Roosevelt officials approve services agreement with city

Roosevelt County commissioners in a special meeting Monday agreed to a proposed intergovernmental services agreement with the city of Portales.

Terms of the agreement have been debated for more than a year, with the entities exchanging proposals back and forth.

The latest proposals – submitted to the county from the city last week -- will now go back to Portales City Council for final consideration. Interim City Manager T.J. Cathey said he expects city officials will approve the deal when the Council meets next week.

County Commissioner Tina Dixon noted the following changes from the draft the city had proposed last week:

n For fire and medical services, EMS response will be within the E911 response zone for 461, which is Portales’ response zone.

n For animal control services, the city added “Limited to euthanasia services of dangerous animals to the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office,” which means it will be more animal control than it is a shelter. County residents cannot drop off any unwanted animals.

n For dispatch services, the agreement would go through the next three years starting July 1. The city will operate the public safety answering point – the 911 dispatch center -- which takes all cellular and landline 911 calls within jurisdictional boundaries of Roosevelt County and the city of Portales.

County commissioners did have concerns before approving the agreement unanimously.

“My biggest concerns are the changes in the detention center, having the city telling us what they wanted,” Commissioner Roy Lee Criswell said. “It’s run by the county, not the city.”

Criswell said he thought the city needed to abide by the county’s guidelines.

County attorney Michael Garcia told Criswell that none of the changes the city requested directly violate any of the county’s policies at the detention center.

“To the extent that it spells out everything so that everybody is clear on what’s expected on both sides is probably the right way to do it,” Garcia said.

One of the biggest confusions regarding the jail, according to Dixon, has been the difference between a detainee and arrestee.

“You are not a detainee until you pass our medical clearance; that is the first step,” Dixon said.

The county utilizes Roadrunner Healthcare to provide medical clearance for each arrestee.

“If they do not pass that screening that they feel comfortable with, then they need to go to the hospital or center or the clinic or somewhere else to be reviewed and cleared,” Dixon said.

Amber Hamilton, county manager, explained to the commission their medical policies and how the county cannot require a detainee to receive medical care, but that it must be offered.

“If they are referred out and they choose not to, we just have to have a way for them to come back to the facility,” Hamilton said.

“And then at that point, if there’s a concern, we have appropriate housing measures in place.”

Also at Monday’s special meeting, the commission approved a bid that will use just over $699,000 paid to Nixon Enterprises for the construction of 100 covered stalls at the Roosevelt County Fairgrounds.

The bid was approved on a unanimous vote.