CITY OF TUCUMCARI

MINUTES

March 13, 2008

The Tucumcari City Commission met for their regular meeting on Thursday, March 13, 2008, at 6:22 p.m. in the City Commission Chambers following a reception for retiring Commissioners Mary Mayfield and Christopher Maestas. Members present constituting a quorum were Jimmy Sandoval, Jim Lafferty, Antonio Apodaca, Robert Lumpkin, and Jim Witcher.

City staff members present were John R. Sutherland, Jr., City Manager; Marty Garcia, Finance Director/Assistant City Manager; Jeannette Maddaford, City Clerk; Clara Rey, Administrative Assistant; Erin Baca, New Administrative Assistant; Doug Powers, Community Development Director; Yvette Fazekas, Community Development Grant Writer; Mike Cherry, Fire Chief; Joe Ramirez, Waste Water Superintendent; Charlie Sandoval, Water Superintendent; Derek Shaw, Police Sergeant; Bruce Nutt, Museum Director; and Suzann Martin, Senior Citizens Director.

Jim Witcher, Minister of the First Christian Church, led the invocation and Mayor Apodaca led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Reorganization

A motion was made by Commissioner Lumpkin and seconded by Commissioner Sandoval to nominate Antonio Apodaca as Mayor and Jim Witcher as Mayor Pro Tem. Roll Call:

Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin Witcher Sandoval

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Consideration of Addition/Deletions

Mayor Apodaca requested that Item D under New Business - Engineers Inc. Presentation be moved after Items From Citizens and Item B(2) Mesalands Dinosaur Museum Lodgers’ Tax Recipient Report be deleted from the agenda.

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Commissioner Lumpkin and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher to approve the minutes of the February 28, 2008 regular Commission meeting. Roll Call:

Witcher Sandoval Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Approval of Vouchers

A motion was made by Commissioner Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Lumpkin to approve the City vouchers. Roll Call:

Sandoval Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin Witcher Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Items from Citizens

Ruth Nelson, owner of Pajarito Interiors, stated that she had been patient for the past ten months following the fire at the Sands Dorsey building. She noted that she has been shut off from deliveries at the back of the store due to the bracing erected by the owner of Sands Dorsey and now the alley is totally blocked due to work on the west end of the alley. Because of this, she noted that all her deliveries would be unloaded at the front showroom door while the delivery truck blocks traffic on Main Street. She noted that the Commission passed a resolution six months ago to deem the building hazardous and a public safety hazard and prior to that the City gave the owner 90 days as required by the City Ordinance to remedy the situation and nothing has happened. She stated that she has had enough of the reasons why something has not been done as the City Commission is mandated by their own ordinances to rid the downtown area of the blight as it is hurting her property value plus her ability to carry on her business. She noted that Durango, Colorado had a fire in which three businesses burned and the next day they were bulldozed down by the City of Durango. She noted that her four full-time jobs are in jeopardy if something is not done. She asked the Commission to take control and put the demolition of the building out for bid, as they have their own engineers, so this does not have to be drawn out. Mayor Apodaca acknowledged that the Commission would take Ms. Nelson’s concerns under advisement and will put this topic on the next agenda for discussion.

New Business

Commissioner Lafferty acknowledged that he had requested that Engineers Inc. be put on the agenda for a presentation as staff had told the Commission that Engineers Inc. had never asked to be included when Requests for Proposals were advertised. So he suggested that Engineers Inc. come to the Commission meeting and present what engineering services they could provide. David Maxwell, Chief Executive Officer of Engineers Inc., presented an overview of the company and the many different projects they have worked on as engineers throughout New Mexico. He acknowledged that Engineers Inc. was established in Tucumcari in 1994 and eventually started doing quite a bit of work for the City of Tucumcari, but now they are not doing any work. He stated the relationship started to deteriorate when the company made some mistakes, so he would like to restore the relationship to the City. He noted that he has made a number of changes, one being the way they approach projects and staffing, and feels the City would be pleasantly surprised with the changes that have been made. He acknowledged that Engineers Inc. does not normally do landfill projects. Commissioner Lafferty stated that he appreciated Maxwell acknowledging that Engineers Inc. had made some mistakes and asked if designing a pipeline to bring Ute Lake water to the City of Tucumcari was within the expertise of Engineers Inc. and Maxwell said they would be interested in bidding on the project.

