By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Raton City Commissioners started their Tuesday evening, August 13, regular meeting hearing from citizens about the proposed Hope House on 4thStreet and others about the proposed GRT for Economic Development.
Carl Hickman spoke to commissioners during the public comment period of the meeting about the proposed Hope House that will be located in a residence in the 100 block of South 4thStreet. He asked the commission about the zoning and if this is considered a business that would be allowed in an RM-1 residential zone. Virginia Duran told commissioners that she had already lost three clients from her business, Creative Cuts, which is located next door to the proposed house because of safety concerns and the fear of who might be living in the house.
City Manager Scott Berry has asked the city attorney for an opinion on whether this is a business or how it is actually classified before the matter can go to the zoning board. The zoning board will approve or disprove the establishment. If disapproved it can be appealed to the city commission.
First on the agenda was a public hearing about the proposed Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan which the City of Raton will finalize later this month. The list of priorities is used for seeking monies from the Legislature for capital improvements and other organizations for funding requests. (Link to ICIP Priorities)
Commissioners also heard favorable comments about the increase in the GRT for economic development. Commissioners will make a final decision at the August 22 meeting. Joe Rodman who said I’m against most taxes but this one is one that Raton needs in order to move forward on economic development.
Commissioners approved the street closures for the Gate City Music Festival on August 30-September 1 and the Raton High Homecoming Parade on September 20. Both events will be held on First Street.
Commissioners approved the Celebration Permit for Colfax Ale Cellars to provide libations at the Shuler Theater during the Gate City Music Festival Concert. City Clerk Michael Anne Antonucci noted that there are a couple of changes in the state liquor laws that will affect the new permits that the city will likely see in the future. One of those being the clause about permitting an event within 300 feet of a school or church, that reference has been removed.
Commissioners heard from Jessica Barfield about the work the Center for Innovation has done over the past year in her proposal to renew the contract for maintaining ExploreRaton.com and the Google Adwords project that has been very successful this past year in attracting visitors.
Barfield noted that they have spent $119,000 in Adwords revenue with over 2.1 million views with over 84,200 visitors clicking through for more information. One of the things Barfield has added to the web site is a way to look up all of the houses for sale in Raton. She noted there simply wasn’t one location that had all the houses for sale. She has added a link to compile all that and make it easier to find the homes for sale.
She has also don’t the same for job searches in Raton which is pulling from the KRTN web page and other job posting sites to be more inclusive of all the jobs available in Raton. Commissioners approved the contract for another year at $24,000 or $2,000 a month. All of the new features can be seen at ExploreRaton.com
Barbara Riley was appointed to the Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board to fill a vacancy. That board has not been able to meet with a quorum in order to make any recommendations.
Berry noted in his report that he met with the new District Four Engineer James Gallegos, for NMDOT and talked about the work that needs to be done on Second Street as well as the concerns at the I-25 Clayton Road interchange. Berry noted that the DOT is aware of the issues on I-25 and has begun work to address those issues. It is expected there will be public hearings to get comment for the design phase of the project.
Berry noted that Raton Water Works has also been awarded the 2019 Outstanding Water Treatment Award, staff will receive the award at the meeting in Keystone, Colorado at the annual conference on September 9.
Commissioners will not meet for their regular meeting on August 27 due to a conflict with the NM Municipal League Annual Conference but will meet on Thursday August 22 at 6:00 p.m.
