Cortez City officials were pleased to see participation more than double from the first comprehensive plan meeting May 4, to the second one on Wednesday.

Attending residents were generous with their thoughts for the city’s future.

"We had 20 people attend the meeting and it seemed to meet all of their expectations," said city planning intern Drew Nelson.

Nelson said that city officials had hoped to receive broader coverage of the topics that were discussed at the first comprehensive plan meeting on May 4, and that desire seemed to be filled.

The comprehensive plan is a statement of how residents and city officials want to see the city grow in the future and what means are necessary to get there.

At Wednesday’s meeting participants covered an assortment of topics including land use, safety, improving neighborhoods, city codes, growth and attracting new businesses.

One topic of conversation during the meeting focused on the steadily improving relationship between city and county officials. City council member Fred Torres told audience members that the city and county officials had recently coordinated on a trade agreement which would provide the city with land for a business park and the county with a road and water line into the new jail.

Audience members said that in the future they would like to see the city and county officials work together to develop a consistent set of city and county codes and ordinances.

One audience member said that he would like city officials to revisit the idea of an alternative truck route through town.

"The semi-truck business has been growing rapidly...within the next 20 years we are going to see bumper to bumper semi-trucks downtown," he said.

"With some foresight, we can avoid this problem. We don’t always have to wait for the problem to occur before we do something about it."

Longtime Cortez resident Buford Wayt said that he would like to see U.S. Highway 160 from the M & M Truckstop into Cortez be lined with lights.

"I would also like to see the city start eliminating its narrow streets," said Wayt.

Other comments included extending the walking trail around town, developing neighborhoods, extending the time pedestrians have to cross Main Street during "walk" lights, and improving the gateway into Cortez from the south.