City accepts gift of Levine Building

The city commission voted Thursday to accept the Levine Building on Main Street as a donation from its current owners.

The city of Clovis will accept the building on the basis that current federal and county tax liens on the building will be waived, the commission said.

According Susan Freed, a Santa Fe architect with the state Main Street organization, the building can be renovated for about $116,174. The renovated building could be sold for in excess of $200,000.

Obtaining the Levine Building for the city has been a project of Commissioner Gloria Wicker since late 2002. Wicker has been chiefly responsible for contacting the building’s several owners and researching the status of its tax liens, commission documents said.

Wicker said Thursday the Internal Revenue Service office in Phoenix has told her the federal lien would be dismissed for the city. She said the status of county liens must still be negotiated.

She said she believes the building could have a number of uses for the city, but doesn’t have a specific use in mind.

“I’m real thrilled with tonight’s result. The building has been an eyesore and a shame for some time, but, owing to the strength of its construction, it would cost more for the city to tear it down than to initiate repairs. Hopefully, we can do something with it that will benefit downtown Clovis,” she said.

In other business, the commission:

-- Turned down a request for $5,340 for the annual Ethnic Fair and Parade of Flags and People sponsored by the Clovis Cultural and Ethnic Affairs Committee. Commissioners said the requested amount was too much.

-- Tabled a request by Commissioner Kevin Duncan to reopen the motorcycle sports complex at Ned Houk Park, saying they will hold a study session on the matter.

-- Appointed Commissioner Catherine Haynes as a voting member and approved the election of six members to the city’s Parks and Recreation Board.

The members are Haynes, Thomas Cartwright, Barney Jaramillo, Terri Marney, Larry Moreno, Bobby Newman and Matthew Vetterly.

Two Clovis students — Alex Penland and Carli McCasland — will serve as non-voting members of the board.