Board of County Commissioners - Regular Meeting

move into a pledge from Parkview Elementary.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we just come to you this morning in the name of Jesus. We thank you for a new day. We thank you for the rain that you brought. We thank you for the opportunity to come and serve in our community. I pray this morning, Father, the decisions made here would be Not only pleasing to you, but to the best interest of our constituents and people here that we make Perry County better. So, Father, forgive us where we fail you. We love you.

Jesus. Thank you for that. I will say, before we call our young youth from Parkview up here, I did have a conversation with... Fidel Madrid this morning. And he is doing good. He's in good spirits. We're missing him for our second meeting. So our prayers and our thoughts are still with Fidel. We're hoping to get him back here real soon. With that being said, I have three young adults. Is that what we would say? Are y'all coming here to do a skit, a song, and then the pledge? Or what are we doing? What order are we in? Just the pledge. All right. I love your honesty. If y'all would come forward, come up here to the microphone. And we'll start with you. If you don't mind, tell us your name, what school you go to, and what grade you're in.

I go to Parkview Elementary, and my name is Dominique Rojas, and I am in fifth grade. My name is Adrienne, and I go to Parkview Elementary, and I'm in fifth grade, too. I also go to Parkview Elementary. My name is Solomon, and I'm in fifth grade.

Awesome. Well, thank you all so much for being here with us. We're excited to have you leave the pledge with us. So what's going to happen is we're all going to turn around and look at the flag. Whenever you're ready, you just start the pledge, and everybody in this room is going to join in with you, okay? Go ahead, whenever you're ready.

I salute the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. I salute the flag of the state of New Mexico, the Z symbol of perfect friendships among united cultures.

Awesome. Okay, so we still have time. If you want to do a skit, are you going to pass on that? You want to do a dance? I want to pass. I want to pass. Okay, no TikTok. Coming down. I love it. I love it. He's not against it. No, he's not. Y'all sure?

yeah he's thinking about it he's about he's trying to come up with one thank you so you two can go up there as well okay

Hey.

Go back and listen. Roll call, please. Chairman Bender? Here. Vice Chairman Leatherwood? Here. Commissioner Madrid? Commissioner Martin?

Here.

Commissioner King?

Here.

Okay, agenda. Any changes or adjustments to the agenda?

Chairman Bender and Commission, under proclamations item number one, Joy Herding could not be here this morning. So we will have Jacqueline Ashcraft and Deidre Coker reading that proclamation.

Move to approve agenda as amended.

Motion by Commissioner Martin, second by Vice Chairman Leatherwood. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, same sign. Okay. Minutes approval. Any changes to the minutes?

Chairman and Commission, no changes to special commission meeting minutes or indigent minutes for September 10th. Move to approve. Second.

Motion from Commissioner Kane, second from Vice Chairman Leatherwood. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Those opposed, same sign. Okay. Recognition of visitors and public input for which no action will be taken. Is there anybody here that would like to address the County Commission this morning? Seeing none, we will move to our first proclamation, which is declaring September 26, 2026 as walk to end Alzheimer's Day.

And we have Jacqueline and Deidre here with us.

Good morning, Chairman Bender and the Commission. My name is Jackie Ashcraft, and this is Baker Coker, and we're here to represent.

I'm sorry, would you mind, I apologize, we pulled that mic down just a little bit, so thank you, that's perfect. How's that? That's great.

Okay, I feel loud. We are here representing the Walk to End Alzheimer's here in Clovis on September 26th. It's the first official walk that's part of the association. So we're very excited about it. Personally, my mom passed in actually a year ago today. But she struggled with Alzheimer's for many years. And so I'm excited to be a part of it. And I feel like that's a pretty cool, pretty cool thing that you guys have allowed us to come and do that on the day that my mom went home with Jesus. So we're blessed to be a part of that. With that, I will read the proclamation. Whereas, Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain causing deterioration in memory and thinking, as well as judgment and reasoning ability. It also affects behavior, emotions, and the ability to perform self-care, and Whereas more than 7 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer's disease and that number is expected to increase each year. And whereas New Mexico is projected to need a 94.9% increase in geriatricians, to meet the demand for dementia care by 2050. And whereas the New Mexico Department of Health reports that Alzheimer's disease is the eighth leading cause of death for New Mexicans and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. And whereas dementia is one of the costliest conditions to society, The costs of healthcare and long-term care for individuals with Alzheimer's and dementia are substantial. And whereas the Alzheimer's Association leads the way to end Alzheimer's and all other dementia by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction and early detection and maximizing quality care and support. And whereas the Alzheimer's Association is hosting the 2026 Alzheimer's Walk on September 26, 2026, beginning at 9 a.m. at the Clovis Community College.

Now, therefore, I, Brad Bender, Chairman of the Board of Curry County Commission, do hereby proclaim September 26, 2026 as Walk to End Alzheimer's Day in Curry County and encourage all citizens to attend the 2026 Alzheimer's Walk and wear purple on this day to raise awareness of the effects of Alzheimer's disease in our community and to support the fight against this disease and the search for a cure. Thank you all so much for doing this. I'm going to come down there for a picture, but I do want to say thank you for sharing your story with us as well. It means so much to have you read it in that light. So we really appreciate that.

Thank you.

Okay. Proclamation number two is declaring October 4th through the 10th as Fire Prevention Week in Curry County. Mr. Silvers.

Good morning, Chairman, Vendor, and Commissioners. October... Excuse me. October... Has been known as Fire Prevention Month for some time, and we celebrate a week there to just educate folks on how to prevent fires in various ways. Fire Prevention Week commemorates the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which began on October 8th and burst, excuse me, burned most intensely on October 9th, serving as a lasting remember of a devastating impact of fire and the importance of fire protection. So this year, our proclamation is dealing with that. So whereas Curry County is committed to ensuring the safety and security of all those living in and visiting Curry County, and whereas fire remains a serious public safety concern both locally and nationally, and the presence of lithium ion batteries is in many household devices introduces fire risks, And whereas most of the rechargeable electronics used in homes daily, including smartphones, tablets, laptops, power tools, e-bikes, e-scooters, and toys, are powered by lithium ion batteries, which if misused, damaged, or improperly charged, can overheat, start a fire, or explode. And whereas the National Fire Protection Association reports an increase in battery-related fires, underscoring the need for public education on the safe use of lithium-ion batteries and devices. And whereas the way lithium-ion battery devices are charged can make a difference in helping prevent home fires. And whereas safe charging includes using the cord and charger that come with the device or an approved cord by the manufacturer, charging on a hard, flat surface, watching for warning signs like devices that are very hot or start to swell, unplugging when fully charged, and charging larger devices like e-bikes outside and away from exits. And whereas residents are encouraged to understand that safe charging means making smart choices every time they plug in. And whereas Curry County first responders remain dedicated to reducing the occurrences of fires through prevention, safety, safety education, and community outreach, and whereas the 2026 Fire Prevention Week theme, Charge into Fire Safety, Safe Charging is a Superpower, serves to remind all residents that safe charging can help reduce the risk of fires in homes and communities.

Now, therefore, I, Brad Bender, Chairman of the County, Curry County Board of Commissioners, do hereby proclaim October 4th through the 10th, 2026, as Fire Prevention Week throughout Curry County and urge all residents to learn about and practice safe charging habits. Thank you very much, Mr. Silvers. Appreciate you. Yes, sir. All right. Our third one is proclamation declaring October 2026 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I believe that Daniel Wilhoyt?

Good morning, Chairman Bender and Commission.

I am going to read the proclamation for breast cancer awareness for October 2026. Whereas the National Breast Cancer Foundation estimates that in 2026, approximately 382,640 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women and 2,670 new cases will be diagnosed in men in the United States. And whereas one in eight women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and chances are you know at least one person who has been personally affected by breast cancer. And whereas significant risk factors for breast cancer include age, gender, and family history, although 85% of breast cancer occurs in women who have no family history of breast cancer, as presented in the U.S. Breast Cancer Statistics from breastcancer.org. And whereas the New Mexico Department of Health reports that breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women in the state and second leading cause of cancer death among New Mexico women. Each year, an estimated 1,700 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in New Mexico, and nearly 300 will die. And whereas, although some risk factors for cancer are unavoidable, maintaining a healthy weight, staying physically active, eating a healthy diet, not smoking, and limiting alcohol consumption may help reduce risk of breast cancer. And whereas, early detection is key to improving survival rates. When caught early in localized areas, the five-year survival rate is 99%. And due to advanced early detection tests and treatments, there are currently over 4 million breast cancer survivors living in the United States. And whereas the Curry County Health Council invites all community members to wear pink on Tuesday, October 13th, 2026, to raise awareness of the fact that there is no cure for breast cancer, support those who have been diagnosed, honor survivors and their loved ones, and encourage continued support for life-saving research.

Now, therefore, I, Brad Bender, Chairman of the Board of Curry County Commission, do hereby designate October 2026 as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Curry County and encourage all citizens to learn about recommended breast cancer screening and early detection and to wear pink on October 13, 2026 in recognition and support of those affected by breast cancer. I do love, thank you so much for doing that. I do love that October has always, for a long time, been that breast cancer month, and it's a really neat thing. My mother-in-law, well, my wife's mother passed away at a very early age from breast cancer before I even got married to her, and so it's something that we remember and recognize all the time. So many have lost lives to that, so thank you for bringing that with us.

