Meetings watch - March 1

Tucumcari City Commission

The following was action taken at the Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday:

• Commissioners honored the Tucumcari High School wrestling team and coach Eddie Encinias with a proclamation recognizing its record of state titles this season, including three district champions, Michael Shelton, Zavier Garcia and Isaiah Valverde. All three also achieved top-three placement in state competition. In addition, Antonio Norton was the state runner-up in his weight class in state competition.

• Commissioners recognized the Knights of Columbus Founder’s Day on March 29.

• Commissioners adopted the city’s 2017 Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan, which is an annual requirement to receive funding for New Mexico Department of Transportation projects. The plan includes specifications for making streets and sidewalks accessible to persons with disabilities.

• Commissioners approved a financial hardship resolution that allows the city to purchase vehicles worth up to $25,000 in the state transportation department’s annual surplus vehicle auction.

• Commissioners approved a waiver of fees for Tucumcari High School’s annual all-night graduation party for seniors and their parents on May 19 at the Tucumcari Convention Center.

• Commissioners appointed Tucumcari residents Yvette Peacock and John Dugger to the city’s planning and zoning advisory board.

Quay County Commission

The following was action taken at the Quay County Commission on Monday:

• Commissioners accepted $83,000 in state tax money to fund operations of anti-driving while intoxicated (DWI) programs in the county. The amount is $9,000 less than last year’s allocation, Brian Rinestine, Quay County DWI program director, said. The county has also applied for $29,465 in grant money from the state’s Local DWI Grant Program of the New Mexico Department of Financial Administration.

• Commissioners learned from County Manager Richard Primrose that gross receipts taxes for December, reported in February, are higher than for December 2015. December 2016 receipts totaled $196,952, state documents show — 17 percent higher than December 2015 receipts of $168,136. Primrose attributed much of the increase to greater construction activity in the county.

• Commissioners discussed the possibility of adopting a four-day work week for county employees, where possible. Advantages would be lower utility bills, because facilities would be closed one more day a week, Primrose said, and longer hours on each operating day.

District II Commissioner Mike Cherry said four-day weeks don’t significantly lower utility bills. District I Commissioner Sue Dowell, a former teacher, said that there are both pros and cons to four-day weeks in the school system, and urged further exploration.

— Compiled by QCS Correspondent Steve Hansen