By David Grant Long

Conceptual plans for the new $5.5-million Montezuma County Jail, made possible by the passage of a 0.45-cent sales tax last fall, were presented to the Cortez Planning and Zoning Commission during a public hearing Tuesday, but action on a site plan was tabled for further review. The county hopes to begin construction in the spring.

The proposed 110-bed facility will built northwest of the Justice Building, home to the present jam-packed jail and sheriff’s offices, on part of a 37-acre property the county purchased last year at the northwest corner of Empire Avenue and Mildred Road.

Under the Planned Unit Development (PUD) proposal, the land would be developed in four phases, with the jail construction on 18 acres being Phase 1. The second phase of the PUD would be an 8-acre municipal business park on land the county would trade to the city in return for help with the street construction and utility installations. The third and fourth phases would be developed later with public facilities and business offices or low-income housing, and about six acres would be left in open space for drainage.

"We don’t want to get bogged down," said county administrator Tom Weaver in responding to a request for more detailed information about the entire PUD. "We need to talk about Phase 1 (only)."

The jail is designed to be expanded as needed and would initially be constructed with one pod, or inmate housing area, according to the plan, but a second pod would probably need to be added within a few years as the county and jail population grow. A third pod might also be added some distance into the future.

The current lock-up, originally designed to accommodate 46 prisoners, regularly holds twice that many and recently hit an all-time high of 113, or approximately the capacity of the proposed facility; however, plans to establish community-corrections and work-release programs at the old facility once it is vacated are expected to significantly reduce the demand for jail space over the coming decades.

The new complex would include 26,400 feet of jail space for adults in the two-story pod along with a 1,200-square-foot juvenile holding facility, as well as 16,600 square feet of space for sheriff’s offices and training facilities in a one-floor section.

Commission members expressed concern at the vagueness of the plans for the remainder of the PUD, however, and asked for additional information concerning points related to the jail plans that had been raised by Zoning Inspector Jeff Reinhart in a review of the county’s proposal.

Under the formula in the land-use code, a building of that size would be required to have 111 parking spaces, Reinhart said, but the jail plan calls for only 71, and the 36-ft. streets proposed for access should be at least 40 feet wide.

Weaver pointed out that the demand for parking would be less than at other public building because "people don’t drive cars to jail," and Sheriff Joey Chavez added that his department employs only 35 people in all, including the jail staff, and the parking in the plan should be more than adequate.

Reinhart suggested the county commissioners and the city council meet in the near future and hash out guidelines concerning what level of detail needed to be included in the PUD.

County Commission Chairman Gene Story told P&Z his board "shares your concerns on how this total project evolves."

"We’re adamant about doing this right," Story said, "and more than anxious to work with you." He said the appearance of the new jail would be similar to that of an office complex.