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Roads, taxes, grants and extension programs: Montezuma County department updates
Summary
Montezuma County staff reported on county highway chip‑seal work, tax collections and distribution, a pipeline of grant applications and CSU Extension community programs at a workshop update for the Board of County Commissioners.
Montezuma County staff used the workshop to update the board on road work, tax collections, grant activity, public-health grant opportunities and Colorado State University (CSU) Extension programs.
Road and Bridge foremen reported progress on the county's chip-seal program. A foreman in the Cortez district said the combined Cortez and Mancos/Dolores crews expect “about another week, week and a half to finish” the chip sealing; other crews reported blading gravel roads, rescreening chips and preparing half-inch chips for a four- to five-week production run.
Treasurer Miss Black provided a tax-explanation briefing: “Montezuma County is the treasury for all of the taxes. The taxes is collected by the treasury and then distributed to all of the taxing entities or authorities that are on your tax statement,” she told the board, emphasizing that a rise in a resident’s tax bill often reflects changes in school or other district levies rather than the county mill levy. Black said the county's online payment provider (Tyler/Ben Tyler) left and the county is working with a new provider to restore online payments, likely in the fall; until then, staff are processing card payments manually.
Grants Administrator Miss Grubbs reviewed active applications and prospects. She said a number of multi‑year awards are closing, listed ongoing work on a POST training grant and a taser upgrade for the sheriff's office, and noted planned work on a natural-disaster mitigation grant and a Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) application related to a Mesa Verde‑area project. Grubbs said she and the sheriff's office are following a potential reimbursement tied to a noxious‑weed matter and that one landowner has already received payment; the county may receive a portion (figures discussed in the meeting were described as preliminary and not fully confirmed).
Public-health staff presented a proposal to apply for a $10,000 CDPHE grant to support child passenger-safety work and distribution of car seats and developmentally appropriate bicycle helmets. The board had no objection to staff applying for the $10,000 unintentional-injury grant.
CSU Extension staff outlined recent and upcoming community programs: youth participation at the National 4‑H Conference, a barnyard program for schoolchildren, a beef-quality assurance training that drew roughly 50 quiz completions, seed-starting and container-gardening workshops, a drought-planning workshop, a community animal response team kickoff, and a prescribed‑fire information event. Extension staff said they have 35 market-animal exhibitors entered for the 2025 fair and reported several regional leadership successes among 4‑H members.
Other brief items: staff reported a nurse‑family partnership contract amendment previously approved in February and noted a late Friday message from a vehicle vendor that new federal tariffs could increase fleet payments by about $23 per month for three ordered vehicles; staff said they would follow up.
Commissioners asked routine follow-ups, including confirming the status of an existing land purchase package in engineering review and tracking a few grant deadlines. Staff said they will return with any additional details as they become available.
