City officials still waiting on CARES Act information

CLOVIS — City commissioners spent about 10 minutes Thursday asking administration about the details of $4.26 million in CARES Act grants awarded last week by the state.

They came away with about as much information after the 8-0 vote to accept the federal dollars as they did before it, largely because that information will be disseminated in a state training that begins on Wednesday.

“A lot of your questions are our questions as well,” City Manager Justin Howalt said. “We can’t give you a concrete answer until we’ve had the training.”

What Howalt and Assistant City Manager Claire Burroughes could tell the commission was that the reimbursement grants would be for documented business expenses for places incorporated in New Mexico with 50 or fewer full-time employees and annual revenues of $2 million or less.

The timeline for expenses would run through March 27 to the end of the year, with an application deadline in January. The city will work with the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce on the application process for businesses, and hopes to begin accepting applications in early October.

Any reimbursements a business receives would be treated as revenue for tax purposes.

Mayor Mike Morris lauded Howalt and Burroughes for putting together a professional application that led to a larger award than other municipalities, and they in turn noted Emergency Management Director Dan Heerding played a role in the process.

“As you look around the state,” Morris said, “not everybody fared as well as the city of Clovis, and that’s because of their work.”

In other business at the Thursday meeting, which ran 20 minutes:

• The commission approved a grant application for $20,000 from the New Mexico Economic Development Department. If approved, the city would use the money to construct an educational building at Goodwin Lake Walking Trails Park with information on the role of playa lakes like the one included at the park.

Commissioners raised concerns about the facility being mostly obscured from public view, and being prone to use by homeless people and vandalism. Howalt said he understood the concerns, but noted the location of the building was important to give visitors the information while the playa was in plain sight.

The grant would require a dollar-for-dollar match by the city, which would be covered through parks funding and in-kind landscaping services.

• The commission approved a change in status for the emergency management specialist position from part-time to full-time.

Burroughes told the commission the position’s extra hours would largely be dedicated to seeking grant opportunities, and it’s anticipated the extra $9,125 in salary will be outweighed by grants received.

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