Ordinances and Resolutions

RESOLUTION 2008-07 - A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COMMISSION, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF TUCUMCARI, NEW MEXICO REQUESTING PARTICIPATION IN STATE & TRIBAL ASSISTANCE GRANT (STAG) INDIVIDUAL PROJECT PROGRAM AND ASSURING THAT SUFFICIENT LOCAL MATCHING FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE. City Manager Sutherland reported that the resolution was a result of Senator Bingaman’s Office contacting the City offering to work to get money to improve the transmission line and storage capacity at the Hoover Well Field. Assurance was given that funds from the Water Trust Board can be used as matching funds. In answer to Commissioner Lafferty’s question whether the Trust Board had approved the $3.5 million, it was noted the City is very close to being approved, but the funding agency will not hold the City to the application if Trust funds are not received. City Manager Sutherland noted that the City should be notified by the Water Trust Board very soon and Powers noted that the City is in very good shape for being funded, but there is the $380,000 in Legislative Capital Outlay that could be used as matching funds if needed. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Lumpkin to approve Resolution 2008-07 for the submission of the STAG Grant application. Roll Call:

Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin Witcher Sandoval

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

RESOLUTION 2008-08 A RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING 18-HOLE AND 9-HOLE GOLF FEES FOR THE TUCUMCARI MUNICIPAL GOLF COURSE. City Manager Sutherland reported that the proposal was from the new Golf Pro to address a nine-hole fee for the traveler who only has time to play nine holes and doesn’t want to pay the full 18-hole rate. Also at the same time they recommended rounding the daily fees to an even amount to include the gross receipts tax. Commissioner Lafferty asked if this had been presented to the Golf Course Advisory Board and was advised it had not. Commissioner Lumpkin said he had contacted various golfers and they told him the resolution was good as a flat golfing fee that included the tax would make it easier on the golfers and he also noted the youth fee was very reasonable. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Lumpkin to approve Resolution 2008-08. Roll Call:

Apodaca Witcher Sandoval Lafferty Lumpkin

Yes Yes Yes No Yes

RESOLUTION 2008-09 A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COMMISSION, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF TUCUMCARI, NEW MEXICO, WHEREBY THE CITY COMMISSION INSTRUCTS CITY STAFF TO SUBMIT A RECYCLING & ILLEGAL DUMPING GRANT APPLICATION TO THE NEW MEXICO ENVIRONMENT DEPARTMENT FOR PURCHASING RECYCLING CONTAINERS. Yvette Fazekas, Grant Writer, reported they are trying to bring awareness that landfills are running out of room and the need to recycle will make it last longer and keep the cost down on the residents of Tucumcari. Therefore, Tucumcari is applying for a grant to purchase a large recycling container and some smaller ones that will be placed on city property. The grant has a maximum amount of $20,000 and no match is required, but the City will show a match by finding sources to take the recyclables. She reported there is some community support of the project as students had approached her from Mesalands Community College and the High School is already recycling. The City will be collecting cardboard, paper, aluminum, office paper, steel cans, glass, and plastic. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Lumpkin to approve Resolution 2008-09 Roll Call:

