Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
In response to Jan. 8’s blizzard, Tucumcari’s city manager said she would obtain sand and salt, plus a salt spreader, to make streets more passable during future snowstorms.
City manager Paula Chacon said in her report during a city commission meeting Friday she wanted to obtain a salt spreader that can be pulled behind a truck.
Chacon said she also was talking to the New Mexico Department of Transportation about obtaining more material to spread on city streets during snowstorms.
She said the agency spread salt on streets near Trigg Memorial Hospital during the blizzard after she requested it.
She said she would review emergency shelter procedures with Quay County’s emergency manager. Chacon said she found out the First Baptist Church could offer a substantial amount of food to stranded travelers.
The Jan. 8 blizzard closed Interstate 40 from Amarillo to Santa Rosa for hours, prompting many travelers to stay overnight in Tucumcari.
The blizzard also partly led to a 43-vehicle pileup near Cuervo that killed a 71-year-old driver from Missouri and injured several other people, according to New Mexico State Police, which also blamed driver inattention for the initial crash.
Also during her report, Chacon said she was looking into options for repaving two to three miles of streets with a microsurface treatment. Microsurfacing makes streets more durable.
Action items
— Commissioners approved a four-year lease with Casey Gonzales on 200 acres of city-owned land east of Tucumcari Municipal Airport for $56.10 an acre.
Noting the agreement was set to begin on Jan. 1, Commissioner Jerry Lopez requested and was granted a stipulation the pact should begin after the first payment and Gonzales showing proof of insurance.
— Commissioners approved a $1,001 purchase agreement with Christopher Maestas for a city-owned lot at 407 E. Maple Ave. Maestas was the only bidder.
— Commissioners approved a $19,305 annual contract with Lamar Outdoor Advertising for three billboards in Texas along Interstate 40. The billboards are near Amarillo, Vega and Adrian. The city’s lodgers tax advisory board recommended approval of the pact.
Comments
During commissioner comments, CJ Oglesby said he wanted a stop sign on South Fourth Street between Route 66 and Washington Avenue to deter drag racing.
Oglesby said Ring security cameras had captured footage of drivers going 60 to 70 mph down the street.
Mayor Mike Cherry said adding a stop sign would require a traffic study. He noted South Fourth Street also is designated as an arterial street, with fewer options to restrict flow.
— Commissioner Renee Hayoz asked Chacon whether directional street signs on First Street would be replaced by the New Mexico Department of Transportation. Chacon said she had it on her to-do list, but only after 64 street lights were replaced this month.
Work session
Commissioners spent nearly an hour discussing possible personnel policy revisions for the city’s 17 departments.
They discussed clarifications on small breaks, compensation time, at-will employees, incentives for certification and stipends for firefighters.
— Tomas Gallegos, supervisor of the streets, parks and cemetery departments, said the street department needs more equipment — some which dates to the 1980s — and employees with commercial driver’s license certification.
Lopez said the city needs to have budgets for preventative maintenance. Chacon responded that such budgets are limited to what funding is available.
“It’s not just Tucumcari,” she said. “There are municipalities all over the state” that lack funding for maintenance. Chacon said she was working on re-establishing maintenance but was “rebuilding from the ground up.”