County approves EMS Fund Act application

The Quay County Commission somewhat reluctantly approved an EMS Fund Act application of $7,000 for the Forrest Fire District after officials in the district failed to submit required documents and signatures on time.

Commissioners on Monday approved similar applications from Fire District 1, Quay Fire District and Bard-Endee Fire District. But county manager Richard Primrose said the Forrest district, in the southern part of the county, had failed to turn in required documents and signatures despite having notification to do so “months in advance.”

The county faces a Jan. 25 deadline to submit the applications to the state. The commission’s next scheduled meeting is Jan. 28.

Primrose said he received an email Monday morning from the district with the application attached, but an original document is required. He said the application also was missing several signatures.

District I Commissioner Sue Dowell and District III Commissioner Franklin McCasland said they were reluctant to not approve the application. They wished to approve it with a stipulation the original documents and signatures be submitted before the Jan. 25 deadline and moved to do so.

“I hate to see them lose their funding because of that,” McCasland said.

District II Commissioner Mike Cherry questioned whether the commission legally could act on an incomplete application. He moved to table it and possibly schedule a special commission meeting by Jan. 21 to approve it. His motion died from the lack of a second.

The motion to approve the application with the stipulations passed by a 2-1 vote, with Cherry dissenting.

In other business by the commission:

• Commissioners approved a Community Development Block Grant agreement to repair about 1.5 miles of County Road AR west of Tucumcari. The county recently received a $750,000 grant for the project.

• County road Superintendent Larry Moore said he was forced to resubmit applications to the state to repair roads near San Jon because of the change in administration from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham recently taking office.

• Commissioners re-elected McCasland as commission chairman.

• Commissioners voted to waive fees for Tucumcari High School prom events this year at the Quay County Fairgrounds. Tim Clark, faculty sponsor of the Class of 2020, and two students requested the waiver. The class still will be responsible for paying for insurance and a refundable deposit, which Clark said will be covered with revenue from concession-stand sales at ballgames.

• Quay County Fire Marshall Donald Adams and Cherry commended county emergency management coordinator Daniel Zamora for his coordination in sheltering and feeding hundreds of stranded travelers at the First Baptist Church and Knights of Columbus Hall in Tucumcari during a winter storm just after Christmas.

• Commissioners approved the county’s comprehensive plan and asset-management policy. Primrose said the plan and policies, required for the county to receive state and federal funds, are “not set in stone” and can be changed.

• Commissioners approved a reorganization of board appointments and subcommittees for 2019 and routine compliance resolutions.