Sandoval Lafferty Lumpkin Witcher Apodaca

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

RESOLUTION 2008-10 - A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COMMISSION, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF TUCUMCARI, NEW MEXICO, DEMONSTRATING SUPPORT FOR THE RENEWABLE ENERGY TRANSMISSION AUTHORITY FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TRANSMISSION LINES IN QUAY COUNTY. Dr. Phillip Barry, President of Mesalands Community College, spoke about the importance of supporting the Renewable Energy Transmission Authority and the importance of building the transmission line on the eastern side of New Mexico through Quay County. He noted that many transmission lines are nearing capacity and multiple states are working on solving the transmission line problem. The High Plains Express is a multi-stage, multi-federal/state agency effort to bring a transmission line across Wyoming and down the eastern border of Colorado and will now hook up with RETA which is reported to be going down the eastern side of New Mexico south and then west to Arizona and California. Barry reported that in prior legislative sessions, Governor Richardson tried to pass a transmission line authority, but last year he changed the language of the bill so 20% of the energy in the line must come from renewable sources. After the bill was passed, the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority (RETA) was created. He discussed the possibility of inviting the RETA Board to Tucumcari for a Board meeting, so Quay County could ask what needs to be done to encourage the transmission line to be located near Tucumcari, thus the reason for Resolution 2008-10. Also this would benefit Mesalands Community College’s new North American Wind Research and Training Center which recently hired the director for training and has sent out national press releases to 40 newspapers and television stations across the United States. Mesalands was invited to the Governors Economic Development Advisory Committee as well at Pat Vanderpool, Executive Director of the Greater Tucumcari Economic Development Corporation, to meet with an energy company from the United Kingdom. The energy companies have saturated Europe and they are now coming to the United States. So work needs to be done to contact the United Kingdom to let them know the City and the College would like them to locate in this area as this will create more jobs and possibly bring additional American and foreign students to the college. He noted that Tucumcari must think outside the boundaries of Tucumcari and Quay County. He speculated that this is like the start up of computer age as renewable energy is here to stay. He reported that India and China will be the next countries coming to the United States and Mesalands is interested in developing a relationship with China. He recognized Commissioner Lumpkin as the person who was instrumental in helping Dr. Barry get the North American Wind Research and Training Center started. Barry stated that a letter or some contact must be made with the United Kingdom and other countries to let them know that the City of Tucumcari is interested in having them locate in Quay County whether it is an office or an entire wind farm. Barry stated that the college is building a magnificent training center and if all the wind farms go somewhere else, it will not only hurt the economy but the college. He noted that it would be up to the City Commission and the County Commission to invite and host the RETA Board in Tucumcari and ask what the City and County can do and tell them we are interested in the transmission line locating here. He reported that another City was at the Governors Economic Development Conference and made a recommendation as to where the transmission line should be placed and it was not through Quay County. Commissioner Lumpkin stated that he thought endorsing the Resolution was a great start and then very soon start working with RETA to come to Tucumcari to talk to the City, County and College. A motion was made by Commissioner Lafferty and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher to pass Resolution 2008-10 and a challenge to the Commission to take a leadership role through in establishing some form of task force to move the renewable energy forward in Quay County. Mayor Pro Tem asked that a letter be written immediately that is signed by the entire Commission to encourage the United Kingdom group to locate in Quay County. Dr. Barry stated that Pat Vanderpool, Executive Director of EDC, made three points on behalf of the City and County Commissions and they were to follow some protocol to make sure the entities can contact the energy company from the United Kingdom because the company first contacted the State of New Mexico. Commissioner Lafferty asked about developing a smaller rapid response task force with one person from one from Mesalands, one from the County Commission, one from Economic Development Corporation, and one from the City Commission that does not need to wait 30 days for a meeting. Dr. Barry said that was a very prudent idea that does not need to come back to the respective boards as there may be the need to reach out to the foreign countries in order to get them to locate in Quay County and it does cost money and they would need to give the representative very broad latitude. Mayor Pro Tem recommended that the task force appointment be on the next meeting’s agenda. Roll Call:

Witcher Sandoval Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

RESOLUTION 2008-11 - A RESOLUTION BY THE CITY COMMISSION, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF TUCUMCARI, NEW MEXICO, AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF AN AIRPORT HANGAR BY THE TUCUMCARI FIRE DEPARTMENT. Fire Chief Mike Cherry reported that the hangar would give the Fire Department a substation at the Airport which is now in the City limits as there is an obligation to provide fire protection. Since the Airport is over a mile and half from a fire department, the ISO rates the Fire Department down for areas that are not covered by a fire station. After the hangar is brought up to state standards, annual funding will come from the State Fire Marshall’s Office for that building. Cherry stated that the City is rated at five with a rating of one being the best and ten the worst. Mayor Pro Tem Witcher made a motion and Commissioner Lafferty seconded the motion to approve Resolution 2008-11 to allow the Fire Department to purchase the airport hangar for a fire department substation. Roll Call:

