contractors and engineer Amanda Miller, Martin & Martin, realized the building’s footers go down only two feet at the edge of the building.

The elevator must reach down 17 feet further than that, but hurrying this work or making a mistake could cause a lot of damage to Old Stoney.

“That’s what they’re afraid of doing. It’s up here and they’re digging down there, and that’s why they have to shore it up properly. It’s very delicate,” says Rocky Courchaine, Museum Director.

Miller has kept an eye on the engineering side of things, overseeing structural parts of the project such as the installation of the elevator.

“She’s a local gal who works from home,” says Lenz. “We’ve been really fortunate to have her on site.”

Miller’s proximity was a factor in choosing the company during the bid process, says Courchaine.

“She has lots of other projects, but this was one that was near and dear to her heart,” says Kathy Lenz, Clerk Treasurer, who credits Miller and contractors MAC Construction for being insistent on taking the time to do this part of the project properly, especially as it was impossible to predict before the project began what obstacles will be uncovered during the excavation.

“It’s unknown. You think and you wonder, but you don’t know, so every time they go down they have to analyze,” says Lenz. “Because of the depth of it and the building, they are being meticulous – and we’re thankful for that.”

The delayed finish date will be worth the wait, Courchaine adds.

“We know that, when it’s done, there will be no problems, because it’s been done correctly,” he says.

Once the first layer of concrete is poured, the contractors must wait for it to cure before moving on.

“They’ll wait seven days and pour again, then wait seven days,” says Lenz.

Once the elevator is finished, all the behind-the-scenes work on such things as the electrical system can be finished up. Meanwhile, several larger projects will need to be completed.

“There will be a lot of large things to do once the elevator is secured,” says Lenz, noting that MAC Construction has a detailed timeline of the work that needs to be completed, according to the plans created by Lyle Murtha of Stateline No. 7 Architects, and at what point in the project.

“The whole mechanical room in the basement will tie everything together,” says Courchaine, listing also the outside stairwell and the ramp into the building.

In the meantime, work continues on other aspects of the project on the interior of the building, though none can be completely finished until the elevator is in.

“They’re all working like little bees on the different areas that they can, waiting for that,” Lenz smiles.

Contractors hauled insulation up to the top floor on Monday to be installed in the roof.

“They got the windows installed, they’re sheet-rocking and doing the plumbing, they’re working on the HVAC and the electrical,” says Lenz.

“They’re actually putting up the plywood floors on the museum floor to enclose it,” says Courchaine.

Though it’s not always obvious to the untrained eye, Courchaine says Old Stoney changes every day.

“So much of it, you don’t see. Everything an electrician does, you don’t see. If you go in there and you don’t know what they’re doing, it’s like they’re not getting anywhere, but then they say they put in 30-something outlets and got all the floor ones done,” says Courchaine.

The completion date for Old Stoney is April 19. To ensure that the museum can open for its planned June 1 open house, says Courchaine, contractors will aim to complete the museum floor first.

At the same time, plans are now rolling to create a park space next to Old Stoney for the community and its visitors to enjoy. Lenz recently applied for a grant with the Land and Water Conservation Fund that she hopes will kick start the process.

“The natural playground that looks like Devils Tower and the Bearlodge and a splash pad that kind of matches were in the grant and then the arch entryway, picnic tables and trash and the restroom and pump house for the sprinkler system,” Lenz lists.

“The only thing that isn’t in there is the stage at the back. We didn’t put that on because we figured we could pull a flatbed in, but still I’m working on it from other areas.”

The total request was somewhere in the region of $400,000.

“I had to go with what we had budgeted and what we could afford to do in case it didn’t come in,” she explains.

Other grant opportunities will soon open, she adds, such as with the Wyoming Business Council.

The results of the Land and Water Conservation Fund grant have not yet been released but, assuming the city was successful, it would not be awarded until October. Completion of the park therefore cannot take place this summer, but the city is determined to start the process and create a usable space.

“We’re talking about disc golf, hoses or sprinklers for the kids to run through – something we could use that place for this summer,” Lenz says.

At the very least, the city expects the park will be a gathering space featuring green grass and the old jailhouse, hopefully with some activities taking place such as farmer’s markets or concerts.

“We’re hopefully people will come and play,” Lenz smiles.