Yes, sir. Thank you.

Consent agenda. Items listed below are recommended by the county managers for placement on the consent agenda. These items are placed on the agenda so that the commission, by unanimous consent, can designate those routine agenda items that they wish to be approved or acknowledged by one motion. If any proposal does not meet with the approval of all commission members or if a citizen so requests, that item will be heard when reached under the regular agenda. Any changes to the consent agenda?

Move to place items 1 through 18 on.

Second. Motion by Commissioner Martin, second by Commissioner Kane.

Roll call, please.

Vice Chairman Leatherwood.

Yes.

Commissioner Martin. Commissioner Kane. Yes. Chairman Bender. Yes.

Move to approve.

Motion by Commissioner Martin, second by Commissioner Kane. Roll call, please. Commissioner Martin. Commissioner Kane.

Yes.

Chairman Bender. Yes. Vice Chairman Leatherwood. Yes.

Motion to enter Board of Finance. I have a motion. Second by Commissioner Martin. All those in favor signify by saying aye. Those opposed, same sign. Okay. Number one, presentation of county investments with Morton Capital. Ben McDaniel. I believe we're moving to Okay, you're starting off. I apologize. I'm going to introduce them.

You're good.

Okay.

So, Ben, Ben, I'll let you go from there. Okay. Chairman Bender, commissioners, Mr. Powell, good morning. I'll provide a brief update on county finances, our portfolio and bank balance, and the second item under the Board of Finance. First, we have Ryan Stoker and Larry Lumberg with Morton Capital Markets. They came in from Utah to present to our investment committee yesterday we had a great meeting and they're here for you again this morning I believe Larry is gonna go through a presentation and then you'll have an opportunity to ask any questions of them and I'll follow up on the next deal so we're glad to have you guys here thank you thank you all right good morning chairman Bender and Commission it's good to be here again with you

Love what you did with the youth for the Pledge of Allegiance. We go to a lot of these commission meetings, and it's exciting to see good things like that and to get people involved. So that was wonderful. I'll try to be kind of brief here. This is, again... Second time now that we've presented in this meeting. So just wanted to give everybody kind of a quick update. We did spend an hour yesterday with the investment committee and went over in much more detail the investments for the county. Just as a quick reminder, we are a broker dealer working with Treasurer McDonald and his office. helping them with the investments for Curry County. So with us, there's no fees. There's no out-of-pocket expenses working with us. There's no contracts. It's a self-directed investment account. What we do is we help the treasurer's office by providing institutional investments and opportunities. We work with them, giving them market updates. We work with them in working on strategies and planning and talking to them. Real quick, brief overview on us. We have about six offices throughout the West and the Midwest, and we work pretty much from the West Coast all the way to the Mississippi.

Did we just? I guess my time's up.

They don't want to hear from us anymore. It's too boring. This just real quick again, not a lot. Like I said, we went into a lot more detail. This is just your investment team that handles the investments, works with the Treasurer's Department, myself and Ryan Stoker. We've both been doing this for 25 years, specifically down here in New Mexico. So it's just a great blessing for us to be able to come down here and be with everyone. Always like to just kind of give you an idea of who else who we work with, just kind of as a review. We work with many, many of the counties here in New Mexico, in addition to a lot of the universities like Eastern and Western, a lot of the hospitals, that type of stuff. So all we do is fixed income investments, specifically with public entities. And so we don't end up working with any individuals.

This is exactly who we work with. Sorry, the slides down here again. I only touched the space bar, but I probably blew it up.

Oh, there it is.

Do you want to just run it?

I won't touch anything.

Yeah, just say next slide, Jimmy.

Okay, I'm going to leave my hands up here where everybody can see them. You'll just go to the next slide. Real quick, just again, an overview. We like to do this in this meeting, just making sure everyone knows. State of New Mexico, the state statutes that allow counties what they can invest in, and that's a small window of investments. It's very safe, it's very secure, so everybody sleeps well at night. It's taxpayer money. So treasuries, agencies, brokered CDs, money market mutual funds, and eligible New Mexico municipal bonds. That's the space that we traffic in. Go ahead. Thank you. When we come and we work with the county, what we do is we come in and we talk about liquidity needs. So we're constantly having conversations with the treasurer's office about upcoming liquidity needs and expenditures. We help plan investments around those. And then in addition to that, we work with them with the core reserves and being able to ladder those out and take advantage of investment opportunities. Wanted to just give you kind of now real quick before we dive into the portfolio is just a quick market update and an overview. This is the yield curve for fixed income investments. The blue line was a year ago, and as you can see, it was inverted, meaning that the short end of the yield curve was much higher than going further out on the curve. So I don't know how well you can see it, but the bottom x-axis across there is the timeframe starting at one month all the way out to, I believe it's about 20 years. And so you could see that on that blue line that it was more advantageous to be in short-term cash. The yellow line is six months ago, and that's when a flattening started in the market. And you could see that the front end of the yield curve came down. Things started to push up. And then today, well, I should say the end of last week, is the green line. And that's a more normal yield curve, meaning you're rewarded for the further out that you go on. the yield curve in time, being able to get more money for your investments. And so that's where we're at today. Things change. There's been a lot that's been happening. You'll go to the next slide. I just put some bullet points together to let you know what is going on. We're happy to go into much more detail. We spent a lot more time last night going into detail about this. I lost it on the screen here, but I still have it here, so I'll kind of keep going through. Oh, there it is. Friday, the CPI number came out. That's the inflation number that the Fed looks at. It's currently at 3.4%. The majority of that, the reason that is very much... heightened is because of oil and gas. And that's the third bullet that is what's going on, and that's the Iran conflict with the problem with the oil and gas in the Strait of Hormuz. While that conflict continues, we continue to see oil and gas elevated, which is moving interest rates up. This past week, the U.S. Treasury Department initiated a $6 billion buyback in bonds out on the 10-year and the 20-year, and this is an attempt by the Treasury to help push rates down, just so that you all understand the... The 10-year treasury is what they base the 30-year mortgage rate on. And so you have an administration that's trying to help the American people be able to afford more housing by pushing that rate down. Unfortunately, the market didn't respond that way, and it actually went up with that. And then the last thing that we are seeing in the markets, and I'm sure that you guys are aware of this, is the data centers with AI. We're seeing that throughout the country. That's a huge economic boom. It's creating a lot of movement in the economy right now. A lot of data centers being built. As far as going forward, we still work with the county in trying to alleviate or put a floor in, I guess, in this slide. What this is really showing you is short-term interest rates, what's happened over the past 25 years. We talked about this, talked about it a lot last night. We're trying to avoid those low rates. those low valleys when economic downturn has happened. The first one was the financial crisis that lasted for many, many years after that, where we had very, very low interest rates. And then in 2016, rates went back up for a time until we had COVID happen, everybody remembers unfortunately and would probably like to forget and then rates went back down to zero so again when we work with the treasurer's office and we're talking we're trying to set a red line they're trying to set a floor so that we have investments that will carry the day no matter what happens we're trying to even out the hills and the valleys so those are some of the conversations that we're having with the treasurer's office We'll go right now into the executive summary of the actual portfolio. So right now we've got $28 million invested in term bonds and about $1.2 million that is in the money market fund that we're looking to work with the treasurer on reinvesting that probably at the end of this week or next week. Right now, the overall numbers, the performance of the portfolio, the next 12 months of interest that you guys can count on, you're going to make a million dollars in the investments. Again, these are just very vanilla. They're treasuries and agencies. That's what the state allows you to invest in. But that's what you can cash flow and you can count on that that's coming.

The... Sorry. It's.

Oh, did I get my left foot? My hands were good, but my feet were not, evidently. So, sorry. The duration and the maturity for the portfolio, just so that you guys are aware, is just under three years. And so it's laddered out. We have investments that are going to mature every six months and that are going to roll off in the event that you need them for liquidity or to take advantage of, hopefully, higher rates. It's just a liquidity mechanism that we put in place. And finally, the overall yield of the portfolio right now is returning a 4.61%. So we're really, with the investments that we're permitted to do, we're really excited about that. this the last one just shows the cash flow this is just giving you an idea and it's probably more submitted just for for your information but this is something that treasurer McDaniel McDaniel McDonald would use to know the cash flows and when that money is coming off so with that I'll just turn it over for any questions any questions

I don't think we have any questions. Okay. Wonderful. Thank you all.

Appreciate the opportunity to share that with you. Seth and I had a lot of questions last night, just so you know, and everything got worked out. So we're in good shape, y'all.

I guess.

Okay. Thank you for that. Now, number two is update on the investments by Treasurer McDaniel.

