Making it official

CLOVIS - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and state restrictions on mass gatherings, the Curry County Events Center has essentially been closed since mid-March.

The Curry County Commission made the closure official on Tuesday, declaring the events center and the fairgrounds closed through February in their virtually held regular meeting.

County Manager Lance Pyle said he had good discussions with Spectra, which has managed the facilities for more than 11 years, and came up with an agreement. Spectra will not charge its monthly management fee during the closure, and the county would extend Spectra's contract by an additional six months.

The county, Pyle said, would agree to keep one full-time employee on board and allow a part-time employee as needed for maintenance if county employees or inmate work details weren't available. The move would save the county more than $45,000, mostly seen in the approximate $7,000 monthly management fees.

Acting Manager KC Messick will be the full-time employee.

"If we just keep a maintenance person here, come March we're not going to be ready for events," Messick said. "We also have events on the books for January and February that need to be addressed.

"If I were to leave it to somebody else, I'd go crazy wondering what I would be coming back to."

Commissioner Chet Spear asked what level of maintenance would be done, and said he recently drove by the Mounted Patrol Arena and saw plenty of weed growth. Messick responded that employees were handling that matter Tuesday, and had pushed that maintenance off with the recent youth livestock shows taking priority.

Commissioner Robert Thornton said outside of the arena, the fairgrounds look well maintained. He suggested, and he insisted he wasn't joking, to put a goat at the arena to graze away some of the issues. Messick said that has been a solution in the past.

Pyle said the negotiation was still being finalized, but the commission could vote simply on the closure and the employee specifics and cover the other details at a future meeting.

Peter Zingoni, Spectra's vice president of business development and client relations, said he appreciated the cooperation he saw with county administration and that Spectra would use the opportunity to "take a step back, address how we're going to market ... and come back stronger in March."

In other business at the Tuesday meeting:

• The commission unanimously approved entering a schematic design phase for Curry County Courthouse renovations that would move Curry County Magistrate court to the facility.

Bob Calvani of NCA Architects took commissioners through the plan, noting he still had to have a meeting with the Curry County Sheriff's Office on changes. Renovations Calvani specifically addressed included a holding room for inmates and a child support hearing room.

"We've met with staff that will be working with this facility," Calvani said, "and they seem to be pleased with where we are."

The county would pay to build the facility, then recoup its expenses through lease payments made by the Administrative Office of the Courts.

Thornton said he would like to see more detailed renderings in the next update, noting it was difficult to see accommodations for wheelchair users.

• On a 3-2 vote, commissioners approved an agreement with TrueConnect to offer employee loans with loan payments deducted from employee paychecks.

The loans would be for up to $3,000 depending on the employee salary, with the loan repaid over 12 months. Susan Mayes of New Mexico Counties said in the dozen counties that use the program, the average loan amount is around $1,800.

County Personnel Director Melissa Gunn said the program could help employees avoid using higher-interest title and payday loan companies.

Thornton spoke against the measure, noting that even though employees would enter into loan agreements on their own accord, "when you start taking money out of people's paychecks, that's not going to go well."

Spear said the relationship would be between the employee and the loan company, and the county is just the go-between. Chairman Ben McDaniel said he understood Thornton's concerns, but felt it was a better option than higher-interest loans.

"We raised eight kids, we were good Catholics," Commissioner Bobby Sandoval said. "There are many, many times I wish we would have had something like this. I endorse this 110 percent."

Martin joined Thornton in the dissenting vote. He didn't address his vote during the meeting, but told The News afterward he agreed with Thornton and said employer involvement in personal finances can quickly create uncomfortable situations.

• County Services Coordinator Nikki Lovett addressed the commission on Census efforts, with the deadline to respond moved up to Sept. 30.

Lovett took commissioners through some of the challenges the pandemic has presented. For example, the county purchased 8,000 plastic eggs with candy to donate to the city's Easter egg hunt, which was eventually canceled. The eggs were eventually moved to La Casa, which was able to distribute them through its summer lunch program.

Lovett noted various events upcoming with raffle prizes for people who could show proof of Census completion.

The state's self-response rate is just under 56%, compared to 63% nationwide. Curry County is at 52.9% and the city of Clovis is at 57.5%.

• During commission reports, Martin said he has been in contact with area school districts and implored the county and commissioners to do whatever they could to support local schools.

He said not being cleared to resume in-person instruction at this point is difficult, because teachers who have never had to teach online are teaching students who have never had to learn online.

"We're losing a lot of what learning is about when we eliminate that hands-on," Martin said.

• The county approved a budget change of $53,896 for the sheriff's office to upgrade its public safety system to comply with Senate Bill 8, which required body cameras for officers and increased storage capacity.

The total cost to the county is $73,716, which Pyle and commissioners noted was an unfunded mandate, but Finance Director Carol Pipes said part of the expenses were defrayed by grants.

• Thornton said the Ute Water Commission was planning to consider a joint powers agreement in its upcoming meeting, and noted the county has no vote in the matter.

The county, Thornton said, remains on the commission as a non-voting member. He noted it was a result of leaving the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority and letting the city of Clovis take its share of Ute Reservoir water.

"When we gave up our allotment, we basically (agreed to) have no standing in the commission," Thornton said. "We transferred a lot of that power to Tucumcari and that area. That's a side effect of other decisions that have been made."

• The next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Sept. 15.