Commission districts likely to see changes

CLOVIS — Four, if not all five, of Curry County's commission districts will see some level of upheaval by the end of the year, as the Census-driven process of redistricting is starting to take shape.

Commissioners heard a first presentation on the matter during Tuesday's commission meeting, where John Sharp of Research and Polling said the plan is to have three different redistricting plans for commissioners to approve by Dec. 31.

Sharp said the ideal population for each district is 9,686, representing one-fifth of the total county population of 48,430, but a 5% margin either way is acceptable. That means each district must be between 9,202 and 10,170 people.

While the county is only up 54 residents from 2010, Sharp said new district lines are needed because “population changes tend to be unequal over time.”

The current populations of each district:

• District 1: 8,890, down 568 (6%) from the 2010 population of 9,458

• District 2: 10,266, up 342 (3.4%) from the 2010 population of 9,924

• District 3: 9.827, down 166 (1.7%) from the 2010 population of 9,993

• District 4: 8,453, down 1,240 (12.8%) from the 2010 population of 9,693

• District 5: 10,994, up 1,686 (18.1%) from the 2010 population of 9,308.

Basically, Sharp said, Districts 1 and 4 need to grow, District 2 and 5 need to shrink and District 3 could ostensibly stay where it is. However, he warned decisions are not made in a vacuum, and any change to one district will affect at least one other district.

Commissioner Chet Spear noted that under the current district lines, Districts 1 (represented by Robert Sandoval) and 2 (James Ridling) are almost entirely within city limits. Spear said all of Sandoval's voters are in city limits and 95% of Ridling's are as well.

“We're county commissioners,” Spear said, with emphasis on county. “Each commissioner should have unincorporated parts of the county in their district. The three of us (remaining) pretty much control roads in the county, and that's not fair.”

Fellow commissioners said they didn't disagree with Spear's point, but Chair Robert Thornton said it would be tough to honor that request and keep districts contiguous and compact. Thornton told Sharp that he'd like changes to impact as few residents as possible, while adding with a laugh he knew his instructions were basically, “Change things, but don't change anything.”

In other business at the Tuesday meeting:

• Fairground and Event Center Manager K.C. Messick reported the 2021 fair wasn't ideal, but still a great result. The total attendance of 29,308 exceeded projections of 20,000, and that was with rain hurting Thursday and Friday attendance.

Total amusement park profits were $293,565, up $38,500 from the 2019 fair. A total of $113,970 was paid to the county under its deal with Wright Amusements. Additionally, Messick said the county would receive a $41,000 payout from a rain interruption insurance policy.

“I couldn't be prouder of my team,” Messick said. “We have a small team, but everybody jumped in and did a little bit of everything.”

Commissioner Seth Martin told Messick he appreciated the way his staff has worked with the extension office staff. Messick said in meetings over the last few years, the group has always spoke in terms of “us” instead of “you and me.”

• The commission approved a settlement with the New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department for underpayment of gross receipts taxes between 2010 and 2017. The county, after legal fees, will see $87,814.41.

• The commission voted to no longer send a commissioner as a representative on the city of Clovis’ Senior Services Committee. Spear, who is the current nominee, said the county is adequately represented through its Retired Senior Volunteer and Foster Grandparents programs. Even though the membership is a non-voting role, Spear said the mere presence of a commissioner can sometimes influence a vote.

• A resolution was approved asking the state to rework Public Employee Retirement Association guidelines to make it less punitive for retired employees to come back in limited roles. County Manager Lance Pyle said retirees would benefit by working a few hours to supplement incomes, and municipalities would have access to knowledgeable employees.

Pyle said getting the state to change the rules would be a challenge, but he is contacting other municipalities to join the effort.

• Commissioners approved an amended contract for administrative services with the Central Curry Soil and Water Conservation District on land trust matters. County Attorney Steve Doerr brought the contract to the commission's attention, and commissioners voted 4-1 to accept the contract that added “contract employees” to the services agreement. Sandoval cast the dissenting vote.

• The county's Infrastructure and Capital Improvements Plan was approved. The top five capital outlay projects for the upcoming year were fairgrounds improvements, upgrades to Curry roads 6 and 10, a building for the Countyline Volunteer Fire Department, equipment barn covering and elevator repairs at the county courthouse.

• In commissioner reports, Thornton and Spear said they were impressed with the 9/11 Flag of Honor Across America ceremony that Curry County held on Saturday.

The county was one of 60 founding communities in the project, which collectively remembered every victim of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the Feb. 26, 2003, World Trade Center attack. Spear credited Community Programs Coordinator Kristian Price for putting on the event.

Thornton said he was a volunteer that read one of the victim's names, and the experience made him want to find out more about that person.

• The next meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. Oct. 12 at the Curry County Administrative Complex.