Meetings watch — April 2

Portales City Council

Here are three things that happened at Tuesday’s Portales City Council meeting:

• Permission to recycle

The Portales City Council approved City Manager Doug Redmond’s request to submit an application for a recycling grant from the New Mexico Environment Department’s Solid Waste Bureau. The city is requesting $4,400 in funding, according to its application, for six recycling containers to implement a program that will allow Portales and Roosevelt County citizens to recycle plastics, newspapers and cardboard.

Redmond’s assistant, Jamie Rose, said the in-kind match for the grant is the 18 man hours for installation of the containers, which is equal to about $400.

• Planning Department business

The council approved four items from the Planning Department. The first item was requesting the council’s approval for a subdivision, submitted by Chris Combs of Territorial Investment Group, for a final plat of Combs Subdivision on West 22nd Street. The council voted 6-1 to approve the subdivision, with Councilor Keith Thomas voting against it. Thomas said while he’s for creating housing in Portales, the residents of his district do not want housing being built at that location.

The council also approved to begin court proceedings on dangerous building located on West 15th Lane, and avenues K, C, and A, and approved a resolution to declare a residence at the 800 block of East Elbe as a dangerous building.

• Portales Mayor Sharon King and the council recognized former Ward C Councilor Ronald Jackson for his 12 years of service as councilor and mayor pro-tem since 2012. King thanked Jackson for sitting in her seat and presiding over meetings when she was ill or receiving treatment for her myeloma, a cancer of plasma cells. Jackson thanked the council for working with him and his speech was met with a standing ovation from the audience.

— Compiled by senior writer Christina Calloway