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CITY OF TUCUMCARI MINUTES FEBRUARY 22, 2007 The Tucumcari City Commission met for their regular
meeting on Thursday, February 22, 2007, at 6:00 p.m. in the City Commission
Chambers. Members present constituting
a quorum were Mary Mayfield, Christopher Maestas, Jim Lafferty, and Antonio
Apodaca. Commissioner Jim Witcher was
absent. City staff present at the meeting were Richard
Primrose, City Manager; Jeannette Maddaford, City Clerk/Assistant Finance
Director; Clara Rey, Administrative Assistant; Mike Cherry, Fire Chief; Howie
Tucker, Golf Professional; and Ron Wilmot, Convention Center Director. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Mary
Mayfield. The Pledge of Allegiance was
led by Commissioner Lafferty and Lendy Borden, Pastor of the Abundant Life
Church, gave the invocation. Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Lafferty and
seconded by Commissioner Maestas to approve the minutes as corrected of the
regular meeting held February 8, 2007 by changing the word, chicken, to
rooster. Roll Call: Maestas Lafferty Apodaca Mayfield Yes Yes
Yes Yes Approval of Vouchers A motion was made by Commissioner Lafferty and
seconded by Commissioner Maestas to approve the vouchers presented for
payment. Roll Call: Lafferty Apodaca Mayfield Maestas Yes Yes
Yes Yes City Manager’s Report Mayor Mayfield noted that this would be the last time
City Manager Primrose would be giving the City Manager’s report as he would
start March 1 as Quay County Manager.
City Manager Richard Primrose reported that Congressman Tom Udall held a
Town Hall meeting on Tuesday and they discussed the RUS Grants received from
the federal government and the future needs of Tucumcari and Quay County such
as U.S. Highway 54 and wind energy. The Commissioners and staff went to Santa Fe to attend
the Municipal League Reception and Municipal Day. They also met with the Legislators concerning the City’s Capital
Outlay needs. He touched on all the projects currently on going for
the City. The landfill is still under
excavation and will be of importance to the whole region. A meeting was held with Xcel, A.S. Horner,
the Department of Transportation, and Bixby in order to get the lights taken
care of on First Street. When in Santa
Fe he visited with Dennis Peralta, Transportation Department Assistant District
Engineer, about the other Tucumcari projects the Transportation Department is
helping with such as the Northside Project which will start soon; they will be
giving some money to abate the Railroad Depot; the other project that is
underway is at Estrella and Adams. The
Water Department is doing a block of sewer line and they have a waterline that
needs to be worked on as well. Also the
KOA lift station is being worked on.
Flying J is starting the dirt work for their new facility on Mountain
Road and then Love’s will be right behind them in starting their expansion
project. A contractor is cleaning up
the Ethanol Plant so they can start production soon. Doug Powers, Community Development Director, arrived
from Santa Fe and gave a report on his presentation for funding for turning
lanes for the Landfill. He talked to
some of the staff people before he returned to Tucumcari and he was told
“unofficially”, it appeared that Tucumcari had the number one project based on
the rating and ranking. So it looks
like this project will be included in the Transportation Department’s
Improvement Plan and would be funded next year. He reported that the Transportation Department would be coming to
Tucumcari March 22 for a meeting and it would be another opportunity for
Tucumcari to thank the Department of Transportation. Paul Gray, District Engineer, said the Curb and Gutter Project
for the Northside had been awarded to Pacheco Construction and would start in
30-40 days. He also said the Department
of Transportation had approved the additional funding for the Coop Project, so
the City should receive the grant agreement soon. City Manager Primrose thanked former City Manager Ray
Hohstadt and City Mayor Maciel for giving him a chance to work for the City in
2002. Also he thanked the City
Commissioners Mayfield, Apodaca, Maestas, Pino, and Litchfield for appointing
him as Interim City Manager and then after four months having faith in him for
the appointment as City Manager. He
thanked the citizens and staff for the support they have given him. Commissioner Apodaca asked if there was going to be
anymore testing for the landfill.
Primrose reported two test holes were not done correctly, so one more
has to be drilled and tested. Also a
baseline has to be established by monitoring the wells for a given period to
determine the water quality prior to the opening of the landfill and then test
again after the City starts accepting trash. Bids and Contracts Doug Powers reported that the Airport Engineering
Services were advertised and two proposals were received from the engineering
firms of Molzen-Corbin and HDR. He
noted that based on the committee’s rating and ranking, HDR was being
recommended. He noted that HDR’s staff
would meet with the City on a monthly basis.
A motion was made by Commissioner Lafferty and seconded by Commissioner
Apodaca to award the airport engineering service to HDR. Roll Call: Apodaca Mayfield Maestas Lafferty Yes Yes
Yes Yes Doug Powers presented the Multiple Project
Professional Service Agreement with HDR for Airport Engineering Services that
allows each project to be negotiated under each task order. A motion was made by Commissioner Apodaca
and seconded by Commissioner Maestas to approve the Professional Services Agreement
with HDR. Roll Call: Mayfield Maestas Lafferty Apodaca Yes Yes
Yes Yes New Business Commissioner Maestas asked that limiting certain
events at the Convention Center be on the agenda again for discussion and
action. He stated that he had called
the City Attorney Randy Knudson for his opinion and made copies of his response
for the other Commissioners. The
attorney stated that the cage fighting is not regulated in the State of New
Mexico, but a bill is pending in the legislature. He also noted that the City
was not doing anything wrong or illegal.
