Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A line-item veto on $10 million in state funding for a new Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari actually expands on the ways the county can use the money.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Wednesday made line-item vetos in multiple sections of an appropriations bill approved by the New Mexico Legislature during its recently completed 30-day session.
In the bill, a $10 million Health Department allocation “for the construction of a hospital in Tucumcari-Quay County,” the words “the construction of” were stricken by the governor.
In a veto statement, Lujan Grisham wrote: “I have vetoed the words ‘the construction of’. The requirements of this appropriation are outside the scope of the agency’s statutory duties.”
Quay County manager Daniel Zamora made a call Thursday to the Diego Arencon, the governor’s deputy chief of staff, to clarify the situation.
Zamora said Lujan Grisham made the line-item veto on those three words so those funds wouldn’t be restricted only to construction of the hospital.
Lujan Grisham made a similar line-item veto and issued the same statement on another funding allocation for a health facility in Taos County.
Zamora said once the county receives an agreement with the state on the $10 million, it will finish the last 10% of the design for the new facility.
Zamora said he also would apply for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant of $20 million that essentially would cover the remaining costs of building a new Dr. Dan C. Trigg Memorial Hospital.
Unlike capital-outlay funds that aren’t awarded until the late summer or early fall, Zamora said he was optimistic the $10 million would be given to the county by July 1 — the beginning of the next fiscal year — because it was part of the appropriations bill.
During a county commission meeting Monday, Zamora explained how the governor’s line-item veto would allow the $10 million to be used for equipment and design, not just construction.
Commission Chairman Robert Lopez thanked Zamora and previous county manager Richard Primrose for their work in trying to build a new hospital. Lopez also praised the work of the county’s lobbyist, Hull Consulting of Albuquerque.
Commissioner Brian Fortner said area state lawmakers also ought to be thanked for their efforts.
The new Trigg Memorial Hospital would be built on county-acquired land just south of the current facility. Infrastructure at the current hospital, built almost 60 years ago, is beginning to fail.
Zamora has previously said he hoped to break ground on a new Trigg Memorial Hospital by spring 2025, though he admitted that might be optimistic.
These capital outlay projects slated for Quay County also survived the governor’s veto pen intact:
— Tucumcari cemetery office building replacement, $40,000;
— Princess Theatre renovations in Tucumcari, $135,000;
— Tucumcari water line repairs, $750,000;
— Sheriff’s office vehicle purchases, $100,000;
— County pneumatic roller purchase, $250,000;
— County dump truck and utility equipment for the road department, $400,000;
— Village of Logan water system improvements, including a well and storage tank monitoring system, $300,000;
— House Community Center kitchen improvements, $30,000.
In other county commission business:
— Commissioners approved applications to the New Mexico Department of Transportation for road repairs.
One was for the Cooperative Agreement Program that requests $339,408.15 to improve stretches of Quay Road 63, Quay Road AP and Quay Road AD.
Another was for $218,509.67 to improve Quay Road 62.9.
Another school bus route application was $120,962.41 for stretches of Quay Road 63, Quay Road AP and Evans Street.
Commissioners also approved Transportation Project Fund applications of $2.77 million to repair more than two miles of Quay Road 63, with a local match of $146,097.71.
Another approved TPF application for $328,263, with a match of $16,413.15, would cover planning, engineering and design for repairing 2.7 miles of Quay Road AR.
— Commissioners approved an Law Enforcement Protection Fund application for $105,500 in funding in fiscal year 2025 for the sheriff’s office. The money would be used for training and equipment.
— Commissioners approved a $60,000 subgrant application to the New Mexico Secretary of State’s office to bolster the county’s internet security.
— Commissioners approved a resolution authorizing a general fund budget increase of $22,500 to cover election costs, which eventually are covered by the Secretary of State.
— Zamora praised county department heads for finding grants to help fund operations. “They all do a great job funding funding to fill gaps we couldn’t afford,” he said.
— Commissioners voted to waive the fee for use of the fairgrounds by the Rex E. Kirksey Agricultural Science Center for a training session that will have people coming from all corners of the state.
— Renee Hayoz, administrator of the Quay County Family Health Center, reported it reached its goal of 375 patient encounters in February.
Zamora said he recently signed a proposal to replace the facility’s roof. He said the work would be done on the weekends to lessen disruption to the clinic’s operations.
— Commissioners approved a series of Public Employees Retirement Association reports for the Bard-Endee, District 1, District 3, Quay and Forrest fire stations.