Meetings watch: Curry County Commission

CLOVIS — Curry County commissioners met almost three hours Tuesday morning in their regular meeting. All five commissioners were present and their votes were unanimous unless otherwise noted. The commission convenes next in a special meeting at 1:30 p.m. Friday to discuss fiscal year 2018 audit findings, among other items.

Among items discussed and acted on Tuesday were the following:

• Approval of an ordinance adopting regulations for film, television and movie production in Curry County. The ordinance details permit requirements for professional film productions in the county, similar to measures already passed or in progress from other counties in the state.

County Manager Lance Pyle said the sheriff and county road and fire directors had no objections to the ordinance, which requires filmmakers to ensure their productions do not interfere with law enforcement or emergency work.

There were no comments in a public hearing before commissioners took action on the ordinance.

• Presentation in the Board of Finance from Rob Burpo, including a discussion on the “minimum wage issue.” Burpo’s presentation said Congress hasn’t raised the minimum wage in 10 years and noted that “minimum-wage workers in the U.S. have lost 16% of their purchasing power since 2009, so the only real question is to find a sensible, balanced solution to fix the problem.”

• Proclamation declaring Aug. 13-17 as “Curry County Fair Week,” with themed nights and entertainment promised for the annual event now entering its 99th year.

• Proclamation declaring August as National Immunization Awareness Month, to “encourage residents to make immunization a priority,” according to the presentation from Susan Alman and Teresa Broeker.

• Presentation from Chris Lauer on the county’s Adult Detention Center Renovation and Additions. Lauer spoke briefly on progress of the new facility and said it was moving roughly on schedule, though the forecasted ribbon-cutting is not until early next year.

• After a report from Jay Pavlik on the June and July numbers for the adult and juvenile detention centers, commissioners asked about the high number of misdemeanor arrests in the past two months — almost 2,700 people.

Ben McDaniel said it wasn’t a county-specific issue, but that he was puzzled “no other country has this problem with incarceration.”

Bobby Sandoval asked, “no matter how minor the offense is, there’s nothing we can say?” to which Pavlik replied that they are beholden to judges’ orders.

“Yes sir, we process a lot of bodies,” Pavlik added.

• Approval in the indigent board meeting of La Casa medical and dental claims for June in the amount of $289 and $976, respectively.

— Compiled by Staff Writer David Grieder