Portales mayor among finalists for water board position

Staff report

Finalists for the Eastern New Mexico Rural Water Utility Authority’s executive director job include Portales Mayor Sharon King.

Chairperson Gayla Brumfield said board members interviewed five of 12 applicants for the position.

Brumfield said other finalists are:

• Jim Blasing of Pueblo, Colorado. He is the public works director for the city of Cripple Creek, Colorado.

• Kenny Walker of Portales. Walker is recently retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service and does conservation consulting work.

King is also the vice president of the water authority board, but Brumfield said there would be no conflicts of interest if King is selected for the job.

“We consulted with both Clovis and Portales law firms about this and they said there is no conflict of interest or (anything) illegal,” Brumfield said.

“It’s not an all-consuming job; she can still do her duty as mayor,” Brumfield said.

The authority has never had an executive director, only a program director who was contracted, Brumfield said.

“Well now that we are getting more support from state and federal levels, we are able to hire more people and have an office; therefore we can have an executive director for our authority,” Brumfield said.

Brumfield said she expects board members will make a decision in about 30 days.

Applications are still being accepted, she said.

The authority is responsible for the design, planning, construction, operation and maintaining of the Ute Water Project. The project would pipe water from Ute Lake to Curry and Roosevelt counties.

The executive director will manage contractors and engineers and “be the face” of the authority, Brumfield said.

The job will pay between $85,000 and $110,000, depending on experience, she said.