The county has guaranteed a maximum price of $7.5 million for the 32,400 square-foot facility, which is to be built on E. Driscoll Street across the street from the county jail. It will house county and district courts, probation and court administration.
“The commissioners have been hawkish in regards to the budget,” said Monty Guiles, the owners' representative for the project. “We are working with a new firm to get within budget.”
Although a general contractor hasn’t been signed for the courthouse, the commissioners tentatively selected FCI Constructors, which must come back with a price that doesn’t exceed the guaranteed maximum before being named the general contractor. Guiles said FCI is in the “value engineering” negotiation process with architect Humphrey Poli on construction costs.
Commissioners have already cut back on plans for the courthouse, which the Cortez City Council approved in mid-April. The design had included a tunnel within the courthouse grounds for taking prisoners to court. The plan now calls for a secured ground-level port. The tunnel was expected to cost $1 million, but Guiles said the cost of the port, though lower, had not been determined.
The plan is to finish the project by the summer of 2017, Guiles said.
Landfill starts $5,000 fine for firesThe Montezuma County landfill has implemented a $5,000 fine for roll-off trash containers that arrive on fire or with hot coals.
On March 30 and April 14, a roll-off container from the Towaoc transfer station contained hot coals or fires, reported landfill manager Shak Powers.
“They can cause landfill fires, and that has happened here in the past,” he said.
In the March 30 incident, garbage in the container caught fire while en route to the landfill. After the load was dumped, the fire was quickly smothered with dirt, and the area was isolated for a week to ensure that it had cooled.
Ute Mountain Ute officials were contacted about the matter, Powers said.
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