Legislature OKs $10 million for hospital

A $10 million allocation to help build a new Tucumcari hospital made it through the New Mexico Legislature as it concluded its 30-day session Thursday, plus more than $2 million in capital outlay projects throughout Quay County.

All projects are subject to a possible line-item veto from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham through March 6.

Kimberly Legant, a principal with Hull Consulting of Albuquerque, which is Quay County government’s lobbyist, said the $10 million in funding “for the construction of a hospital in Tucumcari-Quay County” was inserted in a Senate amendment of the general appropriations bill three days before the session ended.

Legant said that version of the bill was approved by both chambers and sent to the governor’s desk.

A spokeswoman for the governor was asked whether the $10 million would survive a possible line-item veto.

“We are evaluating the budget now, and improving healthcare access will certainly be a priority as we do so,” Maddy Hayden stated in an email Friday from the governor’s office.

County manager Daniel Zamora previously said that once the $10 million state appropriation is approved, he would request another $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to complete funding to build a new Dr. Daniel C. Trigg Memorial Hospital just south of the current facility.

Zamora said last week he was hopeful ground would be broken for the hospital by spring 2025, though he admitted that timeframe might be optimistic.

The infrastructure at the current Trigg Memorial Hospital, built almost 60 years ago, is beginning to fail, hence the county’s efforts to build a new facility.

Here are other capital outlay projects in Quay County approved by the Legislature:

— Tucumcari cemetery office building replacement, $40,000;

— Princess Theatre renovations in Tucumcari, $135,000;

— Tucumcari water line repairs, $750,000;

— Quay County sheriff’s office vehicle purchases, $100,000;

— Quay County pneumatic roller purchase, $250,000;

— Quay County dump truck and utility equipment for the road department, $400,000;

— Village of Logan water system improvements, including a well and storage tank monitoring system, $300,000;

— House Community Center kitchen improvements, $30,000.

With Tucumcari projects, city commissioners just before the legislative session made a new water line serving residents north of the railroad tracks the highest priority. City manager Paula Chacon said three of four existing water lines no longer worked in that area.

The commission also made a new office building at Tucumcari Memorial Park cemetery a high-priority item, as well.

Regarding capital outlay projects paid with general obligation bonds, the Tucumcari Senior Center and Logan Senior Center are slated to receive $266,000 and $25,000 respectively for renovations to those facilities.

This year, the Legislature awarded more than $1.5 billion for capital outlay projects.