Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
PORTALES — The Portales Recreation Center may soon serve a new purpose, and city officials are hoping to find another home for the after-school and summer programs the facility currently offers.
In a report of the city’s April 28 strategic planning retreat at a City Council meeting on Tuesday, City Manager Sammy Standefer said the city hopes to create an “entertainment venue” in the current recreation center.
Entertainment, Standefer told The News in an interview on Wednesday, would likely mean a bowling alley, skating rink or a combination of both.
“We don’t have any kind of that venue in Portales,” he said.
There are some unknowns involved in this new venture, however. Standefer said the city intends to pursue it in the near future, and noted that the recreation center’s after-school and summer programs could be in jeopardy if another venue isn’t found.
“I’m actually mailing a letter out to many of our users of the rec center, and it basically states that we are trying to seek an entertainment venue and this creates an uncertainty in our programming in the future, and these programs may not be in place next (school) year,” he said.
At the meeting, Councilor Veronica Cordova asked if officials knew of other buildings that could house the recreation center.
“I’ve visited with Jodi (Diaz, recreation center director). We’ve looked at some other buildings we might could possibly rent, but we don’t have one in place,” Standefer said.
Mayor Ron Jackson noted that he and Standefer had consulted Portales Municipal Schools Superintendent Johnnie Cain about the city’s plan.
“They don’t have a specific after-school program,” Jackson said.
Councilor Oscar Robinson said he would be in support of the move “as long as the school district’s involved in the conversation.”
Standefer said the next step in the process is to send out requests for proposal to various entertainment venues.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting:
• Councilors approved the payment of bills for April 2018, which totaled $1.7 million.
• The council approved a request for the city to apply for two grants made available through the Bureau of Justice Administration.
Portales Police Chief Pat Gallegos said that as part of the Region Five Drug Task Force (which includes Roosevelt County, Curry County and Clovis), Portales has the opportunity to apply for funding that could help in investigating and prosecuting manufacturers and distributors of methamphetamine and heroin.
• After discussing options for increasing safety and attractiveness at the city’s impoundment pond, councilors asked Standefer to pursue additions he suggested.
Standefer recommended a metal pipe fence around the pond and canvas shade structures at the pond’s entrance.
“A 4-foot pipe and cable-type fence is easier for us to handle,” he said.
Councilor Michael Miller suggested Standefer look more into the pipe fence and integrate additions like the shade structures later.
