Meetings watch: Roosevelt County Commission
During the Roosevelt County Commission meeting Tuesday morning in the county courthouse, commissioners:
• heard during Roosevelt County Community Development Corporation Executive Director Greg Fisher’s annual report that the organization had helped create 164 new jobs with an average wage of more than $16 an hour. The regional average wage is $13 to $14 an hour. RCCDC also helped create 70 replacement jobs, he said.
Also, Fisher said the county unemployment rate is 6.3 percent, down from 6.8 percent in February.
The county had 375 businesses and more than $100 million in payroll in 2009, Fisher said.
“The vast majority of our businesses have under 20 employees,” he continued.
On another topic, Fisher said building permits in the city almost doubled last year, but there weren’t enough multi-family facilities being built. He said national lenders that finance such commercial projects are still dealing with the credit crisis.
• heard Roosevelt County Detention Center Administrator David Casanova say the jail had 111 inmates, 14 of whom he is housing for Curry County.
• gave County Manager Charlene Hardin the task of writing a letter supporting a state-level effort to consolidate voting places. County Clerk Janet Collins said the county has 21 precincts and fewer than 10 people vote at some of them. Fewer polling places would be cheaper, easier and more efficient, she said.
• heard Portales Fire Chief Gary Nuckols report the last quarter’s volume of calls for ambulance runs and patient transportation services was up. The fire department has more than one such call a day, he said.
• also heard Nuckols say that a federal mandate calling for entities that use radios for communication to switch from wide band frequencies to narrow band frequencies would be expensive. The mandate takes affect in 2012.
• adopted a fair housing policy promising not to discriminate. The policy, which the county already had, is required for participation in the Community Development Block Grant program, Hardin said.
• approved a five-year contract with Triadic Enterprises Inc. to maintain software in the county treasurer’s and assessor’s office for $1,000 a month. County Assessor Tex Belcher said a long-term contract had lower rates and he didn’t want to change contractors in the middle of a data entry process that would take two or three years. Commissioners Gene Creighton, David Sanders and Paul Grider voted for the measure, while Commissioner Bill Cathey voted against it. Commissioner Jake Lopez was absent.
— Compiled by PNT Senior Writer Argen Duncan
