Q&A: Ward D candidates talk water, business

Editor’s note: The following is one in a series of question and answer sessions with Portales city council candidates.

Keith Thomas

Keith Thomas is the incumbent for the Ward D city council seat and is the owner of Portales Home Medical Equipment.

Early voting for the election will be at Portales city hall through Feb. 26. Absentee voting by mail will be accepted from Jan. 26 to Feb. 26.

The election will be on March 1.

Why do you want to continue being a city councilor and what strengths do you feel you bring to the position?

I want to continue to be a city councilor, because I think I’ve been able to accomplish a lot through the reuse water program. I was able to enact our ordinance on Xerascape. We were able to get that through to help save water. There are other projects I am working on and part of that is projects regarding water conservation.

I feel like the biggest strength I have is that I am accessible. People can come to me and talk to me; I care what people have to say. There is not a single person that has come to me who I have not tried to help. I think the other strength I bring to this is the relationships I’ve built with our legislators. Last year, we asked for $80,000 to repair the roof of the senior citizen building, and we got it. Those are connections you have to make, and it takes time to do that.

I am also the only city councilor who has graduated from MOLI (Municipal Officials Leadership Institute).

The Ute water project and water issues in general are always hot topics. Do you support the Ute water project? What other solutions/projects would you like to see come to fruition with water issues and how do you plan to help make them happen?

I support the Ute lake pipeline project as long as we can see the project move forward. According to our hydrologist, it is the only long-term, sustainable water for our community. But having said that, there are already other projects in place to ensure we have long-term water resources. We can not put all of our eggs in the Ute pipeline project basket.

Right now, we expel 800,000 gallons of water on the ground, but mine and other councilors’ plans are to be able to reuse that water and put it back to use somewhere in the city. We need to continue to explore more ways to get ground water. We need to be exploring. We need to be out looking for different ways to get water out of the ground better than what we’ve got to serve long-term.

The hydrologist basically told us we need to be looking further south. We need to spend the taxpayers dollars making sure we’re looking in the right direction.

What are other issues within the city you are concerned about and how do you plan to address them?

There’s not a lot going on for our kids to do; there’s not a lot going on for our citizens to do — like going to the movies. I haven’t been to the movies in six years, because our theater closed.

I think I need to go back to the family entertainment issue and try to get that put on the ballot. I think that needs to be something the people need to vote on, not the councilors. I’m just trying to come up with options for our community.

Another problem is roads. We have a very limited $80,000 per year we are given to work on roads. So we’re not able to get each road each councilor wants fixed; we need to make sure we’re getting the worst roads fixed first.

Bringing business/economy to the area always proves to be a challenge, particularly with state funding cuts. Is this a concern for you? If so, what do you hope to accomplish In this area?

Being one of the only businessmen on the council, this question is very near and dear to my heart. State budget cuts on the local level certainly affect business, but having an eye for business, I can see what legislators are looking for. The businesses of Portales collect Gross Receipt Taxes when people shop at them, so when the citizens shop in Portales, that’s huge, because that’s money for the community. But we also need to pay attention to what the state is doing to our businesses. Our local businesses are the backbone of our community, so we have to take care of them.

What I hope to accomplish is seeing more businesses coming into our community and having a warm, welcoming environment for new businesses. We need to continue to bring in small businesses, medium and large businesses, so when things like the Coke plant closing happen, we can be more prepared for it. We have got to bring in more businesses. I think we do a good job; I just think we could do a better job.

What will be your three biggest goals or areas of focus in your year as councilor?

They’re the same as when I came on board the first time: Ensuring that we have a sustainable water supply. We need a fire station on the north side of our town. We’ve accomplished that. I’ve been in Santa Fe asking for funds to help us build that fire station. I’m hoping we can break ground on that fire station sometime this year. I want to change the way we fix our roads and the way we work on our roads. I want to build our roads in a way that they last longer. I will continue to fight for the little scraps of money we can get to fix those roads.

As a city councilor, I said we need to work on water, roads and a fire station, and I think I’ve done a good job doing those things people asked of me.

