Dirt work may begin within a couple of weeks on Montezuma County’s new combined courthouse. On Monday, the project manager, Monty Guiles, told the county commissioners that Jaynes construction has agreed to a guaranteed maximum price of $8.26 million. That’s more than the $7.5 million the county had budgeted but less than the $10.8 million bidders had at one point projected. Guiles said the price could drop more. The revised plan keeps the original four-courtroom design while adopting cost-cutting measures such as moving from LEED gold to basic LEED certification and reducing aesthetic elements. But District Judge Doug Walker told Guiles that while he doesn’t need a window in his chambers and can share a bathroom, the courtrooms should retain elements such as wood paneling to show respect for the law.
A California woman pleaded guilty Monday to seven misdemeanor counts of damaging government property for vandalism in seven national parks and monuments in 2014. Twenty-three-year-old Casey Nocket was sentenced to two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. She had defaced rocks with acrylic paintings and pen drawings in sites including Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, and Zion and Canyonlands in Utah. She still faces a restitution hearing regarding the costs of cleanup.