Reminders of uncivil discourse and past attempts to smooth county and city relations marked a Pueblo City Council work session held Monday.
However, it appears that the city may still reach a deal to gain space within the now county-owned commercial office building located on Eighth Street in downtown Pueblo.
The building was first purchased in December for $5 million by the county after Pueblo Mayor Nick Gradisar vetoed a measure passed 5-2 by city council, authorizing him to enter into an agreement with the county for the office building.
Originally, the building s cost was to be split 50/50 between the two entities. However, with the mayoral veto, the county was forced to scrape together an additional $2.5 million within 24 hours in order to secure the building.
Millions more in Cares Act money coming to Pueblo County
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN COVID-19 RELIEF FUNDS WILL BE COMING TO PUEBLO COUNTY .
and last updated 2021-01-28 19:54:56-05
PUEBLO COUNTY â Millions of dollars in COVID-19 relief funds will soon be coming to Pueblo County.
The county is set to receive close to $6 million in federal Cares Act money.
This will be the largest amount of money the county has received in the four founds it was offered.
The money will be used to help small and medium-sized businesses, as well as non-profits. Really exciting. It does take a while but it does take continued focus to ensure these projects actually come into fruition and happen, so really exciting, Pueblo County Commissioner Garrison Ortiz said.
Tim Hart, director of the Pueblo County Human Services Department, expressed excitement in the building s opening. Having the two buildings across the street helps us with efficiencies in our operations, He said, noting that it allows for easier transfers of mail, faster meeting times and easier interactions for customers who may be interacting with the offices for the first time. If they need another service, it s just across the street. We ve been aiming for this campus for a while.
The 10th Street building was formerly the county s judicial building, prior to the opening of the Dennis Maes Judicial Building at 501 Elizabeth St. in 2014. Now, it will house offices for food assistance, Medicaid, Adult Financial Aid, and adult programs and Child Support programs. These services were previously housed in the Wells Fargo building at 201 W. Eighth St.
There is no way to avoid seeing the economic impact COVID-19 health restrictions have created across the nation, and many business owners in Pueblo County are watching the climate with concern.
However, local officials are confident in a program designed to help ease restrictions for approved businesses to operate at one level higher than the county s COVID-19 metrics would ordinarily allow.
Pueblo County Commissioner Garrison Ortiz has worked with many stakeholders to ensure that Pueblo County will qualify for Colorado s 5 Star variance program, and has been pursuing the matter since at least early December. On Monday, a statewide order from Gov. Jared Polis shifted all counties that were listed as Level Red in the statewide COVID-19 scale to the less-restrictive level Orange.