City manager wants to emphasize infrastructure in plan

An update to the City of Tucumcari's comprehensive plan took shape during a second hearing at the convention center, but the city manager insisted on one particular thing to emphasize.

Late in the hearing Wednesday, city manager Paula Chacon implored that improving Tucumcari's infrastructure, especially on the city's west side, had to be high priority within the 20-year plan.

Chacon said without improvements to the city's aging infrastructure, it would be more difficult to draw new businesses and residents. She said the city's west side needs new sewer lines to potentially redevelop the long-closed Tucumcari Truck Terminal site.

Carlos Gemora, senior planner for Sites Southwest of Albuquerque that is guiding the update to the city's comprehensive plan, admitted it's "tricky" to balance infrastructure with other community needs.

"We want to have more economic development that could support infrastructure and support businesses and jobs and bring income," he said. "I think the difficult part is it's just really hard to bring people here. It's hard to have people come and stay here, which I think gets back to if you don't have housing and if you don't have the quality of life, then you can't get economic development to pay for infrastructure."

About 20 people - many of them city employees - attended the session to fine-tune the plan. Many of the ideas in the draft of the updated plan came from the first session in November.

The draft listed these goals:

- Tucumcari residents, including students, employees, families and seniors, can access affordable, high-quality housing.

- Residents have access to excellent city-run programs, services and facilities that improve their health and quality of life.

- Tucumcari's unique sense of place contributes to community pride and civic participation.

- Existing businesses are supported through new and existing partnerships.

- Tucumcari's business climate attracts new industries while preparing the local workforce to fill the new, high-quality jobs.

- Cultural, historical and art tourism in Tucumcari is supported by Downtown and Route 66 revitalization.

- Tucumcari's assets support and promote local and regional outdoor recreation.

- City policies promote development, fund infrastructure updates and encourage preserving Tucumcari's vibrant history.

- Tucumcari's natural resources are sustainably maintained while offering the opportunity to further renewable energy development in the Eastern Plains.

- Strategic infrastructure investments help promote revitalization an increase building occupancy.

- Tucumcari is a well-connected, safe place to walk, cycle and drive.

Among the objectives are updating zoning and enforcing municipal codes, developing new housing and rehabilitating existing housing.

The city in September entered into a $50,000 agreement with Sites Southwest to update the plan. The last update occurred in 2012.

Sites Southwest also is helping update the comprehensive plan for Quay County government.