Officials raise ballpark concerns

The Tucumcari school board was scheduled to meet this week with city officials over possible revisions of a $3 million ballpark redevelopment, including renovating four diamonds instead of building three new ones.

School and city officials set a walk-through work session at the ball diamonds Tuesday evening to discuss the project. The meeting, which contained no action items on its agenda, occurred after the Quay County Sun’s print deadline.

Citing escalating costs and possible public access issues during construction, at least two school board members during their meeting Oct. 18 stated a preference to refurbish the existing four baseball or softball diamonds on the city’s west side instead the current plan that calls for building three new diamonds and converting a fourth into a parking lot.

Voters approved a $3 million bond issue for the ballpark redevelopment in February 2020. Since then, the project has encountered delays, including complications from the COVID-19 pandemic and the unexpectedly complex process of surveying and deeding city and county land to the district.

Tucumcari City Manager Mark Martinez said constituents have expressed concerns about the project, including whether enough fields would be available for the use of youth baseball and adult softball leagues.

Martinez said three city-owned fields will be donated to the project and was open to donating a fourth, little-used diamond so youth and adults would have more options to hold games.

Martinez also asked whether the city would be able to obtain its equipment, such as metal bleachers, canopies, sprinklers and fencing, before construction begins. He also asked whether the complex would have portable pitching mounds to provide more flexibility for baseball tournaments. He said a better facility would draw more tournaments and out-of-town teams that would eat at restaurants and stay at motels.

“We need more organization between the two entities,” he said.

District superintendent Aaron McKinney didn’t attend the Oct. 18 meeting because he was at a conference in Albuquerque. Assistant superintendent David Johnson said the project wasn’t “set in stone” but expressed his preference to have the school district still share fields with the city for adult and youth leagues. He said a portable pitcher’s mound still was in the plans and “isn’t terribly expensive.”

Board member Jerry Lopez said he also has heard concerns from constituents about where youth and adult leagues would play next summer during construction. Lopez said he wants the school board to be more proactive about the project and “keep in communication” with city officials.

“The board needs to step up and be more involved in this,” he said, adding that adult softball leagues felt they were “left out” of the project.

McKinney said in previous meetings that home high school baseball games could be played at alternate sites in Logan or San Jon, if needed.

Board member Heather Gonzales said she thought a fourth ball diamond was more needed than a parking lot. She said if ballparks aren’t available, youth leagues “won’t exist.”

Lopez agreed. “I want to make sure we’re having participation there,” he said.

Gonzales also expressed a preference of renovating existing diamonds instead of demolishing and rebuilding them.

Martinez also agreed having more fields available for residents’ use was preferable.

Johnson indicated his willingness to rearrange the ballpark redevelopment plans to include a fourth field.

In other business:

• Lopez, noting forthcoming legal sales of recreational marijuana in New Mexico, said during board comments he was concerned about recreational weed and its derivatives worming their way into the student body.

Lopez asked whether the district could work with the city to have compliance officers on campuses. Johnson said school safety grants are available, but they forbid the hiring of police officers. In response, Lopez asked whether the district and city could arrange to share the salary costs of an officer, noting the city is short on such personnel.

High school principal Nicole Bright-Lesly said her school has seen no student incidents involving illegal drugs so far this year. Middle school principal Lendy Borden said his school had just one so far.

• The board approved an American Recovery Plan application for about $3.9 million in federal coronavirus relief funds through 2024.

Johnson said 20% of the money must be used for academic purposes to alleviate learning loss from the pandemic. That would include hiring extra teachers to shrink class sizes, more tutoring and implementing proven educational programs.

Johnson said funds also would be used to buy new climate control systems and filters at the elementary and middle schools. He said he hoped to have those installed by next summer. Other items to be purchased including sanitizing products, new playground units and handicapped access ramps for the playground.

Another $20,000 will be given to the City of Tucumcari to help repair ambulances. “We … feel that this is a legitimate expense due to safety concerns related to having children onsite with possibly no means to transport students safely,” the application states.

Johnson said the state’s Public Education Department was receptive to the allocation once he explained the city lost one ambulance because of an accident and others were undergoing repairs.

• The board approved an annual per-pupil expenditures and membership report. The report notes 438 students in the elementary school, 209 in the middle school and 245 in the high school.

• The board approved a consent agenda that included the first reading of a policy change that adds bedbugs to its remediation rules regarding head lice. Johnson said bedbugs have become more of a problem in recent years, especially because they can live in carpeting.

• The board voted to move back its regularly scheduled Dec. 20 meeting to Dec. 13 so it doesn’t conflict with Christmas break.