As officials aim to make a pilot program that has removed hundreds of delivery trucks off Breckenridge’s roads a permanent service, recent developments have thrown unforeseen considerations on their desks.

Breckenridge officials say its food and beverage e-delivery services have eliminated an estimated 24,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions just through a pilot program that kicked off in November. As the town is considering a transition out of the pilot program, sustainability manager Jessie Burley notified officials at a March 25 meeting of a potential, substantial change. Originally turning down the opportunity to participate in the pilot program, one of the area’s most popular vendors, Shamrock Food Co., now wants in on the project.

She said whether they decided to include the vendor in the delivery service could change the dynamics of the program, increase operations and require a larger delivery dock than what currently exists.

The pilot e-delivery program, operated by Dockzilla and 106West Logistics, was largely inspired by a nearly identical program Vail started a few years ago. It involves a central docking station where delivery trucks drop off products, as opposed to bringing the products directly to the establishment that ordered them. The product is then dispersed via small electric fleet vehicles.

Originally planned for the Tiger Dredge Lot adjacent to Main Street, the town pivoted locations after the group who bought the plaza that includes City Market provided an opportunity to put the 2,400-square-foot dock structure on a vacant plot of land near the plaza. This is currently a temporary structure. Fully implementing the program could require a permanent structure, but the size and location are in limbo now thanks to Shamrock’s interest.

“We’ve heard loud and clear over the course of this pilot that we are a Shamrock town, we get a lot of deliveries from Shamrock,” Burley said. 

She said if officials choose to include Shamrock in the full program, it could significantly change its dynamics and require a larger e-delivery dock structure. 

Burley presented them with two pathways and “Scenario 1” largely centers Shamrock Foods. Given the number of establishments the vendor serves and the often high-quantity deliveries it makes, a new delivery dock location would be needed because the current one likely isn’t large enough. The lease for the current one near City Market ends in July 2026, so a new location would likely have to be determined before that date.

Up until the lease ending, the program would still likely operate out of where it is currently located. Burley estimated the town would need to put around $100,000 to $200,000 into expanding the existing structure and add more delivery fleet vehicles. 

Burley said there is not a ton of flexibility in terms of scheduling drop-offs to be spread out so peak delivery times don’t feel as crammed under the first scenario. That is because, in the first scenario, one vendor is making numerous deliveries, as opposed to several vendors who could be scheduled to deliver at different times under “Scenario 2.” Shamrock sends approximately five trucks through Breckenridge each week, each having a delivery time of eight hours, making for an estimated 40 hours on the roads each week. 

Scenario 2 entails taking on 19 additional distributors, nearly all of which are smaller than Shamrock Foods individually but are collectively larger in terms of truck trips made per week and number of hours that are spent on the road. It is estimated trucks would spend an average of 58 hours on the road per week. This scenario requires less change, and staff members said operations could realistically still happen out of the parcel near City Market. 

Currently, the program serves 12 active distributors. In Scenario 1, Shamrock Foods would be added to the 12 current distributors. In Scenario 2, 19 additional distributors would be instead added to the 12 currently active ones.

Mayor Kelly Owens asked Burley to explain to council what she explained to her earlier on regarding Scenario 2 being more feasible. 

“If we were to take those 19 other trucks and 58 delivery hours, that would remove those trucks from current delivery zones where Shamrock rolls up and wants that delivery zone (and) it’s not available, (so) they park willy-nilly on the Ridge Street alley,” Burley said. 

Owens then asked council member Jay Beckerman to rehash a conversation they had about the benefits of going with Scenario 1. Beckerman, a local restaurant owner, looped in feedback from Breckenridge Restaurant Association members who said the presence of Shamrock’s trucks are more of an imposition to local roads than other vendors who may have smaller delivery vehicles. 

“When we look at those 19 distributors, we’re talking about cheese importers that may have a box truck that’s 10 feet long. … When Shamrock comes and comes through town (and) through our alleys, they’re in an 80-foot semitruck, and that is just so much more visible,” he said. 

He added the number of delivery stops differs as well. Where smaller vendors are making a few stops to the establishments they serve, Shamrock is making several. He recommended a decision be made after the e-delivery program clocks in a summer season to realize the full impacts. 

“It would result in having another building that we would have to pay for, and maybe a million dollars of infrastructure,” Owens said, noting the uncertainty around a dock location if it were needed to be expanded to accommodate Shamrock. 

Council member Marika Page asked Beckerman if the feedback he heard about the “Shamrock problem” was equal to the amount of positive feedback he received about the program at-large to gauge how significant the restaurant community felt the impact was regarding the major vendors on local roads. 

“I think they lead into each other, right?” he answered. “The program is so successful, and these guys are doing such a great job that there’s a desire to have Shamrock out of the alley, to be part of the program,” he said. 

Page, Owens, council member Carol Saade, council member Steve Gerard and council member Todd Rankin showed support for Scenario 2 with some modifications. 

Beckerman wanted to see Scenario 1 explored more, and council member Dick Carleton was absent.

No official vote occurred at the March 25 meeting.