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By David Loewen
STATE BILL COLORADO

DENVER — The legislature’s Capital Development Committee on Wednesday approved a request from State Architect Larry Friedberg for funding for phase one of the “Share the Care” project in the amount of $3.9 million.

The money comes from the State Historical Fund, financed with gaming revenues, as a result of Senate Bill 10-192 sponsored by current Senate Minority Leader Mike Kopp.

State officials view the dome restoration as an urgent issue. The Office of the State Architect recently installed netting around the dome to catch falling debris. The general assembly approved private funding for the “Share the Care” project due to current state budget restraints limiting state funding.

The project will be conducted in three phases. HB 1402 and SB 192 require the Office of the State Architect to request funding before the beginning of each phase. Friedberg expects to begin phase one next month.

“Phase one is essentially the planning, the scaffolding, the forensic investigation and the initial construction,” Friedberg said. During the initial phase, the Office of the State

Architect will contract an architect, an engineer and a construction project manager. It will also design and install the scaffolding.

Friedberg expects the restoration project to take until October 2013 to complete. During the three years of construction, private companies will be allowed to place advertisements in the capital area, not including the Capitol dome, to help generate revenue for the project. The CDC established guiding principles private sponsors must follow. The committee wants the “Share the Care” project to be incorporated in all private ad campaigns.

The CDC approved a contract with Colorado Preservation Inc. to engage in a marketing campaign designed to attract private sponsorship. The state won’t pay the non-profit anything, but he non-profit will retain 15 percent of the revenue generated from private funding as an administrative fee. It will not retain any revenue generated from public sectors or the children’s campaign.

A task force to ensure compliance to guidelines was recommended to the committee. The committee decided it will place three people on the task force, one each from the governor’s office, the CDC and the Capitol Building Advisory Committee.

Colorado Preservation Inc. Director James Hare supports the idea of a task force responsible for reviewing ad campaigns. He believes it will allow for a more streamlined process of reviewing private ads.

“The only thing that will be on the dome, ever, ever, ever, will be the ‘Share the Care’ logo,” Hare said.