Board recommends expanding 'T'

The Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board on Wednesday unanimously recommended spending $5,000 for an ambitious plan to expand the current lighted "T" on Tucumcari Mountain to spelling all nine letters of "Tucumcari" in lights on the mesa's north face.

The plan goes Thursday to the Tucumcari City Commission, which would make the ultimate decision whether to approve it. The proposal comes with the stipulation that written permission must come from two sets of property owners that would be affected by the project.

Board secretary Al Patel, who has advocated refurbishing the painted "T" on the mountain for about two years, presented the proposal after consulting former Tucumcari Rotary Club president Robert Hockaday, who led a volunteer crew to refurbish the lighted "T" in December.

Patel showed one of the 32 solar-powered LED lights in the lighted "T." To spell out "Tucumcari" in capital letters on the mountain, Patel said it would require about 300 lights, each costing about $15. He said leftover lights would be stored for future use if any of the devices failed.

Patel said the Hockaday and the Rotary Club would perform the logistics required to spell "Tucumcari" in lights.

Patel said the project, once completed, would be an "instant promotion" that would entice more travelers to stay overnight in the city to see it.

"I don't think there's any other city across the state with anything like this," he said.

Board member Lila Doughty, who manages the Palomino Motel on Route 66, supported the idea.

"I have a really good view of that mountain, and it's beautiful," she said.

Board member Matt Bednorz also expressed support and made the motion to recommend allocating the money.

"The mountain is part of our image here. I'm all for it," he said.

Board Chairman Larry Smith, also supportive, acknowledged a full-fledged "Tucumcari" in lights probably would require regular maintenance due to theft and vandalism. He said setting aside $1,000 to $2,000 annually for upkeep was "not unreasonable." Smith also said the project also would add a dose of community pride.

Smith said the proposal fits with his plan for a one-time cash allocation from funds unused because of the COVID-19 pandemic that would bring long-term tourism benefits.

Patel said one sticking point was he has been unable to reach one of Tucumcari Mountain's owners - Bobette Lee of Kirkland, Washington - or her lawyer to get permission for the project. The other owners that would be affected by it are Patrick Thomson and Jamie Vance of Tucumcari, who gave permission for the lighted "T" refurbishment in December.

Reached by phone Thursday, Hockaday said he and Patel have been discussing about the lights project.

"We've been talking over what we actually want to put on the mountain," Hockaday said. "I jokingly said, 'What font do you want? Do you want cursive?' We're just trying to figure out what would be appropriate. We don't have it defined because there's a lot of opinions about it. We don't want to enrage or insult people."

Hockaday said the current lighted "T" on the mesa is about 150 feet tall and 100 feet wide. Spelling out "Tucumcari" would require moving that letter to a different spot.

"The mountain is irregular. It's not like it's a plain surface," he said. "The trouble is the letters may hide if you rotate around the mountain. That's the concern."

Hockaday said the new LED lights on the "T" are much better than the previous ones. Even with less daylight during the winter from the solar panels, he said the "T" stays lighted to at least midnight, and many of those still are aglow just before sunrise.

He said the new LEDs also provide another advantage - their colors can be changed with the flip of a switch on each unit. It can be changed to purple and gold to signify Tucumcari High School's school colors, for example.

"The LEDs give us all these possibilities. The technology is there. We can make it do interesting things," he said.

Patel was an advocate for about two years to fund a longer-term refurbishment of the painted "T" on the mesa. However, one of Tucumcari Mountain's owners, Ronald Mueller, resisted that because of concerns over vandalism and littering. Mueller sold his part of the mountain in August.

Patel said he collected pledges but no cash for the letter-refurbishment project. He said he might revisit that after the lighting plan comes to fruition.

Hockaday noted Patel's lighting proposal might revive a tradition that dates to least the 1940s.

"We'd really like to get the high-school kids involved," Hockaday said. "Historically, it was their 'T.' That was a tradition, go up there and clean the 'T' up. One way or the other, it'd be nice to get the seniors involved."

Hockaday said refurbishing the painted "T" is possible but not easy.

"The fundamental problem is it's pretty rugged terrain," he said. "The rocks are not exactly conveniently located. We have to put something stationary, doesn't move, that's visible in the daytime.

"My fear is we don't want to mess with the mountain," he added. "We don't want to start eroding it or changing it. We need something with a minimum impact ... something that doesn't damage the mountain, change its character, its drainage, its foliage. The lights are pretty non-invasive; they're just little stick driven into the ground. They don't hurt the mountain and actually stabilize it a little."

During the meeting, Smith, Patel, Doughty and Bednorz voted to allocate the $5,000 for the lighting plan. Board member Mike Castelli was absent.

"Godspeed," Smith said to Patel after the vote.