Infrastructure concerns dominate Sen. Lujan meeting

Infrastructure needs and funding for a new hospital were the primary concerns from city and county officials in a discussion session last Tuesday with U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan and two of his staff members at Tucumcari City Hall.

City manager Paula Chacon said a developer wants to do something with the long-closed Tucumcari Truck Terminal site on the city's west side, but it will need several miles of new sewer pipe and lift stations to replace those that have gone bad from disuse.

Chacon also said bids for Phase I of the wastewater reuse project were too expensive for the city's budget. The city needs to implement the project to comply with federal environmental guidelines.

She said building a sewer lift station near the KOA campground received no interest from bidders, despite the city having coronavirus relief money for the project.

"We're having a hard time of (contractor) companies coming to rural areas," she said.

Lujan said the federal infrastructure law had about $338 million available to New Mexico to replace pipes. He said not all that money has been allocated.

He also suggested the city send a letter to the New Mexico delegation in Congress about those concerns. Lujan also said he would have a staff member look for grants for those city projects.

Chacon said one of the main complaints from residents is potholes on streets. Rebuilding streets, however, costs about $1 million per block.

"That's been a battle for us," she said.

Lujan said about $5.8 million in federal funds were available for pavement rehabilitation. He said he would have staffers check to see whether that money still was available.

Chacon said residents want improvements on U.S. 54 from Tucumcari to Logan and possibly to the Texas line. She said because of heavy truck traffic, the highway is "very dangerous."

Quay County manager Daniel Zamora said the state department of transportation is eyeing a study on possibly making U.S. 54 a four-lane highway. He said Texas widened its section of the road after a similar study. Lujan said he would check to see whether NMDOT has the funds for its study.

Regarding funding for a new hospital to replace the nearly 60-year-old Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari, Zamora said he ran into unexpectedly complex requirements filling a preapplication for $20 million in U.S. Department of Agriculture funds for the project.

Lujan said those bureaucratic layers from USDA sounded like a similar problem encountered by Questa on a project. The senator said he would meet with Questa officials on Friday to compare notes.

Lujan signaled optimism the red tape could be reduced because the No. 2 official in the USDA is from New Mexico.

Quay County is scheduled by summer to receive $10 million in state funding for the hospital project.

Zamora said the U.S. Department of Energy's recent list of high-priority areas for expansion of electrical transmission lines could be "an industrial boom" for the area.

He said one transmission line coming from Clovis is at capacity, but the priority map by the DOE indicates northern Quay County could be ripe for wind and other energy development, in addition to parts of Kansas, Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle.

Zamora said he appreciated the New Mexico delegation's aid acquiring $2.5 million in funding to replace an old bridge on Old Route 66 in the county.

Quay County Commission Chairman Robert Lopez, also a chairman of the Arch Hurley Conservancy District, talked about pushback from insurers over farmers' drought claims.

He said insurers either were holding back payments until the last minute or dropping coverage.

"It's very nerve-wrecking" for farmers, Lopez said. "If we're nervous, image how nervous our bankers are."

Lujan said he appreciated Lopez sharing that information "so that we're not caught off-guard."

Lujan said because of ongoing rancor between Republicans and Democrats in Congress, he didn't anticipate a new farm bill being passed until after the general election.

Tucumcari Mayor Mike Cherry and Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Lopez also attended the meeting with Lujan, a Democrat who was a member of the state's Public Regulation Commission and a U.S. representative before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 2020.

Lujan last week also met with leaders from Union County and attended events in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.