Thank you. Again, Chairman Bender, Commissioners, Mr. Pyle. The figures in your packet reflect month end, so the end of August, with a few updates that are in there that I will mention that are as of Friday, bank balances and such. Overall, the portfolio remains stable and continues to perform as intended. I'll briefly talk about Morton, but they went over it much more extensively just now, and especially last night in our investment committee. But I'll go ahead and read it out here. Part of it is to have in the record, and I'll give these to the clerk as usual so they have the numbers. Under county investments, Morton balance is $29 million, $342,977. Current yield is, Larry just mentioned, 4.61%. The next 12 months of interest will be... A little over a million dollars. 1051465. Our last security we had mature was $750,000. It was on August 31st. We will reinvest it in the next week in accordance with our investment policy. Since I last presented, Larry just mentioned this also, geopolitical tensions, oil prices, and inflation concerns have all continued to impact the bond market. So bond yields have continued to move higher, which means we are able to purchase securities at more attractive rates than we were seeing several months ago. I am continuing to do so as current holdings mature. So our LGIP balance is now at $2,710,810. The yield of that is currently setting, as of the end of August, 3.7186%. In August, to give you an idea, we earned $8,560 on that, which is reinvested the following month each month. July, I moved a million dollars from LGIP into the bank to cover expenditures and another million from LGIP into Morton because of buying things at higher rates, as we've discussed. So into bank balances. So bank balances as of Friday afternoon in UMB, in our public fund account, the balance is $1,721,634.12. That currently is earning, for the public fund section of our account, 2.75%. The amount or that balance that we have currently in there is not as high as you normally would see. The reason is we just have a better picture now of upcoming expenses and projects. Therefore, I'm able to keep more money in Morton and LGIP due to higher returns on public money. So it's intentional that I'm having that balance lower as opposed to higher. That will start to change as property tax bills are mailed out in mid-October, and we will temporarily see that balance in public fund be substantially higher until that's distributed and reinvested. CDBG, we had that account for a number of years. That was closed out last fiscal year, so I'm no longer reporting out on any of the information I send you. Our summit balance, as of the end of August was $33,598.75 and as usual I've included two printouts for collections in your packet one compares prior years and also there's a second one that will do a comparison of past years percentage paid through the end of August Collections remain in a strong position. We have a tax sale that the state is putting on, not Curry County, but they do put it on here, and it will be September 22nd, I believe. And I'm happy to answer any questions, or if you want me to touch on anything we discussed yesterday in our investment committee.

Not necessarily. You said we have the sale on the 22nd? Yes. And it's a smaller number that's available, is that right?

I believe there's 12 or 13 properties on it, and that can change between now and the afternoon before the auction. Okay. So it could be likely there will be less on it still, even. Okay. And that is, yeah, that's a really small number of properties, actually.

Okay. Any other questions?

And just to touch on you, you talked about keeping less money in the bank. Yes, sir. And you're doing that basically because I think you've been getting a better feed from Ben Robertson's team on money. Absolutely. And with bank accounts having little to no interest, I think it's a good move, and I appreciate that.

Yeah, Ben has done a really good job of keeping me up to speed on major things we have coming in. And I appreciate that greatly. And that way, I'm able to not have as much, not have that high bank balance. And as I explained, we're getting two and three quarters at the bank. And then we're getting a point better than that with LGIP and almost two points better than that with what we have in Morton. It's not, you know, it's extra money that we can bring in on public funds, on taxpayer money. So that's how I look at it. Thank you for bringing that up.

And thank the team from Morton for coming in. I think y'all came in from Utah. Utah, yeah. Thanks for making the trip down. We appreciate it.

I agree. Any other questions?

And I would echo that. Larry and Ryan, thank you all so much for the update last night and today. Y'all are doing a great job in helping us out and painting a really good, clear picture for us. So we really appreciate that. all the work with Ben here. And thanks, Ben. You've done, I mean, what you, even last night, it's evident how much you have put into this and your passion in this. So we are fortunate to have you on our team. Thank you. Appreciate it.

And just thank you for letting us tag in online. I wasn't going to make it because I was on a tractor, and Brad always forgets the meeting and disappears. It worked out. It did. No, that was nice last minute. It worked out. Thank you, Todd.

It was a little hard getting it to work, but once we got it, it worked, and it was good to have Ethan on there as well, so it worked out. I was glad to have you guys. I agree. Thank you for your time.

Appreciate it. Have a good day. You too. I'll make a motion to exit Board of Finance. Second. Motion. Any second? All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, same sign. All right.

We are moving to our first presentation, an update from EPCOR Water, Kevin Rose, and Mark Huerta.

Don't move the feet.

Okay.

All right. All right. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Vice Chairman, and Commissioners. My name is Kevin Rose. I'm the Associate Director for EPCOR over in New Mexico. I've been with EPCOR for a little over a year. A little bit about myself. I've been in the water industry now going on 20 years. That number keeps going bigger. I am accompanied by Mark Horta, which a lot of you know. He's been with the company for over 23 years and runs our Clovis operation. What I'm going to present today is just a brief update of who EPCOR is, our operations, our water conservation program, and touch a little bit base on our rate filing case that we just had. So EPCOR as a whole, we've been around for 130 years. We're a North American company. We are a private company, but we have one shareholder, a municipality, city of Edmonton, and that's who we report to. One nice thing about the 130 years of experience is that's something that we can tap into if we run any type of operational challenge. Now, as you can see in the map, we've been in the Southwest since 2011. Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Arizona and New Mexico's are a regulated business. Arizona's regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission, and of course we're regulated by the New Mexico Public Regulatory Commission. We've been here since 2012, and since EPCOR's been involved in the regulated side, we invested over $2.8 billion in both Arizona and New Mexico. So that's our regulated side. Our commercial side, is our Texas operations. And part of that operations, we have experience with 130 mile pipeline of conveying water to our customers. We've also built infrastructure, both water and wastewater for the semiconductor industry. And we're pursuing desalination, not only in Texas, we've also have some bids going on in California to help with the drought situation in the Southwest. So a little history here about our operations in New Mexico. In 2012, EPCOR obtained our Clovis operation from Arizona American. And at the time, the big thing that we were tackling and continue to tackle is the challenge with the aquifer. We had a peak demand, that's one day, our peak demand over 12 million gallons a day. Since then, we've gone down to nine and a half. We're really proud of that because one thing that we have maintained is our customer satisfaction. Feedback from our customers, we show that we're consistently in the upper 90s, 95 to 97% in satisfaction of delivering the water service. Now our service area, we do serve a little over 45,000 of our customers, primarily in Clovis, also in Curry County. We do this with groundwater, and the one thing I really want to point out is the number of miles of pipe we have. We have over 360 miles of pipe, and that continues to grow. Our largest pipe is 36 inch in diameter, and that's something that Mark and his team maintain and take care of day in and day out with only 24 people. Really proud of what they do, and I know you guys are too. They do an amazing job for us here, not only in Clovis, but also in Prairie County. So with the challenging aquifer, one thing I do want to stress is we're not doing this alone. We do work with the city of Clovis with their reuse system that they have that helps us with the aquifer by reusing that water. We also work with the water conservatory, and we also see expanding water resources with the surface water potentially coming to Clovis County. or Clovis City. Now the one thing I really wanna stress is the graph itself. As you can see in the blue bars there, that's our capacity. Back in 2009, you can see we're a little over 12 and a half. And our capacity has gone down. Now our peak demand is about nine to nine and a half million gallons a day. we have a well capacity over 10 and a half, and we continue to add wells. And that's that red line. That's that infrastructure we're investing in to ensure that we have water availability for our customers and residents. Now, by doing that, We do a lot of conservation. And this is one assistance I am asking for. We have a great water conservation program. Works with rebates, removing turf, putting in fixtures in the home. That has been established since 2013. We continue our well leasing program. That's where we take irrigation wells and convert them to potable wells. We actually had three new wells come online here this past two, three weeks ago, and we are converting a few more wells that were once irrigation going part of the well leasing program to be used for potable use. We're really trying to increase that capacity to ensure we have that water for available use. So that's one thing I am asking the commission is to continue that advocacy for us. Be out there and let them know that we do have rebates. It's on our website and it could be from removing turf and getting new toilets and new washers and getting money back for that. We also have it for the commercial side to help remove turf too. Now you heard it early in our presentation about inflation and this is a little bit about our rate case. August 31st we did filed with the PRC that we're gonna be increasing rates. And as you can see with the blue line, inflation has constantly arised. And the red line that you see there is our last rate case. So in 2018, we filed based on 2017 data and was approved for 2019 rate increase. That's a two year lag of data that we had and we've kept it flat ever since. Really proud of that because that was also during the time of COVID. We kept it flat when things were really difficult at times and didn't increase rates. Since then, the impact of COVID, we still feel today. Prices are constantly increasing. Estimating is a challenge with our new water projects. And also, we're still seeing a lot of delivery issues, particularly on the electrical component side. So rate case schedule, just an FYI, we did file August 31st. We will be working with the community in later part of October to let them know what the rate increases are being. It has been filed, it is public, so the individuals can go online and see what those proposed rate increases are. And hopefully by September 27, if approved by the PRC, we'll have new rate increase approved. And what we're trying to do is recap our investment. Since 2018, we invested over $40 million into the infrastructure. That's what the company put up front. So now we're trying to get that investment back, saying, hey, we put this money up front. DRC, if it's approved, we'll go and start recouping those costs that we put into the system. And in closing, again, really want to focus on our conservation program. We have the rebate system out there, not only for appliances, rain harvesting, and zero scapes. The other thing that we've also implemented is a single stop resource for those individuals. This is a new resource of individuals to go on and see what's available for financial hardships. We've had over 300 customers go and log in onto this with 200 reaping benefits. One thing we like to tout is we had one customer give us feedback that they actually found a Pell Grant for their kid's education. So we're trying to engage the community more.

