Clovis prepares to look for District 4 seat replacement

CLOVIS — The Clovis city commission will take about a week to look at hopefuls for the now-vacant District 4 commission seat. It took them just a few minutes to create the format.

Mayor Mike Morris led a quick discussion at Thursday’s commission meeting to suggest the application process he’d like to see to fill the remaining 14 months of the term of R.L. “Rube” Render. Render, who won the seat in 2018, is moving to Lubbock to be closer to family.

Based on Render’s Wednesday resignation date, the commission has until Feb. 19 to appoint a resident of District 4. Morris suggested opening the application process on Friday with forms available at City Hall and cityofclovis.org and requiring applications be returned by Feb. 10.

“Doing that would allow each of you,” Morris said, “to review those applications between close of business Feb. 10 and our Feb. 18 commission meeting.”

District 2 Commissioner Gary Elliott said applicants should receive some time to address the commission, either at the Feb. 18 meeting or before. Morris agreed, and thanked Elliott for calling attention to it.

The new commissioner would likely be selected during the meeting, and then be sworn in some time before the next meeting on March 4.

In other business during the Thursday meeting:

• The commission approved a resolution in opposition to state legislation that would remove qualified immunity, which shields government officials from being held personally liable for constitutional violations for money damages under federal law so long as the officials did not violate “clearly established” law.

Police Chief Doug Ford said House Bill 4 would impact all city employees, but more heavily the police based on the nature of their interactions with the public. He warned the elimination of caps against judgments would mean officers would need additional insurance.

“This is not good legislation,” Ford said. “There are other ways to deal with that. It’s something we need to keep an eye on and be very vocal to our representatives about.”

Morris and commissioners who did comment said they agreed with Ford’s points.

• The commission approved $88,315 in lodgers tax disbursements.

The requests included $15,000 for the 2021 Smoke on the Water fireworks show, $11,000 for a billboard recognizing world tie-down champion rodeoer Shad Mayfield, $7,315 to advertise in the Livability New Mexico guide and $55,000 on the Chamber of Commerce’s community branding initiative with Once a Day Marketing. The Mayfield billboard would include promotion of upcoming events, in order to fulfill the spirit of lodgers tax funding while honoring the Clovis native. The fireworks funding includes roughly $8,100 in unused dollars carried over from last year’s award.

Lodgers Tax Advisory Board representative Thomas Martin said adjustments would be made as required with the pandemic in mind.

• The commission approved writing off $402,669.30 in ambulance billing from the 2016 fiscal year.

Fire Chief Mike Nolen said the department had 4,634 claims totaling $3.763 million. After all efforts to collect were made, Nolen said $340,543.09 was remaining. The department can no longer legally pursue the accounts after four years, but Nolen said people sometimes pay those accounts because they’re trying to repair their credit or they need to clear out debts to purchase a home.

Additionally, the city wrote off $61,784.36 in claims processed for Curry County Detention Center inmates as part of a joint powers agreement with the county and $341.85 in claims from deceased people with no estates.

• An item requesting the transfer of various city positions from non-exempt to exempt was removed from the agenda.

• The commission honored Bill Blackard, a plumbing inspector, for 20 years of service. Pete Wilt of the building safety department said Blackard was a dedicated employee who took pride in what he did and made sure everybody had to follow the same codes.

• A proclamation was read declaring January as Kiwanis Clubs of Clovis Month in the city. Sara Williford of the Clovis Noonday club noted the club marked its 100th birthday on Jan. 10 and is the third-oldest club in New Mexico.

“We call ourselves the little club that does,” Williford said, “because anything that needs doing, that’s what we’re here to do.” The three Clovis clubs’ primary focus, Williford said, is to provide for children in need.

• The next commission meeting is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Feb. 4.