Curry commission repeals loan resolution

The Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority will be required to present future loan requests to the Curry County Board of Commissioners for approval as part of the board’s regularly scheduled meetings.

The board passed Resolution #2019-69 during its Tuesday morning meeting, repealing Resolution #2016-34, which previously gave the ENMWUA authority to act on the collective board’s behalf regarding loans instead of seeking approval from each individual member.

According to Chairman Chet Spear, this decision is in line with the board’s efforts to market their water share in the ENMWUA and avoid costs associated with being a member for water they may not use.

“We don’t want to incur encumbrances against loans if we don’t end up being a member,” Spear said. “If we do market our water successfully, we want the new owner of that water to own any future encumbrances against future loans.”

Spear also stressed that the board is still in support of the ENMWUA and will work with it to approve future loans and pay all related dues if they do not end up marketing their water share.

“We’re not going to pay for something we’re not using, but we support everything they’re doing,” Spear said.

Orlando Ortega was allowed to speak on behalf of the ENMWUA before the resolution was approved. Ortega said the decision would not cause any issues, but advised the board to add approval of a loan that would close within the next 90 days to their agenda as soon as possible.

The ENMWUA already has the framework for individual members to approve loans because the city of Portales has a similar resolution in effect already.

Other highlights from Tuesday’s meeting include:

• The board approved the Property Valuation Fund/Revaluation and Maintenance plan and also approved the purchase of pictometry imagery software for reappraisal purposes.

The software is used to take images from a plane and cost the county $308,984 over the course of four years, but would also help save the Assessor’s Office money on fuel costs and help create more accurate property assessments for tax purposes. The cost will come out of the county’s budgeted reappraisal fund.

• The board approved the temporary closure of Curry Road R between US 60/84 and Curry Road 12 from Sept. 9 and Oct. 4. The ENMWUA will be installing pipeline over the next four weeks on the east side of the roadway.

There are three residential properties in the two-mile construction area, but only one should be significantly affected by the work according to Walon Jones. A one-mile detour has been mapped.

• The board approved a state-mandated update to the detention center’s restrictive housing policy.

Said update ensures that detainees within the restrictive housing program are offered at least two hours of documented time outside their cells per day.

Many of the policy’s other features attempt to make the living conditions of the restrictive housing program as close to those of the general population as possible.

Tuesday’s meeting ended with an executive session discussing the purchase, acquisition, or disposal of real property and water rights. No action was taken following the executive session.

The next county commission meeting is set for 9 a.m. on Sept. 27.