Fiber to be city-wide

Fast fiber-optic internet service will be available to the entire city of Tucumcari when Plateau completes a plan that begins with its purchase of the assets of Comcast in the city, Plateau’s chief operating officer Vince Tyson told the Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday.

Comcast provides cable television service to about 300 customers in the city, Tyson said.

Plateau was expected to complete its purchase of Comcast assets Monday, Tyson said.

In addition to continuing cable television service with up to 38 channels for Tucumcari residents, Tyson said, Plateau will be able to attach fiber-optic cable to existing overhead cable TV service cables to blanket the city.

Plateau currently offers fiber-optic service to customers near existing underground fiber lines that Plateau installed along selected streets throughout the city using proceeds from 2009’s federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Cost of fiber-optic service would be $50 to $70 a month, according to Launa Waller, regulatory manager for Plateau,

The commission also voted Thursday to:

• Authorize city staff to apply for $3.3 million in New Mexico Water Trust Board funds to complete the a city purchase of 318 acres of farmland next to the city’s wastewater treatment plant and using water treated at the plant to irrigate that property.

The city would use this plan to comply with federal environmental regulations that prohibit sending the treated water into a waterway that is connected to other rivers and streams.

Public Works Manager Mark Martinez said the terms of state funding would be preferable to terms through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The USDA has told the city it is eligible for up to $5 million in funding for water projects.

• Authorize staff to seek delays in meeting the requirements of grants totaling $239,644 from New Mexico Department of Transportation to finance engineering and planning for major improvements on Second Street in downtown Tucumcari.

The project will include removing concrete beneath the current asphalt on two downtown blocks, along with new curbs, wheelchair ramps and sidewalk.

Second Street then would be repaved from Railroad Avenue to Historic Route 66.

Martinez said the projects had been delayed by bids that exceeded cost estimates and bid solicitations that received inadequate responses.

• Allow Fire Chief Doug Hogan to pursue $100,000 in grants from the New Mexico State Fire Marshall’s office to build training facilities, including a three-story tower and propane-fueled “props” for training firefighters to combat vehicle and fuel-line fires.

The tower would have five levels and include standpipes and sprinkler systems. It would allow firefighters to train in ground and aerial ladder techniques, as well as rappelling and rope rescue, Hogan said.

The tower, Hogan said, would be near a new fire station on the city’s west end.

The city would have to put up $15,000 as its share of funding. City Manager Britt Lusk said the funds would come from savings in the city’s fire fund and would not affect the current city budget.

The commission also approved a five-year infrastructure capital improvement plan for the Senior Citizen Center. The plan’s projects include renovating and eventually replacing the Tucumcari Senior Citizen Center, replacement of existing equipment, purchasing and outfitting a hot-shot vehicle for delivering hot meals to seniors who cannot leave home and replacing existing vehicles.

In his city manager’s report, Lusk said a current closure of Center Street downtown will continue while permanent repairs are made to prevent flooding there.

“We’re not going to fix it with Band-Aids any more. We don’t want to fix it again in six months,” he said.

At a public work session before Thursday’s regular meeting, commissioners discussed donating baseball and softball field property to the Tucumcari Municipal School District.

Commissioners and Lusk discussed locations and terms.

Lusk said the school district could spend up to $3 million to develop the property and had proposed a 99-year lease agreement.

Possible locations discussed included property next to current Little League fields behind the Tucumcari Convention Center and near the North American Wind Research and Training Center at Mesalands Community College.

During the regular meeting, Mayor Ruth Ann Litchfield signed a proclamation recognizing Constitution Week from Sept. 17 to Sept. 23, sponsored by the Daughters of the American Revolution.