Senior center multipurpose site proposed

Tucumcari city commissioners during a work session Thursday seemed receptive to a long-range proposal by the city’s senior center director to plan for a multipurpose building that would include a senior center, a public pool and a recreation center for all city residents.

Tucumcari Senior Center director Clara Rey said the design and engineering for such a facility would be part of the center’s infrastructure capital improvement plan for fiscal-year 2027.

She said she didn’t know where such a facility would be constructed or how much it would cost, but she estimated the design and engineering fees would be about $400,000.

Rey said such a multipurpose facility exists in Santa Fe, and another was being built in Ruidoso.

Though FY2027 seems a long way off, Rey said the city would need to plan for it now if it’s receptive to the idea.

“To me, it’s time,” she said. “It would serve not just seniors. It would serve the community.”

Rey added such a facility could pool funding from a variety of sources, including possible partners such as the Tucumcari school district and Mesalands Community College.

Rey said the current Tucumcari Senior Center was built in the 1970s and is due for repairs to its sidewalks and parking lot.

Commissioners, including Mayor Ralph Moya, vocally agreed to place the proposal on the agenda for the next commission meeting on March 23.

Expansion of the current Tucumcari Recreation Center to include a pool — especially for adults for water therapy — has been discussed at previous commission meetings.

Other action

— Commissioners approved giving $10,000 to the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce for the rest of its fiscal year. That money will be covered by miscellaneous funds.

City manager Paula Chacon said an events coordinator contract and other services with the chamber last year were misunderstood and that the city failed to meet its obligations for four or five months.

Chamber director Scott Crotzer said during a recent lodgers tax board meeting the organization was struggling to be solvent after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I believe the chamber is needed for the city of Tucumcari, and I believe we should help them,” Chacon said.

Commissioner Paul Villanueva asked whether the $10,000 would be enough for the chamber for the rest of the fiscal year.

“It will be enough,” Crotzer said. “I will make it work.”

Chacon also said she would advocate the chamber receive $30,000 in fiscal-year 2023.

— Commissioners approved a lease for $1,840 a month, retroactive to December, with Lamar Advertising for a tourism billboard near Adrian, Texas. Funds from lodgers taxes will cover it.

Commissioner Mike Cherry, noting the contract includes a vinyl covering for the billboard “at no cost,” made the motion with the stipulation that Lamar provide new vinyl to replace a torn one.

— Commissioners approved STEP, ENDWI and Buckle Up grants totaling $4,500 to cover overtime costs for the Tucumcari Police Department.

— On the consent agenda, Tonya Rigdon’s appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission was renewed.

Manager’s report

Items from Chacon’s regular report:

— She said she had meetings with the Community Development Department regarding repairs to Tucumcari Municipal Pool and that bids for the project likely will be requested this week.

The city in January received a $216,000 grant from the state to repair the pool, which has been closed since 2019.

“We’re really pushing to get the pool open by summer,” she said.

— Chacon said Bo Wallace, who is running the Tucumcari Recreation Center, recently accepted a $2,000 grant from the local chapter of Altrusa International to buy exercise equipment. He also accepted a $12,000 grant from the McMullen Family Foundation to purchase cardiovascular workout equipment for the facility.

— Addressing a resident’s earlier complaints about dog feces about George Molinas Park, she said dog-refuse bag dispensers recently were restocked, but bags were scattered in the park.

She said gates to the park were removed some time ago to keep people from letting their dogs loose inside the park to harass playing children.

However, Chacon said a future solution might be to create a dog park in the city.

— Chacon said she received two bids to repair the two main doors to the city commission chambers for under $10,000. Replacing the doors would have cost closer to $20,000.

— She said streetlights on the north side of East Route 66, near Blaze-N-Saddle RV Park, now are working but still inoperable on the south side of the road.

— She said the next Community Block Development meeting would be at 5:15 p.m. March 28 at city hall.

— Chacon said the next meeting of the Princess Theatre board would be 1 p.m. April 6 at city hall.

Work session

— During a work session, Chacon said engineering for the wastewater reuse project was 90% complete, but the cost had increased from $5 million a few years ago to $9.2 million, mostly due to inflation. She said she was looking for additional funding for the project.

The project would pump treated wastewater to irrigate rangeland north of town. That project would be less expensive than an expansion of the sewer plant to meet federal environmental regulations, plant superintendent Calvin Henson said.

Henson said he was disinclined to allow ranchers to lease the irrigated ground for grazing until the city receives a groundwater discharge permit from the state.

— Commissioners heard a proposal from Jonathan Valerio of 4Rivers Equipment in Albuquerque for the city to lease a new bulldozer and loader for the landfill for a total of about $13,400 a month. The equipment would be under warranty during the leases. However, several commissioners seemed disinclined to accept the leases, noting their substantially higher cost and the city’s current equipment still being used. Accepting or rejecting the leases were on the city’s meeting agenda, but both were removed before the meeting.

— Commissioners discussed a possible $56,417 purchase of a Dodge 2500 pickup truck for the sewer department. Henson said a larger truck than the current one is needed because of heavier pumps used by the department.

— Commissioners asked parks director Tomas Gallegos to obtain quotes for a new cinderblock or steel building for Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery. He said a wooden building would be vulnerable to termites, and a steel building comes with its own engineering. He said a steel building could come installed with a rock facade near the office area to make it more attractive.

Comments

— Commissioner Christopher Arias, who participated in Thursday’s meeting by phone, asked whether a commissioner would be appointed for the District 3 seat, which became vacant after Ruth Ann Litchfield retired in December.

Moya responded the commission won’t act until the city resolves Arias’ lawsuit to bar from the seat Matt Bednorz, who was appointed to the post but doesn’t live in the district. Bednorz announced about a week after his appointment he would not pursue the position.

— Moya asked about a muddy alley behind Downtown Dispensary on South Second Street. Chacon responded she was seeking to spread millings there to alleviate the problem.

Moya asked about inspections of fire hydrants. Chacon said that had been done and that hydrants would be prioritized for repairs.

Moya said the city ought to look for funding sources to address rundown properties.

Asked about a code enforcer, Chacon said one had been hired but she took leave after her husband became ill. Chacon said she likely would advertise the position to fill it.

— Villanueva thanked the city’s EMS staff who cared for him after he collapsed at home and briefly was hospitalized.

— During public comments, Sara Mead, manager of the Canadian River Soil and Water Conservation District, asked the city to mow its outdoor classroom by mid-April. She said the district wanted to host an Earth Day ceremony there on April 27.