Water, business topics at forum

STAFF WRITER

escarbrough@pntonline.com

The Portales Chamber of Commerce and Portales MainStreet hosted a public forum at the Yam Theater on Wednesday night. Moderator Donald Elder asked the question, “What quality of life project would you like to recommend or introduce for the city of Portales?”

Ward D candidate Michael James “Jim” Lucero discussed the need for “something to do,” but contemplated why Portales businesses with that purpose have failed in the past.

“Everyone talks about economic development. How can we bring in new business, some kind of entertainment center, movie theater, bowling alley? We’ve had all of those in the past. Why have they not succeeded and continued to be here now? I can use my influence as a business leader to try and help businesses who might want to start here,” he said.

Keith Thomas, the Ward D incumbent, stated that, if he is re-elected, he will put up to vote the city-funded construction of a family entertainment center in Portales.

“We’re going to let the people vote on whether or not they want an entertainment center in this community. The only way we’re going to get that type of facility here is to build it ourselves,” said Thomas.

Chad Heflin, candidate for Ward C, said that while he agreed with Thomas on letting citizens vote for an entertainment center, he did not believe that the local government should be involved in it.

“I think we should be more involved in letting other businesses know to choose us over the other community,” he said. “We’ve got RCCDC (Roosevelt County Community Development Corporation) helping out, we’ve got a great workforce, we’ve got Eastern right over here, and I think we ought to leave it up to the private sector to determine whether an entertainment center is warranted or not.”

Michelle Bailey, another Ward C candidate, said that the city has already done well in providing quality of life for its citizens, citing examples such as the walking trail and Eastern New Mexico University’s events. She said that quality of life should come from small, privately owned businesses.

“If the city can help with different funds to bring in those small businesses, I think that would be better for the city. If the city is solely responsible for providing these funds for these activities, it’s just going to drain the city,” Bailey said. “If we partnered with private companies or members of the community, I think it would be a win-win.”

Jessica Smith, the only candidate running in Ward B, wondered whether an entertainment center would be financially realistic for Portales.

“I think a lot of the problem with the businesses that have chosen to come here and have failed is that we have to make sure there is a need and a desire to spend. If we don’t back those businesses or those projects, they’re not going to succeed,” she said. “I’m really more about educating on some of the activities that we already have, and making sure that enough people know about events.”

Michael Lucero, the Ward A incumbent, said an important factor for quality of life is the potential fire substation on the north side of Portales.

“I’d like to see that fully in operation, not just a substation. That’s the ward that is going to vote me in. Those are the people that I work for. I’d like to see that completed,” said Lucero.

Veronica Cordova, also running for Ward A, stressed the importance of quality of life projects for the sake of the community’s children.

“We need something that’s family oriented that builds values and morals in our families, so our children can learn to go on, even if it’s higher education or the work force,” she said. “We need to partner with organizations in the community to have more events for people to come to.”

The state is making capital outlay cutbacks everywhere this year. What are your plans for appealing to legislators and Santa Fe for funding for various areas in need?

M.J. Lucero: Money is tight everywhere. I had the opportunity when I joined Ready Roast (Nut Company) in August of 2015 of getting to meet the Secretary of the Economic Development Department, and get to work with him and Mark Roper, who is the regional person for Economic Development. We’re going to have to have good, solid reasons to have a thing. Of course we have water and we have streets that need improvements. I think our water system is something that we really need to look hard at. We need to have some good, strong leadership in Santa Fe when we go and ask for these things, and have good justifications, and I think we have many things that need to be done. I think I can be a good communicator.

Thomas: First and foremost, I think that you need to make a good connection with those leaders in Santa Fe. You need to understand them and you need to get to know them and understand their problems and their issues, which I think I’ve been pretty effective in doing in the last six years. Two years ago, we had a meeting for a new roof for the senior citizen’s building. We could just not get the funding, so I approached three of our legislators and asked them for funding. We received that last year. With some capital outlay money and good personal connections with those folks, I think we can move forward to get Portales’ fair share of money.

Heflin: My first call would be to Stuart Ingle (Portales legislator). He works great with everybody in Santa Fe, and I think that the first step would be to call him and see what I can do in Santa Fe to get some money down here.

