Officials vote to remove stop signs

PORTALES — After receiving concerns from residents, conducting traffic studies and debating extensively, the Roosevelt County Commission decided on Tuesday to remove stop signs from an intersection.

Road Superintendent Ricky Lovato requested that stop signs on Roosevelt Road 7 at the intersection of Roosevelt Road S be removed after receiving complaints from county residents that drivers were not stopping anyway.

"We believe that the people on S, if we remove the stop signs, will know that now they have to wait on traffic. Before, they thought the stop signs would stop them, but they would blow through the stop signs as they tried to go through the intersection," he said.

County Manager Amber Hamilton added that all first responders she spoke with approved of the removal of the stop signs.

The commission's response, however, was not as unanimous.

"If you know you're gonna stop, you gotta stop. If you're worried about somebody running it, wait another second. It's gonna be the same thing. But I do believe that stop sign (on Roosevelt Road 7) helps slow the speed of traffic on that road," commissioner Shane Lee said.

He added that because he drives through the intersection — about a mile south of Portales — multiple times a day, he sees drivers run the stop signs, but not at high rates of speed.

Lee also pointed out that no accidents have been reported at the intersection.

This point prompted commissioner Matthew Hunton to argue that no accidents have been reported at the intersection of Roosevelt Road R 1/2 and Roosevelt Road 7, a two-way stop from which the changes to the S intersection were modeled.

Commissioner Dennis Lopez recalled the adage "If it's not broken, why try to fix it?" but was countered by Commissioner Gene Creighton, who pointed out that the county had received several complaints of near accidents.

"If we have no action, it may come back and have a bad wreck and kill some people," Creighton said.

The commission eventually voted in favor of removing the stop signs, with Lee being the only member to vote against the measure.

Despite his concerns, Lopez acquiesced based on the yes vote of Creighton, who represents the district where the intersection sits.

Also at Tuesday's meeting:

• Commissioners approved a fire ban in Roosevelt County.

Milnesand Fire Chief John Mohon introduced the request, explaining that the county has lost over 50,000 acres in the last several months from fires.

First-time violators of the ban will be charged between $100 and $1,000, and subsequent violations can surpass $1,000, according to Hamilton.

"We can't just go up to a guy and say hey, 'Pat on the back and don't do it again.' We gotta enforce this ban or it won't work," Mohon said.

• Commissioners approved applications by the Arch and Milnesand Volunteer Fire Departments for the 2019 County Fire Protection Fund.

Mohon said money from the fund, if approved, will go toward a 2,700 gallon tanker for the Milnesand department and a new fire truck for the Arch department.

• Mike Cone, chairman of the Roosevelt Soil and Water Conservation District, updated commissioners on his organization's "shade ball project."

Cone reported that in testing the project - which involves black plastic balls that cover water tanks to reduce evaporation - the RSWCD has found that a tank covered with shade balls lost 4,290 gallons of water to evaporation, while an uncovered tank lost 9,468 gallons.

"I think it's something that could help. We're to the point now, water-wise, every little thing we can do, I think we need to be doing it," he said.

Cone added that RSWCD has received interest, both in Roosevelt County and around the state, in the shade balls.