By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The Raton Professional Business Women’s Association held a candidates forum for those running for the Raton City Commission Monday evening at the Shuler Theater.
KRTN not only broadcast the question and answers live, KRTN also videoed the event, below is that video. It is highly recommended that you watch the video to get a feel for what the candidates stand for and what they feel are challenges to the city in the next couple of years.
All the candidates agree that Raton needs to work on the streets and work to get more tourists to stop and stay in Raton. Neil Segotta thinks Raton needs to change its mind set. That Raton has been a mining, ranching and railroad town for years and those are now gone. Raton needs to start thinking about being a tourist destination.
The need for small business with good paying jobs is also something Raton needs to work at attracting to Raton. Doss Aviation locating some of its services to Raton is seen as a slow start but one that can bring several other opportunities to Raton in the future. Kenny Cruz felt that Raton needs more competition such as another grocery store. Stephen Draper wants to see Raton develop its historic roots to attract tourists. Commissioner Lindè Schuster touched on creativity and ingenuity, that Raton needs to put its minds together and come up with a way to bring the tourists into town. She felt with some ingenuity an individual could come up with a business that would attract some of those 30,000 cars a day that travel by Raton. She also touched on the Community Kitchen project that she is hoping will help a creative individual to create and market a food product much like they have done in other communities like Taos.
Don Giacomo also touched on the street projects that have been completed and those that are in the works for this summer. He noted that soon there will be bear-resistant dumpsters in town and on that note, one of the challenges he sees is the monitoring of the now closed city landfill. Other challenges facing Raton include updates to the Waste Water Treatment plant and the upgrades to Lake Maloya Dam.
Dreams without plans and goals don’t happen,it has been this way forever in Raton the same issues always,because the problems never get addressed with a plan and a goal you all need to find the money to pay a professional it will be a return of investment for the city the money is driving by into Colorado and you all just wave at them make them stop make them stay.It just seems like a circle that has been turning forever.