Bailey: In the future, building a rapport in Santa Fe is a good idea, so that we can have a more positive outcome, and keep that good relationship with the people of Santa Fe.

Smith: Visibility is something that I’m going to be working on in a lot of areas of the city council. A lot of people don’t know me. My goal is to be visible here in the community, and also to learn more about what we can do and what we can’t do, and what I have the power to do. Another big thing is having a good plan. If we expect to get funded and get money for things, we have to have a plan, and we have to be ready to put those plans into action. My goal is to find out what projects our community wants to support, how realistic those projects are, and putting my energy and my votes toward the projects that are within reach.

M. Lucero: The main thing is to make our contacts with them and be honest and straightforward with them. Ask questions, figure out what course of action we can take, and try to get past the red tape as fast as we can. Have a plan and be ready to put it into action. The main thing is to ask questions and figure out who we can talk to.

Cordova: We need to fight for our community. We need to ask for all the money that we possibly can. We need to connect with people in Santa Fe and build rapport. With my financial background, I know that, with working with budgets, I can help the community with numbers. We have to be smart where we’re spending our money. We have to hope for the best but expect the worst, because you can have a budget and then it gets cut within the next two days. We need to be smart, and just make those connections.

Tell us a little about how you have been involved in the community and community organizations.

Cordova: I am the secretary for Portales MainStreet. With that organization, we try to give back to our community with our events, the economic development of our downtown area and supporting our businesses downtown. With the Chamber Ambassador group, I get to gout out, mingle with people and support them and the businesses they’re involved in. You don’t have to be on council to give back to your community, you just have to be a person who’s willing to work hard and get out there and show your face.

M. Lucero: I’ve been involved in the city of Portales all my life. I worked in the city water department for 27 years. I did everything from problem solving and waste water to water-related problems in the community. They sent me out as a service representative for the water department. I made a lot of connections with people. Any time I could help somebody, I would help them. Sometimes I would go after hours and if they had something that I couldn’t help them with because of the job, I would go help them after hours just to help the community.

Smith: I have been in the community. I was a student, and I am an employee here. I have been part of the community, but this is really my moment to get involved. The exciting part of this adventure for me is that this is my moment to get involved. I want to learn from all of the people who are currently a part of the council and all of our public works departments, because I feel like I have a lot to learn. The great part of this is, here I am, and I was on that side of the table just a month ago or two. I can reflect back and have that insight of when I was just a regular community member. Now that I’m here, it’s time for me to give back to my community and get involved.

Bailey: I’ve been involved in the Military Affairs Committee for several years, and with that, I’ve been able to build relationships with the base. I’ve also provided activities for the airmen that are in our community. I’ve also done the fundraiser for Casa Esparanza. They provide a place for families to live while their loved ones are receiving cancer treatment in Albuquerque. I know several members of the communities, who have benefited from this, so I really do feel proud to be a part of that.

Heflin: I’m really happy to be a local business owner in this town. The Star Gazer was a big project that we took on this summer. We had it up and running, had great events. This last Christmas, my daughter was little miss merry christmas and raised over $3,000 for downtown Portales. I’m always involved in this community and will continue to be involved.

Thomas: I’ve been on the council for over six years and have been involved in just about everything I can get my hands on for as long as I can remember in Portales. The big thing that I enjoyed the most was sports for kids. I’ve coached football and baseball and basketball and soccer for years and years. Currently, I sit on the Local Growth and Management Committee, the Finance Administration Committee, Planning and Zoning. As an actual owner of a business here in Portales, you need to get involved with folks. I think that we’ve been pretty productive in this community, my family and I.

M.J. Lucero: When I was plant manager for Southwest Canners, I was invited to be on the board of directors for United Way and got to touch many lives through that. I got to be a part of the disbursement process and see the needs of the communities, both Curry and Roosevelt counties. I’ve seen a lot of positive things come out of that kind of community service. One of the things that my family and I don’t talk about a whole lot, because it’s about the veterans who serve our country, is that on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day, we have a section of the cemetery where we put out flags. One of the other things is that I was elected to the board of directors for the ENMU Foundation, which I’m going to start immediately.

Many voters have asked what a city councilor actually does. What in your words is the purpose of a city councilor?

