Commission chair asks for road resolution

The Quay County Commission's chairman on Monday asked road superintendent Larry Moore to draft a resolution requesting safety improvements at U.S. 54 and Airport Road.

Problems at U.S. 54 and Quay Road Ai (aka Airport Road) have been discussed at previous commission meetings. Truckers and other travelers, relying on online navigation systems, often use the road as a shortcut to Interstate 40.

Commissioner Sue Dowell said any sort of left turn from U.S. 54 onto that road often proves hazardous because of large trucks barreling down the highway. She said the side of U.S. 54 also contains a drop-off that's unsafe for motorists to pull to the side.

Dowell said she's seen truckers miss the turn at Airport Road, then back up on U.S. 54 so they can make the turn. Several county residents have been involved in accidents there, with one fatality in recent years.

"We're getting to a point where it's a dangerous intersection," she said.

Dowell said commissioners and other county officials need to relay their concerns to the New Mexico Department of Transportation and document them.

County manager Richard Primrose said state Sen. Pat Woods spoke to state road officials at Quay Day about problems at the intersection.

Audience member Harry Heckendorn, a former county road supervisor, lives near the intersection and advocated adding a U.S. 54 turn lane at the intersection.

Moore said a cooperative agreement led to a turn lane on U.S. 54 at the landfill road northeast of Tucumcari, but it cost the county more than $30,000.

Commission Chairman Franklin McCasland, noting he saw seven out-of-state vehicles during a brief trip on Airport Road, asked Moore about drafting a resolution for safety ugrades at the intersection.

In other business Monday:

• Kathy Elliott and former state senator Clinton Harden of the Harden & Associates lobbying firm gave an overview of the completed New Mexico Legislature session. Elliott said the firm hoped for more spending on Quay County roads. She said state Sen. Pat Woods wanted to have a sit-down meeting with state Sen. Pete Campos about the issue, but the meeting didn't happen because "Campos was busy." When county commissioner Mike Cherry hinted whether Campos truly was busy, Elliott replied: "It doesn't (benefit) us to throw stones." She said Campos subsequently has pledged additional funds for area roads but didn't specify its source.

Harden said the New Mexico Racing Commission also was asked about it reviving the possibility of a sixth license. "The sixth license is not going to happen" in at least this session, Harden described the response. A group had lobbied for landing a sixth license in Tucumcari to build a $60 million racetrack and casino there.

• Commissioners approved an agreement to place a low-wattage AM radio transmitter in the courthouse. Tracy Johnson said Tucumcari Talking Tour would place AM transmitters along Route 66, several museums and other historic sites so tourists can hear 2 1/2-minute broadcasts. The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Board is contributing $5,000 for the equipment. The AM signal will cover about a one-block radius, she said, and the frequency would be changed if one transmitter is too close to another.

• Connie Loveland, Tucumcari MainStreet director, said a state specialist would meet at her office at 4 p.m. March 19 about a partially collapsed building at Second and Main streets. A historic preservation specialist on March 21 also will examine the remnants of the Vorenberg Hotel next to the VFW hall; the arches of the long-gone motel are starting to crumble. She also soon will meet with a revitalization specialist on branding and marketing not only downtown, but the rest of Tucumcari.

• Commissioners approved an amended resolution from county clerk Ellen White to re-establish polling places in Forrest and Nara Visa for the general election. Though those areas went to mail-in elections last year to save costs amid state-mandated voting requirements, White said some elderly residents expressed concern about the November election.

• Primrose recognized Daniel Zamora, who last week was honored as New Mexico Emergency Management Professionals' 2019 Emergency Manager of the Year after less than two years on the job. Zamora said he was nominated by an emergency management coordinator in San Juan County because of what's he did with few resources.

• Commissioners approved Zamora's request of $10,973 from the state for U.S. Census outreach efforts. He said the county sent postcards, inserted flyers in water bills and printed bookmarks at the Tucumcari library encouraging residents to fill their census forms. He said each undercounted resident would cost the county about $4,000 a year. Zamora said a census event would be at the library Saturday, along with another April 1 at Mesalands Community College. He said personal data on U.S. Census forms are protected for 75 years after they're collected. Data will be collected online or by mail. Door-to-door census workers will be hired once the agency determines how many residents likely have not responded.

• The commission approved the certified county-maintained mileage map for fiscal year 2020. It added 160 feet of Flintridge Avenue southwest of Tucumcari. The county maintains more than 1,000 miles of roads.

• The commission approved a resolution request from county treasurer Patsy Gresham to that would allow depositing money into the Local Short-Term Investment Fund. Gresham said the county soon would receive about $3 million in grant funds, and that fund would yield an interest rate a half-percentage point higher than short-term Treasury bills or similar investments.

• The commission approved a five-year contract renewal with Securus Technology for the jail-booking system and phone system for the Quay County Correctional Center at a rate of $975 a month.

• Commissioners approved Public Employee Retirement Association agreements with these fire-protection districts: Fire No. 1, Fire No. 2, Fire No. 3, Quay, Bard-Endee, Forrest and Porter. Dowell recused herself from voting on Fire No. 3 because her husband is a volunteer firefighter there.

• Commissioners approved submitting an application to the state Department of Finance and Administration to get $99,340 in funding for the county's DWI Program. Primrose said that's an increase in funding from the previous year.

• The commission passed advertising for amendments on two ordinances that would remove restriction on how the county would allocate gross-receipt taxes. Because of requirements for a legal ad in the local newspaper before the commission can act on the amendments, commissioners also moved its regular meeting from 9 a.m. March 23 to 9 a.m. March 27.

• The commission approved the appointment of Anita Brown to the Tucumcari Library Advisory Board.

• The commission went into executive session discuss pending or threatened litigation or the possible acquisition of property. No action was taken.