Commission to OK fairgrounds arena funding

Roosevelt County commissioners are expected today to approve money for moving an existing building from Colorado to Portales, where it will serve as a new indoor arena at the fairgrounds.

On the commissioners’ agenda is a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Finance and Administration and Roosevelt County concerning the arena.

“We are supposed to be receiving a building that was donated to the county,” Roosevelt County Manager Charlene Hardin said. “So this is money to take that building down and reconstruct it here in Portales.”

The building is 150 feet by 275 feet.

Once re-assembled in Portales, the building will serve as a place for the annual agriculture exposition and equestrian events, including rodeos and roping.

Commissioners will also consider a request for proposals for attorney services.

They also plan to review IRS compliance audit recommendations regarding employee cell phone use and reimbursement.

“The IRS indicated to us the way we were handling our county cell phones stipends was not correct,” Hardin said. “We just have to redo that. It is just a simple little compliance issue. It was just the way we were reimbursing people. The IRS wants us to do it differently.”

The meeting is 9 a.m. at the Roosevelt County Courthouse.