County approves mental health agreement

The Quay County Commission on Monday approved an agreement with the county’s adult detention center and Mental Health Resources Inc. of Tucumcari that likely will add thousands of dollars in costs to the county.

Chris Birch, an administrator of the jail who recommended the agreement, said Mental Health Resources once provided mental health care to inmates for free but not longer can do so.

The pact states the fee schedule will be $98.54 an hour for the initial evaluation by a therapist , $110.59 an hour for an initial evaluation by a prescriber, $78.62 each 30 minutes for pharmacology or psychotherapy and $80.09 an hour for therapy.

County manager Richard Primrose said in a previous meeting Medicaid usually covers such care, but not while people are incarcerated.

Primrose said three to four inmates receive mental health care monthly at the jail, which may mean county costs of $200 to $250 monthly.

In other business:

• At Primrose’s recommendation, the commission approved an agreement with Stantec for $816,798, plus gross tax receipts, to do scoping and environmental studies on two 1931 bridges slated for replacement on old Route 66 between San Jon and Glenrio.

Primrose said the contract was only $7,000 more than for just the bridge over Trujillo Creek. Because the New Mexico Legislature projects having $150 million more available for local road projects in 2020, “we want to make sure we’re as ready as possible when we apply for (replacing) the second bridge,” he said.

• Road superintendent Larry Moore informed the commission the New Mexico Department of Transportation granted the county’s request of a $162,182 waiver of its share for building a new bridge over Trujillo Creek on old Route 66 between San Jon and Glenrio.

• After an 80-minute executive session to discuss the acquisition of land, including conferring with Trigg Memorial Hospital officials, the commission in open session accepted an individual’s donation of four lots north of the District Attorney’s Office in Tucumcari. “I think this is something the county can use,” Primose said.

• The commission voted to continue holding regular meetings twice a month in 2020. Primrose noted only one-third of New Mexico’s counties meet twice a month; most convene monthly instead. Commissioner Sue Dowell, citing transparency and convenience for constituents, said she wanted to keep meetings twice a month. Fellow commissioners Mike Cherry and Franklin McCasland said they had no opinion and supported Dowell’s motion to keep meetings on their usual schedule.

• Noting the closing of several juvenile detention centers in the state, Dowell said the commission should be an “active participant” and “keep an eye out” on the possibility of Quay County reopening its juvenile detention center. McCasland and Cherry expressed their reluctance to support the idea. McCasland said such facilities come with substantial costs and urged a feasibility study before considering such a plan. Cherry said: “I don’t think incarceration is going to be any kind of revenue producer.” Primrose said one reason Tucumcari closed its facility was because it required “unimpeded” mental-health care. “We don’t have that,” he said.

• Commissioners asked lobbyist and former state senator Clinton Harden to urge the Legislature to increase the per diem rate for travel by county employees. The current rate is $135 a day in Santa Fe and $85 a day for elsewhere. McCasland said “we have young people here, and they can’t afford to dig into their own pockets” and wait several weeks before they are reimbursed.

• The commission approved a $150,000 loan with the New Mexico Finance Authority to buy a tanker for Conservancy Fire District No. 2.

• The commission approved the county’s holiday schedule for 2020.

• The commission approved county board appointments for 2020.