Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Quay County commissioners on Monday approved the county manager’s request to switch its internet technology master services agreement to Clovis-based Plateau from an Albuquerque firm.
County manager Daniel Zamora said Plateau would cost more, but he favored a local provider. He said the county also would receive better service and better protection from ransomware attacks that recently crippled the computer systems of Albuquerque Public Schools and Bernalillo County.
Zamora said the switch to Plateau also would make the county eligible for upcoming insurance requirements next year.
Plateau’s rates range from $125 to $270 an hour, depending on the technicians used and when the work is done. Premium hours would be holidays or unscheduled maintenance.
In other business:
• Road superintendent Larry Moore said he received notification from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers it had received required review data on the Old Route 66 bridge project between San Jon and Endee. The corps had drafted an official approval letter and would send it once an archaeological review soon is completed.
“This is what we’ve been waiting for,” Moore said of the delayed project and added that bids should be let soon.
The new bridge will be built next to the 1930s timber bridge that will be closed to traffic but left standing for the benefit of Route 66 tourists.
• Moore said he had been informed that employees with commercial driver’s licenses have until Feb. 17 to get a permit. After that date, such drivers will have to be school-certified, he said.
• Commissioners approved Zamora’s request to grant county employees a one-year extension to use accrued vacation time. He said some employees were unable to use the time because of COVID-19-related staffing issues “through no fault of their own.” Employees now will be able to use up that time by Dec. 31.
• The commission approved finance director Cheryl Simpson’s second-quarter financial report to the state Department of Finance and Administration and the DWI Program’s second-quarter financial report. Simpson said expenses in both are at or slightly below projections halfway through the fiscal year. For the county, she said revenue, property taxes and gross receipts taxes all were exceeding expectations.
• Zamora said the county’s gross receipts tax revenue remained stable, with significant dollars from construction projects on South Mountain Road in Tucumcari, U.S. 54 at Airport Road and Interstate 40 on the county’s east side.
• County emergency manager Paul Lucero said he recently received a shipment of rapid COVID-19 tests. He said anyone interested in helping distribute them should call him at 575-461-8535 or email [email protected].
• Attorney Michelle Miano of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, representing Quay County resident Dusty Stone, said during public comments she was looking forward to sitting down with commissioners to resolve her client’s lawsuit. Stone sued the commission in October, alleging construction of a cattle guard on Quay Road T is restricting movement to his property by horse or horse-drawn equipment.