Q&A: Curry commissioner weighs in on first meeting

CLOVIS — Recently sworn-in Curry County District 4 Commissioner Seth Martin experienced his first commission meeting on Jan. 11 after he was appointed to the position by New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.

Martin succeeds Ben Smith, who resigned.

Martin is a lifelong Clovis resident with family in the area stretching back several generations. He is a sorghum and wheat farmer. The News interviewed him on Friday about his first weeks as commissioner:

Q: What attracted you to the position and what makes you think you are a good fit?

A: When I saw the seat coming vacant, instead of just expecting someone to jump in that was qualified, that I would step up and try to do what I could for the county.

I’ve been here my entire life, actually I think we’re going on the fifth and sixth generation in Curry County, and I’ve seen the change and what’s coming and feel like I can work with it to make it fit instead of forcing things on the county that might not be a good fit.

And I’ve got a lot of small business experience with running a farm and stuff like that, too.

Q: What do you see as the most pressing issues facing the county in the short term and how would you like to address them?

A: Right now it looks like the main thing is with the courthouse and the detention center, a lot going on there, and then with this new project being approved with the road barn south of Clovis and getting water to it and all; that’s going to take quite a bit more time, too. And I think the water issue county-wide is on us and needs to be addressed.

Q: You were kind of thrown into the fire right away at your first meeting being asked to cast the tiebreaking vote for these contracts (for the new road barn and water line extension) that totaled over $900,000. What kind of research did you do before that meeting on those projects?

A: They had sent me all the information prior to it that had been brought up in meetings prior. Then they also sent me all the plans and all the contracts and stuff that had been approved, if approved.

I looked over all that and also the fact that it would free up the fairgrounds, they’ll be able to move out of there into a facility that they can use a lot better.

That was one good reason for it and to see something going south of town actually in my district. It’s nice to see it going in that direction. We’ve been going north and west, not so much east, but north and west has been the main growth and it would be nice to have an incentive going south of town.

And it helps out the county residents if they choose to that are nearby, so it took a lot of thought to justify the money, but then half of the money is in a fund that can only be used on projects like that anyway, you know for that water line. So it’s not just a wasteful-type project. There ought to be a lot of good come from it.

Q: One of the reasons you mentioned at the meeting was the benefit it could provide having new businesses or new homes coming into the area. Do you think that’s going to be economically feasible?

A: Well the land prices are cheap in that area, there is a community south of town in that area already that has been pretty stagnant just because there is no water. Business-wise there are a few small businesses; you’ve got Albert’s Irrigation, you’ve got Tidenberg’s (Welding & Repair) and there’s a few more scattered in there, but it’s not going to hurt it.

That would be one thing that doesn’t automatically dismiss south of town is the fact that there is no access to water, at least this way (the option to hook up to city water), there is that choice.

Q: What about long-term issues? Do you see anything over the next 10, 20 years that the county has to deal with?

A: Growth, and with that you’ve got your roads. Really it seems like the county spends a lot of their time with the detention center because that’s a big part that they have to deal with.

There’s been talk about the city and county get some kind of resolution between the city and county where they work a little bit better. It would be nice to see something done along that line where both the county and city can be happy with the agreement and be able to work together. I think that’s one big issue.

And there again water will continue to be on there. I think this little piece of water line is just kind of an example of what’s to come. You can’t feed water to all of Curry County but if it’s feasible and it works, there will probably be more of it.

There’s been some issue with air space with the (Air Force) base but I think nothing pressing on that issue right now. I know it’s come up in the past with landowners.

I think that’s another thing, the infringement on landowners. There has to be compromise and compensation anytime that you’re having to deal with landowners and infringing on their rights. I think that's a big issue too.

— Compiled by Staff Writer Jamie Cushman