Quay officials table museum request

Though sympathetic to the request, the Quay County Commission on Monday tabled a request of up to $3,200 to the Tucumcari Historical Museum until the county manager could figure out how to find funds by its next meeting in July.

In an illustration of how timing can affect funding requests, commissioners in a largely ceremonial gesture approved giving $10,000 to the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce, though the move was unnecessary because the amount had been budgeted for the just-started 2021-2022 fiscal year.

Alan Daugherty, a representative of the Tucumcari Historical Research Institute that manages the museum, requested the allocation to improve its staffing on weekends. He said he anticipated the money would not be an ongoing county obligation; he said increased revenue from longer operating hours on weekends would enable the museum to become more self-sufficient.

While all the commissioners wished to fulfill the request, the county recently had submitted its preliminary budget to state officials, and an allocation to the museum wasn’t on it.

Commissioner Robert Lopez asked county manager Daniel Zamora whether he could find a way to get funds to the museum.

“We can probably scrape this together” after consulting with county finance director Cheryl Simpson, Zamora replied.

Daugherty said the city had cut the museum’s personnel funding to one-third of what it had been and that communication with city officials was poor. Current hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“I’m disappointed the city cut your funding,” Commission Chairman Franklin McCasland said, noting the museum helps generate tourism tax revenue.

County Clerk Ellen White said the city needs to adjust its personnel for fewer hours on Mondays and Tuesdays, when fewer people visit the museum.

Daugherty said he was amenable to cutting $500 from his request — earmarked for special events — to $2,700. Lopez moved to table the funding request until Zamora came up with a plan for it, which the commission unanimously approved.

The commission also heard from Scott Crotzer, who took over as director of the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce in early May.

Crotzer stated in his request letter: “In the past, the money was allocated to promoting the city through ads, visitor guides and support/promotion of our local businesses. While this is still a huge part of our mission, we are expanding to offer services to the entire community in the form of moving packages, maintenance resources and a directory of emergency and government services including how to hold a yard sale.”

Crotzer, a Roswell native, said he moved to the area to be closer to his ailing parents. He has experience in restaurant and nightclub management and a background in historical preservation. Crotzer said he wants “to bring back the roots of the chamber” with ribbon-cuttings and other events for members. He said he’s been heartened by the support of the chamber from the community, despite the organization being largely inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said among his high-priority projects are updating its mural map, “bringing back the chamber as a tourism information center,” collaborating with Tucumcari MainStreet and helping the city’s museums. In a nod to the city’s Route 66 heritage, Crotzer said he wants to encourage new businesses to use neon signs.

Several commissioners said they were impressed with Crotzer’s energy during his first few weeks.

“I appreciate your enthusiasm for the chamber,” McCasland said, noting the chamber used to be a stronger organization.

“You said, ‘I love old buildings and I love to fix them.’ You’ve come to the right place,” Commissioner Jerri Rush said.

Zamora said the chamber’s funding request already was budgeted by the county and that the allocation “is a good investment.”

In other business, the commissioners:

• Heard from Tucumcari MainStreet director Connie Loveland, who said the Tucumcari Talking Tour recently received $10,000 from the McMullen Community Foundation for its neon-sign restoration program. Tucumcari MainStreet is the fiscal agent for the talking tour.

Loveland said a high priority for her office would be to find grant opportunities for the Tucumcari Railroad Museum, especially to renovate the depot’s east wing for future events. She said the museum has attracted more than 300 tourists since reopening May 3.

She said her organization’s FORGE Accelerator Program has three participants that will open businesses in Tucumcari.

• Approved a contract with longtime voting machine technician Danny Wallace at a rate of $25 an hour for upcoming elections.

White informed commissioners the New Mexico Secretary of State recently released $5,887.26 to help cover expenses from the November 2020 election.

• Approved a joint powers agreement between the Tucumcari/Quay County Regional Emergency Communications Center and Quay County, Tucumcari, Logan, San Jon and House. Zamora said some language in the contract was updated, and future pacts likely will change each entity’s contributions based on emergency call volume.

• Heard from Zamora a new roof had been installed on one of the main buildings at the Quay County Fairgrounds. The expense was covered by a previously allocated sum from state capital-outlay funds.

• Approved a series of resolutions from road superintendent Larry Moore: $122,667 to participate in the Local Government Road Fund Program with a $30,667 county share; $278,333 to participate in the CAP Local Government Road Fund Program with a $69,583 county share; a CAP match waiver request of $69,583 to be returned to the county; $133,333 to participate in the school bus government road fund agreement, with a county share of $33,333; and a school bus match wavier request of $33,333 to be returned to the county.

• Approved a resolution from Simpson that increased debt of $1,040 due to road department leases exceeding its budget and an additional $10,000 for general fund computer contract professional services, both during the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

• Approved Zamora’s request to change the date of the next commission meeting from July 12 to July 16 because of scheduling conflicts.

• Went into a closed executive session to discuss pending litigation, personnel matters and real estate. No action was taken.