Sandoval Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin Witcher

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

City Manager’s Report

Sergeant Derek Shaw presented the Police Department statistics for the month of February 2008. He reported 458 calls of service; 54 arrests; 23 motor vehicle accidents; 20 domestic violence; 8 DWI's; no minor in possession; 128 traffic citations; 2 auto thefts; 22 false burglary alarms; 16 residential burglaries; 24 vandalisms; 32 larcenies; 5 possession of marijuana/paraphernalia; 9 assault and batteries; 20 noise complaints; 5 public fighting; 1 shot fired; 3 child abuse cases; 1 sexual assault, and 1 seizure of U.S. currency. Shaw thanked the Commissioners for his thirteen years with the City as he will be doing a year commitment with the International Police Commission and will be stationed in other countries if he passes his tests. City Manager Sutherland thanked Officer Shaw for his outstanding contribution to the City. He received a round of applause.

Fire Chief Cherry gave the February 2008 report for the Fire Department: 10 fires; 4 rescues; and 2 hazardous conditions for a total of 16 calls. EMS had a total of 89 calls which consisted of the following: 45 - 911 calls; 5 calls for Dunns; 3 intercepts; 23 transfers; 8 MVA; 1 no patient; and 5 standbys.

Water Department Superintendent Charlie Sandoval reported that water production was down for the month of February 2008, with the cooperatives buying more, but the city residents are buying less. He reported for the last four quarters the uranium results were 27.3, 26.1, 18.4, 16.1 with a 21.97 average, which is well below the 30 allowable maximum. Commissioner Lumpkin noted that getting these uranium results down requires a lot of work and commended Sandoval.

Waste Water Superintendent Joe Ramirez reported that he was going to a pre-bid conference in regard to renovations for the Waste Water Treatment Plant and is expecting construction companies to be in to spec the site. Based on the water that is going back into the ground, he has to issue a monthly MPDS permit report for levels they must meet. They have been meeting the levels since February since under a new permit. He reported that there had been an incident at the plant where they lost the pumps similar to the incident that happened in March 2007 when the City had a heavy rain and hailstorm. His men took action and a four-inch portable pump was installed to divert water. He reported to EPA that they used partial treatment of the plant and met the parameters that are required by the government which were a little higher than normal. During that incident the four-inch pump went down and since then they rented a six-inch portable pump for standby purposes. They have investigated why the influent pumps went down and found that there is moisture in the conduit from the last episode. The pumps are going to be addressed in the pre-bid conference and they should be fixed in the near future.

Mr. Sutherland reported that he had a meeting with the owners and managers of businesses on South First Street to discuss the problem of blowing trash. The businesses that attended were able to discuss ideas that could improve the problem. They provided useful suggestions the City could use to improve service in the area and are going forward on a mission and the situation has greatly improved. On March 4 he traveled to Santa Fe to attend a meeting the 49^th meeting of the parties to the Canadian River Compact. Congressman Udall notified Tucumcari that the City has been recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation as a Tree City and noted the commendation should go to Yvette Fazekas of the Community Development Office and the Parks and Cemetery Department for bring additional trees to the City and keep them growing. The City Water Department Superintendent Charlie Sandoval will be recognized at the New Mexico Rural Water Association Annual Conference as the Outstanding Small Water Operator of the Year. He reminded the Commissioners of the Work Session scheduled for March 14, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. to discuss preliminary revenue estimates for the upcoming budget and receive general direction from the Commissioners on goals for the budget.

Bids and Contracts

A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Lumpkin to approve the Project Agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation for the STEP Grant 08-PT-DS-105 called 100 Days & Nights of Summer for $1,500 reimbursement for traffic safety overtime. Roll Call:

Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin Witcher Sandoval

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Old Business

Mayor Apodaca acknowledged the Planning and Zoning minutes of January 22, 2008.

