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KSJD Newscast - December 10th, 2015

  • The City of Cortez moving fast to turn the former Cortez Journal building on Roger Smith Avenue into a new city hall.
  • Cortez city council taking steps toward allowing Osprey Packs to move to city-owned vacant land at the corner of Empire Street and Mildred Avenue.

The City of Cortez is moving fast to turn the former Cortez Journal building on Roger Smith Avenue into a new city hall. Tuesday night, the city council voted to authorize the mayor to sign closing documents. The Journal, which is set to vacate on January 31st, will then move downtown. City Manager Shane Hale told the council an inspection found the building to be in great condition. He said the city has identified the need for a new city hall for 30 years.

Also on Tuesday, the council took steps toward allowing Osprey Packs to move to city-owned vacant land at the northwest corner of Empire Street and Mildred Avenue. The manufacturer of backpacks and outdoor gear is looking to leave its current site in the Cortez Industrial Park and construct a new 30,000-square-foot building. The council approved a preliminary plat subdividing the eight-acre site into three lots. It also approved an incentive plan under which Osprey will get its four-acre lot for free if it creates 45 new jobs in the next five years that pay at least the county’s average salary of about $35,000. The city also agreed to abate half of the city’s usual fees and use taxes. Hale said Osprey is a fantastic company and having it inside city limits would have many benefits. A public hearing on the sale was set for January 12th.
 

Gail Binkly is a career journalist who has worked for the Colorado Springs Gazette and Cortez Journal, and was the editor of the Four Corners Free Press, based in Cortez.
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