Clovis mayor has coffee, discussions with community members

Clovis Mayor Mike Morris had coffee with six community members at the Java Loft on Friday, where discussions ranged from mental health to electric vehicle charging stations.

“It was delightful, and I was able to visit with everyone around the room,” Morris said.

He told the group he would talk about anything he could talk about in detail.

“One new to the community told me he didn’t see much information coming up about the election and the candidates and the various positions they are up for,” he said.

Morris told the individual that The Eastern New Mexico News had done articles and Q&As with candidates.

The mayor added that the ultimate source for elections would be the Curry County Clerk’s Office and that the county was on the March election cycle in even years.

Clovis’ only contested races on November’s ballot are for Clovis Municipal School Board seats. Some area towns have school board and municipal elections on the ballot.

Morris said one constituent wanted to know what the city was doing about EV charging stations. He said Clovis has two at local hotels, which are private for their guests.

“With me being a private-sector guy and if the push for EV continues, then the market will no doubt meet that demand,” the mayor said.

He said the city is in the process of redesigning downtown Clovis and looking to improve parking at Sixth Street and Mitchell.

“As we redesign downtown, we could put in a couple of charging stations with grant money if it was available,” he said.

He noted, however, that he isn’t looking to spend the public’s money on EVs. Morris said he expects the private sector to meet that demand as it increases.

When the Cannon Air Force Base topic arose, the mayor said its future is “absolutely rock solid.”

He said that since April he has been involved with Pentagon-level conversations, including the secretary of the Air Force and New Mexico’s senior senator, Martin Heinrich.

“As Air Force National Command evolves and adapts to the changing needs of the national defense, both Cannon and the Melrose bombing range are extremely relevant,” he said.

Morris noted that he wants to grow and improve for residents and those on base over the long term.

He said he expected questions about crime, but no one at the event brought it to his attention. The mayor said another topic that didn’t come up was homelessness or even the post office on Gidding changing their hours to access their Post Office boxes.

“We did have someone bring up behavior health and what help there was in the region for those affected,” he said.

Morris said $10 of $40 million needed has been secured by lawmakers to assist in building an in-patient care facility. De Baca, Quay, Union, Roosevelt, and Curry counties are participating in a consortium that will make the building of this facility possible in Clovis.

“Currently, when people are having these issues, we have to send them out of the area to several places like Las Cruces and Albuquerque,” Morris said.

Morris said it will be a few years before such a facility is built.

“The spirit in which all of this took place was so Clovis,” he added. “This type of conversation would have occurred even if I walked into the coffee shop without scheduling.”