A motion was made by Commissioner Lafferty and seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher for the staff to take the new Preliminary Street Plan and apply it to the streets in District 5 and in the northeast area of the City near Whitmore with the possibility of doing a Special Paving Assessment District to see if those streets could be fixed according to the plan and allow the local property owners pay a proportional amount of the cost to have the streets repaved in that area. City Manager Sutherland stated that this could be done as per the information on Paving Districts that was presented by Paul Cassidy at the last Commission meeting. He stated that the City would look into this and take whatever action is necessary to put this together. Mayor Apodaca asked how much this would cost the City and is the motion tying the City’s hands. Sutherland indicated that the process calls for contacting the property owners to see how many are in favor of the paving district and then surveys must be done to determine what streets need to be done and what the cost will be and then determine how they fit into the preliminary plan. Through the work planned for the MAP and Coop Projects, the City will be addressing issues in that general neighborhood. Yvette Fazekas stated that MAP included Second Street from the Route 66 Boulevard to Charles Avenue in Phase I and Phase II will be next year and it will be Third Street from Route 66 Boulevard to Charles. The options for the Coop Project this coming year are: Option I - finish Sixth Street; Option II - complete Amarosa from First Street to Adams; and Option III - redo the intersection on Fifth Street and Estrella. Lafferty noted that Amarosa, located in the business district, and the Fifth Street intersection were the only streets in District 5 on the Coop Program. He noted that he was not looking for this to go to the point of surveying, but for the staff to take the new Street Plan and determine where it fits for the condition of the roads because there are several intersections in District 5 where there is no pavement, just dirt. Since he has been on the Commission, it has always been said that the street money is not available for the areas in District 5. He has had property owners express that they would be willing to help with the cost to pave their streets. Then the starting point according to the Street Plan is if property owners want their street fixed and the plan says they are not due to be fixed until ten years, then the City will have to say if the property owner wants them fixed, then the property owner will have to pay for the expense. If the plan says the street will be fixed in the next couple of years, then the property owner will know the street will be fixed in the near future. Mayor Apodaca stated that the streets north of Whitmore needed attention. Community Development Director Powers stated that a couple of years ago, they did some work on the waterlines in the Whitmore area. Water Superintendent Sandoval noted that when streets are repaved, the City needs to keep in mind the replacement of the waterlines, as he hates to tear of a recently paved street when an old waterline develops problems. Mayor Pro Tem Witcher stated that the businesses on Second Street were talking to him about the same thing. Witcher added to the motion for the City to notify the public about what the City can do on repaving streets and what the property owner would need to do if they are interested in having their street repaved. Roll Call:

Lumpkin Witcher Sandoval Lafferty Apodaca

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

New Business

City Manager Sutherland reported that a new proposal was presented to the Quay County Gaming Authority by the Coronado Partnership, the new investors in the Racino, to receive a larger portion of the owner’s share. They asked that the governmental owners of the Quay County Gaming Authority take a smaller ownership portion in order to make the investment work. Commissioner Lafferty noted that the City had fronted the money for the land, the City will have to do the infrastructure work, as well as increase the Police, Fire, and EMS, and therefore, Tucumcari is taking a bigger part of the burden and a very small part of the profit. He offered as future negotiations take place, the City needs to keep in mind the additional expenses that will be incurred while the other governmental partners do not incur any of the major expense. A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Sandoval to table Coronado Partnership LLC Option Agreement until the next meeting when the documents are received. Roll Call:

Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin Witcher Sandoval

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Bruce Nutt, Museum Director, gave a Lodgers’ Tax Recipient report and thanked the Commissioners for their support of the Museum and their participation in events. He noted that the collection is diverse and is unbelievable to the visitors. In 2001 the attendance was 3,164 and last year attendance was 5,137. He noted that a lot of the growth was due to the advertising made possible from the Lodgers Tax money.

A motion was made by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Lumpkin to approve the sale of Lot 3 Block 24 of the McGee Addition (609 South Jackson) to Rocky and Gina Chavez for $2,200. Roll Call:

Witcher Sandoval Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Items from Commissioners

