Video producer asks for funding assistance

Another video producer asked for funding assistance from the Tucumcari Lodgers Tax Advisory Board for a proposed travel show during the board’s meeting Wednesday.

Santa Fe-based musician and actor Carlos Medina, who performed in the lodgers tax-aided “Bands of Enchantment” music show and played a recent concert at the Tucumcari Zia Club, said he wanted to shoot footage in Tucumcari for a bilingual scripted show, “El Barrio,” that would consist of two or three episodes, including a 47-minute pilot.

Medina, who will co-star with Albuquerque actress Lauren Poole, showed a video snippet of “El Barrio.” He requested $5,000 a day for each of the six days he would use for shooting in Tucumcari, totaling $30,000. Medina said he is spending an initial $5,000 himself, and production was anticipated to begin in late June or July.

During a phone interview Thursday, Medina said he would amend his funding request after consulting with City Manager Mark Martinez.

Medina anticipated broadcasting the show on Facebook, YouTube and the CW Network. He said such content would belong to the city. He said the streaming services Hulu and Netflix might be an option, as well.

Board Chairman Larry Smith advised Medina to submit a written proposal for the request that would be decided at a future meeting. The board will decide annual funding requests, mostly from festivals, during its next regular meeting in May.

Smith said like with “Bands of Enchantment,” the city might approve initial funding for one episode, then approve more funding after city commissioners view the pilot.

Medina said he had visited Tucumcari many times over the years.

“I always felt Tucumcari is a good little town with a lot of potential,” he said.

He said Tucumcari contains things, such as its murals and dinosaur museum, not found in other towns. Medina said three hair strands from St. Teresa of Calcutta are held by the St. Anne’s Catholic Church. He said such relics and others would be a draw to many Catholic believers.

Board member Matt Bednorz supported funding “El Barrio.”

“The outsiders realized what Tucumcari has,” he said. “If we can get Carlos to represent Tucumcari, that’d be great.”

In other business during the meeting:

• The board set a special meeting for April 13 to set aside money for advertisements, billboards and signage expenses after hearing a report on cash-on-hand projects from the city’s finance director, Rachelle Arias.

The board’s next regular meeting also was scheduled a week later than normal, to 9 a.m. May 12, so it has more time to consider annual aid requests from its promotional fund. The deadline for events or organization to submit their applications for funding will be the end of the business day May 6.

This week’s special meeting (which occurred after the Quay County Sun’s deadline) was spurred by an advertising and editorial proposal from Phoenix magazine with an April 16 deadline.

Martinez and Tucumcari MainStreet Executive Director Connie Loveland said the magazine’s original price was $8,000 to $10,000 but may consider a smaller article at a lower price.

Martinez said the magazine has more than 300,000 readers with an average income of more than $170,000. Its upcoming “Great American road trip” issue would focus on Tucumcari’s neon signs and murals.

Smith suggested a special meeting to set aside promotional-fund money so Martinez could act quickly on such proposals.

Arias projected the lodgers tax board promotional fund would have more than $132,000 on band by the beginning of the fiscal year in June. The executive side is projected to run an $82,000 deficit — mostly because of the $120,000 “Bands of Enchantment” fee — but still have a balance of more than $520,000.

Arias said the city initially budgeted $580,000 in lodgers’ tax revenue during the current fiscal year but is projecting just $530,000 because of effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Smith, however, said business at his Motel Safari was “very good,” and the 2021 travel season looked “promising.” Board member Lila Doughty, who manages the Palomino Motel, said business there in the last two weeks was “excellent.”

• Loveland, a member of the city’s rebranding efforts, said the city is preparing a contract for Arizona-based author and Route 66 expert Jim Hinckley to write text for Tucumcari’s forthcoming visitor’s guide.

Loveland said the initial plan was to have members of the rebranding committee split writing duties for the guide, but Hinckley’s writing would make the publication “more cohesive.” She said Hinckley, who has written 19 books, has “vast knowledge” of Route 66 and Tucumcari.

“He talked about stuff I’ve never heard of, and I was born and raised here,” she said.

Martinez also showed a prototype of the guidebook, designed by Alamogordo-based Leighton Moon, which guided the redesign of the city’s tourism logo.

Loveland said Leighton Moon also has redesigned several billboards for Tucumcari west of Amarillo.

Loveland also said she recently took over the Visit Tucumcari page for Facebook, and engagement there is up 38% since March 10. The page has more than 2,400 fans, and she hoped to get that number to 5,000.

• In response to Tucumcari businesses reporting staffing shortages, Martinez said he was exploring the possibility of setting up a job fair at the Tucumcari Convention Center.

• Smith confirmed board vice chairman Mike Castelli has resigned after the death of his wife. The city will advertise for a replacement on the board.