Buildings may be removed

PORTALES — Two fire-damaged buildings may be removed after the Portales City Council approved resolutions to consider them menaces to public comfort, health and safety during its regular Tuesday meeting.

Both properties have structures made uninhabitable by fire damage as well as rubbish and wreckage littering the premises, officials said. They are located at 705 W. 17th St. and 417 N. Main, respectively, and are vacant. The landowners of each property have been contacted, but have yet to take action to remedy the various issues.

“This is part of our long-term plans for which we’ve picked 10 properties that are ruined and that we need to work on,” said Police Chief Pat Gallegos.

The property on 17th Street has been gutted and is missing parts of the roof after a house fire, while the yard is overgrown and the premises are littered with rubbish, Gallegos said. The city has tried to contact the landowners for the past four months but has yet to receive a reply.

The property on Main was left standing after a house fire 6-8 years ago and the owners are now deceased, according to Gallegos. The owners’ daughter has been contacted and responded, but has yet to take action with the property. Gallegos said someone had been living at the property, which had been boarded up, but left after the city told them to leave as it was deemed unsafe.

The city will make further attempts to contact the landowners, after which notices will be posted on the doors of the premises before more aggressive action can be taken.

Other highlights from the 6:30 p.m. meeting at the Memorial Building included:

• The board ratified bills for September 2019 for $1,741,254.18. September’s bills included the county’s payment to the Water Conservation Forum for $457,000, most of which went toward payment to Eastern New Mexico Water Authority dues.

• The board approved budget adjustments for Fiscal Year 2019-2020.

• The board approved a water project fund loan and grant agreement between the New Mexico Finance Authority and the city of Portales. This agreement is part of the ongoing renovations to the East Johnson Hill water storage tank.

The cost of the agreement will be $1,562,652. This would include a loan of $156,265 to finance the cost of the construction of water storage system improvements on the East Johnson Hill tank project.

• The board awarded a communications upgrade contract to Yucca to buy a new radio interface for the dispatch center and improve the grounding system on the tower to help eliminate interference. Price for the contract will be $126,434.83.