By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Raton City Commissioners met on a cold, snowy Tuesday February 25, 2020 evening and had a crowd on hand to hear from citizens concerned about a rezoning issue in southwest Raton, and to hear more good news about the City’s Gross Receipts Tax.
After committee reports, Commissioners heard from Bill Serazio concerning a rezoning request that has progressed up from the planning and zoning board with a recommendation to deny changing 10.333 acres located north of Highway 555 and east of the railroad tracks from a Commercial Four (C4) zone to a Heavy Industrial (HI) zone. Serazio told commissioners that after more investigation an HI zone was out of the question due to air quality restrictions. He had originally proposed a gravel pit for the property. The zoning board recommended changing the property to Light Industrial (LI).
After hearing from Larry Rea representing 82 concerned citizens that had signed a petition to deny the request, Commissioner Ron Chavez requested that the rezoning be tabled till the March 25th meeting so that they can learn more about the matter. City Manager Scott Berry read the description of each zone classification to commissioners and suggested that the property remain a C4 which would meet the zoning requirements for having a heavy equipment repair facility locate on the property. Commissioners will hear more on the matter and decide how to proceed at the March 25 meeting.
Commissioners approved the 40 Year Water Plan that the Raton Water Board had approved earlier. The plan deals with the Capulin water basin issues as well as other water rights the city has to keep on top of to maintain quality water to Raton residents. A copy of the extensive document can be found at City Hall.
Commissioners approved the Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board request for $1,476.00 to go to the Dawson New Mexico Association to advertise the Labor Day Dawson Reunion.
Commissioners also approved extending the Liquor License agreement with the Raton Country Club for another year.
Commissioners approved making application for Municipal Arterial Program funds for street work in Raton. The project that Berry suggested was to widen and repave Whittier Street to Byron Avenue and work on drainage issues in the area.
Commissioners approved extending the grant term by 18 months for work on a hangar facility at Crews Field. They also approved an adjustment to the project amount for installation of NAVAIDS on Runway 2-20. The change will show that the city will now commit $11,450 to the project as will the state aviation division for their portion.
Commissioners also approved a contract for managed IT services for the Raton Police Department with Envision IT.
City Treasurer Michael Anne Antonucci noted that the GRT was up again this month, an impressive 4.6% above budget. Antonucci noted that with the traditionally slower months coming up, this increase is good news. (Link to January 2020 Financial Report)
Commissioners approved Budget Adjustment #8 for FY 2020 which moved funds to cover the contract with Envision IT for the police department. (Link to FY 2020 Budget Adjustment #8)
Berry noted in his report that the Municipal League will hold their district meeting in Raton on March 25 to go over the legislative session. Berry noted that the city did get approved for $226,000 for the purchase of police cars a bit short of the $300,000 requested and $700,000 for a spec building for economic development. Of course, this still has to be signed by the governor.
The City has asked the census bureau to change the boundary on one of their census maps to include downtown for the purpose of special funding and tax incentives. Earlier in the day, Berry received word from the Census Bureau that the area would be changed and could now qualify for being designated as an opportunity zone, which could incentivize some investors to invest in some of the 60 vacant buildings in the downtown area that weren’t covered under the old Census boundary.
He also noted that there will be a meeting on March 3, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. in the convention center to work on the comprehensive plan for the city and that the public is urged to attend. (Link to Comprehensive Plan Flyer)
Commissioners will meet again on March 10, 2020 for their next regular meeting at 6:00 p.m. which will be broadcast on KRTN AM 1490.
