<\/p>\n
The Bridge Emergency Shelter in Cortez could face its own emergency this year, as Montezuma County commissioners recently put its location up for sale.<\/p>\n
The decision to sell the Montezuma County justice building and withhold county support for the shelter comes as the Bridge reports an increasing homeless population. Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin and Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane said they need a place to house the noncriminal homeless population, and that crime will increase if the shelter is closed.<\/p>\n
Montezuma County commissioners said they need to cut the budget.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe plans for the Bridge are up to the Bridge,\u201d said commissioner Keenan Ertel. \u201cIt\u2019s not my decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the past 11 years, the Bridge has occupied part of the justice building on 601 N. Mildred Road, along with the county court and probation offices. On Jan. 30, county commissioners voted to list the building for about $1.3 million, in preparation for the move to a new combined courthouse, which is under construction. If its current location sells, the Bridge might have to find a new home, but its board members are unsure whether they\u2019ll be able to pay for one.<\/p>\n
The county commission has considered selling the justice building ever since their decision to build a combined courthouse, but the Bridge\u2019s directors said commissioners didn\u2019t communicate the plans clearly to them until after the vote on Jan. 30.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s actually been attempts over the last couple of years to get some clarity about what was going to happen with this building,\u201d said the Bridge\u2019s executive director, Laurie Knutson. \u201cAt times, it\u2019s been frustrating to us, how long it has taken to get answers. So that news was not great news, but it clarified some things.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the Bridge has two choices: rent an existing building or build one. Both choices would require additional funding, although Knutson said it\u2019s impossible to know how much either would cost. The Bridge has applied for grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, but it\u2019s too early to tell if it would receive them. But if the money came through, a new building could be a much-needed upgrade for the shelter.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis building is horrible,\u201d board member Doug Greene said. \u201cAnytime something broke in the county, it was tossed in the basement here. It has environmental issues. It has roofing issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bridge was founded in 2006 in response to the hypothermia-related deaths of several homeless people in Montezuma County. During the winter, it offers food and overnight shelter to about 40 people per night, according to Greene. It also includes a year-round day labor center, which connects unemployed people with temporary jobs in the community.<\/p>\n
The shelter\u2019s budget, which is just over $220,000, is funded by grants, donations and support from the city of Cortez and the county. The county also provides its rent and utilities, which are not included in the budget.<\/p>\n
Knutson said the needs of the county\u2019s homeless have changed in the 11 years since the Bridge was founded. While the majority of the shelter\u2019s guests during its first few years were alcoholics or had other substance abuse problems, she said that\u2019s no longer the case. Now she sees more need for a shelter that can accommodate families, unaccompanied minors and seniors. The homeless population has grown in the past few years, Knutson said. Last year, the Bridge served about 325 people, and this year, it has served 248 since it opened in October. About a quarter of those people were over age 55.<\/p>\n
Although the justice building no longer meets all the Bridge\u2019s needs, Knutson said, it is conveniently close to Southwest Memorial Hospital, Hope\u2019s Kitchen at First United Methodist Church and the Cortez Police Department. The shelter\u2019s directors hope to stay in the heart of Cortez, where most of the county\u2019s homeless population can find them.<\/p>\n
Ertel said the shelter is welcome to continue using the justice building for as long as the county owns it, but the commissioners don\u2019t plan to support it after the building sells.<\/p>\n
The county budgeted $34,650 for justice building utilities in 2017, which includes the Bridge\u2019s expenses. That\u2019s almost 14 percent less than the 2016 utilities budget, which was $40,130, but Montezuma County Administrator Melissa Brunner said about a third of the utilities budget will still go toward the shelter\u2019s rent and utilities until the building sells. In the past, the county has also donated about $20,000 to the Bridge annually through its social services department, but Social Services Director Josiah Forkner said that won\u2019t happen this year because of the county\u2019s 10 percent budget cuts. The cuts also removed funding for the county\u2019s annual donations to local food banks and Axis Health System\u2019s detox center in Durango.<\/p>\n
A lack of county support could spell trouble, not only for the shelter, but also for law enforcement and the community, Bridge directors said. The Cortez Police Department and Montezuma County Sheriff\u2019s Office often drop off homeless and intoxicated people at the shelter rather than take them to jail. Lane, one of the Bridge\u2019s founders who still serves on its board of directors, said the shelter has been an valuable resource for dealing with the noncriminal homeless population, and one is needed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no (other) option,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no place to put them. You can\u2019t put them in jail if they haven\u2019t committed a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nowlin prefers that the county use the current building as a shelter and possibly a detox center, which he has argued is one of the community\u2019s biggest needs. Without a homeless shelter, the area\u2019s crime rates will increase, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re going to see (people) break into cars, break into homes, break into motels,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to have shelter, we have to have food, we have to have water to survive. So where does that come from?\u201d<\/p>\n
The justice building also houses the sheriff\u2019s long-term evidence storage facility and vehicle impound lot. Nowlin said he doesn\u2019t know where they will go after the sale, either. Like Bridge directors, he didn\u2019t learn about the commissioners\u2019 decision to sell the building until after their vote.<\/p>\n
The Bridge\u2019s long-term plans, as well as the county\u2019s, are still in their earliest stages, but for now, Knutson and Greene hope to raise support for the shelter in the community and county government. They have asked county residents to contact the commissioners and tell them about the shelter\u2019s importance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t solve any of the homeless problems without county and city support, period,\u201d Greene said. \u201cIt has to be a joint effort.\u201d<\/p>\n
If the Montezuma County justice building sells, Sheriff Steve Nowlin will need to find a new location for the office\u2019s evidence locker.
\n The department\u2019s evidence room contains thousands of items, he said Friday.
\n Montezuma County Commissioners voted Jan. 30 to put up for sale the building, which also houses county courtrooms, the probation department and The Bridge Emergency Shelter.
\n Nowlin said he\u2019s shopping around for a new evidence storage location.
\n \u201cI have to have it,\u201d he said. \u201cI have no room anywhere else, period.\u201d
\n Nowlin discussed the issue with the commissioners at their Feb. 13 meeting, but they did not make a decision about relocating the storage area or assisting the sheriff with the process.
\n Evidence in the locker dates back decades, and the department is required to keep it, Nowlin said.
\n The current evidence storage area is about 1,500 square feet and is climate-controlled with water and electricity, Nowlin said. He\u2019s looking for a slightly larger new facility, between 1,800 and 2,000 square feet, he said.
\n \u201cWe have to plan for the future,\u201d he said.
\n Moving the items would be costly and time-consuming, Nowlin said. He would prefer to have the evidence custodian alone deal with the items so the evidence is kept secure and the chain of custody is intact, he said. However, that would be a large amount of work for one person, he added.
\n \u201cWe\u2019re trying to move forward, and we\u2019ll get things done,\u201d Nowlin said. \u201cIt\u2019s inevitable that things change, but we\u2019ll do the best we can.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The Bridge Emergency Shelter
\n 601 N. Mildred Road
\n Cortez, CO 81321
\n 970-565-9808
\n www.thebridgeshelter.org<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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