Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Keith Hayes says commission should put citizen needs first.
Keith Hayes examines two semis that have been parked on his property after closing his business Hayes Trucking. Hayes is trying to sell the semis and several other pieces of equipment.
A Tucumcari resident says he wants city commissioners recalled because they do not put the needs of residents first.
City commissioners say the man is out for vengeance after receiving property citations.
Keith Hayes, 74, owner of Hayes Trucking and Concrete, has been fined $645 for four properties under a nuisance ordinance that fines residents for unkempt property with $100 for the first offense and an increase of $100 or more for each following offense.
City commissioners and officials said in a city workshop on Thursday that city officials have made numerous requests of Hayes over the course of 20 years asking him to clean up his property on Railroad Avenue. The property is strewn with unused semi- trucks, trailers, cement trucks and other heavy equipment, much of which is visibly rusting.
Hayes said economic development and drawing business to Tucumcari should be a priority for commissioners, not punishing residents for weeds in their yard.
"I know a man who was fined $600 for having weeds and an old vehicle parked in his yard," Hayes said. "The man was in the hospital and could not take care of his yard, but he was still fined."
City Manager Jared Langenegger said the nuisance ordinance was established to address several properties in the town that were overgrown with weeds in an effort to make Tucumcari more appealing for potential business.
He said compliance officers will work with residents and issue a warning before issuing a violation citation, adding that the ordinance is designed to clean up properties that have been a long-time issue in the city.
"I don't think that houses with overgrown weeds will impact a business' decision to move into town," Hayes said. "What it will impact is residents' ability to purchase items at our current businesses, because they are having to pay fines."
Hayes has started a petition to recall the city commissioners in districts 1-4. Commission District 5 is vacant following the death of John Mihm on Dec. 19.
The petitions will require the signature of 20 percent of the voters in each district from the last election. Should Hayes collect the necessary signatures for a recall, the city would have to hold a special election asking residents if they want to recall their commissioner, said Langenegger, adding that each special election, such as a recall election, cost the city between $5,500 and $7,500.
He said should a commissioner be recalled, then the remaining commissioners would have to appoint a new commissioner or hold another special election. In the event that all commissioners are recalled, a second special election will have to be held to fill the vacancies, he added.
"The commission has not been acting in the best interest of the citizens of Tucumcari," said Hayes, citing the following examples as issues he feels commissioners have been unfair to residents with:
• The passing of a garage sale ordinance, limiting the number of garage sales that someone can hold and requiring them to get a permit.
"When you have 600 signatures from residents opposing the ordinance, the city's best interest is not being represented," Hayes said.
Quay County resident Dena Mericle and Tucumcari resident Tony Leal started petitions in June 2016 opposing the garage sale ordinance, collecting more than 600 signatures combined.
Langenegger said commissioners passed the garage sale ordinance with the city's best interests in mind.
• The recent retirement of Assistant City Manager Doug Powers.
Hayes said Powers' salary was not absorbed back into the general fund for the city's operation but was spread out among department heads.
Langenegger said the salary was not spread out among department heads but was used to create two needed jobs: a grant writer and part-time risk manager.