Maestas stated that he did have a concern for the adults drinking in
front of children as this encourages children to drink alcohol as they will
follow the examples set by adults. The
State Alcohol and Gaming Commission recommended that underage children sit in
one area and drinking adults in another area.
He pointed out that Senate Bill 305 states that Cage Fighting has
significant issues and is inherently dangerous and there will be consequences
such as serious injury and even death.
He stated that the attorney said that some states have banned Cage
Fighting and the attorney stated that the City could pass an ordinance to ban
Cage Fighting. Maestas said it is not
worth any amount of money to have children start drinking. He noted that the City could tell people
when to cut their weeds, so the City can limit certain events at the Convention
Center. A motion was made by
Commissioner Maestas and seconded by Commissioner Apodaca to draw up an
ordinance to limit events at the Convention Center. Commissioner Apodaca stated that he did not support the motion,
but seconded it to allow for discussion.
Lafferty said the City Commissioners should not be making decisions
about how people should live their lives as long as they are not doing things
that are against the law. Roll Call: Maestas Lafferty Apodaca Mayfield Yes No
No No The floor was opened for nominations for the
“At-Large” vacancy on the Lodgers’ Tax Board.
Commissioner Lafferty nominated Matt Posinski, Hospital Administrator,
and Commissioner Apodaca seconded the nomination. Roll Call: Maestas Lafferty Apodaca Mayfield Yes Yes Yes Yes Commissioner Lafferty reported that a definition had
been handed out to the Commissioners that defined the “Tourist Related”
position and felt the definition is broad enough that could be used for a car
dealer, a restaurant owner/manager, etc. as just about every business in town
deals with tourists. A motion was made
by Commissioner Lafferty and seconded by Commissioner Apodaca to appoint Joanne
Denton to the Lodgers’ Tax Advisory Board in the “Tourist Related”
position. Roll Call: Lafferty Apodaca Mayfield Maestas Yes Yes Yes Yes Executive
Session
A motion was made by Commissioner Lafferty and
seconded by Commissioner Apodaca to go into Executive Session pursuant to the
Open Meetings Act 10-15-1(H)2 for the purpose of discussing limited personnel
matters. Time noted: 6:28 p.m.
Roll Call: Apodaca Mayfield Maestas Lafferty Yes Yes Yes Yes A motion was made by Commissioner Maestas and
seconded by Commissioner Apodaca that no action was taken and only limited
personnel matters were discussed pursuant to the Open Meetings Act
10-15-1(H)2. Time noted 6:55 p.m. Roll Call: Mayfield Maestas Lafferty Apodaca Yes Yes Yes Yes A motion was made by Commissioner Apodaca and seconded
by Commissioner Maestas to appoint Clara Rey as Interim City Manager. Roll Call: Lafferty Apodaca Mayfield
Maestas Yes Yes Yes Yes Items from Commissioners Commissioner Apodaca said he had spoken to some people
and they were concerned about public safety.
He said he was focused on what the governing body could do to help the
Tucumcari Police Department with recruitment and retention of police officers. Commissioner Lafferty echoed Commissioner Apodaca’s
comments and stated that when the budget process is started and the
Commissioners do what they are charged to do, they will find an answer. He gave Richard a pat on the back. He stated that as a newly elected official,
he had been pretty rough on Primrose because he (Lafferty) came on board after
the battle had been started and that Primrose had been fighting for seven years
and he had new ideas and wanted to know why different things were not
done. It probably seemed that he was
being harsh and critical, but he wanted to acknowledge that during Richard’s
tenure, there really has been a change in the positive direction and the reason
he pushed hard was he wanted to see the City continue in the direction that
Richard has led the City. He stated
that he would miss him and the City would miss him, but that he was close
enough that the City could still use his expertise when needed. Commissioner Maestas praised the ambulance service for
being cordial and helpful several weeks ago when they picked up his mother who
broke her pelvis. Also he thanked the
fire department for helping put out a fire in a classic car at his home. Also he wished Primrose good luck. Mayor Mayfield stated that she had served as
Commissioner with three city managers and she had really appreciated Richard’s
sense of humor, tact, and leadership in leading the City in the direction that
the Commission wanted to go. She stated
that everyone will definitely miss him, but she felt that the City has a good,
close relationship with the County now and he will always keep the City in his
heart and help make decisions that will be best for the City. She stated that she appreciated him while he
was with the City and regretted that he is leaving the City because he was able
to keep the Commissioners focused on the main issues. She wished him well. Mayor Pro-Tem Apodaca stated that he had already
talked to Richard and wished him good luck in all his endeavors. Mayor Mayfield reminded the Commissioners that Monday
is the last day to accept applications for the new City Manager, so Tuesday all
the applications will be in the Commissioners boxes fox review. In order to give all Commissioners time to
look over the applications, it was a consensus of the Commissioners to meet in
Executive Session on Saturday, March 3, 2007, at 9:00 a.m. at City Hall. Adjournment
There being no further business, a motion was made by
Commissioner Maestas and seconded by Commissioner Apodaca to adjourn the
regular meeting of the Board of City Commissioners. Time noted 7:00 p.m. Roll
Call: Mayfield Maestas Lafferty Apodaca Yes Yes
Yes Yes ___________________________________ Mary B.
Mayfield, Mayor ATTEST: _________________________________ Jeannette Maddaford, City Clerk |
