Locals pitch capital outlay wishes

CLOVIS - With assurances Thursday from state Rep. Randy Crowder that the state has "a huge amount of money to spend," local government, economic development and chamber of commerce officials presented basics of their capital outlay wishes to legislators.

Crowder said the Legislature, which meets for 30 days beginning Jan. 18, will have $2 billion to work with from new oil and gas revenues, and there are large allocations of federal COVID-19 recovery funds at the Legislature's disposal.

The preliminary capital outlay request presentations were part of the annual Legislative Breakfast sponsored by the Clovis Chamber of Commerce, the Clovis Industrial Development Corp. (CIDC) and the Eastern Plains Council of Governments.

The event included five state legislators - Reps. Crowder (R-Clovis), Jack Chatfield (R-Mosquero) and Martin Zamora (R-Clovis) and Sens. Pat Woods (R-Broadview) and Stuart Ingle (R-Portales).

Most of the requests to the legislators were general, without sums of money attached.

Clovis Community College President Charles Nwankwo, said the college is seeking funding to expand its welding and truck driver training programs to meet burgeoning demand for those skills, especially for New Mexico's oil and gas industry.

Welding programs, he said, currently have a two-year waiting list of applicants.

Nwankwo also mentioned the need for $2 million in state dollars to match a donation from the Bonner family to support nursing and allied health programs at the college.

Clovis Mayor Mike Morris, who also chairs the Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority, urged the legislators to give some priority to ensuring the state meets its matching requirements for the Ute Lake water project after federal funding had been approved to meet the federal government's 75% share of project costs. The state's share is 15%, he said, with local governments kicking in the remaining 10% of the cost.

Morris also mentioned needed improvements on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, roof repairs at the Roy Walker Recreation Center, a need for street lighting in residential neighborhoods built before street lights were required, expansion of the Clovis Municipal Airport to accommodate expansions to passenger air service to Dallas and Denver, playground improvements and renovation at the downtown Lyceum theater.

Curry County Manager Lance Pyle talked about an $11.8 million request to fund an addition to the Curry County Courthouse that would house magistrate judges.

Consolidating district and magistrate courts in the same building would enhance public access and increase security by providing passageways directly from the Curry County Detention Center to courtrooms.

Pyle also discussed a request for $9 million to cover the costs of demolishing and replacing the livestock pavilion at the Curry County Fairgrounds. The replacement building would contain 300 animal stalls and a show office.

The pavilion, he said, would then be able to host larger events that would increase food and lodging businesses in both Curry and Roosevelt counties.

Pyle also mentioned a need for a building to house equipment for the County Line Volunteer Fire Department.

Chamber Executive Director Ernie Kos said the CIDC is mostly throwing its support to major projects of other organizations, especially the ENMWUA, New Mexico Main Street, schools and Clovis Community College.

She said the CIDC is asking for funding to improve the Grand Street building that houses CIDC and the Clovis Chamber of Commerce. In addition, she said, the CIDC will oppose any changes to Industrial Revenue Bonds, which provide years of tax relief for companies that build major projects in New Mexico.

IRBs often include payment in lieu of taxes that support local communities and schools.

The Rev. Don Sawyer, who has served as chaplain to police and fire departments, as well as to jails, asked only that legislators allow him access to detention centers to carry on his ministry in light of COVID-19 protocols.

Before they heard capital outlay requests Thursday, legislators offered their views on recent legislation and prospects for the 2022 session.

Crowder said that despite the "abundance of money" at the Legislature's discretion, getting money for local projects will be an uphill fight.

Zamora said some legislators are considering a lawsuit against the Legislature to correct what he called unfair redistricting in 2021 to accommodate population changes recorded in the 2020 U.S. Census.

Zamora predicted the 2022 Legislature will see a lot of legislation to support law enforcement.

"We've been hugging and kissing criminals," he said. "Now we want to correct them."

Newly legalized recreational cannabis will also present issues for the Legislature, with Zamora noting, "Those are not fun to deal with."

As Crowder did, Woods said even though the Legislature has a lot of money to deal with in the 2022 session, "it's hard for local government to deal with Santa Fe."

Woods said Grady officials told him they had received large sums of money from Santa Fe but were afraid to spend it, out of fear Santa Fe would call the award a mistake and claw it back.

Chatfield, who made the trek from Mosquero starting at 3 a.m., said he did not feel the redistricting process was fair.

"We got to give input," he said, "but it was like they didn't listen to us at all."

Ingle said oil and gas revenues have been strong and noted that New Mexico is now the second in the nation in oil production, for which he credited horizontal drilling. While there will be plenty of capital outlay funds to go around, many localities are trying to spend previous awards and finding a shortage of in-state contractors.

Ingle praised New Mexico's citizen legislators, who, he said, have to come home to face constituents in their daily lives.

Sometimes Congressional representatives in Washington "forget who sent them there," he said.