Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
The Quay County Commission on Monday approved a letter to the U.S. Department of Energy informing the agency it must inform the public before taking action over proposed National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors in the county.
The letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm was written by Commissioner Jerri Rush and signed by Commission Chairman Robert Lopez.
Rush wasn’t present in the commission chambers during Monday’s meeting due to illness, but she attended by videoconference.
The DOE states on its website the Federal Power Act authorizes the Secretary of Energy to designate any geographic area as a National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor if he or she finds consumers are harmed by a lack of electrical transmission in an area and that development of such would advance national interests there, such as better grid reliability and reduced consumer costs.
The letter addresses the Plains-Southwest and Mountain-Plains-Southwest corridors, which would take up tens of thousands of acres in Quay County. Those two corridors are located in areas with lots of wind-energy generation.
“As I am sure that you are aware The National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) requires the Federal agencies inform the public of proposed or ongoing actions and requires public involvement and consultation with State and Local governments and consideration of conflicts between a proposed action and local plans as per the Quay County Comprehensive Plan,” the letter states.
“County Policy also requires federal agencies to consult with the county on decisions that could impact the ability of private landowners to maintain the customary use of their properties.”
The letter concludes by requesting the DOE Secretary to make an appointment to present the agency’s intentions to the commission during its twice-a-month regular meetings.
Noting Rush’s letter was “to the point,” Lopez said he agreed with its sentiments, as did Commissioner Brian Fortner.
In other business:
— County Treasurer Patsy Gresham told the commission her office is printing annual property tax bills that will go into the mail next week. She said it will involve a total of about $7 million in billings.
Gresham thanked Assessor Dana Leonard to providing critical and accurate data for the billings.
Gresham also acknowledged a “difficult” past few months, referring to a former deputy treasurer charged with a felony for improperly altering public records so her property wouldn’t be placed on the delinquent rolls. The office’s checking account also was victimized by a fraudulent check of $20,257.63 from an individual in Ohio.
— Commissioners approved an agreement with Caprock Wind LLC where the company will repair roads damaged by construction on its wind-farm project in southern Quay County. The roads involved are Quay Roads 47, 50 and 51.
County manager Daniel Zamora also said the agreement would let the company repair existing potholes there if the county provides the materials.
Lopez said the new Caprock agreement is “a better deal” than the previous one.
Rush agreed. “I really appreciate Daniel’s efforts on this,” she said.
— Answering a question from Fortner, Zamora said the county’s application to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for $20 million in funding to help build a new Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari still was going through “a long process.”
Zamora said the agency was unhappy with local banking options that would be tasked to lend the money and submitted a new list of potential lenders. He also said a certified public accountant also must perform an analysis of the plan.
The hospital project earlier this year received $10 million in state money.
— Commissioners approved three budgetary-increase resolutions. One was $1.094 million from a state disaster recovery fund to improve Quay Road AR. Another was $625,363 in state co-op, arterial and school bus route funds for county road maintenance.
The third was $393,750 from the state Corrections Recruitment Fund to hire new officers. On a related note, the commission approved a resolution to participate in the recruitment fund.
Zamora said the Quay County Detention Center’s new administrator Chris Eccles, replacing the recently retired Johnny Reid, is addressing many maintenance issues at the jail, including its fire suppression system, bathroom fixtures, sewer line and lighting.
— Commissioners approved a one-year $20,868 Caselle Cloud pact to update the county’s bookkeeping software. Zamora said the current version of Caselle is several versions out of date and causing problems.
Commissioners also approved a $2,700, plus $68 a month, from Caselle software to add an automatic clearing house module to the county’s payment systems. Zamora said it would streamline internal controls and lessen the likelihood of online fraud.