Pickleball looks to be finally coming to Raton as recreation was a focus of the proceedings of the Raton City Commission Meeting on Tuesday, February 25th. The Commission voted unanimously to approve a proposal by Lone Mountain Contracting to repair and construct 6 Pickleball Courts on the current north courts of the high school tennis courts just off Tiger Circle and repair and fix the two south end tennis courts. The contractor recently visited Raton and bid $96,662 for crack filling, resurfacing, striping and another $5,600 for nets for a total of $102,262. The decision and shift in location of the courts was prompted by repairs needed to City Hall for its foundation/structural issues. The Pickleball courts had been a line item on the City’s budget, and was slated for Roundhouse Memorial Park, but because of the need for City Hall repair, Public Works Director Jason Phillips used his Recreation budget to find the money for the courts at the high school which have been discussed for almost three years.
Also in recreation, The MOU with the Raton Little League was renewed and President Dustin Walton gave the update that there is a good possibility Raton would get the District Tournament again this year, June 13 for softball and June 20 for baseball. Walton also said plans are in the works to replace the backstop at the Major Field by opening day April 12.
The Raton Humane Society approached the Commission with a request to renew their lease with the City for another five year period. The Lease Agreement between the Raton Humane Society was renewed on a month-to-month basis while the language is updated for the document as the old agreement is some 15 years old.
The Commission also agreed to contract with BW Consulting of Albuquerque for updates and re-writes to various City Ordinances and land use regulations. The scope of the work would include vacant building procedures and process, front yard parking regulations, administrative hearing officer position, and adult amusement uses. The contract is for $175 per hour and for no more than $42,000.
Patrick Million with the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District addressed the Commission with a discussion of American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) Transition Plan for the City. Having a plan would free up funding for compliance. The City’s Plan is in the beginning stages and Jaden Welch is the point person for the City with Dave Little of Alpha Design also being utilized to look at all city-owned facilities, starting with the facilities most used by the public, and make them ADA compliant. It’s being paid for by mini transportation grants through the state of NM.
The Commission also heard the annual report from the Shuler Restoration Commission (SRC). A memorandum of agreement for management of the Shuler was awarded to the Commission in September of 2015 and this past year the entity was able to purchase new decorative holiday lights for the outside of the theater, new speakers and subwoofers for the sound system, curtain repair and replacement and re-print of a brochure written by Manville Chapman, painter of the 7 lobby WPA oil paintings.
Patricia Duran also gave an update on ExploreRaton.com and social media efforts. Duran said the social media presence began really growing in March of 2024 especially on Facebook where over 100k were reached per month during peak seasons. Duran said growth in several target markets like Colorado and California due, largely in part to the NM True Coop grant social media influencer, had a total reach of almost 1.1 million
In other action, Victor Romero was re-appointed to the Arthur Johnson Memorial Library Board.
Six recommendations from the Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board meeting were all approved including:
1. $1,050 awarded to Independent Riders for the Ratsville Roundup Downtown Car Show/Festival for radio ads and posters.
2. $10,010 for Raton MainStreet/Raton Beautification Coalition for replacment banners maintenance for the 4 wheeler, fuel, fertilizer, flowers and payment for caretaker Lisa Camp.
3. $900 to Friends of Sugarite for Master of the Mountains Social Media.
4. $2,000 to Friends of Sugarite to complete the purchase of Brown Trout for Lake Maloya.
5. $2,348 to World Journal for full page ads in both the Mountains/Mesas and Summer Guides.
6. $3497 to the Center for Community Innovation for the distribution of the Raton Visitors Guide.
For the Citizen’s Present portion of the meeting, Warren Walton addressed the commission and asked what happened to the basketball goals in the Convention Center. Walton said with the loss of two elementary school gyms, the Elks Lodge Youth Basketball program is further strained for lack of practice courts. Walton said if the only solution is to bring in portable goals, then provisions could be made for that.
City Treasurer Michael Anne Antonucci reported that Gross Receipts Tax collection continues to be 3.63% above projections, but the Gas Tax collection was flat and a little disappointing and below what was collected last year. Lodgers Tax collections were up 10 percent through January when compared to last year, and she predicts Lodger’s Tax will land somewhere around $490,000 by the time the fiscal year in June ends.
The next Commission meeting is set for March 11 @ 6pm.
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