County looks ahead to road study

The Quay County board of commissioners on Monday unanimously approved a motion to a place a resolution on a future meeting agenda to give $10,000 to help pay for an engineering study for a proposed 2-mile road from Mine Canyon Road to U.S. 54 south of Logan.

The donation would be contingent on the Village of Logan also giving $10,000 to help cover the study during a village board meeting next week. The total cost of the study would be $45,000. The county recently received a $25,000 state grant to help cover part of the cost.

County attorney Warren Frost, who made the request Monday to commissioners for the $10,000 donation, said 12 Shores Golf Club sits “in the middle of nowhere” and requires a 15- to 20-mile drive to retrieve supplies in Logan or Tucumcari.

A two-mile cutoff road would reduce such a trip to four or five miles to Logan, Frost said. An engineering study is required to estimate a final cost of the road.

County manager Richard Primrose said the county won’t give the $10,000 if Logan refuses to pay its share.

Frost said with all the money the state has, he said the county and region “may lose an opportunity” if it doesn’t act quickly on the road. The state government’s coffers are bulging because of oil and gas revenues.

Sid Strebeck, a principal of the Air Park at Ute Lake subdivision project, expressed his support for the road. He said it would be good for Tucumcari, Logan and Quay County. He said he’s sold three lots of his 160-acre development near 12 Shores, and he was optimistic construction would begin in April once he received state permits.

Commissioners Sue Dowell and Franklin McCasland voiced their support for the road and said it would benefit the region.

“What’s good for one of us is good for all of us,” Dowell said.

Frost asked for preliminary approval of the county’s $10,000 donation, then final approval at a future meeting. After some discussion, Commissioner Mike Cherry made a motion if Logan agrees to its $10,000 for the study, the county would place a resolution on the agenda of a future meeting to also give $10,000. The motion passed.

In other business, the commissioners:

n Approved a $3.24 million grant agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation to build a new bridge on Historic Route 66 over Trujillo Creek between San Jon and Endee. The county’s share would be $162,000, but county road superintendent Larry Moore is requesting a waiver of that. The county should know whether the waiver is approved in November.

n Approved two match waivers from the state totaling more than $104,000. McCasland commended Moore’s work on the waivers, saying it helps the county’s budget.

n Approved joint powers agreements with Guadalupe and Union counties to temporarily house their inmates for $125 a day. Quay County Detention Center administrator Chris Birch said Guadalupe County primarily sends female inmates to his facility. Birch said he cautioned Union County officials there may not be room at his facility for about two months while it is undergoing ventilation and painting work.

n Approved a first- and second-quarter mill levy and gross-receipts tax payment of $275,000 per quarter for Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari.

n Approved five budget adjustments for fiscal year 2019-2020 from county finance director Cheryl Simpson. Among those was a $10,974 for an outreach grant for the 2020 U.S. Census. Emergency management director Daniel Zamora said the campaign will involve all county schools, plus advertising. It seeks to encourage participation in the census. Each person not counted by the census would result in a loss of about $4,000 in federal funds, he said.