Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Tucumcari City Commission unanimously approved a resolution asking for a special state appropriation to fund construction of a new hospital to replace the aging Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari.
Quay County manager Daniel Zamora read the resolution during the commission’s meeting Thursday. He said he would seek other area municipalities’ approval of the resolution and present those to the New Mexico Legislature before it convenes for its January session.
The resolution, citing a feasibility study earlier this year by the Stantec engineering firm, states the systems of the current hospital “are failing and deemed to be at the end of the useful lifespans.”
Trigg Memorial Hospital was built in 1964.
Stantec estimated at county commission meetings earlier this year the new facility would cost more than $20 million. A final design of the new hospital is expected to be unveiled at a county commission meeting later this month.
Stantec determined building a new facility would be less expensive than renovating Trigg Memorial Hospital or a hybrid of new construction and renovations.
“Quay County does not have the bonding capacity to build a new facility without State and/or Federal funding,” the resolution also stated.
The hospital would be built on donated land just south of the current facility.
Commissioner Mike Cherry noted the county’s plan won’t increase taxes for residents.
Wage dispute
Commissioners went into a closed executive session for 75 minutes to discuss a wage claim filed with the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. No action was taken when open session resumed.
City manager Paula Chacon, citing personnel matters, said after the meeting she could not discuss details about the claim.
Stacy Johnston, communications and marketing director for the Department of Workforce Solutions, said in an email Friday to the Quay County Sun the claim involved the Tucumcari Fire & Rescue Department “for hours worked since 2019.”
Johnston also stated the department was awaiting a response from the city on the claim.
Chacon emphasized during her regular city manager’s report: “The community will have emergency services available.” She said she also had heard the public’s concerns about that department.
About a dozen first responders attended Thursday’s meeting, but many of them walked out during the lengthy closed session.
Fire Chief Garrett Nash said Friday he had no knowledge of the dispute. EMS director John Elder said Friday said he could not discuss personnel matters.
During public comments, former fire chief Casey Mackey expressed dissatisfaction with the way the city was running emergency services and claimed Nash and Elder were living rent-free at the firehouse on weekdays. He said Nash lives in Clovis. Mackey said many EMT staffers live paycheck-to-paycheck and deserved a living-expense allowance.
Mackey called for the resignation of assistant city manager Mark Martinez, claiming he doesn’t return phone calls and that his salary could be used to fill potholes.
Jerry Humphrey, who said he’s a volunteer at Conservancy Fire District 2, said during public comments “there’s a lot of things unfair” in the Tucumcari Fire & Rescue Department. He also complained about potholes in city streets, including “dangerous” ones on South 11th Street.
Manager’s report
Items from Chacon’s regular report:
• Contrary to a public comment at an earlier city commission meeting, Chacon said the dogs being held at the city pound were clean and in good shape. She said she would have a veterinarian examine the dogs and expedite ways for residents to adopt them.
Mayor Pro Tem Ralph Moya agreed the dogs at the pound were well-kept and that they crave attention. He suggested the animals might make good Christmas presents. Police Chief Pete Rivera said the only requirement for adoption would be acquiring city tags and rabies shots.
Chacon said outdoor kennels under construction at the pound hadn’t been completed due to employee illnesses.
• Chacon said lights on one city ambulance had been repaired, but Elder said the vehicle lacked a battery for the cot-lift system because it is used by another ambulance. A new battery should arrive this week, he said. Chacon said the city would have four operating ambulances this week.
• She said she was acquiring roadfill material to repair potholes on streets.
• She said the Parks Department was installing Christmas decorations on several main streets. She said a broken window at the closed Princess Theatre had been repaired and its facade decorated.
• Chacon said a contractor will arrive on Dec. 20 to inspect floors at the Tucumcari Convention Center for possible repairs. The floor had been refurbished earlier this summer.
• She said she talked to New Mexico Department of Transportation officials about possible street repairs or funding from the Local Government Road Fund.
• She said an architect will inspect the Tucumcari Recreation Center in mid-December and work with area schools to teach them how to refinish their gymnasium floors.
• Chacon said she could not find a contractor in Albuquerque to test the City Pool’s pumps and was looking to contractors in Texas instead.
• She said the city’s auditor completed site visits for the fiscal-year 2022 audit. Chacon has pledged to file that audit by the regular Dec. 15 deadline. The city recently filed its FY2021 audit, which was more than eight months late.
• Chacon said she was examining city ordinances to see when they were changed to keep retail businesses from acquiring Local Economic Development Act assistance funds.
• She said the annual Quay Day to meet state lawmakers before the legislative session would be Jan. 18 at Hotel Santa Fe.
• In response to Moya’s question, Chacon said she received no interest for an alternate municipal judge position, even from earlier municipal judge candidates. She said she could continue a search to fill that post.