Magistrate courthouse on agenda

CLOVIS — The Curry County Commission may begin the initial planning phase of building a new magistrate courthouse during Tuesday's meeting.

The first of 13 action items on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting is a memorandum of agreement between the county and the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC).

According to the agreement, the county's lease of the magistrate court currently located at 221 Pile is set to expire in 2023. The agreement calls on the AOC to pay for architectural services to design a new 16,000 to 18,000 facility with two courtrooms, to be located on property adjacent to the district court.

If the agreement is approved, County Manager Lance Pyle said the county would likely look at borrowing funds from the New Mexico Finance Authority and using the lease payment that the county received from the state to pay that debt service to fund the project.

Other items on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting, scheduled for 9 a.m. in the commission chamber at the Curry County Administrative Complex, 417 Gidding, include:

n The two biggest events of the calendar year at the Curry County Events Center will be discussed. First the commission is expected to approve a committee made up of commissioners, county officials and community members to work with the events center's management company Spectra on a 10 year anniversary event scheduled for Sept. 7.

In the following action item, the commission will vote on a ticket plan for the 2019 Curry County Fair, with separate tickets to be sold for Tejano and country nights.

n The commission will consider an application to the Department of Transportation for just under $1 million in funding for road upgrades to Curry Road 7, with a local match of about $170,000.

n The commission will consider a $309,000 contract for new imagery and software for the assessor's office.

n The commission will consider a new resolution setting fees for documents and electronic media. Pyle said the new resolution eliminates some fees to align with state statute and does not include any increases or new fees.