Twenty-eight properties along the north side of Main Street will soon be the subject of a historic property survey initiated by the Cortez Historic Preservation Board.

After getting its grant contract approved by the Cortez City Council on June 9, the Cortez Historic Preservation Board can now develop a request for proposals for a consultant to conduct the survey.

The most recent survey focused on North Street and connecting streets between Montezuma Avenue and Main Street, which experts say contains some of the most compelling evidence of the city’s transition from Old West town to a mid-century oil and gas hot spot.

The forthcoming survey will be funded through a $15,300 grant from History Colorado, and will entail inventorying 28 properties along the north side of Main Street from Linden Avenue to Ash Street, all within the original townsite of Cortez.

The Historic Preservation Board will develop its RFP and plans to mail it out to vendors, and advertised on the bid website and in the Cortez Journal.

After a contractor is selected, their contract will go to City Council for approval.

The council on Tuesday also opted to waive registration fees for eligible property owners in the survey area.

Mayor pro tem Ty Keel, who also sits on the Historic Preservation Board, said waiving the fees is a worthy effort.

“I look at the benefit of having properties on the (historic) register as being a lot better than a $75 fee,” he said.