The Calkins building has been placed on the National Historic Register, according to city documents.
Kansas developers Becky Barber and Ivy Tu plan to convert the building, a former schoolhouse at E. First and S. Ash streets, into affordable housing units. To make the project more viable, the developers are seeking tax credits for rehabilitating a historic property, according to City Manager Shane Hale. Barber and Tu also are pursuing tax credits from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority since the development will include affordable housing.
The Cortez City Council unanimously voted last week to support the project and endorsed tax credits for the development. The city’s comprehensive plan instructs the city to encourage rehabilitation and preservation of historic buildings, Hale said. The plan also states that the city should encourage development of safe and affordable housing.
“We hope that all potential funders of this project consider the strength and unique qualities of this development and make this project a priority for funding awards,” Mayor Karen Sheek wrote in a letter to the developers.
Barber and Tu do not yet own the Calkins building, but have a contingent offer with the Re-1 school district for the purchase, Hale said. Built in 1909, the building served as a community schoolhouse through the mid-1960s.
The council also voted to authorize Sheek to sign a letter of support for low-income housing tax credits for a redevelopment project of Valley Sun Village.
The Treadstone Group, dba Valley Sun Partners, is planning a $3.3 million redevelopment of Valley Sun Village, a senior apartment complex on Second Street, Hale said. The group plans to spend $66,500 for each of the complex’s 50 one-bedroom units for remodeling and accessibility improvements.
Council member Jill Carlson is a legal representative for Treadstone Group, so she recused herself from the council’s vote. Council member Shawna McLaughlin said the apartments need renovations.
“I think this is a great program,” she said.
Other action by the councilThe council also approved a lease agreement with the Transportation Security Administration at the Cortez Municipal Airport through 2021. The TSA occupies two offices in the terminal, totaling 453 square feet. The TSA lease rate is $17.83 per square foot through 2016, but will increase 2.1 percent each year for a final rate of $19.77 per square foot in 2021.
The council on Tuesday approved a four-year, eight-month lease agreement with the Bureau of Land Management, which leases land at the airport for use as an aircraft tanker base for forest fire suppression on public land in the area. The current annual rate the BLM pays is $754, but that rate will increase to $1,321. The council also approved a rate increase of $10 per month for T-hangar leases at the airport through 2020.The council authorized the mayor to sign an intergovernmental agreement with the Colorado Television Translator Association to use that agency’s equipment at Caviness Mountain to expand the police department’s 800-MHz digital radio network. The city received a $308,000 grant from the Department of Local Affairs to place communications equipment at the radio site, Police Chief Roy Lane said. Police department equipment will be installed at the base of a TV tower, which will be used to broadcast a radio signal, Lane said. Caviness Mountain is in eastern Montezuma County, and the installation will enhance communications for the eastern part of the county, as well as the western side of La Plata County and the town of Mancos, Lane said. The agreement would save the city close to $1 million, the chief added.
The council also awarded bids to New Country Auto and Keesee Motors for several vehicles for the police and public works departments. The city will purchase a police patrol pickup truck, two utility pickup trucks, and a right-sided drive Jeep from New Country for a total of just under $140,000. The city also will purchase a small cargo van from Keesee for $24,500. The money to purchase the vehicles was budgeted from the city’s equipment fund and water fund.The council voted to accept a $2 million energy and mineral impact assistance grant from the Department of Local Affairs. The grant was awarded to the city to rehabilitate the former Cortez Journal building at 123 North Roger Smith Ave. to become the new site of the Cortez City Hall.The council also approved a six-month lease agreement with Lawson Construction. The Colorado Department of Transportation contracted with Lawson Construction for the U.S. Highway 491-Lebanon Road construction project taking place this summer. The company will lease city-owned property in the industrial park expansion and will pay a total of $9,000 for leasing the property, at a rate of $1,500 per month.