Mayor says he believes Clovis ready for immediate reopening

CLOVIS — New Clovis Mayor Mike Morris told the Clovis city commission on Thursday he believes the city is ready for reopening businesses and other facilities immediately. He also shared that message as part of a mayor’s council to which he’s been appointed.

But Morris noted that while regional approaches remain on the table, the governor’s office and Department of Health are still favoring uniform reopening guidelines for the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of Friday, the state had 4,673 confirmed positive tests for COVID-19, with 28 in Curry County. State officials say 1,189 patients have been designated as recovered.

Representatives with the governor’s office and the Department of Health told The News they did not have county breakdowns on recovered cases. There are 181 COVID-19 related deaths in New Mexico, with 201 patients hospitalized on Friday.

Morris said he was told during the mayor’s council meeting it was a “coin flip” the state could begin its first phase of reopening on Friday, the final day of current public health orders.

In other business at the Thursday meeting:

• Commissioners spent much of the meeting volunteering, or being volunteered, to lower boards and commissions. Morris went through the roughly two dozen bodies one at a time.

Morris joined the animal control task force, the finance committee (as required by statute, along with Mayor Pro Tem Chris Bryant), the Committee of Fifty, the Ute Water Commission and the Industrial Revenue Bonds subcommittee of the Economic Incentive Board.

District 1 Commissioner Leo Lovett joined the finance committee, the public works committee and revenue review committee and replaced Juan Garza on the parks, recreation and beautification committee.

District 2 Commissioner Lauren Rowley joined the animal control task force, the water policy advisory committee and the revenue review committee. Fellow District 2 Commissioner Gary Elliott left the finance committee to create the vacancy for Lovett.

District 3 Commissioner Helen Casaus joined the IRB subcommittee, the Eastern Plains Council of Governments as an alternate member and the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors as a non-voting member.

• Danny Jariwala, who joined the meeting by phone, told commissioners his business and others were struggling, and he has been working 100 hours per week at his two Clovis hotels.

“It has become really hard for a small business owner like me to keep my doors open,” Jariwala said, “and provide service to the people who are also providing service to our local citizens.”

He implored commissioners to visit businesses, and noted that the federal Paycheck Protection Plan funding doesn’t cover half of his businesses’ fixed costs. He added people who handle his mortgages have been cooperative, which he appreciates, and governments need to consider some level of tax relief.

Morris told Jariwala it was a heartwrenching story to hear, but he appreciated that it was shared. Lovett noted the city and state were in an unprecedented situation, but, “Your words do not fall on deaf ears. We'll do our best to work with the state and see if things might could change.”

• Civic Center Director Misty Bertrand gave a report on the center, which has lost $75,000 in revenue from canceled events and expects to lose another $22,000 on upcoming events with mass gatherings restricted by public health orders.

The Civic Center has furloughed three of its managers and its support staff, and Bertrand said it decreased its March expenses by $17,000.

Bertrand is confident a busy year remains ahead as many of those who had events canceled have already rescheduled in the 2020-21 fiscal year.

• The commission approved a plan with the New Mexico Environment Department to treat groundwater in a petroleum plume near the Prince-Commerce intersection.

The state has been investigating the plume since 2011, when it was first discovered due to Allsup’s installing new fuel tanks. Investigators, based on the concentrations of petroleum, soon reasoned the contamination source was not Allsup’s but a fuel station that closed decades before.

The department needs water rights for its treatment plan, with a treatment period of five to seven years. The lease agreement covers a maximum of 50 acre feet annually at $17,660.16 for up to 10 years.

• Gail Tarson was appointed to the Lodgers Tax Advisory Board. The commission was planning for an election on the position, but the other applicant withdrew from consideration prior to the meeting.

• The next meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. May 21 at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library.