County manager praised for efforts to fund hospital

A Tucumcari resident during the public comment portion of Monday’s Quay County Commission meeting praised county manager Daniel Zamora’s efforts to find funding to build a new Dr. Daniel C. Trigg Memorial Hospital.

The county learned earlier this month the New Mexico Legislature did not fulfill its request for up to $30 million to build a new hospital.

During the commission’s previous meeting, it approved a request of $32.2 million in federal funds for the project.

Joe Szaloy, a licensed physical therapist at the hospital, said the current 60-year-old facility, which fails to meet code in several aspects, makes it more difficult to attract doctors to Tucumcari. He said many physicians instead seek to practice in state-of-the-art facilities.

“We can’t them to come here because we have nothing to offer them,” Szaloy said. “I can’t tell you how important a functioning hospital is in Quay County.”

Szaloy said residents should contact U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan’s office to let him know how important a new hospital would be to the region.

Later in the meeting, commissioner Brian Fortner commented that many residents are surprised how much the current hospital is used, including more than 30,000 admissions per year.

“The hospital is important to the community, (for) the jobs it provides and the service,” he said.

Fortner expressed optimism that construction of the hospital eventually would be funded.

“It’s not over,” he said.

Monday’s meeting featured a short agenda, and Commission Chairman Robert Lopez was absent due to illness. Commissioner Jerri Rush acted as chairwoman during the meeting.

In other business:

— County Assessor Janie Hoffman presented her annual report. She said about $6 million had been added to the county’s tax rolls in the past year. Hoffman said her office tracks more than 26,000 parcels in the county.

— The commission approved an annual resolution that certifies the county is responsible for maintenance of 1,105.64 miles of road. It reflected the deletion of 0.78 miles of Quay Road AZ.

— The commission approved Public Employees Retirement Association applications for volunteers in the District 3, Forrest, Jordan and Nara Visa fire departments.

— Zamora said January collections of gross receipts tax in the county were slightly lower but “par for the course.”

— The commission approved $2,084 in indigent health claims during the month of March.

— The commission went into a closed executive session to discuss pending litigation over the closing of Quay Road 41 nearly a decade ago.