Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Tucumcari Public Schools board last week approved a base quote of $3.31 million from a contractor to redevelop the high-school baseball and softball fields, though superintendent Aaron McKinney said he would continue to look for ways to reduce costs for the over-budget project.
The winning bidder was Weil Construction of Albuquerque with its base quote of $3,316,382, which provided additional bids of $433,082 for new lighting, $23,142 for grass turf and $51,285 for demolition of the current lighting system.
The other bidder was Jaynes Construction of Albuquerque, which provided a base quote of $3.73 million, plus additional costs of $432,000 for new lighting, $16,000 for adding grass turf and $72,000 for demolition of the old lighting.
McKinney said the quotes included footings and structures for new buildings in the ballpark complex but no plumbing or furnishings.
According to school district documents, quotes for the project were obtained through an invitation from Cooperative Educational Services, a purchasing cooperative for New Mexico public schools. One potential bidder, Bradbury Stamm of Albuquerque. backed out of the project due to its lack of CES capacity. Another, ESA of Albuquerque, was invited but did not bid.
District voters in February 2019 approved $3 million in bonds for the project, but construction was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the unexpected complexity in surveying the site, which included county and city land. Construction costs also began rising sharply in 2021.
Among the work that will be done soon is rolling out sod onto the new ballfields to cover weeds. McKinney said Plateau has offered to buy new scoreboards for the fields.
When pressed by board member Jerry Lopez on when the fields would be ready for play, McKinney said he hoped both would be playable by baseball and softball season next spring.
McKinney said the project would preclude having bleachers, a press box and lighting for now because of the cost.
Board member Matthew Pacheco said the board ought to see whether businesses or community members could raise money for the bleachers. McKinney said new bleachers could be obtained for $10,000 to $12,000, and he said the district might have new revenue from wind farms for that.
McKinney said the district already has saved an estimated $375,000 on the project by doing its own work, including demolition. He said he was confident more money could be saved by having local contractors do some of the work.
McKinney said he would recommend another $3 million bond issue for the November 2023 election where the district would obtain the new money by early 2024 to finish the project, including lighting. Noting the district is due to update its five-year plan, McKinney said some of that bond money could be used for other improvements, such as climate-control system upgrades and computers.
Lopez, though previously reluctant to endorse a new bond vote, conceded inflation had put much of the ballpark redevelopment project out of reach with the previous bond issue’s amount.
Lopez also noted the district has a budget surplus, but McKinney said he was reluctant to tap into that because of state-mandated raises for personnel and the likelihood the district soon will have to hire more staff.
Other items
• McKinney said the city soon will spray for mosquitos with the help of the school district.
He said the district decided to become proactive on mosquito abatement because many students walk to school or are exposed to the insects at bus stops. He said the city will pay for about $1,500 in anti-mosquito chemicals, and school employees will spray. The city’s spraying truck has mechanical issues.
• During public comments, Krishana Arias and Adrianne Martinez passed along concerns they said came from students, parents and staff members about the quality of food at the cafeteria. They talked about food running out, burned food or curdled milk. One said employees were seen not wearing hairnets when a supervisor wasn’t present.
They said when a supervisor heard the concerns, the response was an “Oh, well” or that students should have been at the cafeteria earlier.
• Each of the district’s principals presented reports during the meeting. Tonya Hodges said the elementary school’s enrollment at 458, with prekindergarten nearly full. Lindy Borden said middle-school enrollment was 213 and that nearly 90% of its students are using clear backpacks from home to class. High-school principal Nicole Bright-Lesly said enrollment was 246.
• In board member comments, several praised the recent success of the high-school volleyball team and encouraged the high-school football coaches to keep making progress with their young and inexperienced squad.
Board President Heather Gonzales praised Bright-Lesly for her students’ tribute to a Dalhart, Texas, football player who died from a head injury during a game. “Those little things matter,” Gonzales said.
Board member Robert Lucero asked for more traffic control after football games, saying he saw a resident nearly hit by a car. Bright-Lesly volunteered to do traffic-control duties, as the Tucumcari Police Department is shorthanded or often called away.
Gonzales praised Sheretta Jimenez, who shepherded donation drives of school supplies and 24 backpacks to students.
Lopez asked about the previously discussed possible donation of Mountain View School to the local Early Head Start program. McKinney said he’s received conflicting opinions from officials on whether such a donation could be done, though he expressed optimism it could.
• The meeting was the first to be livestreamed on the internet on the district’s Facebook page. District technologist Patrick Benavidez acknowledged audio problems during the feed, which he hoped to rectify with additional microphones before the board’s October meeting.
• The district’s business manager, Janet Sanchez, recently submitted her retirement letter, effective Jan. 1.