Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority Executive Director Orlando Ortega and office manager Sara Widner share plans for the authority's upcoming groundbreaking ceremony.
CLOVIS - It's almost time for a celebration: members of the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority on Thursday discussed plans for a groundbreaking ceremony for Finished Water 2, the seven miles of pipeline between Clovis and Cannon Air Force Base.
Executive Director Orlando Ortega and office manager Sara Widner said the ceremony will begin at noon on Feb. 26 at the ENMWUA offices at the Sitterly Professional Center, 801 Pile St.
A catered open house at the office will last for about an hour until heading out to a yet-to-be-determined construction site for the official groundbreaking.
Ortega said over 200 invitations to invited guests will be emailed out soon.
"It's going to be a great time, it's going to be a great celebration I believe and we're going to do the best that we can to invite ... our member communities to be here," Ortega said.
Members Ron Jackson of Portales and Doug Scioli of Texico were absent.
Also at Thursday's meeting:
• Ortega said the authority is moving forward with plans to request capital outlay funding for Finished Water 3, the pipeline from Cannon to Portales, and that members of the authority are tentatively scheduled to meet with Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham or her staff on Jan. 29 to discuss the request.
• In his report on federal activities, consultant John Ryan said the federal shutdown is not expected to have any effect on funding of rural water projects. He advised that members of the water authority should plan to visit Washington, D.C., in February or early March to meet with government officials to discuss a request for additional funding.
• The board unanimously approved the lone action item, an amendment to a contract with Jacobs Engineering adding $30,000 to a task order that Ortega said covers general services including grant support, mapping and general engineering documents.
• Member Ladona Clayton was tasked with coming up with a draft of a mission statement for the water authority by its next meeting, scheduled for Feb. 21 in Clovis.
