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Sept. 30, 2000 BY MATT GLECKMAN The Cortez Welcome Center expansion project, which was delayed earlier this month because of finances, received the green light from the Cortez City Council Tuesday night. At the Sept. 26 meeting, city councilors tabled the decision to award a building contract to the lowest bidder, Henson Construction Company of Dolores, after the project came in roughly $15,000 over budget. "The bid came in over budget because of some confusion about the architect’s fees," said Cortez Chamber of Commerce Director Kristine Acott. The architect was under the impression that the fees were not included in the budget, but in fact they were supposed to be, Acott said. As a result, officials were forced to take a second look at the building plan in order to come up with a list of items that could be cut. "We just went back and revisited the plans and made some cuts on things that we decided we could live without. Basically I think we worked it all out so that we fall within budget," Acott said Tuesday morning. Some of the major changes included re-routing the electrical and utility hook-ups, removing some windows and reducing the number of lights in the parking lot, said Acott. Last April the Colorado Department of Local Affairs awarded Cortez a $300,000 energy-impact grant to be used for renovating the welcome center’s existing building. The city will loan the welcome center the remaining $340,000 balance, which will be paid back at 5-percent interest over an 11-year period. The loan will be paid back through a hotel and motel bed tax. Once complete, the expanded welcome center will house the staff of the Montezuma County Economic Development Council, Umbrella Tourism Council, Cortez Chamber of Commerce and Cortez Welcome Center. The offices of the MCEDC and the Umbrella Tourism Council are currently located in the Johnson Building. "By having all of the offices together, our customers won’t have to go all the way to the other end of town for services," Acott said. Acott said that construction is expected to begin in the next couple of weeks. |
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Copyright © 2000 the Cortez
Journal. All rights reserved. |
