Small crowd attends infrastructure meeting

CLOVIS — A dozen people might not feel like a lot of people at many events, like a football game or any restaurant on Mother’s Day. But for a public meeting about infrastructure, it’s certainly a crowd.

About a dozen attended the city’s Infrastructure and Capital Improvement Plan meetig Thursday at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library.

It is the first of two city meetings to gather public input for the plan. The second meeting will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Friendship Senior Center.

While most participants had suggestions that fell outside the umbrella of the ICIP, presenter Sandy Chancey was glad to see turnout of around a dozen residents. In previous years, ICIP meetings have failed to draw anybody outside of city staff.

The ICIP is a document mandated by the state Legislature as a guide for where to best put capital outlay dollars. If a project’s not on the ICIP, Chancey said, it won’t receive funding.

“The state is wanting some type of heads up on anything the city may apply for,” said Chancey, the executive director of Eastern Plains Council of Governments. “This needs to be the city’s five-year plan for infrastructure improvement.”

The city wants the plan to address major projects, defined as anything with a one-time cost exceeding $15,000. The projects must be city-owned and not be related to private business.

The meeting included Chancey and Tiffany Campion, the grant coordinator for the city.

The following people spoke during the meeting:

• Daniel Eilenstine of Clovis addressed difficulties he faces as a wheelchair user, and noted a particular issue with a traffic light pole blocking access to the curb. He asked what projects could be done to improve Americans with Disabilities Act compliance.

“ADA has been on the books for 29 years,” Eilenstine said. “I understand there’s a limit to how much money is available, but I think we need to put more effort into the high-traffic streets.”

Chancey and Vincent Soule, a transportation planner for EPCOG, noted that every street renovation includes ADA upgrades, and that the city is working on a plan to better address ADA concerns.

n Brett Johnson said efforts should be made to reduce the size of the floodplain in the city, noting that 1,700 homes in the city are in a flood zone.

• Lisa Pellegrino-Spear, executive director of Clovis MainStreet, said the railroad district needed to go back on the ICIP. Many improvements have been made, including restoration of an on-site rail car, but that more work is needed to continue shifting the balance from eyesore to cultural landmark.

• Scott Blazek of Clovis figured it wouldn’t be a great expense, but more of a shift in thinking at the Prince Street Overpass. He asked if it would be possible to change the right northbound lane of the overpass into a right turn only.

He also asked about how citizens should address aggressive dogs on the loose.

Mayor David Lansford, who showed up to the meeting, noted the city had recently passed a new law requiring any dog outside of its owner’s property to be on a leash. He said in respect to the law, a pet is viewed as property and people should be held responsible if that property damages something or hurts someone.

Roosevelt and Curry counties also have upcoming ICIP meetings — Roosevelt County’s noon Friday and 6 p.m. Aug. 7 at the commission room in the Roosevelt County Courthouse, and Curry County’s 4:30 p.m. Aug. 9 at the commission chambers of the Curry County Administrative Complex.