Engineering firm recommends $314,000 in repairs for county parking lots; sheriff’s lot flagged as worst

Jones and DeMille Engineering presented a condition assessment Tuesday of Montezuma County parking lots and recommended preservation treatments for most lots and partial repaving for the county sheriff’s lot, estimating $314,000 for the four lots reviewed and an additional $80,000 to expand courthouse parking.

Ty Kopenafer, office manager for Jones and DeMille Engineering, said the firm used an AI imaging system to rate pavement condition and followed up with a field verification. The firm recommended mastic (friction) sealing with soft-spot repair and crack sealing for the administrative, Annex 3 and senior center lots, and partial repaving for damaged sections of the sheriff’s office lot.

The firm’s cost estimates presented to the board were: about $96,000 for the administrative building parking lot (including soft-spot repair, a cross-gutter and mastic sealing), $44,000 for Annex 3, $58,009.24 for the senior center lot, and $62,688 for the sheriff’s office lot. Kopenafer reported a combined estimate of approximately $314,000 for the four lots; adding a roughly $80,000 expansion for courthouse parking would raise the total for everything discussed to about $394,000.

Kopenafer described the sheriff’s office lot as relatively new asphalt in some areas but with "massive cracks" — in places as wide as two inches — on the eastern sections. He told commissioners that those cracks likely reflect thin asphalt sections and thermal-expansion issues and recommended removing and repaving the worst segments with a specified asphalt binder better suited to local weather.

On the administrative lot, the firm recommended installing a concrete gutter in a flow line that ponds water, plus mastic sealing of other areas; mastic is an oil-and-fine-aggregate sealant the firm recommended over chip seal for parking lots because it better tolerates turning movements and snowplow use. Kopenafer said mastic treatments are ongoing maintenance items: "If you keep sealing it, it'll last... as long as you preserve it." He also noted that one administrative-area section could be milled and repaved if the county prefers a longer-term fix.

The firm also calculated parking capacity for the sheriff’s building using City of Cortez standards and reported the building has 63 stalls but would require roughly 104 by that city's metric, leaving a shortfall of about 41 spaces; paving the north side would add roughly 25 stalls, still leaving an estimated shortage of 15.

County Administrator Travis (last name not stated) said capital funds may be available next year and commissioners asked staff to return with scenarios and priorities during capital budget discussions. No formal vote was taken; staff said they will present budget scenarios and further estimates to the board for decision during capital planning.

The presentation included Jones and DeMille’s pavement engineer, McClain Farmer, who assisted with the field verification and technical recommendations.