Officials bank on racino

The Tucumcari City Commission on Thursday passed a resolution that would commit $240,000 in funds raised through existing gross-receipts taxes to street, water line and sewer line improvements to accommodate the Coronado Park Racetrack and Casino if the state chooses Coronado Park to receive the sixth “racino” license.

Warren Frost, a Logan attorney who has led the racino effort in Quay County, told the commission the resolution would help strengthen Coronado Park's case for receiving the sixth and final state racino license.

District 1 Commissioner Ralph Moya at first balked at the idea, saying that $240,000 was too much to commit without knowing whether the license would be approved.

Frost said the commitment of funds would only apply if Coronado Park wins the license.

Moya added his vote to make the adoption of the resolution unanimous.

Business crackdown

At a public work session before Thursday's regular commission meeting, commissioners and city officials discusses a crackdown on unlicensed businesses in the city.

“Anybody who does business in the city of Tucumcari needs to have a license,” City Clerk Angelica Gray told the commission, summing up conclusions she reached after talking with Randy Van Vleck, general counsel for the New Mexico Municipal League.

Tucumcari's municipal code states: “Every person establishing a business, occupation or professional activity shall submit an application for a business license on a form provided by the city, which application shall be processed and a license issued, and such application shall provide information related to the type, nature, extent and location of the activity.”

The code exempts “receipts of employees from wages, salaries, commissions or from any other form of remuneration for personal services rendered by an employee.”

Commissioners noted as violators some stands based in truck beds and trailers that regularly crop up on the corner of First Street and Historic Route 66, and some home-based retailers.

In addition, they noted, some business owners have told commissioners and city staff they have not renewed their business licenses for years.

Mayor Ruth Ann Litchfield also said some businesses try to use the same business license to cover several locations and different activities.

“We aren't going to go out and round them up,” City Manager Britt Lusk said. He said city-zoning enforcers would deal with each case as the city receives complaints.

In addition, Lusk said, the city does not want to charge exorbitant fees if a business has not renewed its license for several years.

“We don't want to hit them with a $3,000 fine for missing a $10 fee,” Moya said.

Code of ethics

Also at the work session, the commission discussed adopting the International City Managers Association (ICMA) code of ethics for city commissioners and employees.

Lusk said ethics codes adopted by Silver City, Alamogordo and Roosevelt County would be examples city officials could use for developing a code of ethics for Tucumcari city officials and employees.

In Roosevelt County, he said, there is an ethics commission. Accused violators of the county's ethics code receive hearings before the commission and may be subject to fines and penalties.

Adopting a code or an ethics commission would require the commission to pass an ordinance, Lusk said.

Questions

In the regular commission meeting after the work session, Pat Vanderpool, executive director of the Greater Tucumcari Economic Development Corporation, fielded some challenging questions from commissioners after delivering a progress report.

Moya said some people seeking to start businesses in Tucumcari had received no help from the EDC. Vanderpool said many could get assistance and advice through the Small Business Development Center at Mesalands Community College.

Further, he said, the Tucumcari EDC is focusing Local Economic Development Act funds, which come from a special gross receipts tax in the county, more on projects that help established businesses make improvements to help them grow or relocate in Quay County than on launching new businesses.

Moya also said Vanderpool sometimes does not return phone calls and is hard to reach.

Vanderpool said if people leave him phone messages, he always would return them.

District 2 Commissioner Amy Gutierrez asked Vanderpool what happened to a call-center facility planned for the abandoned ALCO store building on the city's west side that was donated to Mesalands.

Vanderpool said Mesalands' new president, John Groesbeck, has a different idea for the call center that is under discussion. In addition, he said, the New Mexico Legislature likely will reduce funding available for such a project.

Gutierrez also asked whether the EDC has gotten away from its main mission of recruiting businesses into the county. Vanderpool said that continues to be his main goal. He said he is trying to “set the table” with projects such as improvements to Five Mile Park and rehabilitating the polluted site of the old Shell Truck Stop on the city's west end.

Gutierrez also asked what Vanderpool's office hours are. Vanderpool said he does not set office hours. He spends much time away from the office and does not have an assistant.

For example, he said, to set up Quay Day for legislators last month, he sent out invitations, planned the menu and ensured settings were right.

In his report, Vanderpool said he is traveling to Dallas in the coming weeks to participate in a recruitment event sponsored by the New Mexico Economic Development Partnership.

He also discussed EDC involvement in the Five-Mile Park development effort, in which the EDC and city are receiving assistance from Attila Bality of the federal National Parks Service.

He also mentioned the EDC's participation in two multi-county Stronger Economies Together teams designed to pool strengths the counties share that tap into expertise from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and New Mexico State University.

He cited EDC's assistance from the University of Kansas and others on the Shell Truck Stop project.

In addition, he cited past successes with the Tucumcari Mountain Cheese Factory, Mariposa Herbs and the Odeon Theater in the use of local Economic Development Act funds.

Other items

In the regular commission meeting that followed the work session, the commission:

• Heard resident Frank Perea ask city officials to consider establishing an outdoor gymnasium funded by the National Fitness Campaign, a nationwide effort with 100 business sponsors. Perea said the campaign could provide up to $30,000 to help establish such a facility. Commissioners showed interest in the idea, and Lusk asked Perea to meet with him later to discuss details.

• Approved spending $70,316.98 for the Youth Conservation Corps program for summer. Alex Villanueva of the Tucumcari Parks Department said the amount allows the city to hire seven young people over the summer to build, repair and maintain park equipment. A total of $41,444.19 comes from a state grant through the Youth Conservation Corps. The city will put up the remaining $28,972.79.

• Approved funding that will help the city in efforts to improve Second Street from Railroad Avenue to Historic Route 66, according to Ralph Lopez, a project manager in the city's Community Development Department. The city approved a package of funds that includes $51,608.18 — $38,706.14 from the New Mexico Department of Transportation's Co-op program and $12,902.05 in city funds.

• Authorized City Finance Director Rachelle Arias to move $116,582.82 from Wells Fargo Bank certificates of deposit to higher-paying certificates with Citizens Bank. The Citizens Bank certificates pay 2.49 percent for six months. Even with a “bonus rate,” Wells Fargo certificate rates were 2.03 percent for nine months, according to a Wells Fargo website. Arias said Wells Fargo officials actually encouraged her to move city funds to a higher-paying bank.

• Approved a license agreement with Al Patel, owner of Outlaw Apparel, to use the slogan “Tucumcari Tonite” on T-shirts and other clothing produced by Outlaw. The license agreement does not include a fee paid to the city.

• Approved an agreement that allows Bohannan Huston, an engineering firm, to provide services to Tucumcari Municipal Airport. The cost of the agreement was not mentioned. The measure was approved on a 4-1 vote, with Moya abstaining.