Tax board discusses clarifying oversight

The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board on Wednesday discussed the need to clarify the city’s oversight of an Albuquerque marketing firm recently rehired to boost area tourism.

The city in 2018 hired Griffin and Associates, renamed Sunny505 after a merger earlier this year, for $50,000 a year to market Tucumcari-area tourism. The city last month extended the firm’s contract for another year after the tax board, citing communication snags and other problems, reluctantly recommended doing so.

City manager Britt Lusk said the city commission would work during its 4 p.m. July 25 work session to schedule regular visits by Sunny505 representatives, clarify who should oversee its work and set a midyear review.

Lusk said the midyear review was “mishandled” by the city, and confusion exists on who should be supervising Sunny505’s activities.

“I believe there’s too many people trying to run this, and we need to narrow it down,” Lusk said.

Lusk said in a previous meeting the departure of the previous city manager and the death of city commissioner Robert Lumpkin, both occurring last year, contributed to the fuzzy oversight. Lodgers Tax Advisory Board Chairman Larry Smith acknowledged city officials had “a huge learning curve,” as it never had dealt with such a marketing contract before.

Lusk also said he would recommend a city budget adjustment so it could hire an administrator for VisitTucumcariNM.com and its social-media sites. Former Motel Safari owner Richard Talley temporarily had taken over administrative duties after those sites had been neglected for months.

“We need someone local to run those,” Lusk said.

Sunny505 representative Dezaree Vega-Garcia said in a teleconference with the board the firm soon would ramp up new marketing initiatives for Tucumcari, including social-media ads.

Board member Al Patel said the firm also needs to identify opportunities with travelers from the Dallas-Fort Worth area who go to Taos ski areas during the winter. Tucumcari, he said, is a halfway point and could land more overnight guests.

In other business by the board:

n It considered an unspecified cap for matching funds it would award for the Tucumcari Mountain “T” revitalization project.

Patel said he has received $1,500 in donations and $4,000 in pledges for the project he’s shepherding.

The big white “T” on the face of the city’s namesake mesa has faded since its new owners restricted access to it two years ago. For at least 75 years, Tucumcari High School students had repainted the letter each year until 2017.

Patel said, however, the new owners have given permission to access the site for the project that aims to make the big “T” more maintenance-free.

Patel said the first option for the letter’s revitalization — laying light-colored pavers — likely would cost less than $15,000. The second, more elaborate option — installing light-colored panels on an anchored metal frame — would be more expensive, including liability insurance coverage.

Patel said the attorneys and engineers who pledged to donate their services for the project are on vacation. He said he would meet with them in late July or August to get firm cost estimates on the revitalization options, then present them to the board at its September meeting.

Lusk said matching funds from the Lodgers Tax Board’s executive fund would require approval by the city commission. He advised Patel to collect his money by a Dec. 31 deadline, then the board would award matching funds in January. Lusk also suggested matching funds be awarded annually so they would not be such a big budget hit.

Excitement over the “T” project has sparked talk of other possible Tucumcari Mountain projects in the long term, including a hiking trail, ATV course and a visitors center at the base of the mesa. Lusk said a visitors center would need to be funded by a private investor. The city’s finances remain tight, and the state closed several visitors centers amid budget cuts several years ago.

n Finance director Rachelle Arias presented monthly and annual financial reports of the board’s executive and promotional funds.

The report shows steady revenue increases from motel taxes in the past eight years, from $485,544 in 2012 to $644,083 in fiscal year 2019.

Arias said the board’s promotional fund anticipated a deficit of about $73,000 in the just-completed fiscal year. The actual deficit was about $44,000. That give the board a fatter cash balance of $49,742 instead of a projected $20,000.

Lusk noted the debt on the Tucumcari Convention Center will be paid off in 2021, freeing up $181,228 annually for the promotional fund and $75,000 for the executive fund.

n It approved $2,575 in reimbursements to the New Mexico Music Showcase for advertising and other expenses.