Meetings watch: City commission

At the Portales City Council meeting Tuesday in Portales City Hall, councilors:

• Approved ratification of the Finance Department’s Actions Regarding Bills for August 2011.

• Approved the resolution for a special election concerning Sunday liquor sales in Portales.

Portales Mayor Sharon King said the election will take place Dec. 13.

• Approved the right-of-way easement for property on South Avenue B, to enable a local resident to make adjustments to his electrical lines that lay on city property.

• Approved a lease agreement between the city and the Maxwell Group for a parking lot adjacent to the Portales Inn.

• Heard a report on water line construction.

Portales City Manager Tom Howell said city water lines will be upgraded from four inches to six inches in length and will be moved over, so they will be out of the way of construction that is schedule to start on U.S. 70 at a later time.

He said they hope to begin the project at the beginning of the new year and have it completed within two years.

• Approved adopting the 2013-2017 Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan.

• Heard a presentation on the Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. annual report.

RCCDC Executive Director Greg Fisher said there was a 2 percent growth in county population with this year’s Census and the county’s total operation budget has gone down the last three years.

Fisher also said unemployment for Roosevelt County was at an all-time high in June 2009 at 6.3 percent, but for June of 2011 the rate was 4.7 percent.

He also said affordable housing concerns are being addressed but not quickly enough.

• Approved authorizing the city manager to execute Department of Defense Community Planning Assistance Funds Grant for activities related to Joint Land Use Study for Cannon Air Force Base.