Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Tucumcari Mayor Ralph Moya wants the New Mexico Legislature to toughen criminal penalties against those who provide illegal drugs to mentally ill patients.
If that doesn’t happen, he’ll urge the city to pass stricter ordinances against such dealers, including jail time.
The city commission took step in that direction during its regular meeting July 31 by unanimously passing a resolution shepherded by Moya, a longtime mental health counselor.
Resolution 2023-27 “promoting awareness and protecting the mentally ill and vulnerable from the danger of illegal drugs” states that action is needed at the state or federal level to address a growing problem of dealers targeting the “mentally handicapped and developmentally disabled.”
“The actions of these illicit drug dealers harm our communities and ruin the lives our our vulnerable residents and their families,” the resolution states.
It states action should include “sentence enhancing legislation” for such dealers.
“It’s a crime because it endangers the individual and endangers the public,” Moya said later during the meeting.
He added that society “needs to step up” to stop those drug dealers.
Moya said psychotropic drugs often help mental patients function normally in society, but one dose of illicit drugs can unravel months or even years of treatment.
“I see it every day,” he said. “This is one of the hardest things to see. This is something very dear to my heart.”
The resolution, approved with no discussion from other commissioners, will be sent to the governor and leadership of the New Mexico House of Representatives and Senate.
After the meeting, Moya said he wants the Legislature to change the law so that selling illicit drugs to the mentally ill and other vulnerable people would be a fourth-degree felony.
Fourth-degree felony convictions are subject to up to 18 months in prison and up to a $5,000 fine.
If the legislature doesn’t act, Moya said he would recommend city ordinance be changed so such drug dealers are jailed for 90 days for the first offense and placed on a drug-dealer registry.
Moya said he was prompted to draft the resolution after two recent deaths of mentally ill people in Tucumcari, including one who had been stable for three or four years. He said those deaths weighed heavily on him.
Manager’s report
Items from city manager Paula Chacon:
— She said Tucumcari Municipal Pool could open as soon as this week once the contractor installs a pump that was on order.
Chacon said the city has hired six lifeguards and one manager for the pool. She said because the pool would reopen late in the season, she was considering reduced fees or free admission.
“We’re trying to get there,” Chacon said about opening the pool for the first time since 2019.
Chacon said enough funds are leftover to buy a new cover for the pool, a chair for handicapped customers and a new chlorination system. The city in January received a $216,000 state grant to repair the pool.
— Chacon said the New Mexico Environment Department approved the city opening bids for its wastewater-reuse project.
She said the city has obtained $3.2 million in grants and loans for Phase 2 of the project, which will cost a total of $8.7 million.
“It’s good that we have the funding to get it done,” she said.
Treated wastewater will be pumped and sprayed on pasture land in north rural Tucumcari.
— The city has obtained $2.8 million in state funding to install a water transmission line from the South 11th Street tank.
— Chacon said the New Mexico Department of Transportation is assessing street lights along Interstate 40 and expressed hope the inoperable ones would be repaired in a few weeks.
— Chacon also said NMDOT also was assessing drainage along First Street and Rankin Avenue for repairs.
Comments
In comments from commissioners:
— Moya asked Chacon for a timeline of when fire hydrants would be repaired. He noted the city’s fire-insurance rating fell in recent years due to their poor maintenance.
“We need to get that addressed,” he said. “It’s not looking good for us.”
Moya asked the city trim weeds and grass on its properties.
“It’s not fair to go after residents when we can’t keep our yards clean,” he said.
In response to a question from Moya, Chacon said the city has five ambulances in its fleet, with two being repaired for air conditioning problems.
Moya asked Chacon to lean on state transportation officials to repair drainage problems in several areas along Main Street.
— Commissioner Paul Villanueva asked that inserts be placed in water customers’ bills, reminding them that tree limbs and furniture should not be placed in city Dumpsters.
Other action
— Commissioners approved a change order for the Gamble Addition streets project. Project manager Ralph Lopez said the order adds one block of work on Gamble Avenue for $124,020.80. He said the cost will be covered by about $146,000 in unused funds for the project.
— Commissioners approved a contract modification for the Tucumcari Municipal Airport runway project. Lopez said the project was essentially done, and the modification was necessary to adjust for about $7,500 in unused materials. He said those funds primarily would go back to the Federal Aviation Administration.
— Commissioners approved its annual participation with the Eastern Plains Council of Governments for $1,878. Commissioner Christopher Arias was assigned as a voting member, with Chacon as an alternate.
— Commissioners heard a report from Jamie Luaders, director of the Tucumcari-Quay Regional Emergency Communications Center. She said the 911 center answered more than 1,100 calls from June 1 to July 15 with an average answer time of 5.2 seconds. Over 91% of calls are answered within 10 seconds.
Luaders said software for the 911 center would be upgraded in the coming months. Commissioner Mike Cherry asked Luaders for a quarterly report from the center, and she said she could comply.