- Montezuma County Commission considering a request that the county act as a conduit for bonds to finance a $30 million expansion project at Southwest Memorial Hospital.
- Landfill to impose a $5,000 fine on anyone sending a dumpster to the landfill with burning or smoldering trash.
The Montezuma County Commission is considering a request that the county act as a conduit for bonds to finance a $30 million expansion project at Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez. The expansion, which will include a patient wing, centralized medical offices and an ambulance garage, was made possible when hospital-district voters approved a sales and use tax last fall that is expected to raise at least $1.2 million annually. On Monday, Kelly McCabe, the attorney for the hospital’s management company, Southwest Health System, told the commissioners Monday the agreement would save SHS and the district about a half-million dollars while exempting the county from liability in case of a default. Another portion of the bond repayment would come from higher Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements provided to hospitals taking such steps to upgrade their facilities. McCabe stressed the improvements are essential for Southwest to remain competitive with other regional hospitals. The commissioners, who appeared amenable to the request, will make a decision May 2nd.
Also on Monday, the commissioners approved request by a landfill manager Shak Powers to impose a $5,000 fine on anyone sending a dumpster to the landfill with burning or smoldering trash. Powers said this has been a chronic problem with trash brought from the Ute Mountain Ute transfer station, and presents a major fire danger at the dump.
