By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
Raton City Commissioners met Tuesday evening February 27, 2024, for their last regular meeting of the month where they heard reports about the Shuler and the Explore Raton report.
Bill Donati, president of the Shuler Restoration Committee gave a presentation on some of the recent projects at the Shuler which included a new loading ramp, work on the electrical systems and new carpet will be coming soon. They have installed new LED lighting and new speakers. The state provided new projection equipment and the installation of a HDMI cable will allow laptop connection to the projection system for expanded program presentations. Rental income has improved up to almost $4900. The Shuler has had 125 usage days for the last 12 months.
Patricia Duran updated the commission on the stats of Explore Raton website and the city’s social media presence. The media presence has received requests from 100 social media influencers to visit and promote Raton. Raton has also joined with NM True with a co-op grant to provide adventures for people to promote Raton. Duran has been busy working on the visitor’s guide and will be distributing those guides in Colorado as well as around the area. Duran also noted that we now have the ExploreRaton.com domain. There have been well over 500,000 people reached and some from outside the US as well.
Commissioners approved the Cinco De Mayo event form for the celebration in May.
Commissioners approved the reappointment of Ron Schuster to the Library board.
The Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board recommended approval of $21,500 to Gravel Adventure Field Guide for a guidebook production, film and photography production and guidebook distribution and marketing. $7500 will be used from the print advertisement fund and $14,000 will come from the contingency fund. They also recommended $1000 be approved for the Center for Community Innovation for a social media influencer day promotion. Commissioners approved both funding requests.
Commissioners then approved the annual MOU with the Raton Little League for the 2024 season. The MOU sets the responsibilities for each entity. There are improvements that will be going on this spring and those items will be added to the MOU once completed. It is hoped that Raton will be able to host the district tourney. Duston Walton president for the group should know something within the next couple of weeks. Walton also noted they have purchased a new scoreboard for the minor league field.
Commissioners approved the Senior Center kitchen upgrade utilizing the state price agreement which will replace counter tops with stainless steel countertops. Commissioners then heard about a change order for the Shuler Theater utility upgrade. The change order consists of the need to trace electrical circuits in order to do the upgrade. Tim Bird has offered to do the work for $3600 in lew of $24,900 proposed by another contractor. Bird has done much work in the Shuler and is familiar with the electrical work in the building.
Commissioners approved the request for the purchase of a new vehicle from Melloy in Los Lunas. The cost of the new 2024 Chevrolet Tahoe is $53,712.00 each for three units. Total cost is $161,136.00. Law enforcement funds and savings from salary savings will pay for the vehicles.
Archuleta Construction was the only bidder for structural repairs on the Coors Building. The total cost of the bid was $138,000 plus GRT for a total of $149,396.45. The work being done is to stabilize the back wall of the building.
Colfax County approved a $40,000 grant to the City of Raton for a defibrillator. The city approved the purchase of the unit with a $6,000 trade in for a total cost of $35,462.90.
The city will apply for a USDA Rural Business Development grant for the Coors building. The grant amount is $99,000 with a general fund match from the city of $41,400. The grant is to improve utilities in the building.
The city will apply for a National Park Service Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program Technical Assistance Grant for recreational planning services. The grant will be used to develop a master plan to help with developing outdoor recreation planning. The grant will be used in lew of using city funds for this purpose.
The GRT continues to be above budget by 6.40% as noted by City Treasurer Michael Anne Antonucci. Budget planning will begin soon as the third quarter is coming up soon and overages will be placed in the general fund reserves for the city to use in the future. The small cities assistance funds came in much higher than budgeted and will require a budget adjustment when it is decided where to put the money. The Cannabis excise tax came in about the same as last year at $10,642. (Link to FY24 January Financial Report)
Many of the budget adjustments are line-item changes to move funds where needed to cover some expenses or move funds to cover purchases. Some of the items were for the police vehicles and police dept salaries as well the funds received from Colfax County for the defibrillator. (Link to FY24 Budget Adjustment #9)
City Manager Rick Mestas noted in his report that the new camera system has been deployed by the police department with positive results. The Fire Dept has received two new fire trucks and will be fully outfitted in the next couple of weeks. The city is obtaining quotes for repair on the HVAC system at the Library. Melida Heien, director of community and economic development is ramping up her training on the new placer software. Randy Trujillo and Adrien Mendez have been working hard on the ball fields to get them ready for the upcoming baseball and softball season.
The next regular meeting of the Raton City Commission will be March 13, 2024, sat 6:00 p.m. at Raton City Hall.
