Arch Hurley chooses interim board member

The Arch Hurley Conservancy District board of directors appointed an interim municipal board member after a second applicant for the position unexpectedly dropped out of consideration.

The board chose Jason Box, farm manager at the Rex E. Kirksey Agriculture Science Center in Tucumcari, after two closed executive sessions totaling about 40 minutes to interview him and the other candidate, Justin “Slik” Knapp, during its Dec. 13 meeting.

After board members interviewed Box and Knapp for about 30 minutes, board President Robert Lopez said he appreciated both candidates’ interest and enthusiasm for the position.

Lopez said the board had chosen to operate as a four-person body until a new member was elected in November 2023. Lopez encouraged them to file as candidates and let the voters decide.

With that, Knapp said he would respectfully decline to be a candidate and recommended to board members they appoint Box to the position.

The board went back into closed executive session, then appointed Box when open session resumed about 10 minutes later.

The board’s longtime secretary-treasurer, U.V. Henson, resigned in September due to health reasons.

In other business:

— District manager Franklin McCasland reported the water level of Conchas Lake stood at 4,163.1 feet that morning, which was 0.2 feet lower than the previous month.

He said the lake received 673 acre-feet of inflow in November, with 1,475 acre-feet of evaporation and other losses.

The district finished its second straight growing season without allocating water to area farmers due to persistent drought. The district typically diverts water to its irrigation canals only when the lake’s level is above 4,174 feet.

The U.S. Drought Monitor map as of Dec. 13 showed eastern New Mexico was in extreme, severe or moderate drought conditions. More than 80% of the state remained in some state of drought.

— McCasland said he submitted to the state legislature a capital outlay request totaling $150,000. He said $100,000 of that was for equipment, and $50,000 would be used for removing woody vegetation from canals.

— The board voted to approve $600 in safety bonuses to employees after no preventable accidents were reported in 2022.

McCasland said employees are conscientious about avoiding risks. “The guys are really good at watching out for each other,” he said.

The board after a closed executive session also approved a $1,000 bonus to McCasland.

Lopez said the district’s budget and employee morale were good despite the lack of water. He said the board appreciated the work McCasland had done and wanted to reward him for it.