City delays action on meeting-time change

Tucumcari City commissioners last week tabled a first reading on an ordinance that would change its regular meeting schedule for the first time in more than two decades.

Commissioners voted 4-1, with Mike Cherry casting the only dissenting vote, to delay action on the measure during a special meeting June 27. Most commissioners said they want to hear more opinions from the public about the proposed change.

Commissioners during earlier work sessions had discussed changing its meeting time from the current 6 p.m. twice a month on Thursdays. The proposed ordinance on amending meeting times was placed on the commission’s agenda for the first time last week. City documents in the commission’s packet showed it had the option to change meeting times to 9 a.m. or 2 p.m.

Instead, the commissioners instructed acting City Manager Mark Martinez to conduct a poll on Facebook and the city’s website to get residents’ opinions on the proposal.

Martinez also will check into the cost of printing and inserting a flyer in residents’ water bills to inform them about the plan.

Martinez said an earlier meeting time would save money because several city employees are required to work overtime during evening meetings. He said earlier times also would allow the city to finish time-sensitive contracts the same day the commission takes action on them.

Martinez said new technology allows residents to view commission meetings and comment in real time via internet streaming. Footage of meetings also are archived on the city’s YouTube channel.

Mayor Pro Tem Ralph Moya noted the city changed its meeting times from 10 a.m. to evenings during the 1980s because residents requested it. He said at the time they disliked having to take time off work to attend meetings.

Moya advocated putting the meeting-change proposal to the public “to see what they want.”

Commissioner Christopher Arias asked whether a note about the proposal could be inserted in residents’ July water bills. Martinez said it was too late to do that; the earliest that could be accomplished would be in August billings.

Arias said his grandmother does not have a Facebook account and cannot take part in such an online poll. He asked for an estimate of mailing a copy of the plan to residents within water bills.

Cherry said he was skeptical of a Facebook poll: “It’s not scientific.” He questioned how the city would weigh the results and whether the poll would be overrun with negative comments.

City Clerk Angelica Gray said the commission in 1999 set its current 6 p.m. meeting times, changing it from 7:30 p.m.

Other action

• Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve a government relations contract with Clinton D. Harden & Associates in Clovis for lobbying services for fiscal year 2022-2023.

Martinez said he negotiated Harden’s fee down to $1,000 a month, plus gross receipts tax. He said the firm has “brought more to the table” by attending New Mexico Legislature finance committee meetings throughout the year. He said Harden also has been helpful in finding grant and funding opportunities.

Moya, who voted against the contract, said he’s “not been too impressed” with Harden and wanted to open bid opportunities to other firms. Moya said the Harden firm once failed to inform state Sen. Pete Campos about a capital outlay issue.

• Commissioners voted to extend a professional services contract with New Mexico Local Government Law through July 31 at $150 an hour. The city has issued a request for proposals for a new attorney or firm to serve as its city attorney. Current city attorney Randall Van Vleck at the firm irked commissioners when he apparently overlooked several errors in the cannabis ordinance, including a section that inadvertently barred the sale of recreational marijuana. The ordinance later was corrected with the help of a lawyer associated with the New Mexico Municipal League.

• Commissioners approved a construction contract with DN Tanks of Grand Prairie, Texas, to rehabilitate the 11th Street concrete water tank. The state loan of $483,607 for the project includes principal forgiveness of $362,705, making the city’s share $120,902.

Moya asked about inspections of a nearby metal water tank, noting its proximity to Tucumcari Elementary School. Martinez said the state inspects the outside of the tank annually, and a diver last inspected its interior about five years ago. Moya asked the tank’s interior be inspected every two years. He mentioned the 1951 water tank rupture near downtown that killed four people and caused millions of dollars in property damage.

• Commissioners approved a $71,570.90 change order with File Construction of Albuquerque to rehabilitate the Hoover water tank. Project manager Ralph Lopez said bids were higher than expected, but he found other savings from not requiring a rocky-digging allotment, saving more than $66,000. With the changes, he said the project still will have more than $17,000 left in its budget.

• Commissioners approved applications to the Federal Aviation Administration to fund runway improvements at Tucumcari Municipal Airport. The $285,358 cost will be covered by $256,822 in federal funds, $25,682 in state funds and $2,854 in city funds.

• Commissioners voted for a resolution to amend city procurement rules. The limit for purchases without requiring bids previously was $1,000. Martinez recommended changing it to $2,500 because of inflationary pressures and as a time-saving measure.

• Commissioners voted for a resolution establishing per diem and mileage rates for city employees as established by state law.

• In the consent agenda, the commission approved a permit for the Tucumcari Farmers Market to use Wailes Park from July 9 through Oct. 15.

Other matters

• Moya said the city had received six applications for the city manager position. He and other commissioners said they were open to meeting with candidates this week or the week of July 11. Martinez will step down from his current position and revert to his assistant city manager post.

• When Moya asked about future street work, Lopez said he was working on $13 million in grant applications that included two “big” street jobs. When asked about the crumbling road surface of Third Street near Dunn Funeral Home, Lopez said that would be an expensive fix because it contains a concrete underlay. He estimated a full repair for 1 1/2 blocks would cost $1.5 million.

Martinez said he would seek to train city department heads how to write their own grant applications for federal money.

• Martinez said he would request a two-hour work session on July 14 to go over the city’s fiscal-year 2023 budget. He then would request a July 21 special meeting to discuss it, then adopt the budget during its regular meeting July 28.

• Martinez said he learned of several methods during a New Mexico City Management Association meeting on how to conduct meetings to save time and bring individual training to commissioners.