Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
CLOVIS — If you're giving something away, what's the point of a price tag?
That's a question Commissioner Fidel Madrid wants to discuss at today's Clovis city commission meeting.
On the agenda for the 5:15 p.m. meeting at the Clovis-Carver Public Library is discussion and possible action on the commission's process of approving or denying requests to waive fees assessed for events held in the city.
Depending on the event, numerous fees can be applied to the requests — including facility rental, stage usage, setup and take down of traffic blockades. A street closure request, for example, runs $150.
Madrid expressed concerns during the April 5 commission meeting the commission was simply granting every waiver it received.
"We need to not have (fees), or we need to start charging for (those services)," Madrid said. "I just want something definite done."
When told the commission can simply decline waivers, Madrid responded it's a slippery slope when you say yes to one person and no to another.
"What's the criteria for waiving fees? I don't know," Madrid said. "We might send it to the Revenue Review Committee and see what we can come up with."
On today's commission agenda, for example, there are four requests that involve some kind of waiver of fees — ambulance standby requests for the High Plains Junior Rodeo, street closure requests for the June 9 Pioneer Days Parade and the June 15-16 Clovis Soapbox Derby, and zoo and splash pad fee waivers during the July 21 Ethnic Fair,
While discussing a waiver of fees for Draggin' Main events during the April 5 meeting, Madrid asked if waiving fees could put Clovis on the wrong end of the state's antidonation clause. City Attorney David Richards responded the commission had the latitude to determine if community value of an event outweighed potential fee collection.
Former City Commissioner Randy Crowder had criticized constant fee waivers as well, and noted the commission had the option to deny waivers or at least require some type of in-kind contribution. Such contributions have included offers to clean up the areas used or take part in city-wide trash pickups.
Other items on today's agenda include:
• A 4:45 p.m. executive session covering acquisition or disposal of property.
• Updates from Clovis MainStreet, the Clovis Civic Center and the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce.
• An update on the city's water reuse system.
• Quarterly lodgers' tax disbursements.
• Approval of one Curry County resident and a member at large for the water policy advisory committee. Vince DeMaio is applying to stay aboard as the county resident. Jack Muse is applying to stay aboard as the at-large member. Raymond Mondragon is also applying for the at-large position.
• Re-appointment of George Jones to the Public Works Committee and Sharesse Sawyer-Warfel on the Civic Center Policy Board.
• Assignment of commissioners to lower boards and committees for the upcoming two years.
