Curry votes on land trust configuration

CLOVIS — Curry County Commissioners agreed Tuesday to limit voting members appointed to its water-focused land trust to five non-agricultural water users, following concerns about possible conflicts of interests in other formations.

During Tuesday's regular meeting, Commissioner Chet Spear proposed appointing seven voting members to the committee, three of which are technically local landowners who could possibly benefit from serving on a land trust focused on water conservation.

The land trust is anticipated to aid with any issues that may arise during a Readiness Environmental Protection Initiative process at Cannon Air Force Base. The REPI process, which tackles environmental issues impacted by Department of Defense installations, would in this case incentivize landowners in the paleochannel surrounding the base to convert to dryland farming and create less demand on the water supply.

There were no official appointments to the now five-member land trust.

Spear floated the idea of having three members of the trust include one member from Curry County, one from the city of Clovis, and one from the Central Curry Soil & Water Conservation District. The remaining four members, Spear said, would serve three-year terms with two renewals, and the names proposed included former Clovis Mayor David Lansford, local landowners Ronnie Montague, and Tyler Belcher, and Mark Carpenter, a plumber in Clovis.

The names sparked debate between Spear and Commissioner Seth Martin, who expressed confusion as to why the commission would appoint people to serve on a land trust committee before actually hammering out the specifics of the trust itself.

Martin, who has repeatedly disclosed that he owns land in the paleochannel, pointed out that Lansford owns land not far from the area. Martin was also concerned that appointing landowners to the committee would be akin to establishing the land trust to serve the interests of those who control it.

“Let's not tailor the bylaws to fit the land trust, the people on it,” Martin said. “My greatest concern is the water out there. If this doesn't get set up correctly we can just kiss it all away, and let somebody else pick it up the next time. We have to do this right with the right people.”

The commission deliberated on how to properly define a “landowner” in regards to restrictions on certain individuals serving on the trust committee.

“I don't think there needs to be a landowner in the trust at all,” Martin said.

Spear pointed out that if such a rule were followed, he himself, who owns land in a subdivision, would not be eligible to serve on the committee.

The commission then agreed to define “landowner” as an individual who owns land and uses water for agricultural purposes as a way to avoid any perception of conflict.

While Spear said he understood his colleagues' concerns about a conflict of interest, the commission unanimously agreed that the water is the most important issue at hand.

“Yes, it may cost money,” Spear told the commission. “But what are we going to do without water, folks?

“Water to me right now is blue gold. We have to get this accomplished, and if we don't get it done in Curry County, it's not going to get done.”

The commission voted on a motion proposed by Martin to reduce the board from seven members to five, and to bar any “agricultural water users” from serving as voting members on the land trust. The "agricultural water users" clause was suggested by Commissioner James Ridling to eliminate any confusion about why a landowner would have a conflict of interest. Martin amended his motion and thanked Ridling, noting it wasn't about land ownership but the water asset.

Voting in favor were Martin, Ridling and Robert Sandoval. Chairman Robert Thornton joined Spear in the dissenting vote.

Earlier in the meeting, Spear proposed that the name for the land trust be The Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy.

The proposed mission statement for the conservancy is, “to conserve the land and water resources of the paleochannel of the Ogallala Aquifer in Curry County for non-agricultural use of Curry County, Clovis, Cannon Air Force Base, Eastern New Mexico Water Utility and the surrounding areas.”