I think I moved my feet. It's almost done.

So with that single stop, this is just another resource for our customers and residents. So with that, that's all I had presented today. I'm really looking for your support in our rebate program. With that, I'd be happy to take any questions.

Thank you very much for the presentation, and you would get no pushback, I think, from us on the rebate programs and those opportunities. And aside of the rebates and those things, what are the other things? I know this may be a hard question. What are some of the things that you see from your perspective that residents can do we know we know where where the AG communities water comes from but what are some of the things that the residents can do to follow a better procedure to help us you know save a little bit more water if we go a big thing you'll hear from us in the water industry I'm looking again sorry

is reduce irrigation. If they can do some form of zero scape, that really helps out. So a resident can have up to, I believe, 2,000 square feet, and they get 40 cents back on every square foot. That's up to $800 they can get back. Reducing your irrigation helps out the most for front yard or back yard grass.

So when you say 40%, let's assume that there's a customer here that says, or a client that says, I want to do my whole front yard up to 2,000 square feet, you said. Is that 40% based on what they pay?

So it's based on the square footage, and that's a good question. I'd have to look into that. Because what it is based on is that 2,000 square feet, they would have to submit all their documents showing that what they did pay, they would get $0.40 per square foot. Now, if it's less than... 40 cents per square foot. That's something I'd have to research. That's a very good question. Interesting. Okay.

No, and that's great because we'd like to get the message out. I mean, we're at that point that whatever we do, whatever we can do as residents of our county, we'd love to help and conserve water where we can. So thank you for that. Any other questions from the commission?

What percentage of increase are we looking on water? I know you said you want our help with rebates, but you presented a plan for an increase.

Oh, for the rates? Yes, please. Commissioner Martin, it depends on what your meter size is. So the way we break up our rates is based on class. So you have your residential. They're going to see what you'll see is like a percentage, 33%. Sounds a big number. The impact to the monthly bill would be $3 a month. So then we have a commercial, it'll be 29%, and that's about the same impact of additional three. So it really depends on your meter size. Our meter size, our most popular is 80 to 90% of our customers is five-eighths meter, about a 6,000 gallons a month user.

It is. But overall usage is not that intimidating. Correct.

Thank you for clarifying that. Okay.

Any other questions? Thank you so much for the presentation. We really appreciate you.

Thank you, Chairman. Yes, sir.

All right. Presentation number two is on New Mexico State Land Office County Road Program for Existing Roads. Now, Mr. James, I'm going to take a stab at your last name.

Bordegare? Very good. Very good. I say Bordegare, but Bordegare is how my ex-wife says it, so we'll go with that.

She thought it sounded cool. What's that?

They're giving me a hard time for taking a stab because I could have really botched it. But then I got to thinking, there's nothing I could say here that you probably haven't heard on a phone call when somebody has, you know, telemarketer or something.

Well, in Little League, my coach used to call me Beauregard because he couldn't pronounce it. So there you go. Chairman Bender and commissioners, thank you for allowing me to come here and talk about the County Road Amnesty Program. Little bit about the state land office for those that don't know. We were given lands by the federal government, coincident with the Ferguson Act and the Enabling Act at about the time of statehood. We were given nine million acres on the surface, 13 million acres of mineral estate, and we were given that in trust for 22 beneficiaries, mainly the public schools. And I worked for an elected official work for Stephanie Garcia Richard who has termed out this year and we will have a new land commissioner at the beginning of 2027 don't know who that's going to be yet but the mission is going to stay the same so we we hold our land in trust for these beneficiaries since 2019 we've made about 15 billion dollars a lot of that's most of that's oil and gas production and As a consequence of the war right now, we're actually probably going to hit record numbers again. So it's a double-edged sword there. But anyway, we are required, per the Constitution, to get fair market value for our lands. And I'm here today because there's county roads that have been built over time that have not been legalized, nor has the state received any compensation for those roads. And I'll say that Curry County is not unique in that. Currently, if you look at that handout that I gave you, there are quite a few counties. As of yesterday, we had another county decide to participate, but we have 15 counties in the program and 17 counties that are not in the program right now. Los Alamos County has no county roads, so they're kind of out of that picture. But we're working with all the counties to try to get compliance. We've offered a very deep discount on what our normal rates are for these roads, and a concession also for the term of the roads. Normally, if you came to the state land office for a right-of-way for a road, it would be $30 per rod, and like... Most people don't know what a rod is, but a rod is 16 1⁄2 feet. We're peculiar in using that, but that's how we measure things. And so we charge $30 per rod for a road, and that is for a term of 35 years. In the amnesty program, which was proposed by a previous land commissioner several ago, they came up with a price of $1.16 per rod, and that was in perpetuity. So it was a very good deal. Several of the counties jumped on that and became part of the program. As of July 1st, we raised that number to $2. It's still a significant discount. And while it's not in perpetuity, we're including a stipulation that for so long as the road is being used for a county road maintained by the county, that that right away would go for as long as that's in use. So we think it's a very good program. We understand the beneficial uses of these county roads for your constituents, for the general public, for emergency services, for commerce, for everything. And we're also trying to to hold our fiduciary responsibility and and get the money that's owed for those roads as well so that's why I'm here today I've had several conversations with the manager's office over the past year and a half probably and this has begun in outreach back in 2012 and and so here we are today 15 years later so I'm here to answer any questions that you may have

Any questions, Commission?

I've got a comment.

I look at this a different way, and I think the county ought to bill the state for maintenance of these roads over the years. So, I mean, there's a lot of different ways to look at this. But I do appreciate your presentation. It cleared up a lot. And like you said, we are going to have a new land commission. Um, so I guess it's yet to be decided whether this will go on into the new administration. Thank you.

Yeah, you're welcome. Anybody else. I will say one comment as well from this day forward. I'm going to talk to Waylon Jones in rods in those terms because I love the 16 and a half foot. It's just a great number, so I'm going to try to keep it very light with him. No, thank you so much for your presentation.

We really appreciate it. Okay. No other questions? No, guys. Chairman Bender, commissioners, thank you. Appreciate it.

Okay, that takes us to our reports of boards and committees. And our first one is road department for August, 2026. And we have Mr. Whalen Jones.

Morning Chairman, Chairman Bender and Commission. Road update currently for projects currently working on CR 19 from E to F, Paul and Clichy. Also crew is working on the Regenus donation projects on CRE and CRI. upcoming projects CR 19 will be from CRF to CRG which is commercial allocation also want to update on contracts for our LGRF contracts received awaiting payment first from the state for these projects for 2026 TPF 2026 is closed and received word that we did not receive our funding for 2027 Capital outlay contracts were on the agenda this morning that you approved. Special project crew is also working with the crew on the CRI Regenus project. Maintenance plated 152 miles of road, patched 23 miles of edges, and we shredded 54 miles. Ops, the ops blademen, have been working on CRH from 5 to 6 for moving sand. Blademen from Area 5 and 6 have been working on several issues north of Bravia along the cap due to heavy rainfall that caused some areas to wash on the bony and rust cap. Those repairs have been made. They're working also on CR 47, making some repairs there. Update on the detainees that help us with intersections. They've completed seven intersections thus far this month on mowing and working around them intersections. So that's going well. Equipment update. We currently have one water tanker trailer down due to some bearings on rear axles. And then we have one shredder down for repairs. And the second one just got back. And then we have two road graders down for air conditioner repairs. Lastly, on September 2nd, I attended the Cannon Air Force Base MIRR meeting at the convention center. It was an all-day meeting. We did lots of tabletop work throughs and things like that. That was a very beneficial and good meeting that Cannon Air Force Base put on. With that, I'll stand for any questions.

All right. Any questions? Commissioner? Would it be possible to put together a bill for the state on these roads? I mean, yeah. But be prepared.

How many rods are you talking about when you say that?

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Jones. Thank you. Okay, our second report will be Detention Center for August 2026. Mr. Joe Walanese.

