County holds meeting on infrastructure plan

The Quay County Commission held a public hearing Monday to discuss its infrastructure capital improvement plan for the next four fiscal years that included a new request from the Quay County Family Health Center’s administrator to pave the clinic’s parking lot.

The infrastructure plan essentially exists as a prioritized wish list for the county when the New Mexico Legislature allocates capital outlay funds during its annual January session. The commission likely will approve a finalized plan during its next meeting on Sept. 13.

The highest-priority project on the list during the 2022 fiscal year is $1.25 million to make improvements to Quay Road 63 east of Tucumcari. The highest-priority project in FY2023 is $500,000 for Ute Reservoir watershed restoration.

During the hearing, Quay County Family Health Center administrator C. Renee Hayoz said her clinic’s lot on East Main Street in Tucumcari needs paving because the gravel surface isn’t conducive for elderly patients, especially those in wheelchairs. She said its designated handicapped parking area is paved, but it’s frequently full.

Hayoz said she didn’t know how much money it would require to pave the lot. County manager Daniel Zamora said he might have tools available to make a rough estimate quickly.

County road superintendent Larry Moore said he might consider requesting funds for a heated asphalt tank to make it easier to patch potholes on county roads.

Kathy Elliott, a lobbyist for the Clinton D. Harden and Associates firm in Clovis, said counties are working earlier on infrastructure lists because lawmakers want to have more time for discussions and understanding them before the January session.

Elliott said state Sen. Pat Woods (R-Broadview) also advised her office that counties should break down requests into multiple and less expensive phases.

“It would put the project into play faster,” Elliott said.

Elliott said large-item requests, especially over $1 million, are unlikely to be funded.

Moore said it would be difficult to break down into phases some projects, including a $3.25 million plan to replace a bridge on Old Route 66 between San Jon and Endee. Commissioner Robert Lopez also pointed out the danger of receiving funding for a large project one year, then receiving no money the next year.

Zamora noted one of the projects — courthouse window replacement for $1.164 million — might be altered because the state’s Historic Preservation Division says preserving the windows instead of replacing them may save money.

Zamora also said he may reorganize the infrastructure list after the state’s Legislative Finance Committee meets later this week.

In other business Monday:

n Hayoz introduced Patty Stull as the clinic’s new behavioral-health interventionist. She anticipated Stull would see patients with mental health difficulties by the end of the month. Hayoz said it’s unlikely the clinic ever would have a full-time psychiatrist, but patients can instead use telemedicine sessions with psychiatrists. Stull said she mostly would meet with less intensive patients, including those dealing with grief or depression from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hayoz also said the clinic has expanded its COVID-19 testing to five days a week, from 8 to 10 a.m. with the possibility of more hours if needed. The clinic still is administering COVID-19 vaccines from 2 to 4 p.m. each Thursday.

Hayoz said the third vaccine shot remains limited to high-risk patients, including those fighting cancer and organ-transplant recipients. She anticipated the third vaccine shot soon would be administered to those in high-risk fields such as medical workers, nursing home staff and law-enforcement officers.

Later in the meeting, Zamora said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that morning had fully approved the Pfizer vaccine, which ought to reduce some hesitancy in getting it. It had received emergency approval from the FDA late last year.

Zamora said the Quay County Public Health Office in Tucumcari has the Pfizer vaccine and is administering it each Tuesday. The Pfizer vaccine for now is the only one approved for children age 12 and older.

Noting the rise in coronavirus cases in New Mexico is directly proportional to the rate of unvaccinated people, he urged residents to be vaccinated to stem the increase of cases and prevent a downturn in the economy.

• After another accident at the intersection of U.S. 54 and Quay Road AI (aka Airport Road), Commissioner Jerri Rush urged District 4 of the New Mexico Department of Transportation to do something. In response, she said the agency would install “Caution” signs near the crossroads by the end of the week. NMDOT recently allocated $1.5 million to make safety improvements of additional lanes at the intersection, but that work won’t begin until next summer.

Moore said more than 10,000 cubic yards of millings will be used to improve sections of Quay Road M, Quay Road 60 and Quay Road 64 near San Jon.

• County Treasurer Patsy Gresham said the county once had a list of more than 200 landowners delinquent on their property taxes who would have seen their tracts go to public auction. With a recent change in leadership at the state’s Property Tax Division, she said that auction list had been whittled to 15 properties, and four had paid their taxes. None on the list is commercial properties. Gresham said it was “ridiculous” to hold an auction with so few properties and so little return to the county, and vowed to talk to legislators about the problem.

• Commissioners approved a $335,000 appropriation agreement with the New Mexico Department of Finance for the Quay County Detention Center. Zamora said the money will be used to upgrade security cameras and software to control the cameras and doors.

• Commissioners approved fire protection grants for $300,000 for a new tanker truck for Rural District 1, $150,000 to Jordan for a building addition and $264,000 to Porter for a wildland firetruck.