Q&A: Portales mayor talks emergency declaration

Editor's note: This is one in a continuing series of state-of-the-entity interviews with local officials. Ron Jackson has been the mayor of Portales since 2018.

Q: Talk about the recent water emergency declaration. What was the reasoning for this? How long do you think it could be in effect?

A: We're in stage three, which is our most critical stage to go into just because of our water shortage and its overuse.

When we got all the good rain toward the beginning of June, everybody got excited about having nice green yards. So, what's happening is a lot of folks weren't adhering to our alternate watering days and such.

Then when the hot weather hit, you know, over 100-degree temperatures we had there for a little over a week or so, the water usage just went way beyond what our capacity was to keep up in the field. Our water tanks dropped to a critical stage.

It just depends on the weather and how our well fields are pumping. The summertime always gets a little strenuous.

We're looking into expanding our well field by buying other properties. And we're looking into building more storage tanks in the wintertime.

Q: Was there any feedback from the community? If so, were they understanding or upset over the declaration?

A: I thank our citizens tremendously for stepping up and doing their part to conserve water as best they can. A lot of times people feel like they don't get any input on it, and I understand that, but sometimes you just have to make those decisions.

They're not always the most popular decision, but it's what we feel was best for the whole community.

Q: Talk about your participation on Eastern New Mexico Water Utility Authority. What are some of the projects you are most involved in?

A: Our goal is to bring water from Ute Lake to the participating communities, which are Portales, Clovis, Texico, and Elida. We've got quite a bit of the pipe put in place already. That's close. We're in the next stage for Portales, that'll be bringing the pipe the rest of the way from the Cannon Air Force Base Highway into Portales on the Lime Street Tank.

We've already gone out for bids on that construction project, and it'll be starting in a few months. That's been my priority is making sure that we're all set up for that portion of it.

The next biggest thing is just moving the water from the lake down the pipeline. We've had a lot of really good federal funding that we received. We've got state funding and the local funds are there. We're in better shape, time wise than we were just a few years ago. So, our goal is (to be complete) by 2030 which is only, you know, seven or eight years away.

Q: The chief of police has brought the topic of traffic safety cameras to the city council this year. Were you in favor of these cameras? If so, how do you think they will benefit the community?

A: Anything that we can do to help slow down some of our traffic, you know, I think it'll be a deterrent more than anything and that's kind of the way I looked at it.

There will probably be some citations issued but there will be advertising and then having the people knowing that those are in different spots throughout the community.

We're going to concentrate around the schools for sure and then other parts that are high traffic and speeding areas. It's just a safety issue and unfortunately, we just don't have enough police force to have on the street.

Q: Tell me about the "baby box" at the fire station. How will this help those in the community who need another option?

A: The community has been really supportive of that. The fire department was willing to let that be put in place in their building. It gives people another option, and a lot of times young folks aren't sure how to handle that situation. At least this way it gives them something to ensure that the child will be put in the right hands.

Q: What is the stray dog situation in Portales?

A: That's just an ongoing battle. You get people that are really responsible with their animals for a few years and then we get some folks that just aren't quite as responsible. They'll breed and don't get them spayed and neutered. Then they don't have any option for some of the puppies that are born and then they end up on the street or somewhere else.

We're addressing it every day, but we have hired a couple animal control officers. I'm always looking to add more to that staff and we're looking into some grants and some help statewide for a new animal control facility.

Q: How would you explain the condition of the city streets and potholes?

A: Part of it is just lack of funding and personnel in our street department. We're trying to build up our personnel in the street department and it's just been really hard to get folks hired and maintain a good working group that we can to get those streets scheduled.

We've had some legislative help from the state, and we've asked for many, many more dollars that we haven't received much, but we're always fighting for more dollars. I think we do the best we can with the material that we have and short staff that we have.

Q: What are your relations with Eastern New Mexico University and the newly hired president, James Johnston? Also, tell me about your hopes for more attention to rental housing for students?

A: As soon as he came on board, he reached out and we went and had lunch. We've had a couple of meetings since talking about the community involvement with Eastern. We're excited to get more students in college on campus.

Since COVID-19 hit, it just devastated the population of the campus. That in turn cost the city some jobs and some income.

The old Berkley apartments there over 18th Street just recently were remodeled and opened. We've had a couple of developers recently that have inquired about building some other properties. We're going to have some downtown activities and things like that that are coming up. I think the more we reach out and become partners and things, it'll work better for everybody.

- Compiled by Landry Sena, the Staff of The News