After a groundbreaking ceremony last Friday, dirt work on the Montezuma County combined courthouse project is expected to begin early in September once the mass-grading permit is approved by the city of Cortez.
Owner’s rep Monty Guiles told the county commissioners Monday that some $200,000 worth of decorative accouterments for the courtrooms, which had been eliminated during a budget-tightening process, could possibly be restored through state money available from an underfunded-courthouse grant program. Guiles and Commissioner Keenan Ertel will plead the case for the trim, paneling and other finishing touches, which are intended to lend the courtrooms a sense of awe and authority, at a hearing in Denver in November.
- David Long contributed to this report
