After 13 months of construction, the 8,000-square-foot Marshal’s Office in Mancos is complete and officially operational on Main Street.
The community was invited to check out the new space from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. June 21, which coincided with the annual BurroFest.
It was a good “Mancos turnout,” said Town Marshal Justen Goodall.
Goodall added that his favorite part of the space was “having a window” in his office, since the last building had limited natural light. As of now, it’s unclear what will become of the old Marshal’s Office attached to Town Hall.
Sgt. Brad Ray emphasized how he’s glad “it was built with a part of the Mancos community involved.”
Marshal’s Office employees made an effort to incorporate town history by upcycling materials from the old Millwood Junction Restaurant, courtesy of what was the LivWell dispensary.
“The foyer is framed out with Mancos Millwood barnwood, and the table was a Mancos Millwood door,” said Ray.
What’s more, the lobby is decorated with a painting made by preschoolers in town and other photos that a local donated.
“We’re keeping Mancos history involved,” said Ray.
Plus, “the interior space allows for future growth of the Town and staff,” said Mancos Town Administrator Heather Alvarez.
Goodall said 5,000 square feet is used for office space, and the other 3,000 square feet is garage space. For now, the space upstairs is a training space.
In the future, Alvarez said the upstairs space will “be used to collaborate with other agencies for training and emergency planning purposes.”
“There’s 72 solar panels on the roof,” Goodall added.
That solar energy will power 63% of what the building needs to run.
An $875,000 grant from the Department of Local Affairs made the new office space possible, and “the Board of Trustees and Marshal’s staff were invaluable in making this happen for the town,” said Alvarez.
Though the construction phase is complete, the Marshal’s Office plans to work with the Mancos Creative District to see about murals and public art installations on the building.
Landscaping, too, will be part of the “visual improvements to soften the building” – so far as they find funding to do it, said Alvarez.
