BY DAVID GRANT LONG

The putrid bog in east Cortez charitably known as Denny Lake is about to get a $79,000 facelift that will turn it into a healthy habitat for fresh-water fish as well as a breeding ground for ducks and other waterfowl.

After decades of attempts thwarted by both bureaucratic red tape and an inability to obtain funding, the Cortez Parks and Recreation Department recently received final approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with a rehabilitation plan that was developed by the National Resource Conservation Service two years ago.

The Cortez City Council awarded the extensive excavation project on Tuesday to D&L Construction, which had submitted a bid that was far lower than the $120,000 that Parks and Rec budgeted for the project, and also well below five other bids, which ranged from $263,000 to $118,000.

The work will create deep pools throughout the shallow bed of the 15-acre former lake and use the excavated materials to form islands and wetlands that will serve as nesting areas, Parks and Rec Director Chris Burkett said Tuesday. The dam at the lake’s south end will also be repaired.

Earlier schemes that involved removing the excavated dirt from the site had created problems with the Environmental Protection Agency, he said.

Burkett recalled that Denny Lake’s deterioration to a mosquito-infested swamp that dries up completely only during very dry weather had been a seemingly insoluble problem since long before his 21 years at the helm of Parks and Rec.

The lake was originally created by some adjacent landowners as an improvement project and was eventually donated to the city, Burkett said, adding that he is delighted its redemption is finally at hand.

Burkett also expressed great confidence that D&L would do a good job despite its unusually low bid, noting that the company had done several similar projects in this area that turned out fine.

The second stage of the project will be to establish a permanent source of running water to keep the lake fresh. This will involve using natural surface drainage from north of the lake as well as irrigation water piped from Conquistador Golf Course. Recent agreements with property owners granting easements for the pipeline will make this possible.

Work should begin in about two weeks, according to Parks and Rec officials.

In other business Tuesday, the council:

• Approved an ordinance changing the zoning of the land on which the new county jail will be built to Planned Unit Development, one of the final steps in clearing the way for the jail’s construction. The county must still obtain a building permit for the jail.

The $5.5 million, 104-bed jail will replace the current cramped facility, which was built to house 46 prisoners but regularly holds at least twice that number.

• Set for public hearings in two weeks an ordinance that would place six proposed amendments to the city charter on the April election ballot for voter approval.

Most of the amendments involve routine changes that clarify language or eliminate parts of the charter that are no longer relevant.

However, one would eliminate a requirement that the city attorney reside in Cortez — a regulation that has traditionally been ignored by past councils —while another would give the council 60 days to replace a vacancy, rather than the 30 days allowed in the current charter.

• Also set for public hearing in two weeks is an ordinance that would give the municipal judge the power to set restitution in cases involving property damage or loss.

• Approved a leasing plan for police cruisers to replace the current practice of buying them outright.

Six new units can be leased for $10,000 less than the $50,000 cost of buying two cruisers annually, City Manager Hal Shepherd said, and can then be purchased by the city for $1 after a three-year period.