Good morning, Chair Bender, Commissioners. Detention Report 2026, August. In August, we had three new hires, zero promotions, and seven vacancies for officers. Our population data, we had an average daily population of 140. Our total bookings was 184. New bookings, first time bookings, 59. Previous bookings 125. Males booked 130. Released males 129. Females booked 54. Released females 51. Total male felonies 317. Total female felonies 118. Total male misdemeanors 362. Total female misdemeanors, 256. We had 19 individuals sentenced to the facility and three out-of-state fugitives. Operational highlights for August 2026. Regulatory accreditation and life safety readiness. August marked an initiation of the facility's annual regulatory accreditation readiness cycle. August marks establishing a proactive, year-long approach to maintaining compliance, operational readiness, and a safe environment for detainees, staff, visitors, and the community. The focus is on approaching the coordinating regulatory inspections, life safety assessments, required testing and preventative maintenance, documented and corrective action well in advance of formal assessments. And we're having our fire marshal inspection as we speak today. Leadership is treating regulatory readiness as a continued process rather than a point-in-time preparation effort, with emphasis on identifying vulnerabilities early, mitigating compliance risk, and ensuring deficiencies are promptly addressed, documented, and sustained to closure. The overreaching objective is to maintain continuous assessment readiness by integrating life safety regulatory compliance, risk management, and operational accountability in routine activities. This approach strengthens the organizational readiness, reduces regulatory exposure, and reinforces the commitment to safety and compliance and in a reliable environment of care. August events for the facility itself, as far as programming, the Prairie County Adult Detention Center continues to coordinate and manage approved scheduled attorney client visits and phone calls. In August, we had 54 attorney phone calls, 13 onsite visits, three rehabilitation service calls, and three detainees were transported to rehabilitation programs. The volunteer program continues to offer long-range faith-based personal growth opportunities to support individuals in their spiritual journey, including baptism services. In August, we had five baptisms. The facility still, our staff remains committed to managing the distribution of religious materials and other resources to enable detainees to practice their respective faiths. We also had volunteer training, which we had some great results during that volunteer training. Roadrunner Health Services administers the detaining medication assisted treatment program. The Curry County Adult Detention Center in August had 10 participants that were approved to receive substance use disorder medication. our edovo learning program for august the key takeaways august showed strong engagement with 135 active learners completing 141 courses and logging in 2 828 learning hours average nearly 21 hours of learning per learner Job and finance was the dominant area, accounting for more than one-third of the completed courses. Employee development and training, we continue with our online training with New Mexico County's Insurance Authority Health and Safety Institute, HSI platform. The long-range training within the facility for August staff, it consisted of emergency plans and procedures. August 20, 26 juvenile detention billing, total bill, 74,115. Lee County, we had six juveniles for 172 days, totaling 51,600. Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center, 25 days, totaling 11,875. Dona Ana, one juvenile, 14 days, totaling $6,650. San Juan Juvenile Detention Center, eight days, totaling $3,990. The overtime report for the pay period of August 2nd through August 15th, time and a half above 86 hours, totaled 36.37 hours. August 2026, adult detention billing was $31,348. Adult probation and parole, we had $23,548. Guadalupe, $3,348. Quay County, 4,500. And if you don't see Department of Corrections, there was a zero billing for Department of Corrections this month.

I'll stand for any questions. Any questions from the commission?

Just one quick one. We talk about the baptisms every time. And do you have any way of knowing if there's any follow-up with these inmates at all from the churches?

There's a continuous follow-up with the... Yes, absolutely. They don't just walk in and baptize them. What ends up happening, it's through the missionary process, through the chaplaincy, that they meet on a weekly basis, and they make the commitment to get to that point, and that's the follow-through. And then, of course, they continue to meet with them after the fact. So... there is continuous contact. And depending on programs that they're participating within, it's becoming very beneficial within that facility to establish these programs. And that baptism, yeah, it's the continuous follow-up with it, of course.

All right. Mr. Joe, thank you so much. Of course.

All right, number three, update on 2026-27, fire grant application request for county volunteer fire departments. Mr. Silvers.

Well, good morning again, Mr. Chairman and commissioners. This year, we have applied for six grants to the fire grant process for the state. And what I'll do is I'll just read through these, and then if you have any questions, or you can stop me any time. But Broadview, we've applied for $154,000 to install a 40,000 gallon water tank, fire pump, and hydrant at their second station over there at Rosedale. County Line is applying for a new Class A fire truck to add to their front line fleet, and the total amount of that is a $600,000 grant, and that is going to take, not necessarily replace, but move that to the front line. It'll take their 1995 current front line pumper and move that to second out or reserve status. Field Fire Department is applying for about $150,000 upgrade to its driving surface on the east and west side of its station. Pleasant Hill is applying for some new extrication equipment in the total of $35,785. Ranchville is applying for a new 4,000 gallon tanker for the 600,000 gallon amount, sorry, dollar amount. And then mine is applying for some thermal imaging cameras that's used for search and rescue, searching for hot spots and fires and making sure we get the fires completely extinguished. And then as well along with that is the $25,000 stipend replenishment.

I'll stand for any question. Just something, a little segue on this. How are you staffed at each other's? Are we understaffed at any of these?

We are not understaffed. We've got two departments that carry about eight average, but everyone else is higher than that. And some departments that are closer to the population of the city of Clovis get a lot more staff. applicants. They don't always stay, but we've got quite a lot of growth going on at County Line and Ranchville.

Okay. All right. Any questions?

And this is just a follow-up. We received an email from a commissioner complaining about County Line. That was me. And I got a scolding from Brockett. And I know you were requested to go look at the rest of the facilities to see how the maintenance has been at the other ones. Can you give us a quick report on that?

haven't made it to all of those as of that request but I can tell you that in the times that I've been out there everyone is keeping up their grounds to the best of their ability one of the reasons for the grant request at field fire department commissioner is is to help them in that area it will help them combat the weed growth in the front and back of those stations

And if you would, let the chiefs know that if they do get behind, because there's quite a bit of growth down there on CR6.

Yes, sir.

That they need to contact the county, right? Ben Roberts would be a good advocate to take care of those requests, because if they can't get to it, the county sure needs to.

And they can certainly let me know as well. I mean, we could certainly coordinate that. I mean, absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely.

Any other questions? All right. Mr. Silvers, thank you very much. Thank you. Okay, number four, presentation of event center and fairgrounds financial statements ending July 31st. Mr. Mazzari. Thank you.

Good morning, Chairman Bender, commissioners, commission. July performance was above event volume expectations, with revenue being slightly above budget expectations. This was caused by more event rent and food and beverage sales, but slightly offset by lower concessions margins than expected. Other payroll costs contracted services supplies. Non-labor indirect costs were $4,000 lower than budget for the month and thus year to date. Most of this is caused by timing of expenses as we are expecting to have less favorable months to offset these current savings. Under operating expenses and net income, overall operating expenses started off strong under budget for the month. Additional events drove in more revenue than expected to start the year, and we are hoping for that trend to continue throughout FY27. Food and beverage efficiencies will be looked at over the coming months as we try to stabilize our profit margins on concession sales. At July overview, we had a total of eight events for the month, with six budgeted. monthly gross profit of $35,055 versus a budget of $28,856 favorable variance of $6,199 our monthly indirect expenses $93,295 versus a budget of $105,901 a favorable variance of $12,607 Our monthly net income loss was $60,239 versus a budget of $79,045, a favorable variance of $18,806. I won't read off the year to date as they are the same reflective numbers of the monthly since we just began our fiscal year. So now I'll stand for any questions.

All right. Thank you for that report. Love kind of what you're doing. I love everything that's kind of going on. Kind of exciting to hear a great report. So any questions from commissioners?

Oh, thank you. Good. All right. Thank you. Thank you. All right.

All right. That's going to take us to our first action item. Discussion and request direction on a potential America's 250th community celebration event. And this will be Mr. Mazzari and Mr. Roberts.

Good morning, Chairman Bender and Commission. I'll go over this first, and if you have any more detailed questions, we'll go over to George. So there's been some interest expressed for the county to host a potential celebration for the community for America's 250th anniversary. So we tasked George and his team to kind of look at that potential, come up with a plan, a budget, and schedule a date. So looking at their schedule, November 14th was really the only available date to schedule something that... for this included on packet page 244 is the preliminary budget that was provided to the county from OVG the oversight committee met last week on this and reviewed it and based on the time frame to get everything planned out the cost the potential risk to the county the committee voted not to recommend moving forward with this event but we still want to present it to the Commission if there's any questions if there's anything they want to proceed on they can provide that direction if you have any questions on the budget itself I'll refer to George

George and obviously there's nothing you want to add into that that kind of covers most of that Do you have any Commission questions from Commission on this?

Oversight guys, I don't have any questions. I mean we discussed this in our meeting. Yes the other day and I Hate to hate to be this way, but I think the ships kind of sailed on this deal You know, I mean somewhere around the fourth year, even up into fair time. You know, if we could have got it pulled off during the fair, which I thought we were going to get done, is what I was kind of under the impression of. So, to that, I mean, everybody's kind of lost their red, white, and blue hats lately. And so, I think we're moving on in. And we're getting into a time of year that all of a sudden we've got holidays coming up. We've got people that's not going to go here or go there because they're saving money for Thanksgiving and Christmas is coming. We just and their water bill's going up. And so we can get all that going. But I personally, you know, the way I feel about it, I think that, I mean, we celebrated, we had a good Fourth of July. I mean, cool. We had that. I mean, we just got to celebrate. I mean, the two main events for this year was the 25th anniversary of 9-11 and our 250th anniversary of our country.

And so I think we, I just think that we've sailed that ship already, personally. Okay.

