New era in city government

The Tucumcari City Commission began a new era last week with the swearing in of three new members and the appointment of a new mayor.

District 1 commissioner Jerry Lopez, District 2 commissioner Jonathan Brito and District 3 commissioner CJ Oglesby - all newcomers - each took the oath of office from Municipal Judge Jerry Mares at the start of a special meeting on Jan. 2.

Lopez defeated veteran commissioner and mayor Ralph Moya during the November election. Brito ousted incumbent Paul Villanueva in his race. Oglesby was unopposed; he replaces Ruth Ann Litchfield, who resigned for health reasons in December 2022.

Counting the appointment of District 4 commissioner Renee Hayoz in mid-November, the commission has four new members. Hayoz replaced Christopher Arias, who resigned for personal reasons in September.

District 5 commissioner Mike Cherry, the most senior member of the commission after two years there, was appointed mayor by his cohorts.

"Thank you very much," Cherry said after his appointment - moved by Lopez and seconded by Hayoz - was approved unanimously by the commission. Cherry abstained from voting for himself.

The mayor usually occupies the center chair at the podium. Brito was in that chair, but Cherry said he would remain in his chair next to Brito for the duration of the meeting.

"Don't get used to it," Cherry told Brito with a smile.

Lopez was elected mayor pro tem by his fellow commissioners.

Because of their relative inexperience in each of their positions, Cherry asked City Clerk Angelica Gray to interject if they inadvertently drifted out of order.

"Madame Clerk, please keep me in line," Cherry said.

Among Cherry's first actions was to merge public comment sections of meetings. Moya months ago had split public comments - one for agenda items early in meetings, the other for non-agenda items later.

Cherry said he wanted to "roll them all together" so residents would "not wait three hours" to comment on non-agenda items. Lopez agreed with that action.

Later, during commissioner comments, Oglesby said he was excited to serve, and he praised city manager Paula Chacon.

"I think we're going in the right direction," he said.

Cherry said to the new commissioners later during the meeting: "Welcome, guys. I think it's going to be really, really good."

Commissioners volunteered to be on several city boards, though several of those have been inactive for years.

Presentations

Chacon asked that department heads tell the new commission their biggest challenges:

- Calvin Henson, wastewater superintendent, said the wastewater reuse project remains the most pressing project. He said the project is costing $1.2 million more than city funds that are available.

Later during her manager's report, Chacon said she would rebid Phases 1 and 2 of the project because previous bids were 30% higher than the engineer's estimate.

The project, which would pipe treated wastewater to open land north of the city, aims to bring the sewer plant in compliance with federal environmental guidelines or face stiff fines.

- Jim Sewell, manager at Tucumcari Municipal Airport, said the facility's fuel system remains its biggest problem and has been non-compliant since 2008. He said two rounds of state funding for a new fuel farm have proven insufficient.

"We find the money and they keep changing goalposts, and more money is required," he said.

Chacon said during her report she was conversing with state officials on obtaining more funding for the fuel farm. She said the city faces a $1 million shortfall for the project.

- Michael Martinez, water superintendent, said the department faced new federal rules regarding lead and copper piping and would need to submit a plan by October to replace them. He said he was compiling an inventory of what needs to be replaced.

Martinez also estimated about 50 fire hydrants need to be repaired or replaced.

- Police Chief Patti Lopez said her department is behind on technology. She also said fleet maintenance remains a problem, especially its animal-control truck.

Lopez said the police department has three openings, and the city sometimes isn't competitive enough with starting pay to attract candidates.

- Paula Chavez, municipal court clerk, said the court needs a different building because it often deals with sensitive information. Court is held in the commission chambers, which sometimes is unavailable due to other meetings.

Chavez said the city lacks an alternate municipal judge. She said the pay for an alternate - $15 for being on call and $25 for being in court - hadn't been changed since 1994.

- Loy McSpadden, director of the convention center and Del Norte Center, said both facilities need roofs repaired from the May hailstorm. He said the facilities need at least five new climate-control units to replace ones that are "worn out."

McSpadden said the convention center needs LED lighting for its interior and parking lot, plus better equipment in its kitchen.

- Richard Lopez in the mechanic's shop said much of the city's equipment is 10 to 15 years past their replacement dates.

When asked about preventative maintenance, he responded: "We don't have a budget for preventative maintenance. There are only a couple of departments that have money for maintenance."

- Linda Gonzalez, director of the public library, said her building needs new handicapped-accessible doors. She said she was having trouble obtaining quotes for the project.

- Hailey Ferguson, finance director, said new software is needed that would save time in obtaining financial records instead of going through filing cabinets.

The city uses Tyler Technologies for its software, which several department heads said is not user-friendly. Gray said the software was chosen because the other alternative was "much more expensive."

- Vicki Strand, director of the community development office, said her department is shorthanded.

Chacon added: "We've had issues getting fully staffed in all departments."

Strand also said the building's air conditioner doesn't work well, and the space often "smells like a sewer."

- Lorraine Romo, risk manager and warehouse manager, said the city needs to update its software, buildings and vehicles. She also noted many calls from residents to repair potholes.

- Paula Neese, director of the historical museum, said the century-old building needs to replace its drafty windows.

- Paul Lucero, the city's lone facility maintenance employee, said his biggest issue is "the lack of tools to get the job done." He also noted the department once had two full-time employees.

Action items

Action taken by the commission during the meeting:

- Commissioners, after considerable discussion, approved a 2024 city employee calendar that includes 13 holidays.

A few commissioners briefly discussed moving eliminating the Presidents Day holiday or altering time off for the Christmas and New Year's holidays because of delays in trash pickup during long holiday weekends.

Chacon said it was a quirk in the calendar this year, and possible future problems can be addressed by management.

Lopez advocated having animal control's schedule be part of the police department's, noting he'd heard many calls for loose dogs during the holidays.

- Commissioners approved an amended ordinance setting a debt schedule for varying loans on city facilities, including a total of $3.21 million in state grants and no-interest loans for the wastewater reuse project.

- Commissioners approved an annual Open Meetings Act resolution where they set meetings for the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

- Commissioners approved a resolution for bank signatories on city accounts, naming Cherry, Lopez and Police Chief Lopez.

- Commissioners approved rescheduling its Jan. 11 meeting to Jan. 12, with a work session at 10 a.m. and meeting at 11, due to a conflict with the Municipal Official Leadership Institute. Two commissioners would have been absent.

- Commissioners approved a six-month, $1,200 pharmacist agreement with Carlos Marquez to manage drugs administered by emergency medical services. Chacon urged a six-month pact so it would be in sync with the fiscal year.

Comments

- During public comments, Haley Place welcomed the new commissioners and said he was happy Cherry had been chosen mayor.

Place urged the city to hire more cops to combat crime, including thefts and fentanyl abuse. He said residents also "need to follow through" and call TPD if they see crime.

He also urged more activities for children between ages 10 and 14.

- During commissioner comments, Oglesby said he wanted a volunteer day to clean up the Little League fields.

He asked that Chacon organize quarterly reports from department heads to the commission.

- Cherry said he wanted Moya to continue to be involved with the Princess Theatre task force.

He also asked that the city create a social media policy.