Curry votes to allow land trust to act independently

CLOVIS - The County Commission voted Tuesday to allow the newly minted Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy, the land trust committee charged with preserving local land and water resources, to act independently during its regular meeting.

Prior to the roll call vote to cut the land trust committee loose, the committee was obliged to appear before the County Commission for approval of any of its decisions.

It is anticipated that the land trust, officially named the Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy, will aid with any issues that may arise during a Readiness Environmental Protection Initiative process at Cannon Air Force Base.

The REPI process, which tackles environmental issues impacted by Department of Defense installations, would in this case incentivize landowners in the paleochannel surrounding the base to convert to dryland farming and create less demand on the water supply.

During the Commission’s last meeting in April, Commissioner Chet Spear resigned from his post after the commission passed a motion put forth by Commissioner Seth Martin, that barred the committee from appointing any “agricultural water users” to serve as voting members.

Spear went before the commission last month and suggested that the land trust committee consist of seven voting members.

Three of the members would consist of one representative from the county, one from the city of Clovis, and one from the Central Curry Soil and Water Conservation District.

The remaining four members floated by Spear included three local landowners, former Clovis Mayor David Lansford, Ronnie Montague, and Tyler Belcher,. To Martin, the makeup created a perception of a conflict of interest, motivating him to propose his motion.

Now that the commission voted to allow the land trust to operate as an independent entity, the committee is effectively free to appoint any members it sees fit.

Spear confirmed to The News that he will resume his position as chairman of the land trust committee now that it is no longer beholden to the commission.

During the last meeting Spear appealed to the commission concerning its authority to approve the land trust committee’s recommendations.

“I am here today to recommend that this board rescind the direction to approve the development committees’ recommendations and allow the development committee to proceed on its own, accepting its experience and expertise of the board members to establish the Ogallala Land and Water Conservancy,” Spear told the commission.

“We are not in any way independent all by ourselves making decisions,” Spear told the Commission about the land trust committee. “We are making smart intelligent decisions based on rule and law and directives and I can assure you these agencies will oversee to make certain that we do.”

The Central Curry Soil and Water Conservation District is one agency that will provide oversight on the land trust, Spear said.

Spear told the commission that there will be no landowners in the paleochannel who will be voting members on the land trust, but he added that he is uncertain if that is in accordance with Martin’s previous motion.

Spear called Martin’s motion “ambiguous” and requested from the commission that it be rescinded.

The commission’s vote to allow the land trust board to operate as an independent entity, effectively voided any action or discussion on the matter of who the land trust committee can and cannot appoint to serve as voting members.