Portales water emergency declared at council meeting

Jul. 1—A Stage 3 emergency water emergency that went into effect Wednesday was properly declared by John DeSha, the city's public utilities director, according to Portales City Manager Sarah Austin.

The Portales City Council did not declare the emergency, but two councilors reacted to it at a council meeting on Tuesday.

Ward B Councilor Oscar Robinson said it is unfair to place restrictions on residents when the city will not fix leaks in its own water system. A water leak near his home has persisted for weeks, he said, and has not received action from the city, he said.

Austin said such leaks reported to the city should receive action.

Mayor Ron Jackson supported the declaration and urged residents to comply with the watering restrictions, saying that some sacrifice of "green lawns" is likely to be necessary.

The emergency declaration resulted from "a combination of extended drought, extreme heat and a decline in wellfield capacity," according to Austin's news release announcing the emergency.

Austin wrote city personnel will be strictly enforcing Stage 3 emergency rationing. The following restrictions will remain in effect until the emergency is over:

— Outdoor landscape watering: No watering, except for trees, shrubs, and vegetable gardens with shut-off hose and hand-held container.

— Car washing at residence is prohibited.

— Washing down pavement, sidewalks, etc. is prohibited

— Residential spas, and swimming pools: Filling and refilling is prohibited.

— Filling and refilling of ornamental fountains is prohibited.

Failure to follow the emergency water rationing restrictions will result in disconnection of water service, as allowed by city ordinances, the news release stated.

In a public hearing at Tuesday's council meeting on Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan proposals, Portales resident Eldon Merrick, asked the council if the proposals included contingency plans if the city runs out of water.

Austin said several items on the current list include improvements and expansion of the city's water well field. The city, she said, had wellfield projects near the top of its ICIP proposals presented to the 2024 New Mexico Legislature, "but we were shot down."

The ICIP list includes about 75 projects to be considered for the city's final ICIP filing, expected in August.

Tuesday's hearing was a first step toward developing the formal ICIP, which is vital to applying for capital outlay funding from the state legislature and for state grants.

The list presented Tuesday was "in no particular order," but the list will be presented to the community in meetings, the first of which is scheduled for July 6, to give community members opportunities to propose projects and priorities, Jo McVey, a public utilities infrastructure administrator for the city, told the council.

The next steps are to develop a final list of projects before setting priorities for the next five years, and submitting a final ICIP to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. According to the DFA's website, the deadline for submission is Aug. 18.

The list of projects presented Tuesday in a public hearing did not include cost estimates, only titles and descriptions. The list covered projects involving city streets, public buildings, public safety, city parks, and other areas.

The current list is available by visiting https://www.portalesnm.gov/services/departments_g-z/capital_projects/index.php and clicking on "2025-2029 ICIP Draft Projects Presentation" at the bottom of the page.

The council took no action on the ICIP list on Tuesday.

Councilors on Tuesday also heard an annual report from Jodi Diaz, executive director of the Roosevelt County Community Development Corp. on economic development activities.

Diaz said that over the past year, RCCDC has developed five new business prospects, generated five new business leads, submitted two new Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) projects, administered six ongoing LEDA projects, assisted three new businesses and made 32 visits to businesses for business retention and expansion purposes.

Among goals Diaz mentioned was further exploration of housing in the city and county to accommodate employees for business expansion. Mayor Jackson asked about attention to rental housing, especially for students at Eastern New Mexico University, since ENMU seeks to expand its on-campus student enrollment. Diaz said the matter is receiving attention.

In other matters Tuesday, the council:

— Granted an additional 60 days for the owner of property at 422 Main Street to make improvements that would avoid having the property listed as dangerous. Councilors based their decision on action the owner has taken to board windows and doors to make the property inaccessible.

— Recognized Portales Police Sergeants Rowdy Smith and Nikolas Sanchez, along with Officer Victor Ordonez as employees of the month for their actions to provide clothes and food for a man who was stranded in Portales, then contacting members of the man's family to arrange his transportation to Santa Rosa.

— Heard a proclamation of July 16 as Rural Transit Day, recognizing the role of Portales Area Transit in "meeting the unique needs of rural passengers."