Plans made for new port of entry

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Taxpayers will spend about $1.5 million to relocate and transform the port of entry at Texico, according to Greg Fouratt, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety.

Officials last month announced plans to move the port of entry to the former visitor’s center about 2 miles west of the Texas-New Mexico border.

The visitor’s center closed in September 2014 when both of its employees retired.

Construction on the new POE is scheduled to begin in late spring. A completion date has not been established.

“The existing visitor’s center building is configured very well for its new mission as a commercial vehicle enforcement port of entry,” Fouratt said in an email responding to questions.

“The existing 3,250 square foot structure is slated to be remodeled to secure the interaction counter for issuance of permits and interaction with drivers; the addition of several offices; securing an area for storage; and, converting the restrooms from public to private facilities.”

He said the 4 acres of land where the visitor’s center was located will be re-engineered to “generate parking and smooth vehicular movements.”

All the equipment at the current port of entry — on the west edge of Texico’s city limits — will be relocated to the new facility, he said.

The move is not popular among some of eastern New Mexico’s tourism promoters.

“It was a location for us to get the word out (through fliers and a promotional magazine) about Portales as people were entering the state,” said Karl Terry, executive director of the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce.

“And it’s not just us. I think it affects Roswell, Ruidoso and Fort Sumner equally. It’s going to be missed.”

State Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Portales, said there are no plans to place another visitor’s center in the region.

“It just wasn’t used enough,” he said. “It was built in a poor location and it just never did catch fire, people never did see it. So it was basically taken over by the state and used for another purpose.”

The Texico visitor’s center was averaging about 19,000 people per year and cost about $90,000 annually to operate, said Rebecca Latham, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Department of Tourism. Most of those using it were truck drivers and commuters taking advantage of its restrooms, she said.

Another primary factor in the move is safety, Fouratt said in his email.

“The existing port of entry ... is deficient in many respects,” he said. “Foremost among these is the safety issue caused by insufficient space for safe highway exit and entrance.

“Solving the most basic problems with the current POE would cost $950,000 and leave the current modular building in place. Moving the POE is the vastly superior solution.”

Fouratt said the current port of entry site, including the modular building and surrounding property, will remain in state inventory. The state has not announced plans for the property.