Media Contact: Jennifer Dinsmore, 970-728-9546, jenniferd@sanmiguelsheriff.org
(October 22, 2021) – San Miguel County, CO --- San Miguel County is investing in the Wright’s Mesa community with the completion of the Sheriff’s Office Annex at 1110 Summit Street in Norwood. This Wednesday, October 27th at 11:30, the Sheriff’s Office will hold a walkthrough of the facility followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Sheriff Masters and the Board of Commissioners at noon.
The facility was built as a 100-year building and though it won’t be open to the public full-time to start, it has been constructed to grow with the needs of the community. Sheriff’s Office staff will now have more space for administrative and service functions to better serve the public in the west end. Office hours begin in November of 2021 with administrative staff opening from 8 am to 4 pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The public may also call 970-728-4442 to make an appointment outside of these hours or email records@sanmiguelsheriff.org.
The Ilium Sheriff’s Office facility had been at capacity for several years and it was time to expand office, meeting and storage space. In October of 2016, Sheriff Masters first pitched the idea of expanding the Ilium facility to the commissioners. The venture eventually morphed into two projects – with the renovation of the existing Ilium Sheriff’s Office and County Jail along with the new construction of the Norwood Annex. Both projects occurred simultaneously and the same architect and builder developed both projects.
The Norwood Annex is just over 6,000-square-feet and consists of office space, evidence storage and includes a large meeting room. This multipurpose room will serve as the county emergency operations center (EOC), which is used to support on-scene emergency activities during large-scale emergencies or planned events. The space will also serve as the Board of County Commissioner’s space for their Norwood meetings and will be available for other county boards or stakeholders to utilize.
The facility will house several functions of the Sheriff’s Office, including administration (records, concealed handgun permits), emergency management and operations (patrol deputy duties). There is also office space for vital programs such as juvenile services and mobile crisis (mental health responders). In addition, space is designated for county IT staff, Colorado State Patrol (CSP) troopers and Region 10’s fiber CNL (carrier-neutral location). No inmates will be housed at this facility.
Charles Cunniffe Architects out of Aspen designed the building, with David Rosenfeld serving as the lead architect. Durango’s Jaynes Corporation was the general contractor with David Hawthorne acting as the construction project manager. Local Werner Catsman served as the county’s technical advisor and Jennifer Dinsmore was the Sheriff’s Office project manager. Sheriff Masters would like to thank these individuals for their hard work and dedication to this project and our community, “We couldn’t have done it without them working together so well.” The Sheriff would also like to thank county staff, Sheriff’s Office employees and the community for their patience during this process.
Special thanks go to William Babbel, who provided the exterior and interior American and State of Colorado flags at no cost as part of his work to support veterans on the western slope. We would also like to thank C.A.M. Electric, Precision Plumbing, Coolings Plumbing and Heating, Switchback Construction, Doc Williams Landscaping, Souther Construction, Sun Glass and the many other contractors who all had a part in the construction.
San Miguel County wishes to thank the Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) for making these projects a reality. The cost of the Norwood facility is just under $3.8 million, with DOLA awarding the county a $1 million grant for the project. The Ilium renovation project was over $1.6 million and was offset by a DOLA grant in the amount of $500k. Thanks to another DOLA grant secured by San Miguel County, the Renewable Energy and Resiliency Project, the Glockson Building, the San Miguel County Fairgrounds Arena, CNL room and the Norwood Annex will operate on about 95% solar power by the spring of 2022 when the project is complete.