Roosevelt commissioners vote to accept grant

Roosevelt County Commissioners voted at their regular meeting Tuesday to accept a New Mexico Food Security grant from the state for $137,797, which will pay for the construction of a building to serve as a permanent location for the Food Bank of Eastern New Mexico in Roosevelt County.

The county agreed to act as the fiscal agent for the grant.

Food Bank Executive Director Dianna Sprague said in a later interview that the building will be located at 1111 W. Fir St. in Portales.

Sprague said the food bank currently operates from 9-11 am every first and third Friday at the La Casa center located at 1515 W. Fir St. The lines typically stretch down Avenue O and Cherry streets. The food bank serves about 125 households each day it is open.

“The Food Bank is very much needed,” she said. “All families are feeling the economic strains… whether it’s at the gas pump or the grocery store.”

The county has to put the project out for bid, but once the procurement process is completed, construction on the building will begin, she said. Sprague said the grant also covers fixtures, including shelves, a refrigerator/freezer and shopping carts.

County Commission Chairman Shane Lee said: “I know we need this.”

In other business, the commission discussed the continued negotiations with the city of Portales in regard to creating a joint powers agreement to administer the emergency calls dispatch center.

County manager Amber Hamilton said later in an email: “Commissioner Rodney Savage and I will be meeting with mayor pro tem Miller and manager Austin on May 18 to discuss the agreement negotiations. There is not another joint meeting scheduled with both boards at this point. Once the appointed working group has a draft JPA, it will be presented for consideration to the governing bodies at their respective public meetings. The city sent a draft JPA yesterday evening after 6 p.m.”

Savage said at the meeting that he would like to see what the city wants in writing for a more fruitful discussion.

On another agenda item, Hamilton discussed the recent spike in crime by juveniles and the cost of housing them.

“We have seen a spike in these types of crimes involving juveniles,” she said. "At this rate, the county may blow through its entire budget of $90,000 for out-of-county juvenile housing in the first two months of this fiscal year.”

“This is something we are going to have to watch,” she added. “At this rate we are going to have some significant budget adjustments.”

Hamilton said the housing costs are an unfunded state mandate over which the county has no control and “we get stuck with the bill.”