Commissioner Lafferty inquired about the School/Landfill issue. City Manager Sutherland reported that a letter and proposal on the amount to be charged was sent to the Superintendent and he has not heard anything back from him. He noted that from conversations with the Superintendent that half of $24,000 was within the range Mr. McKinney was looking at paying. Doug Powers stated that the School Administration was going to put the Granger demolition project out for bid to see how that comes out and then the School would be getting back with the City. Lafferty pointed out that since the tonnage of Granger School was estimated, and if the weight was more than anticipated, then the $24,000 fee would increase proportionately due to the weight increase. Powers stated that is how it was presented at the School Board meeting. Lafferty stated that he was concerned because the City’s engineer said when the landfill fills up, the City’s prices will double. And if the landfill is fills up quicker, then the City is increasing the price for the citizens of Tucumcari sooner than necessary. At the Lodgers’ Tax Work Session, the lights being out on the Interchange was brought up. Also he noted that the electrical boxes have been run over by the trucks again near the Flying J so something different needs to be done to remedy the situation. Commissioner Lafferty stated that he was not against adjusting the rates at the Golf Course to make it work more efficiently, but wants the Golf Course Advisory Board to be involved. He echoed the same concerns the business owner spoke about concerning Sands Dorsey Drug. The City took a stance with the Sands Dorsey property owner and told him the building was unsafe and he had 90 days to fix it, in which he stated that he was working with MainStreet, Historic Society and he would get it done and now it has been six months and the City is still getting the same excuse. He noted that the Ordinance does not say the City has the option of having someone do the work for us. A Resolution was passed and the City should not have passed the resolution if the City did not intend to do the work. At some time you may have to pay for the work the City want performed. He felt the City is just as guilty as the owner of Sands Dorsey by not dealing with the problem. He stated that he is pushing to see the bracing taken down in the alley, so would like to see the City put it out for bid.

He noted that a mid-year budget review has not been held and there was no financial report given at this meeting and this is a concern. At some point, this needs to be addressed, as it is one of the main functions of the Commission.

He noted at a Lodgers Tax meeting, several motels had a concern about the Museum not being opened on weekends. The motels need something for the tourists to do on weekends and it seems that is when everything is closed.

Engineers Inc. was thanked for coming and making their presentation. He noted that if they can do a seven million dollar project for the New Mexico Highway Department, then they can do a $15,000 street plan project for Tucumcari. He stated that money spent in Tucumcari stays in Tucumcari, but did not say to hire companies that do cut rate work.

Lafferty noted that the Commissioners made several decisions during the meeting without asking for the City Manager’s input. He asked that the City Manager speak up at anytime that he does not like the direction the City Commissioners are going and asked that he say if he recommends approval, so there is the documentation in the minutes.

Commissioner Sandoval said the City Commissioners were going to have a very tough job ahead as he had been thinking about it and the only way to move forward; the kids that are graduating from high school if they go to college here, they can spend their money here and the City could invest the money for streets, lights, which would help the business people that way the money would stay in Tucumcari. It will be hard, but if everyone works together, it will help the City be able to get what is needed.

Commissioner Lumpkin agreed with Commissioner Lafferty that the City needs to move very quickly to help with the Sands Dorsey problem. An engineer told the City that the brace cannot be taken down because there is danger of the wall falling. There are business people that are suffering because of the Sands Dorsey owner who wants the City to wait. He noted that it was mentioned that the City could go out for bid for someone who might take down the building and they would furnish the engineering. He noted that he appreciated Ruth Nelson for coming to the meeting and wants the City to move forward as quickly as possible. He appreciated Engineers Inc. for coming and they acknowledge they made some mistakes in the past. He noted that he had a letter that he wanted the Commissioners to endorse about a law that gives tax credit for renewable energy as the law is about to expire. The tax credit would affect the Wind Farms and the training at Mesalands Community College. He asked the City Commission to endorse the letter that will go to Senator Bingaman and Senator Domenici to support the continuation of the renewable production energy tax credit. New Mexico will not get wind farms, if this does not pass. He noted there is a Solar Farm looking to build in New Mexico, but will not start construction until the credit is passed.

Mayor Pro Tem Witcher welcomed Commissioner Sandoval.

Mayor Apodaca welcomed Mr. Sandoval as well. He congratulated Charlie Sandoval on his award through the New Mexico Rural Water Association. He asked that a letter be written to Portales thanking them for their help with the problems at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. He thanked the Commission for their vote of confidence and noted there is a lot of work to do. He reported he will be giving the welcome at the Does State Conference on Saturday at the Elks Club. He also encouraged a meeting with David Essicks of Xcel.

Adjournment

There being no further business, a motion to adjourn was made by Mayor Pro Tem Witcher and seconded by Commissioner Lumpkin. Time noted 8:15 p.m. Roll Call:

Sandoval Lafferty Apodaca Lumpkin Witcher Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

______________________________

Antonio Apodaca, Mayor

ATTEST:

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