City again fails to fund chamber

City funding for the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce remained in limbo again after a motion for a $47,000 proposal died for the lack of a second during a city commission meeting Thursday.

Commissioner Christopher Arias made the motion to approve the chamber funding plan for fiscal-year 2023-2024 with the understanding the chamber would submit quarterly reports and have “better communication” with the city.

But the motion failed to attract a second from Mayor Ralph Moya or Commissioner Mike Cherry. Commissioner Paul Villanueva was absent.

Moya, who twice this year has recused himself as mayor to make a second on other motions, declined to do so Thursday.

Other attempts in front of the city commission to fund the chamber failed in May and June.

Longtime chamber member Aaron Kennedy, speaking on behalf of absent chamber director Scott Crotzer, during a work session Thursday presented a budget that included a formal request of $12,000 so the chamber can hire a part-time employee for the office and its Tucumcari Visitors Center, plus another $35,000 for chamber operations.

Kennedy said foot traffic at the visitor center has risen tenfold since Crotzer guided renovations for the chamber building last year, though it remains closed for repairs after the May 25 hailstorm. He said a part-time employee would enable Crotzer to attend more meetings and get more accomplished.

Just before the vote, two commissioners seemed dismayed when they learned Kennedy was not present to answer additional questions about the chamber.

City manager Paula Chacon said Crotzer has committed to reviving the chamber’s annual fundraising banquet.

The city give the chamber $3,500 monthly over three months earlier this year when it ran short of money. Moya said he was supportive of the chamber, but there was no obligation to fund it at a certain level.

Last year, the chamber forged an agreement with then-city manager Mark Martinez to use $12,000 for a part-time employee, $9,000 to pay Crotzer as a coordinator for three events and $9,000 so he could attend tourism conferences.

Chacon said the $12,000 was used for operations instead, and only $3,000 was used for one event. Crotzer also was unable to attend any conferences. She blamed “confusion” by both parties over the terms of last year’s contract.

After the meeting, Moya signaled he wanted to revisit the funding issue when Villanueva was present.

“I’ve got to see what the rest of commission wants,” he said.

He also said “I got what I wanted” when financial documents were submitted by the chamber. Moya, however, declined to say why he didn’t recuse himself as mayor and second Arias’ motion.

Cherry said the chamber’s funding proposal was too high.

“It was too much, and we can sit down and get a reasonable agreement,” he said. “I’m not against funding the chamber. I’m against fully funding the chamber.”

When pressed, Cherry said he would support $12,000 for a part-time chamber employee, plus another $15,000 for chamber operations.

During public comments before the vote, Tonya Rigdon said the chamber and visitors center are “very important” to Tucumcari, especially after the recent closure of the Pow Wow Restaurant on the city’s west side. She told commissioners “you need to figure it out” whether they will commit to funding the chamber.

After the vote, she said: “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

Other action

— The commission approved a five-year, $16,657.89 contract with Axon for body cameras for police officers. A consultation with the city attorney determined the city could use cannabis sales-tax funds to pay the contract in one lump sum. Commissioners held off on approval during a previous meeting until the use of cannabis taxes could be clarified.

— Commissioners approved issuing a request for proposals for a marketing position with the stipulation the city attorney review it. Chacon said up to $75,000 would be allocated. The contract of the city’s current marketer, Robyne Beaubien, expires this month, and she did not pursue a renewal.

— The commission approved a one-year contract with Clovis-based Civility Government Relations, formerly Clinton D. Harden & Associates, as the city’s lobbyist for $1,250 a month. Harden said one reason for the name change is Kathy Elliott now is a full partner of the firm. He said it also was advantageous to remove the former Republican state senator’s name from the firm when working with a Democratic-controlled legislature.

— Commissioners approved a $134,990.94 contract with Parkhill engineering to start the process of obtaining a new, 20-year solid waste permit for the landfill. The current permit expires in May 2024.

— Commissioners approved a contract renewal with Dr. Ronald Carver of Lovington for medical director services with the city’s EMS program for $600 a month.

— Commissioners approved three professional services contracts with legal firms: Virtue & Najjar of Santa Fe for general legal counsel; YLAW of Albuquerque for personnel legal matters; and Egolf, Ferlic, Martinez and Harwood of Santa Fe for water-rights legal matters. Chacon said rates for all three firms remained the same as the previous year.

— Commissioners approved Police Chief Patti Lopez and administrative assistant Cathy Estrada as banking signatories during police seizures.

— The commission tabled a proposed authorization with the state’s Environment Department to drill soil bore holes at five former dry-cleaning sites to find possible pollution. Cherry said he had “huge reservations” about the agreement, adding: “I don’t see anything positive in this.” Commissioners decided to table the item until it received more information from the state.

