By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Raton City Commissioners met Tuesday evening at City Hall where they named the small park north of Legion Park across Legion Drive as Veteran’s Park. The area has also been known informally as Pesavento Park.
The new park will be the setting of a Veteran’s Memorial, which will be dedicated Veteran’s Day according to Commissioner Ron Chavez who was one of the prime movers in the project.
In other commission business the three commissioners in attendance approved budget adjustment #4, which included $96,000 that Raton Fire received from a state grant to go toward the newly completed fire station on West Troy.
Commissioners also approved an extension of the grant agreement with New Mexico Department of Transportation. Coop agreement # SP-4-14 (908) which covers several street improvement projects is due to expire on December 31 of this year and as City Manager Scott Berry noted this type of extension was not uncommon due to weather delays or other unforeseen problems.
In cooperation with Raton Main Street the city approved Main Streets selection committee’s selection of Sites Southwest LLC to update the Downtown Master plan.
Last Saturday the commission met with department heads in a work session to discuss legislative priorities and Capital Outlay requests. City Manager Berry noted that commissioners needed to be prepared to finalize these requests and will probably have a resolution ready for the next meeting. Commissioners didn’t have much discussion on the matters probably in part to the meeting and the absence of Mayor Mantz and commissioner Lindé Schuster.
At the top of the list of capital outlay projects is the transfer station once again. The Lake Maloya dam safety improvements are on the list as well. A recent inspection of the dam and piping through the dam showed signs of damage to one pipe and other work that needed to be done as well as a bigger spillway or emergency spillway.
Street reconstructions projects are also on the list along with a new ambulance to replace the one the city uses for transfers to out of town hospitals. Public works equipment purchases along with three pages of other needs.
Jason Phillips informed the commission about some of the upcoming street projects, which includes, South First Street paving after the water line replacement gets done. Tiger Drive resurfacing and work to be done on Galisteo and Pecos Avenues. The projects will include more business district drainage work which is yet to be determined. The total cost of all five projects at this time is projected at $784,955. The city will put in $75,747 as matching funds the remainder will be coop funds from the state.
City Manager Scott Berry informed the commission that the work on Park Avenue is almost done. The project took longer than expected due to working around the numerous utilities in the alley.
The city now has four new 40-yard roll offs and will soon have 108 new dumpsters. City crews spent some time in Climax Canyon repairing extensive erosion problems. They also took advantage of the good weather patching utility cuts and some potholes in the streets. Once the weather turns cold they will begin working in some more eroded alleys.
Governor Martinez had approved $150,000 for more erosion work in Segerstrom Creek above Lake Maloya. Berry noted the money would go to repairing so particularly bad erosion areas, some of which have created turbidity problems at Lake Maloya.
Commissioners will meet again on Tuesday November 25, 2014 at 6:00 p.m. and that meeting will be heard on KRTN AM 1490.
