Commissioners: Money for health care, state freezing cash

At the Roosevelt County Commission meeting Tuesday commissioners:

• Approved a request to provide almost $600,000 in matching money, enabling Roosevelt General Hospital to receive state community hospital money for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. The county money comes from the indigent fund. With county and state contributions, RGH hopes to receive about $2.7 million.

• Approved a county Health Council plan and profile.

• Approved submission for a state Community Development Block Grant. The proposal would use grant money to build a senior citizens center near La Casa Family Health Center.

After the meeting, County Manager Charlene Hardin said Los Abuelitos Senior Center located in La Casa needs its own space as La Casa grows.

• Heard Sheriff’s Office Capt. Rick Short report deputies made 91 arrests in November, which he said is one of the highest, if not the highest number of monthly arrests in his 20-year career with the Sheriff’s Office.

• Heard Hardin report the state has frozen capital outlay money until further notice. She also said a portion of the New Mexico Administrative Code had turned up saying in-kind services, such as labor and equipment costs, would no longer be reimbursable in severance tax-financed projects. Hardin said the decision would be detrimental to road projects in the county and she is arguing against it.

• County Clerk Janet Collins said she might be getting a subpoena connected to a lawsuit the American Association of Persons with Disabilities filed against the New Mexico Secretary of State over accusations of discrimination with third-party voter registrations. However, Collins said she didn’t expect any problems because she and her staff followed the rules and kept good records.

• Addressed questions from county resident John Pugh about the intersection at Roosevelt Road Q and 6 1/2, which has a large dip homeowners say is dangerous. Hardin said the road had top priority to get caliche, since it can’t be chip sealed in the winter, but the capital improvements money the county needed to finance the project was frozen by the state.