Clovis approves contract with MainStreet

CLOVIS — After some back and forth over a higher contract rate and a budget for monuments, the Clovis city commission approved a contract for the upcoming year with Clovis MainStreet during its Thursday meeting.

The organization, part of New Mexico MainStreet, provides various services to downtown businesses and the city as a whole. Specific items in the contract, which runs through June at a cost of $28,333.33, include managing various capital outlay projects, implementing economic transformation strategies, facade improvements and several other marketing efforts.

Commissioner Helen Casaus, who serves as a non-voting member on the MainStreet board, said she was concerned the commission agenda was the first time she was seeing a $10,000 budget for a plaque program. MainStreet Executive Director Lisa Pellegrino-Spear said the budget didn’t mean one business would get a $10,000 plaque, but that it would be the funding source for monuments that are individually discussed and approved by the MainStreet board.

Casaus also brought up the long period of time renegotiating the contract, to which Board President Amy Sellers-Parker noted was partially due to medical issues she faced in recent months. MainStreet has since June been working with the city through one-month extension agreements. Casaus did respond that the circumstances were understandable, but frustrating nonetheless.

In other business during the Thursday meeting:

• Commissioners approved a five-year refresh of audio/video equipment for meetings held at the North Annex of the Clovis-Carver Public Library.

City IT Director Paul Nelson said A/V experts he has spoken with recommend refreshing systems every five years and replacing them every 10. The system, first installed in 2014, needs some upgrades to resolve audio issues and make it easier for officials and citizens to participate virtually.

“We’ve had many more meetings here,” IT Director Paul Nelson said, “and we’ve had more issues.”

The refresh will run the city about $45,000, with Nelson estimating a system replacement would be $125,000.

Mayor Pro Tem Chris Bryant, who took the item off the consent agenda to make sure he’d understood the process completely, asked Nelson if he believed this was the proper fix.

“I wouldn’t propose it,” Nelson said, “if I didn’t absolutely believe this was the solution.”

• An amended letter of support was approved for the Eastern New Mexico Ogallala Water Conservation Regional Conservation Partnership Project.

District 4 Commissioner Rube Render pulled the item off of the consent agenda to be certain the support did not put the city on the hook for financial contributions. Ken Walker of the New Mexico Association of Conservation Districts assured that would not be the case.

The RCCP is looking to be part of the upcoming Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration program, which helps defense installations with matching dollars from the Conservation Fund.

The commission approved a shortening of the draft letter of support to only not the city supports the RCCP’s grant application and the REPI process overall for Cannon Air Force Base and the region.

District 3 Commissioner Fidel Madrid moved to approve the full letter of support, as he didn’t believe the amending to be necessary. That failed 5-3, with Juan Garza and Bryant joining in dissent. A followup motion to go forward with the abbreviated support letter passed 8-0.

• During the public communication portion of the meeting, Clovis hotelier Danny Jariwala addressed the commission’s recent decision to deny industrial revenue bonds for the Xenia hotel project.

Commissioners, in their Oct. 1 meeting, voted against granting the under-construction hotel the bonds — a property tax forgiveness that does not require other financial obligation from the city — because such a request has never been done for a hotel and they feared setting a precedent.

Jariwala said the Xenia partners, of which he holds a 6% stake, are current Clovis residents or had been Clovis residents for more than a decade told commissioners Xenia would make another request in the coming weeks, and he would work with any commissioner in advance to resolve any issues they might have.

“This was our first time doing this as well,” Jariwala said. “From failure, you learn.”

Commissioners did not discuss the matter further, as it was not an agenda items.

• The commission reclassified the relief driver position as collections drivers for the city sanitation department.

Human Resource Director Andre Moquin told commissioners it has become difficult to recruit and retain relief drivers, who help maintain services when other drivers take sick and vacation days, get paid $1.78 less per hour when the job requirements and qualifications are the same.

The change will increase the salary budget by $14,792.88 — $3,698.22 for each of the four position reclassifications.

• City Manager Justin Howalt closed out the meeting by thanking Eugene Kelley, who was in his final week working in the city’s IT department. Howalt said Kelley did great things for the city, and anticipates he’ll be successful in his new position at the district attorney’s office.

Kelley briefly approached the lectern and said he enjoyed the time he spent with the city.

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