Roosevelt says no to $40k request

Roosevelt County commissioners on Tuesday voted 3-2 to not pay the New Mexico Land Office about $40,000 for county roads that traverse state owned lands in Roosevelt County.

Discussion on the matter took up a significant portion of the meeting.

Officials with the NM Land Office appeared at the county’s Sept. 10 meeting seeking what was described as a “long overdue” solution to the issue.

State officials, alleging the county owes it more than $693,000, told commissioners the Land Office would accept a one-time payment of $40,223 under its amnesty program.

Commission Chair Tina Dixon said Tuesday she has been talking to commissioners and attorneys from other counties concerning the matter.

“Chaves, Quay, Grant, Socorro and Catron counties all voted ‘no’ on this. Only Lea County voted to pay the Land Office. I have a letter from one of those county’s attorney outlining why they voted against it,” Dixon said.

Said Commissioner Roy Lee Criswell: “We gotta grow some hair and stand up to the state Land Office. It’s not about the $40,000, it’s the principle of the thing.”

The matter has been before the state’s counties before, in 2012, when Lea County voted to pay the Land Office.

“Our tax dollars paid to build and maintain those roads and now they want more taxpayer dollars. This is just crazy,” Dixon said.

Commissioner Dennis Lopez liked what Dixon had to say.

“But what would this cost in litigation?” Lopez asked.

County Attorney Michael Garcia said litigation could cost well over $40,000.

“I’ve talked to other commissioners from other counties too and this looks like legalized blackmail,” Commissioner Rodney Savage said.

One of the goals of obtaining payment from Roosevelt County, according to Dixon, is to secure service and maintenance for Roosevelt Road AV, the road that leads directly to the Melrose Bombing Range.

The last two miles of the road are in Roosevelt County and it serves only the bombing range.

“Some time ago the Department of Defense wanted a disbursement allocation program project done on that road. They wanted it paved. The last two miles are on state land and the DoD has no right of way. The problem is once the road is paved, if it is turned over to Roosevelt County, if we pay the State Land Office that $40,000, then years down the road we will be paying millions to maintain a road that really isn’t used by Roosevelt County taxpayers,” Dixon told The News after the meeting.

Commissioner Paul Grider made the motion to pay the money to the state Land Office.

Grider and Lopez voted to pay the Land Office.

“I voted yes because litigation will be horrendous on taxpayers,” Lopez said.

State Land Office spokesperson Joey Keefe issued a statement in response to the Commission’s action:

“The mission of the State Land Office is to earn money for public schools, universities and hospitals throughout the state, and the agency has a legal mandate to charge for the use of state trust lands, including for county roads that cross state trust lands.

“We try to work collaboratively with counties to ensure they have valid legal agreements in place for the use of their county roads crossing through state lands.

“Currently, 15 counties voluntarily participate in a long-standing amnesty program that allows counties to obtain rights-of-way at a significantly reduced rate.

“Joining this amnesty program would save Roosevelt County taxpayers over $1 million by reducing the amount charged by over 96 percent.

“We encourage Roosevelt County to join this program as other New Mexico counties have already done.”

Keefe also provided a list of 15 of the state’s 33 counties that have signed on with the road amnesty program: Doña Ana, Eddy, Guadalupe, Harding, Lea, Luna, McKinley, Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Sandoval, San Juan, Sierra, Torrance and Valencia.

In other Commission business

In other business, commissioners heard from Roosevelt County Detention Center Administrator Shayla Ramsey who reported detainee population was 12 females and 47 males.

Ramsey told commissioners that morale is high among jail workers.

“Everyone seems glad to work there,” Ramsey said.

Asked to elaborate after the meeting, Ramsey said, “The boost in morale is in the current staff and current supervisors. We’re goal oriented and we’re working for the same goals here.”

County Manager Annette Kirk told commissioners the day for swearing-in of county officials will be Dec. 31.

Kirk reported the Portales city government is interested in an intergovernmental agreement between the city and the county for heavy equipment use.

Lopez said, “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Other commissioners agreed and told Kirk to tell the city the county was not interested in an IGA on the matter.