Okay. I'll just echo and tag off of Dusty there just a little bit. And it was a great conversation. And, George, I appreciate you getting these numbers together and working with me and in the conversation we had last week. And looking at that and not to, I think one of the things we talked about last week was not to continue to maybe tax some of our sponsors. You know, if you look at that sponsorship deal down there, that adds a lot. And I'm not sure that we could get even all of those done, the small ones, I think, piece of cake, but rather than taxing that, and there's a lot of things going on around here, and we also have other sponsorship opportunities out there, and so we just, I think it's best not to tax that, so that was kind of one of our conversations there, but again, From my perspective, I think they'll all say the same, but thanks for the work you put into it and bringing that because we're the ones that asked you to put these numbers together.

Sure, yeah, no, I understood. Yeah, we always want to give that wow factor in the pre-planning stages. So if we ever needed to cut back a little bit and still give that wow factor, we still can. So if we ever wanted to revisit this.

It's a fantastic idea. I don't think any of us would disagree with that. So it sounds like after listening to the oversight committee that this just may be something we're going to have to pass on at this time, unless anybody has any other thoughts on that.

All right.

Well, George, thank you so much for your help on this. Chairman Bender and Commission, I just want to remind the Commission that the county does have the entertainment budget of $150,000 budgeted for future events. If there's something we can look at, Pastor George and his team as well. I just wanted to remind the Commission of that budget amount. How long is that good for? It's currently in the budget and it'll be there until we spend it or it'll just keep recycling, sir.

Well, that'll give you all something to kind of consider and maybe some good plans for you to be thinking about and present something. I know we don't want you to do some hard work and come up with another cool thing, and I say no thank you, but that would be great to come up with something to utilize in that budget. So thank you for that, Mr. Roberts.

Okay.

Thank you. Okay, action item number two, request approval to terminate purchase agreement dated January 11, 2024 with AAA Fire Pro for the purchase of a fire apparatus. Mr. Silvers?

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Commissioners. Good to see you again. And I do want to, if we can touch base on that last item, I do want to say that County Line did get on that right away. They are making great progress. We even went out and bought a couple extra tools for them to accomplish some of the finer detailed areas around the chain link and stuff like that. But it is getting handled. He's got a good crew out there, and I think he's doing a real good job out there, too. Yes, sir. bring that up okay what we what you have before you here is the request to cancel the existing purchase agreement that was from 2024 through AAA fire Pro to cancel the manufacturer of a brush truck the biggest reason for this cancellation request is that it still hasn't been started yet and isn't due to be completed until 2027. There is no cancellation fee involved in this. Mr. Mackey has reviewed the paperwork and so has the state fire marshal's office. And to my knowledge, nobody has any issues with that. And we do have on our next action item, we do have an avenue to pursue to get

a brush truck of the same type of quality much quicker okay any other questions from Commission on this move to approve motion for mr. Martin second for vice chairman Leatherwood all those in favor signify by saying aye aye those opposed same sign Number three, request action to purchase a new Ford F-550 4x4 wildland brush truck in the amount of $300,000.

from 411 equipment LSC using the grant funds and mr. Silver's here we are chairman men are in commissioners this is the company that has a wildland fire rig on the ground on their lot it does take a few months to get that prepped for the department that's why we put that December this year January delivery date but they should be able to get that literally within months it is a little of a price wise it's a little more over what the original grant was and we would complete that with some funding from other sources as needed And again, State Fire Marshal's Office has approved this move. Mr. Mackey has reviewed the paperwork as well. And we do have, it is under state contract.

So it's ready to go. So based on that, obviously we know it's going to go up a little bit because it's been two years. What a shame that we've had to, that we're even having to talk about this. And I'm glad you mentioned Mr. Mackey. Mr. Mackey, have you seen, obviously both contracts, are you good with that?

distraction chairman member members of Commission yes I am any questions from the Commission I don't know if I need to make the official request that you grant mr. pile to sign the contract but needed to make a note of that later down there

No, I guess not. I thought I saw something.

Oh, that's on our next one. That's something completely different, though. Okay. All right. Do we need to make sure we have that added into the minutes? Okay. So thank you for that, Mr. Silvers. Then I will make a motion that we approve the action of this new Ford FI-50 in the amount of $300,000 through 411 equipment and authorizing Manager Pyle to sign on all those things.

Second.

Okay. Motion and a second. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, same sign.

Okay.

Thank you, Mr. Silvers. Thank you very much.

I think you're done with me, so. Yeah.

Number four, request action of master service agreement with Eagle View for three years for a total of 317,001 for imagery services, allowing manager Pyle to sign the resolution 2026-66. Mr. Kelly.

Chairman Binder, commissioners, here I am again before you with a three-year contract for Eagle View. But before we get there, I believe Mr. Mackey has some issues with the contract.

Mr. Mackey, do you have any issues with the contract? Chairman Bender, members of the commission, I reviewed the master services agreement. I did express some concerns to Mr. Kelly. A last communication I understood was those concerns have been sent back to Eagle View for their review. I have not seen their response at this time. And just so the commission is clear, I didn't necessarily think that they were deal killers. They were just sort of generic concerns I had with the agreement. But again, I haven't heard back from Eagle View's legal team.

All right, Mr. Kelly, please proceed.

Okay, I haven't heard back from their legal department either. I also believe Mr. Alcee's has some issues.

Like Mr. Mackey, I expressed a few concerns about this as well. There were more in the IT area, and I also have not heard back with the concerns that I brought up. For example, one concern was in different contracts, different software companies, they'll call out that if you lose access to this service or our software for a certain amount of time, then we owe you back. That wasn't called out or stated in there. There's no claim or guarantee of uptime. I've seen other software contracts that are cloud-hosted, and they say we maintain an uptime of 99.9999%. Stuff like that wasn't called out.

Does that seem like something that's a major concern or something pretty simple to repair if it needed to be?

I think, yeah, like again, nothing that's a deal killer.

Okay. Mr. Kelly, is there something, as far as this goes, we know we're starting a really bad way here beginning on this. Is there something that you wanted to present to us as far as trying to get a tentative approval in this regard? Obviously, we can't do anything today based on questions that haven't been answered, but they don't sound like deal killers. But is there anything that you wanted to propose? Like, is there something new or something changed since the last time we spoke? about this?

The only thing that's changed is the funding has now become available.

I've been working for this for years. Gentlemen, I am content. I have brought before you today a standard contract from a reputable industry-leading company nationwide company.

A contract that has been found agreeable and agreed to by countless governmental entities across this nation.

And so I am content with it.

I have done all that I could and frankly, all that I should have to. And so I leave the decision up to you.

Mr. Kelly, the question I do have is, you said you have this not budgeted, but you have funding. I may want you to kind of elaborate just a little more on where the funds that we're going to go from here. But I also recall, and I'm sorry to throw Commissioner Martin on the spot, or maybe I'm not, but he stated last time we spoke that And it just kind of resonated in me was that, hey, shouldn't Eagle View take place of manpower if that was the case? But at that time, we spoke that we have not decreased, obviously, the number of people in the office. And I'm not suggesting that we should. I'm just curious how those two go hand in hand on his previous question on that.

Okay, I'm more than happy to answer that.

We have approximately 30,000 parcels in Curry County.

A good baseline, not by me, but by other assessors around the state, is about 3,000 parcels per appraiser, at which, if we were to do that, we would need 10 to 12 more appraisers.

Eagle View is a manpower saver.

It will not cut the manpower we have now. It will save us from having to add much more manpower than we have now. That is where the manpower stands.

And I do want to be clear about something, Mr. Kelly. I think you have a fantastic staff. I really do. I don't think anybody would argue that. We have a fantastic staff, and I would hate to see us lose any of those people. I think we have a great, great crew and want to work with you. I promise we want to work with you here. But, you know, at that time, let me ask any other commissioners if you all have any questions that you all would like to, if you have any concerns or questions at this time.

There was a property owner that got by without having to pay any property tax While evil view was in effect, and this is a rather high dollar property Why was that not detected with this state-of-the-art? software I'm sorry.

Can you say that again miss Commissioner Martin?

I do understand you're upset having to come before us, but You do have to come before us The state-of-the-art software, let me rephrase it a different way. Instead of paying, other assessor's offices are using actually Google to base their measurements and stuff on. Free, free program. Did you go out for three competitive quotes before settling on going back with Eagle?

We've looked at everything. Google is good from a street level, from ground level. It's not good from the oblique, from the overhead level. It's not as good.

I had three roofs replaced on properties that basically saved me money because they used Google.

Right, right.

Okay, any other questions? Can you go into detail? Brad hit on this with his first question, but didn't follow up with it. You said funds weren't available, and now funds are available. So can you talk about that? You said you've got funds available to take care of this now.

Sure. I've been working with Manager Pyle and... assistant manager hall for a long time and we finally have found some supplemental funds and we work together and it's tight but we believe we are able to fund this for a three-year term not the six-year I wanted I would love to do the six-year, but we believe we've worked it out where we can do the three-year.

Kyle, let me hop in. Mr. Kelly, since you're not willing to disclose where the money's coming from, Troy, would you or Lance like to tell us where the funding's coming from?

