First National Bank President Byron Maynes can travel through time.
OK not exactly. But Maynes can stand beside historic Montezuma County photographs integrated into First Nationals wall-mounted logo, and then walk through the banks new state-of-the art building.
First National Banks building at 2258 E. Main St., Cortez, will open at 8:30 a.m. Monday, April 11. The $4 million, 10,082-square-foot facility goes beyond basic banking to offer amenities ranging from a 58-seat community room to a wireless Internet cafe.
We want this to be the premier building in Cortez, Maynes said Wednesday during a tour of the facility.
First National Bank officials planned the new facility for three years, Maynes said. The local bankers went on tour to learn about bank designs. The tour included banks as near as Durango and Montrose, and as far as Nashville, Tenn., St. Louis and Cincinnati.
We looked at 22 banks in nine states, Maynes said.
First National Bank welcomes visitors into a building that feels like a Colorado bank. Rock columns provide an earthy touch to the interior. A mural of Trout Lake near Telluride stretches about 30 feet wide by 14 feet tall along one wall. Photographed by Montezuma County resident Bill Proud, the giant mural can make visitors feel like theyre standing in the majestic San Juan Mountains.
Customers entering the facility will be greeted by a receptionist, but dont call that person a receptionist. The banks new building includes a new approach to customer service, and the first impression person will help direct customers to other bank employees.
Many of those customers will visit a dialogue station.
Instead of the traditional teller line, theres a lot of places that we visited that use this technique, Maynes said. Its a lot more personal.
Switching the job title from teller to relationship banker, First National has turned the traditional teller booth, with a counter that separates customers from tellers, into a work station where a customer can stand beside a relationship banker, said First National Bank Vice President of Operations Marsha Chaffin. That gives customers the ability to look at their account information on the same computer screen the relationship banker is using instead of looking at the back of a computer.
The bank also implemented cross training so its 23 employees can switch from one job duty to another in order to serve customers and keep them from waiting too long, Maynes said.
One of First Nationals many technical upgrades is a machine that replaces the traditional cash drawer that tellers use, Maynes said. A teller relationship banker can feed money into the machine. If a customer wants to cash a check, the relationship banker can enter the check and the machine will discharge the appropriate amount of cash.
The tellers no longer have this drawer they have to keep track of, Maynes said. The machine, the technology, keeps track.
In the center of its lobby, First National Bank has a little Internet cafe with wireless service, Maynes said. The wireless service is not the same wireless system that bank employees use.
The First National Bank building has a lofty ceiling in its lobby area, and 13 offices with glass walls surround the central lobby area.
We wanted the bank to look very open, but we also wanted privacy in the offices, Maynes said.
An electronic smart board in the banks boardroom is another high-tech touch at First National Bank. The smart board looks like a large-screen TV mounted on the wall but serves as a computer screen that can display information such as economic charts.
On the banks east side, the community room provides audio-visual equipment that includes a 10-foot video screen.
The technology in this room is really going to be great, said Vice President of Commercial Loans Jim Muller.
The community room will be available during and after bank hours, Maynes said. A separate exterior door provides access to the room. The bank will provide a swipe card, similar to the cards that hotels use, for people to access the room after hours.
Outside, First National Banks new building has a four-lane drive-through, Maynes said. Three lanes have a traditional teller, and the lane closest to the building has an automated teller machine and night deposit.
The Cincinnati-based design/build firm DEI designed the First National Bank building, according to bank officials.
DEI specializes in facilities for banks and credit unions, according to the firms website.
A combination of local and outside contractors built the First National Bank facility, according to bank officials.
First National Bank was founded in 1958. The old building at 140 W. Main St., Cortez, is under contract to sell to Montezuma County for $400,000.
Reach Russell Smyth at [email protected].