M.J. Lucero: We approve resolutions. I’ve got a lot to learn. The good thing about this is that I’m a fast learner. I look forward to the opportunity that is given to my by the ward to actually learn about that. My first year is going to be about learning about all the intricate services that the councilors do, and I look forward to that opportunity.

Thomas: The first thing that a city councilor should do is represent the people that voted for them. A city councilor is responsible to the people. The first thing that I do is make myself available pretty much 24 hours a day, seven days a week to people, to hear their issues and concerns. That is very important.

Heflin: I think that if you are voted to represent your ward, I think that you need to be accessible. Obviously, you can’t solve everybody’s problems. We’ve got to look at the big picture to solve the problems that are going to help the majority of people. My biggest thing is to be motivated for change.

Bailey: Our number one job is to listen to the people in our ward. I believe in educating myself, so that whenever we have the opportunity to make decisions for the community, we can make the best decision possible.

Smith: Something that’s really important to me is educating and exciting people to get involved. I have often wondered to myself during this last month, “Why wasn’t there anybody else? Why hasn’t anybody else stepped forward?” For me, an exciting part of my responsibility besides the ordinances is to get the community excited and show them how important it is to be involved and be a part.

M. Lucero: The main thing that sticks in my mind is that we’re public servants. We’re here for the people. We represent our ward, our whole city in fact and try to keep a good rapport between the city and the community. The main thing is to listen to your constituents, put their needs forward and make decisions on their behalf in the best and most honest way that you can.

Cordova: For me, a councilor is a person that the citizens in their ward come to, to voice their issues and opinions so that I can go back to the council and say, “These are the concerns out there. This is what’s going on.” We need to be proactive with our community and the citizens in our ward. We need to make smart choices for our community, adapt to change, research issues and businesses coming into our community, to make sure that we’re making the right decision for our choice.

Can you identify the top two challenges facing you at representing your ward?

Cordova: The first one is water. Water’s our main issue. We need to be smart with our water issues. We need to be concerned. The city needs to help conserve to. If we see a leak, we need to go fix it. We need to work hard to get that taken care of, because water’s life, and if we don’t have water here in Portales, we’re not going to have any life. Another issue would be the roads. That’s one issue that I really want to learn on, about the infrastructure for the roads, how they’re funded, how they’re put in, what’s put into the road systems, to see if we can make that better, because we all know that we drive down these roads, and they’re potholes everywhere.

M. Lucero: What everybody’s probably going to talk about is water. That’s our main issue. We need to make sure that we have enough for future generation. I worked in the water system all my life. We can talk about conserving water all we want to, but if our pipes are broken and our system’s bad, we need to maintain those things before we start working on the roads.

Smith: For me personally, the number one challenge is going to be educating myself, because I don’t claim to be the most informed or most involved person in the city council, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t grow to be that person, and I can’t learn. I want to learn how I can get things done and hear about all the projects everybody is working on. My second big challenge is going to be availability and visibility, because I know a lot of people don’t know who I am, and I want them to feel safe coming to me. I promise to give everyone an honest answer.

Bailey: I think that a challenge that I have in my ward is explaining that I do hear their concerns, but we have limited resources, so not everything can get fixed right away, and we are trying to use funds as best as possible. I think that we need to grow and also bring in jobs. If we bring in companies that don’t use a lot of water, that would help with our conservative effort.

Heflin: There’s always more that we can do. We have to do it as a community. We all have to come together and do certain things like conservation to save our water, because once it’s gone, it’s gone. The road department is limited on roads. We’ve got to find ways to give those guys some funds.

Thomas: The challenges are water, roads, fire station on the north side and jobs. The reuse project is reclaiming 800,000 gallons of water a day that we’re able to get back into our community. We’re also looking at additional sources of water. Roads are tough, because our budget is $80,000 a year. I’m trying to find the money, because the other roads need them as well.

M.J. Lucero: I have a lot to learn about what are all the facets, what are all the issues that are facing the city. I think there’s a lot going on. Are we spending money wisely? Can we reappropriate somewhere else? Do we have the best services for our law enforcement, fire, EMTs and other city departments? I think there’s a lot to do, a lot to learn, and those are two big challenges.