Yes, sir. Chairman Bender, Commissioner Martin, we have come up with two plausible ways to fund this contract. What we are thinking is 602 currently has $74,044 available in their current budget that they can use to fund towards this. We would take $80,000 from their reserves. As Assessor Kelly said, that would leave a very tight budget, and they would have to monitor expenses very closely. And then there was two plausible options to fund the remaining $162,957, and that would either come from general fund reserves or to take the remaining balance from the software line item where the commission is allocated to put money back towards a new ERP software. So one of those two options would cover the remainder.

Mr. Kelly, I guess the thing that I would find alarming in that is that it sounds like you're depleting your reserves and your funds just for Eagleview. And so I guess, obviously, it's that important to you that you would just kind of deplete those accounts just to get this for a three-year contract?

Eagleview is that important. I've Discuss this at length with Mr. Pyle.

I would be in favor of taking no salaries and benefits out of the reappraisal fund, having all of those come out of the general fund. That would leave us reserves in the reappraisal fund. But that's a fight that my successor will have to continue. I'm satisfied right now that we have worked together and found a solution.

Okay, any other questions from the commission?

Yeah. So, yeah, it sounds like you've done some work from the last time that we talked on trying to figure out some funding and some of that, but Mr. Mackey, along with Todd, both have asked some questions, getting some clarification on things, and neither one have heard back, so I don't really feel comfortable pushing forward with something when The questions that were asked haven't been answered. I don't know how long that's been since those questions were asked, but they said they're not deal breakers, but I think they still need to be answered before we move forward.

My two cents. Okay. I guess that leaves us at... point here where we either table or we deny or we approve.

I'm favorable one direction, but I hate to say it out loud right yet. I'd like to hear from the commissioners what they're thinking.

I think if we table this, we're going to have to come back with questions, but Mr. Kelly, we've denied this the first time. I don't feel good. Personally, I don't feel good about depleting your depleting, taking the money from the reserves in that regards, and then having to go to a general fund for some of this, especially based on what Commissioner Martin had stated about Google and other people having the ability to do that. Now, please understand, I'm not against this, not one bit. And if it had budgeted the first time, I think we would have all got on board with you. But at this time, I just don't see any way to push forward from my perspective. perspective here so at this time I mean we could we could still continue continue working on this and you can get the questions answered but at this time I I would say that we deny this claim at this moment so I would make a motion that we do not proceed with this at this time Okay, I have a motion and a second. This does involve a resolution, so we probably need to do a roll call on this.

Commissioner Martin?

Yes. Commissioner Kane? Yes.

Chairman Bender? Yes. Vice Chairman Leatherwood? Yes. Thank you, Mr. Kelly.

Okay, number five, presentation and request action on 2026 Curry County Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plan. Mr. Roberts.

Chairman Bender and Commission, before you is requesting action on the 2026 Curry County Energy Efficiency Conservation Plan. You recall a meeting or two ago, Christian presented the draft plan to the commission to get their input and make those changes. This plan would have to be passed by resolution and then submitted back to the state to complete the current grant that we have for this plan. The resolution is rather short so I'll read that and I think that kind of summarizes what the plan entails and then I'll go stand for any questions. So whereas the energy efficiency and conservation plan is an action-oriented living document designed to provide Curry County with processes and guidance to reduce household energy burden, improve household quality, and enhance community resilience, And whereas Curry County faces unique environmental and socioeconomic challenges, including extreme weather conditions, aging housing stock, high energy burdens on low income residents, and limited regional contractor capacity. And whereas the plan prioritizes three core levels of intervention, tier one basic energy kits, efficiency kits, tier two moderate upgrades, and tier three comprehensive home retrofits. And whereas the Curry County Energy Efficiency and Conservation Plan serves as a strategic framework for the Board of County Commissioners, management staff, and regional partners to carry out energy equity goals and will be utilized to support applications for the clean energy extension and deployment funds, federal grants, utility rebates, and state appropriations. So if you elect to approve this plan, it would be based on Resolution 2026-2065, which is included on your packet page 294. Following that is the plan itself, and I can go into further detail if needed. This plan doesn't require, if approved, the county doesn't have to do any action. It's just to submit the grant. which we can request back later at a further date if the commission wants to proceed with this grant application, we could do that.

I don't need any further explanation on it. Do any commissioners have any questions regarding it? Then I'll make a motion to approve the action on 2026 Curry County Energy Efficiency Conservation Plan.

Motion. Any second by Vice Chairman Leatherwood? All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, same sign. Okay. Mr. Roberts.

Number six, request action on resolution 2026-62, establishing the 2027 holiday schedule for county employees. Manager Pyle.

Chairman Bender and Commission, what we did this year, calendar year 26, you allocated two holidays for January 1st and January 2nd, because the January 2nd fell on a Friday. So that kept one kind of floating holiday. We provided three different options to the employees, asked them to vote. You'll see those results in there. We actually have 175 employees on the payroll, but only 88 employees took the time to vote. The first option was 34 responses was to that floating day that we've had moved to President's Day, Monday, February 15th, 2027. Next option was adding Juneteenth, which was Friday, June 18th, 2027. We had 27 responses there. And the third option was adding an extra day at Veterans Day. Veterans Day holiday is the Thursday. So employees will be off that Thursday, would come back Friday, work one day, have a weekend. So we proposed being closed that Thursday and Friday. In November, we had 27 responses that supported that. Based on the 34 responses, what's in your packet is adding President's Day that the county has not observed in the past. As that floating holiday, everything else stays the same.

All right, any questions?

um we did a roll call in the last one we're on not on energy on the energy when we did do in other words annie is watching our meeting and said we need a roll call on that last resolution on the energy um on the

The one we just did, we did a roll call on it. It had the vendor asked for a roll call because it had the resolution in sight.

We did that on number four, we did. Number five didn't have a resolution attached.

okay it has a resolution attached yes yes resolution 2026 that's 65 yeah we did a roll call Commissioner Martin if I may on the live stream that Annie is watching it's 45 seconds to a full minute behind when things happen in here okay we we did a roll call on the left okay okay good all right so about about the holiday schedule

Does anybody have any questions or what direction do we want to take on this? Hearing none, I'll make a motion that we approve the 2026 Curry County, oh, sorry, the 2026, Resolution 2026-62, establishing the 2027 holiday schedule for county employees. Second. Okay, we have a motion and a second.

We are going to do a roll call here.

Commissioner Kane yes chairman Bender yes vice chairman Leatherwood yes and Commissioner Martin yeah No Commissioner Martin asked if I was going to propose the schedule to my employees in my private business and it's a hard no I Number seven, request action on memorandum of understanding between the United States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Arizona State Office, and Curry County, New Mexico, regarding the Western Gateway Pipeline project. And we have Vice Chairman Leatherwood and Commissioner Kane here to help us with that.

This is just a memorandum of understanding. This is what you guys voted on me and Dusty to be the representatives and for this we were on a online meeting the other day. Manager Powell was on that as well. And this is just the meat of all that. It's basically saying that we're gonna cooperate with them, they're gonna cooperate with us.

And I think it's, I guess I'll just. If we don't do this, then we don't have much say in what they do to come through the county, right? Right.

Attorney Mack, you added, y'all added a little bit to, I got an email the other day on some additions to it. Okay.

Commissioner Leatherwood, members of the commission, yes, I inserted some statutory language that provides the authority of the county to do so, as well as I think you saw my language. I tried to juice it up a little bit to make sure that you guys knew that you had all the expertise locally to offer to the NEPA process. And that's all I did to the MOU.

Move to approve, mender it, whatever, of understanding between the United States Department of the Interior of Land Management, Arizona State Office, and Curry County.

I have a motion by Commissioner Martin, second by Vice Chairman Leatherwood. All those in favor, signify by saying aye. Aye. Those opposed, same sign. Okay. Thank you, gentlemen. Number eight, request action on capital outlay requests from General Fund Reserve, Manager Pyle, and Vice Managers...

Sorry. Assistant Managers Roberts and Hall...

