Cortez city council members will sign a trade agreement between the city and county Tuesday which, once accepted, will provide the city with land for a business park and the county with a street and water line into the new jail.

"It will be a clean wash," said Cortez City Manager Hal Shepherd. "The cost of putting in the street and water line is just about equal to the value of the land."

Shepherd said that the undeveloped 14-acre property, located on the northwest corner of the Empire and Mildred Street intersection, is owned by the county and was appraised at about $200,000.

In return for the land, the city of Cortez will provide a road access and water line to the new jail, which will be located northwest of the new business park.

"No money will be exchanged in the deal," Shepherd said.

Montezuma County Commissioner Kelly Wilson said Friday that the commissioners have already consented to the trade and are awaiting signing the agreement.

"Any kind of cooperation between the city and the county is real good," said Wilson adding that he hopes it continues into the future. "After all, it’s all taxpayer money."

Once acquired, the city will work with the Montezuma County Economic Development Council to develop the land as a business park.

"With the new fiber optic line coming, we are hoping to talk business owners, who would normally settle in Denver, Salt Lake City or Phoenix, into settling in Cortez where they could serve the four-state area," said Shepherd.

One stipulation, said Shepherd, is that the land will only be used for new businesses. "Already existing businesses would not be allowed to move there," he said.

Shepherd said that the idea behind the business park is not to compete with the downtown businesses, but to create new, high- paying jobs for residents of the area.

"I am going to be looking at the businesses that pay the highest and create a high number of jobs per building," Shepherd said.

The city is not going to allow a warehouse, motel, restaurant or any other business that takes up a lot of space but requires only a few employees to move into the park, Shepherd said.

The city manager said that the park will not be used for industrial businesses, but added that the city is hoping to also establish an industrial park in the future.

Shepherd said that the public will have an opportunity to discuss the proposal at Tuesday’s city council meeting but added that he has not heard any complaints from the surrounding neighbors so far.