Three houses to be leveled

The Tucumcari City Commission voted on Thursday to pursue demolition of three abandoned houses among its five high-priority sites for tear-down and clean-up, but abandoned a fourth due to lack of sufficient funds.

The fifth, a collapsed building at 101 E. Main St., will require consultation with a structural engineer, because it shares a wall with another business structure, City Manager Jared Langenegger said.

The commission also decided on Thursday to seek a grant of up to $600,000 toward establishing a city-owned tire-recycling plant.

The commission approved contracts with Keers Remediation, Inc. of Albuquerque to level the three houses, but decided to delay demolition of the abandoned Relax Inn on Historic Route 66.

Keers submitted a bid on the Relax Inn, but the commission delayed this project because the cost, at $320,790, was more than the city had budgeted for demolition projects.

As it was, the commission had to approve a $70,000 transfer from city contingency funds to demolish the three houses to supplement $88,000 that remains of a $100,000 allocation for the five demolition and clean up projects.

The houses to be demolished under the agreements and the prices for demolition are:

• 502 S. Fifth St., $28,177.

• 623 S. Second St., $62,640.

• 423 W. High St., $64,700.

The city will be seeking the grant for tire recycling from the New Mexico Environment Department’s Recycling and Illegal Dumping (RAID) grant program, District 5 Commissioner Todd Duplantis said.

The program makes up to $800,000 available for recycling programs, according to its website.

Duplantis quoted the RAID website’s purpose in issuing grants, as “to protect health and welfare of current and future residents of New Mexico by providing for the prevention and abatement of illegal dumpsites and promoting environmentally sound methods for reuse and recycling.”

Duplantis said the recycling plant would also provide the same benefits to bordering areas of west Texas.

The RAID grant website shows the largest RAID grant in recent years was awarded to the Estancia Valley Solid Waste Authority 2016 to purchase a mobile tire shredder and associated equipment for $240,091.

The recycling plant would process tires into materials that could be used to manufacture other goods, Duplantis said.

It could employ as many as 30 workers and could feed small manufacturing plants in the city, he added.

He said the recycling facility could be sited on city-owned property north of downtown Tucumcari where the Worley Mills feed lot used to be.

Duplantis credited a task force of volunteers that meets regularly at his Cornerstsone First Edition restaurant with developing the idea for the tire recycling plant.

The commission also:

• Approved participation in the New Mexico Department of Transportation’s annual surplus equipment sale, in which the city is given up to $25,000 to purchase used equipment from NMDOT, according to city project manager Ralph Lopez.

• Approved the city’s participation in NMDOT’s Municipal Arterial Program, which provides street improvement funding on a matching basis.

• Tabled the appointment of John Dugger, owner of the Trade Station, to the city’s Lodger’s Tax board. District 1 Commissioner Ralph Moya asked to table the motion until he was sure Dugger was a licensed business owner in the city.