— Compiled by Managing Editor Alisa Boswell

Jim Lucero

Michael James “Jim” Lucero is a candidate for the Ward D city council seat and is the manager of the local Ready Roast Nut Company.

Early voting for the election will be at Portales city hall through Feb. 26. Absentee voting by mail will be accepted from Jan. 26 to Feb. 26.

The election will be on March 1.

Why do you want to be a city councilor and what strengths do you feel you will bring to the position?

I want to be a city councilor, because I believe in Portales and want to serve the people in my ward and our community as a whole. I think Portales’ best days are still ahead of us, in spite of the recent announced Coca-Cola plant closing. I worked for Southwest Canners for 24 years with several of those years as the plant manager, and I’m currently the plant manager of the Ready Roast Nut Company. I’ve run one of Portales’ larger businesses and feel my experience running those businesses is a big asset when it comes to being a city councilor. The city has to be fiscally responsible and funds are limited, so we need to manage those funds and allocate them where it is best for our residents and community.

I’m a good communicator and listener, and I feel I am very approachable and being a resident of Portales my entire life, many people know that what you see is what you get. I’m an honest, caring, trustworthy and experienced business person who loves this community.

The Ute water project and water issues In general are always hot topics. Do you support the Ute water project? What other solutions/projects would you like to see come to fruition with water issues and how do you plan to help make them happen?

I think our city planners have done a good job in looking at our options for water, and I support the long-term strategy of the Ute water project. From what I understand, with the project costing around $600 million with 75 percent of the funds coming from the federal government, 15 percent coming from the state and the remaining 10 percent coming from the communities, it may take years to get all the funding for the project, and it is risky to assume the federal government will release these funds any time soon.

We need to continue to look at all of our options for sustaining our water supply for the future. Conservation efforts and education, purchasing more land and water rights around our well sites, water reclamation and re-use, aquifer restoration and any and all other options and new technologies need to be explored to sustain our water supply for the foreseeable future.

What are other issues within the city you are concerned about and how do you plan to address them?

We don’t have an unlimited supply of money and funds are strapped. But we need to look at long-term planning for our infrastructure for our roads and water pipeline system. I think the city does a pretty good job keeping our roads repaired with limited resources. Our water pipeline system is aging, and we’re having issues with main water lines breaking from age or construction. We need to look at replacing aged water lines, put in systems where if there is a major break, we can shut off the water to a specific area and not have to shut the entire town’s water supply. These are expensive projects when you talk about roads and water piping systems, but we’ve got to have a long-term strategy to deal with these issues, because we’ll have to deal with them eventually, if we like it or not.

We need to have excellent basic services, and we need to have and fully support our local law enforcement, fire and EMTs and other city departments and give them all the resources fiscally possible to do their jobs to the best of their abilities. I think Portales is very fortunate to have very good, competent people who protect and serve our community, and we need to provide them with all the support and resources fiscally possible.

Bringing business/economy to the area always proves to be a challenge, particularly with state funding cuts. Is this a concern for you? If so, what do you hope to accomplish in this area?

It’s great to bring in larger businesses like the recent purchase of the Golden Boy Foods property by the Ready Roast Nut Company and get that facility hiring local residents and get it up and running again. With me being a part of Ready Roast opening and dealing with our local and state leaders and agencies, I know it can be quite a challenge and difficult task opening a new business. It is small business that is the backbone of our community and bringing in new business is vital. There are many programs and incentives out there that most people do not know about. There are funds available, if you know who to talk to and/or where to go to get help.

My experience with recently starting a new business in town and working with local and state agencies can be very beneficial when someone may approach the council in looking to come to our community for a new business.

What will be your three biggest goals or areas of focus in your first year as a councilor?

First and foremost, during my first year as a councilor, is to quickly learn what are all the duties and responsibilities that come with being a city councilor. As I mentioned earlier, we also need to look at long-term planning for our water supply and our infrastructures. And lastly, we need to have excellent basic services and do all we can to have the best in law enforcement, fire and rescue and city departments. We need to be good stewards of the money our tax payers provide to the city, and I’d love to serve my ward and community to the best of my abilities.

— Compiled by Correspondent Rae Arnett