Promotion proposals get funding

Two proposals to promote Tucumcari via entertainment received funding authorization Thursday from the Tucumcari City Commission.

“Bands of Enchantment,” a proposed music television series approved by the New Mexico Public Broadcasting System and primarily featuring New Mexico musicians, received up to $60,000 in city lodgers’ tax proceeds to produce four of eight episodes planned for the series, as recommended by the city’s lodgers’ tax board.

Vince Chavez, owner of La Tewa Media LLC, based in Sapello, said the series will be produced and assembled in Tucumcari, with many episodes filmed in the city. Some music acts, however, would be filmed where music acts are located.

The series will be aired on New Mexico PBS stations and RFD-TV, a cable channel that reaches millions of households.

The commission also awarded $3,000 to Fast TV Network, an Albuquerque-based video producer, to defray the cost of its production of short videos that feature Tucumcari.

One of Fast TV Network’s Tucumcari videos has received 5 million views, city manager Mark Martinez said.

“Five million views for $3,000 is a bargain,” he said.

The commission also approved budget adjustments for August that result in $80,212 more in expenses than revenues, according to city Finance Director Rachelle Arias, but none in the city’s general fund. Much of the expense, she said, was for construction of new taxiways at Tucumcari Municipal Airport for which the city will be reimbursed fully through the Federal Aviation Administration and the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

At a public work session before the regular meeting Thursday, the commission heard an annual report on the Quay County Health Council from its director Brenda Bishop.

Bishop said the council is working with Presbyterian Healthcare Services to implement a 2020-2022 Community Health Improvement Plan, is operating a gas voucher program through a Tucumcari Community Foundation grant and is working on a mental-health first-aid training program.

That is in addition to continuing projects in childhood immunization, sponsoring the annual Maze of Life health and safety education program for middle and high school students, advocating for health care access and health education through social media.

Recent walking events at Tucumcari parks, she said, have attracted as many as 132 participants, and the council is working with the Greater Tucumcari Economic Development Corporation to groom trails at Five Mile Park.

Health Council events, she said, have “gone virtual” due to the COVID-19 pandemic but are attracting participants.

The council is also emphasizing nutrition and exercise, she said.

In the face of COVID-19, she said, Quay County residents are still not getting enough exercise or eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables, despite recommendations. Nearly 40% of Quay County residents, she said, have difficulty preparing nutritious meals.

Bishop also said the health council is working on informing residents about proper disposal of drugs no longer needed and is working to publicize programs dealing with “intimate partner violence” in the county.

She said 70% of respondents in a survey “knew someone who has been affected by intimate partner violence.”

In his city manager report, Martinez said he attended a city branding committee meeting, which he said was “very successful.” The committee will finish up its planning work “by the end of the year.”

He also said he and District 5 Commissioner Todd Duplantis accompanied a camera crew from New Mexico True as they shot photos and video around the city for use in New Mexico Department of Tourism programs.

The New Mexico True materials, he said, are not copyrighted, so they can be used freely and can help market the city.

Martinez also reported progress is being made toward making Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds available to small businesses in the city and county.

Information, he said “will be on the city’s website shortly.”

The program would make available to $10,000 each to reimburse small businesses for expenses related to dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic from March though October.

In response to a question from District 1 Commissioner Ralph Moya, Martinez said the Second Street reconstruction program downtown has been delayed because existing soils beneath the street cannot be compacted adequately, and new soil needs to be brought in.

Despite the delay, he said, the project is “on schedule.”

Moya asked whether the city should hire an additional grant writer to seek out opportunities for grants the city might have overlooked. He asked the subject be brought up in a future work session.