— Commissioners tabled an item to approve a general services agreement with Tucumcari Municipal Airport until the city attorney reviews the contract.

Work session

Commissioners during a work session talked with billing specialist Brenda Rivale about the EMS department’s deficit.

Moya said the department has “fluctuated into the negative” with a $300,000 deficit after just a $82,000 deficit a few years ago.

Rivale, hired as billing specialist in September, attributed the deficit growth to her pulling $60,000 worth of 2022 reports that hadn’t been submitted to billing.

She said EMS collected about $139,000 in bills in all of 2022. She said this year, it had collected $206,000 so far.

“We’re playing catch-up, and we’re gaining on it,” she said.

Rivale also said many users of the city’s ambulance service “are not insured like they used to be,” leading to less money being collected.

Pressed on how to improve collections, Rivale suggested hiring a full-time EMS director.

“I think there needs to be more help brought in,” she said.

Commissioners also talked with Tucumcari Municipal Golf Course manager Charlie Maciel about a possible $104,678 purchase of two mowers.

Maciel said he could golf cart trail fees for the purchase. Commissioners also asked Chacon whether the course could use other mowers from the parks department after it acquires new machines.

Maciel also said the restrooms at the clubhouse are “in bad shape” and would need renovations soon.

Manager’s report

Item’s from Chacon’s report:

— She announced the city’s swimming pool would reopen the third week of July after it had been closed since 2019. (See other story in this edition.)

— Chacon said the city was about to open Phase 1 bids on the wastewater-reuse project. She said it would be a four-year project that’s projected to cost between a total of $7 million and $9 million.

— Chacon said the city recently obtained $2.8 million from the state’s Water Trust Fund to build a new water line to the Hoover storage tank.

— Chacon said the city landed a contractor to spray for mosquitos but cautioned it can be done only during non-windy days. She said the city would advertise when that would be done.

— She said she was about to meet the KOA Campground’s owner to obtain a required easement so a sewer lift station could be installed in that area.

— Chacon said projects involving the Hoover and concrete water tanks and the Gamble Addition streets project has been completed. She said bids recently opened for the Aber Addition streets project.

— She said a broken merry-go-round at Northside Park would be removed next week and replaced. The city recently budgeted additional money for playground equipment for that park.

Comments

During the public comments part of the meeting:

— David White angrily decried a recent anonymous letter-writing campaign that stated he was a registered sex offender. According to the sex offender registry, he was convicted of sexual assault on a child in Colorado in 2005 and released from prison in 2013.

White acknowledged he was addicted to alcohol and drugs but has been sober for 20 years. He said “God brought me here to feed this city” with his acquisition of La Casa Verde and founding a beginning-farmer program. He said he started a local Narcotics Anonymous chapter and ran the local Alcoholics Anonymous for several years.

He said the anonymous letters were “evil, wrong and criminal” and was “vigilante behavior.”

Cherry received one of the letters in his city mailbox and let the Quay County Sun examine it. It named White and Manuel Preciado, convicted of criminal sexual contact with a minor in 2019, according to court records.

The letter, which labeled the men as “perverts,” contained printouts of White and Preciado’s sex-offender listings from the Quay County Sheriff’s Office.

Another speaker, Haley Place, said he was going to launch a “Beware of the Boogeyman” website that lists local sex offenders.

Place, however, denied writing the anonymous letters about White and Preciado.

— Place also said the city should hire former sheriff Russell Shafer as deputy chief of police, adding it needs more officers on duty. Place also said a McDonald’s employee threatened him in front of his young daughter and that he captured the confrontation on video. Place’s daughter also praised recent work on city parks and Tucumcari Rawhide Days.

— Rigdon said the city needs to lean on the state transportation department to cut tall weeds growing in street medians. She also said the city’s District 3 has “no voice” because the seat has been vacant since the resignation of Ruth Ann Litchfield in December.

— Local contractor John Pacheco said he had acquired the former Quail Ridge assisted-living facility and wanted to convert it into an Airbnb site or housing for Mesalands Community College students, especially after the May 25 hailstorm damaged alternative housing for those students.

Moya cautioned him such a project likely would require rezoning and thus approval from the site’s neighbors. Pacheco said he would meet with city officials to find a resolution.

Marcy Willis, who lives near the site, said a recent meeting “got heated and out-of-control” when 30 people showed up, asking what was going on at the building. Willis said residents deserved better explanations what was happening there.

— During commissioner comments, Cherry said the city’s phone system “sucks” and asked for a simpler setup, noting incoming message on calls offers nine options.

— Moya said Tucumcari Public Schools superintendent Aaron McKinney informed him the lights for the ballpark redevelopment plan would be erected June 29. The city donated $400,000 in lodgers tax funds for that part of the project.

— Moya also praised the Rawhide Days festival, which prompted applause from the audience.