Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A Tucumcari city commission work session Thursday about municipal codes for water and sewer service prompted the mayor to request a change about the city’s responsibilities with such infrastructure.
After hearing the property owners are responsible for sewer and water lines within their property lines, Mayor Mike Cherry recommended codes be changed so a homeowner is responsible only from the city curb to the back fence line. He noted property lines often go from the middle of a street to the middle of an alley.
Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Lopez requested the work session after hearing concerns from residents of Eighth, Ninth and 10th streets about their responsibilities because mains are in the middle of streets.
He noted Tucumcari contains a lot of aging infrastructure, and he wondered whose responsibility it would be to repair a ruptured line in the middle of a street.
Lopez also noted it appeared city codes about sewer and water lines were contradictory.
City manager Paula Chacon and assistant city manager Renee Hayoz agreed with Lopez’s assessment, saying codes need to be changed and clarified.
Chacon added: “We know the ordinances are outdated. But where do we start?”
Noting a few properties, such as the Quay County Detention Center, have shutoff valves across their streets, Cherry advocated having an owner’s responsibility limited only from the front curb to the back fence line.
Commissioner CJ Oglesby agreed with Cherry.
In response to a question, Chacon said sewer rates are estimated from water usage during the winter, when homeowners generally aren’t watering outdoor plants or lawns.
Even so, some property owners use irrigation meters to mitigate potentially higher sewer costs.
Action items
— Commissioners approved a one-year, $30,000 agreement with independent contractor Brenda Rivali to continue in her role of submitting billings for the city’s ambulance service. The pact comes with an option to amend the contract within six months.
Ambulance revenue improved significantly since the city hired Rivali for that role, which Lopez noted.
“I think this lady has done a tremendous job for the city,” he said.
“I agree,” Cherry said.
— Commissioners approved a resolution that donates a 2004 Freightliner truck to Quay County government.
Fire Chief Casey Mackey said the truck, with only 25,000 miles, had been deployed only one or twice since the city obtained it through grant money when the city had its own emergency management department.
“It’s time for someone else to use it,” he said, adding the county is applying for grants to upgrade the truck’s equipment.
— Commissioners approved a one-year license agreement with Al Patel of Riyana Outlaw and Tucumcari Hospitality for the use of the “Tucumcari Tonite!” trademark for search engine optimization purposes.
Patel said the license had expired during the COVID-19 pandemic several years ago.
— Commissioners approved the closing of two blocks on Second Street from Main to Aber streets for Tucumcari MainStreet’s Spook-tacular Halloween Block Party from 4 to 7 p.m. on Oct. 26.
New commissioner
Thursday’s meeting was the first for newly appointed District 4 Commissioner Clayton Thorne, who replaced Hayoz after she resigned to become assistant city manager.
Before the work session, Thorne peppered fellow commissioners with questions about his computer and protocol.
During discussion about donating the emergency vehicle to the county, he asked about selling it, prefacing the query with “I hope I’m not out of line.”
“It’s not out of line,” Cherry reassured him.
During commissioner comments, Thorne passed along a concern about a mouse problem at the municipal airport.
Reports, comments
During the city manager’s report, Hayoz said the governor has asked all municipalities to participate in a statewide beautification program later this month.
Commissioners came to a consensus of Oct. 18 for Tucumcari’s beautification day, where all city departments will participate.
— Hayoz said street light repairs for Second Street would be completed this week.
— Hayoz said recent hydrant testing found a defective one in recently completed Aber Addition street project. She said the contractor has been contacted to replace it.
— Because of city officials’ conflicts with a conference, commissioners came to a consensus to reschedule its Oct. 24 meeting to Oct. 17. Commissioners also will set a work session that day with code enforcement officer Carmen Maria Gonzalez.
— Cherry said he was appointing these commissioners as liaisons to the city-affiliated committees: Thorne to the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee, Lopez to the Princess Theatre Task Force and Jonathan Brito to the Tucumcari MainStreet Committee.
— Oglesby passed along complaints about holes in two residential Dumpsters. He also asked for an analysis of repairing or replacing them.
— During citizen comments, Sam Garcia again complained about burned-out houses in the city and offered to volunteer his time to help rectify the problem. He said dilapidated homes give a bad impression to tourists and prospective home buyers.
— David Brenner, chairman of the city’s Route 66 Centennial Task Force, said the panel has narrowed its focus areas and would convene another meeting at City Hall at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 22.