LiveWell Colorado has awarded Cortez its highest recognition for building a healthy community.
The company’s HEAL (Healthy Eating and Active Living) Cities and Towns Campaign began in 2013 to honor cities that have made efforts to provide their citizens with a healthy place to live, work and play, according to a press release. Out of 46 cities involved in the campaign, Cortez is the second to achieve “elite” status, the highest level, said campaign director Julie George. Commerce City, outside Denver, was the first.
“You should be very proud,” George told council members at their meeting Tuesday. “Thank you for all the work you’re doing.”
George presented the award to council members at the meeting Tuesday.
To be considered an “elite status city,” a community must have adopted at least five healthy eating and active living policies, according to the press release. In Cortez, those policies include purchasing Geer Natural Area and building new trails, working to promote the Paths to Mesa Verde trail from Cortez to Mancos, and planting edible plants to increase access to healthy food.
At the meeting, Mayor Karen Sheek proclaimed October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month in Cortez. Sheek also read a proclamation in support of a reliable, predictable stream of resources to address the backlog of maintenance projects in the National Parks system.
Also Tuesday, the council authorized an operations lease with Boutique Air. The new airline will start providing flights to and from Cortez on Saturday.
The airport will collect a total of $48,005 for building rent and landing fees for the 2016-2017 year, and $49,759 in 2017-2018.
The council voted on final reading Tuesday to repeal two sections of the city code that prohibited loitering in public and nighttime juvenile loitering. The American Civil Liberties Union sent a letter to Sheek saying that those sections of the code were unconstitutional and legally indefensible.
The council also voted on final reading to revise the portion of the code prohibiting disturbing the peace to include public indecency and exposure. Green said that portion of the code had become unwieldy, and the revision would make cases easier to charge and prosecute in city court.
Also Tuesday, the council approved the following items:
A site development plan for BeeHive Home at the Cortez Homestead, an assisted living facility for Alzheimer’s patients on the Southwest Memorial Hospital campus at 694 Cottonwood Street,An encroachment permit for construction of an awning at Notah Dineh, 345 W. Main St., that will protect the sidewalk from snow and ice,An amended plat for two lots at Golf Course Estates, 2665 Golf Course Lane, consolidating two lots into one 1.04-acre lot,A three-lot, 13-acre subdivision at Empire Electric Association, 801 N. Broadway, splitting the office portion of the property from the warehouse portion,A resolution declaring City Hall, 210 E. Main St., as surplus city property, which has been appraised at $325,000, andA $23,500 contract to Weeminuche Construction Authority for a remodel of the Cortez Police Department Dispatch Center, which will include moving a wall and expanding the size of dispatch.jklopfenstein@the-journal.com