Official: Fair attendance, income up

CLOVIS — This year’s Curry County Fair brought in more money than a year ago and saw more people in attendance.

The information came from Keller Taylor, the district general manager for Spectra, the company that manages the county’s events center.

Curry County commissioners heard the update during Tuesday’s meeting.

Keller said the 2018 fair had a net income of about $77,000 — a 9 percent increase over last year — and had an attendance just shy of 35,000 — an 8 percent increase from 2017.

Keller also provided a report on general operations at the Curry County Events Center, which included potential proposals for a new events center website and to authorize County Manager Lance Pyle to approve concerts up to a certain cost to the county to streamline that process.

“If we’re going to give our county manager the authority to authorize what type of events, what events we have, putting tax dollars into it, why do we need you guys?” Commissioner Chet Spear asked. “We pay you guys $85,000-plus a year to manage this place, we could save $85,000.”

Keller said Spectra has relationships with agents and promoters, which allows the company to bring in acts at the best possible price.

Commissioners took no action on Keller’s proposals.

In other business at Tuesday’s meeting:

• The commission unanimously approved a $3.5 million loan from the New Mexico Finance Authority to go toward Curry County Courthouse renovations and the ongoing renovation and addition project at the detention center.

• By a 4-1 vote the commission approved a $1,500 payment to the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce for membership to the chamber.

Spear cast the opposing vote.

“Giving tax dollars to an organization as the chamber and the (Clovis Industrial Development Corp.) when they don’t want to disclose their salaries, when they haven’t been audited, I have difficulty with that,” Spear said. “Every other organization that we give money to we require that they be audited and I can’t understand why you have a $650,000 budget and over three years you haven’t been audited.”

• The commission unanimously approved a resolution supporting Bond D in the upcoming general election, which would provide $128 million for higher education statewide, including $1.5 million in parking lot and infrastructure upgrades at Clovis Community College and $8 million to renovate the 65-year-old Roosevelt Science Center at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales.

• The county recognized 12 individuals with anniversary certificates ranging from one year to 10 years of employment with the county.