Now that the dust has settled and the doors are open, the lead contractor for the Montezuma-Cortez High School, Nunn Construction, estimates that it injected roughly $10 million into the local economy during the two-year construction project.
Rick Fleming, senior project manager for the Colorado Springs-based firm, wrote in an email to the Cortez Journal that Nunn hired 14 full-time workers and used 15 local temporary employees through Cortez-based agencies Ellwood Staffing and Price Mine Services.
“Nunn Construction has three supervisory personnel that have Cortez as their primary residence (Two of us moved here, and one was already a resident of Cortez), and we have had another eight folks relocate here from Colorado Springs working on the project at various times,” he said. “With all of our subcontractors, we estimate approximately $1,050,000 was spent at the local motels, RV parks, etc., for employees while working on the project.
“With the people that we have brought in from out of town, during the duration of the project they have locally spent over $620,000 in total daily expendables such as food, beverages and misc.”
At the peak of the project, there were 125 people working on-site daily, according to Fleming.
“We subcontracted over $8 million to local subcontractors and suppliers, some of whom are Top Line Installers, Cruzan Construction, Four Corners Materials (both concrete and asphalt paving), Nichols Electric, Garrhs Mechanical, Advanced Concrete Solutions, Goff Surveying, Horizontal Environmental Services, Commercial Floor Services, Southwest Appliance, Pro-Build Lumber, Slaven’s Hardware and Choice Building Supply,” said Fleming.
Carla Robson, manager of Slavens Hardware in Cortez confirmed the company did use Slavens as a supplier but their purchases really weren’t that much more significant than other local construction projects.
“They spent some money here, but it’s probably a drop in the bucket compared to the whole thing,” said Robson.
Fleming also said builders spent more than $1 million on labor for the project, as well as roughly $900,000 on fuel, equipment rental, portable toilets, trash disposal, nails, and nuts and bolts, nails, etc.
The massive project called for 5,400 cubic yards of concrete — roughly $650,000 — purchased from Four Corners Materials, Fleming said.
Managers of Four Corners materials could not be reached for comment.
Fleming also noted that enough concrete was purchased from Four Corners Materials to build a 4-foot-wide sidewalk more than 20 miles long.