Chairman Bender and Commission, as we have discussed over the past several years, your elected officials, department heads, employees have done an outstanding job in controlling costs. We have been able to put money back into reserves and growing reserves. We looked during budget year and we ended fiscal year 26 with a general fund cash reserve of $19.9 million. There are a lot of infrastructure projects that we need to address. There are items that we have looked in the past for grants. We can't find grants to cover them. There are items that we need to improve to keep moving the county forward, and you have the money to do that. Some of these items will be cost savings to the county. Some of the items will help enhance events and other things. So what we've done is we sent information out in the summer to all elected officials and departments. and basically ask for their wish list, priority list, and what it is that they need. You know, we do the ICIP plan annually, and part of the plan, everything should be on the ICIP, but we're still working in that area. We don't get items submitted for ICIP, but that's a planning document. But again, everything should be on there, but we got items that weren't, and that's what's before you today. Troy, Ben, and I met. We reviewed items. The material and supporting documentation is in your packet, and all the department heads that are here can answer any additional questions. But it's our recommendation to you today that we take, of that reserve amount, that we take $2,670,000 out of reserves. And we look at doing the following projects. Curry County Annex Office Renovation. This is the Magistrate Court building at Pyle, 320,000. This is office space for staff at the county that is on our ICIP plan. We have the Detention Center parapet wall that has been presented to y'all previously. It's deteriorating. That's $550,000. We could not make that part of the budget this year. That is also on the ICIP plan. We have Curry County Maintenance and Adult Detention Center Storage Facility, $1.2 million. Adequate Shop and Storage, that is also on your ICIP plan. Fairgrounds restroom is a new one that came up. 200,000 upgrade is needed. Looking at that, I believe the oversight committee has also reviewed that in recommending that. Next is livestock center fans, 50,000 increased airflow needed. That's not on the ICIP, but again, I think the oversight committee's looked at it. That is needed. Next is ADC water softeners, $200,000 valve and shower protection, not on the ICIP, but y'all know what we are spending on those shower improvements. I think that's a benefit to the county. And then you have Sheriff's HVAC, $50,000 additional cooling for dispatch. That is not on the ICIP, but that is needed. um 80 adult detention center cell padding 100 000 deteriorating protective padding um in the in the in the cells that is something we need to address that is not on the icip but we're also recommending that so those are the items that we today recommend that and ask that you approve us moving forward on there's some items in the middle of the page projects under review And I can kind of touch on those, that's detention center cameras at one million. We got another quote yesterday that's more, I think more work needs to go into that, so we're gonna study that more. That is on the ICIP, but I don't think we're ready for that. Next is the adult detention center flooring replaced existing at 70,000, that's not on the ICIP. Broadview Road Barn Fence, $79,000. It's poor condition, not on the ICIP, but we think we may have another option for that, so we need to look at that a little more. Two shredders at $58,000, replace existing due to maintenance costs. That is not on the ICIP. Water tanker for road department, $90,000, replace existing, not on ICIP. Skid steer for road department, 108,000. Efficiency lacking with only one. It's not on the ICIP. Backhoe loader for road, 127,000. Again, not on the ICIP. Semi truck for the road department, 187,000. It is on the ICIP, but that was Wayland's recommendation as his lowest priority over the other items. So we would like to send that to the road department the Road Committee meet to review that and discuss a little bit more and then that bring that back at a later time there are also two projects at the bottom proposed for capital outlay requests parking lot for Main and 9th 800,000 adequate parking for staff including building demo that is on the ICIP but that involves Main Street and the county I think that could be a very good legislative project come January and get legislative dollars because you're actually helping two entities. You're also helping the state. So I think that's something we need to wait, ask for in January. And then if we're successful, we got it done. If not, we can revisit in the summer. Next is Sheriff Carport's $260,000 protection of vehicles. That is needed, but it's not on the ICIP. But I also think that is a good legislative ask. It's a small amount, and I think that's something we need to maybe ask our legislators in January. But with that, the total amount of requests we received was $5,449,000. But again, we're asking you today to approve $2,670,000 in those projects.

Okay.

You know, one thing that stood out to me looking at this major pile was in the ADC water softeners. We also have to be thinking how much the salt it'll use. You probably buy that in bulk, but if you have the water softeners, you're going to have to have a lot of salt for those. So you're gonna have a maintenance, a standard maintenance that's going to be on top of it.

Any other questions or any questions from commission? Lance, I don't know why, but why have we never put that detention wall in with this construction while we've been going on over there? You know, as we've added on to the courthouse and all this other project in that same area, it looked like it would have been easier to tie that in at the same time.

But it's been on our watch list.

And at this time, I just didn't take that molding off and be done with it.

But...

I don't know, but that struck a chord with me.

Chairman Bender, Commissioner Martin, and I'll defer to Ben on this, but I believe the parapet wall was something that was added within the last year to the ICIP. I don't remember it being an issue prior.

Chairman Martin commissioned, I believe it was, added last year. It was brought up two years ago as a concern. We did go out to bid. The bids were extremely high. We looked at some alternative solutions, but agreed this was the best moving forward.

So here we are. And while you're talking, Ben, what is the deal with HVAC? I mean, we don't ever, I mean, we spend a ton of money over and over at that facility, and it's never adequate.

On the HVAC, this is specifically for the dispatch where they've got a lot of equipment in there that heats up the room. So we need additional supply for that. That's what this is for.

So it's not one that's down.

It's not one that's down. It's a new one to add additional supply. I was going to say, we need to find a different company.

I'd train to let it down because AC in that building.

just just for the courthouse all right any other questions yeah I don't know if this is the time to bring this up but so yesterday I was out at the fairgrounds with George and and we drove around I don't know if y'all remember that email about signage and stuff showing where everything is and so we we rode around the fairgrounds from road to road out there and and I really like george's ideas of getting signage out there kind of saying here's here's where you go for these things i mean we've we've upgraded so many things and nobody knows where to go at this point and so but with that being said we were looking at signs out on the roads just and and i i texted these guys and asked a question and so i just thought i'd bring it up for discussion and then we can at least it's out there but As we were driving around out there yesterday, the sign that's on Brady at the main entrance, it's the medal sign that you guys had voted a few years back to have Texaco Ag Shop build. big sign. Nice sign. But as we're out there, we're looking around and so, you know, if you think over on Norris, we've got a big marquee sign and that big rounded brick entrance kind of pops that side right there, but That doesn't seem to be the one that's used the most. When you come in from Brady, you're coming in off of, you're coming for the event center, for rodeos, for concerts, for that stuff. You're coming to the fair. You're coming into the commercial barn, different things. And so I don't know. I questioned, and I would like to, I guess, at least throw it out there. I think it'd be nice if we could upgrade that sign to a, bigger sign that'll help that pop a little bit, help that be seen a little bit more. That sign that there is big, but it's also not lit up. So at nighttime, you don't see anything. You're not going to know if you're coming in for a rodeo at night or something like that. You're not going to know that that entrance there, if you're from out of town, you're going to have to use your Google Maps or something. Anyway, I just think it would look nice for the amount of stuff we're putting in here. I don't know that y'all like my idea, but I... I think that we should do something like that and spice that entrance up a little bit. That doesn't mean we have to get rid of the sign that's there. We can take that and there's some spots that that sign could be used to help point in other directions. Obviously, it's a nice sign. We don't want to get rid of that. There was a lot of hard work put into it. just my two cents there, and I have no idea what that costs because this was a yesterday afternoon conversation. So I don't know if Ben has any ideas or not, but I'm just kind of throwing it out there last minute.

Kyle, you opened my thinking up again. That area we took the rocks out of that we have the little rivers that run through between the – have we ever got that where we're going to fix it?

Yes, the funds, and I think I replied in an email, but the fund, we do have funding to complete that area between the two buildings.

You don't read here.

I'll add to my conversation real quick. Manager Pyle did say that that signed deal might be something good for a capital outlay request. So just kind of throwing that out there. I don't know who needs to take what direction on that, but...

I was throwing it out for this request, and then he said that might be an option there, so if you've got any.

Chairman Bender, Commissioner Kane, a few years ago, we had another marquee sign on the ICIP. It was not for that entrance. It was actually for, I believe, trying to find a location on 1st Street, Mayberry Drive. I believe we got that removed from the ICIP. it's still on there. But what we can do is modify that if that's the wishes of the commission, add it to this list, possibly as a potential project under review or propose for capital outlay requests and bring the ICIP back and maybe readjust those order we need to do that anyway because we'll start putting together capital outlay requests in November and kind of review that if that's the route you want to go or you could look at the reserve capacity but I'd like to kind of

review our capital outlay request and see.

I don't know what that cost would be, but if they're small enough and having some different amounts, I think legislators like that versus large projects.

Okay, give us some direction on that.

Yes, your vice chair. One, I guess when we redo the parking lot, okay, how much of that is going to be in the way. I mean, like that entrance way, I know that you're talking about, I mean, that was put there back when that was the main entrance. So it's when everybody went in that way, when they had the rodeo outside, they in the marquee sign and all that was, and the only ones that see the marquee sign is people just getting the truck bypass. Nowadays is all it is. Uh, because most people come over the overpass and stuff coming in there, unless because of the train situation, I think as much as anything, but, uh, I didn't know how much, if that was gonna still be standing the way it is now after we do the parking lot, or if that's something that we could read.

Vice Chairman Leatherwood and Commission, the only modifications to that area as part of the parking lot project is redoing some of the curbing around the rock beds to clean it up a little bit. I think they're overflowing. There's not a clear barrier for weeds. That's the only change in that area as far as that parking lot project. I will point out the existing marquee sign out there on Norris Street has given the county their OBG problems over the years. It is outdated. If you're looking at improving the sign on Brady, you may want to change something there on Norris as well. Just something to point out.

I like the idea of the one out on, like, Mabry. I mean, for tension. But I don't know that we're just going to drag people that are driving through town off Mabry Drive to run in there and check out what's going on. I don't know that. I can see where an entrance sign there on Brady. We do get the most entrance right there. The only time of the year that we get a whole lot of entrance off of Norris is the fair, you know, one time a year. The rest of the time for the other 11 months of the year, it's all coming off Brady Street.

Just throw this out here. And that was Commissioner Thornton that wanted that one on Maybridge. But if you change the one on Norris and move it to the northeast corner of that parking lot and stick it really high up in the air, then they might be able to see it from Maybridge.

I'm being serious.

Improve visibility or something. Not improve it, just put barriers where you can't do anything. But request on capital, request.