TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR COUNCIL MEETING HELD APRIL 2, 2019:
(A) Minutes of Previous Meeting(s): 1. Regular Meeting held March 19, 2019. (B) Approval of City Manager’s Contract. (C) Resolution #18-19-34, A Resolution Authorizing the Removal of Uncollectable Time Barred Accounts from Ambulance Billing. (D) Resolution #18-19-35, Authorizing and Improving a Recruitment Incentive Program for the Portales Police Department. (E) Requesting Approval of Award of Bid for Johnson Hill Tanks Rehabilitation Project. (F) Resolution #18-19-36, A Resolution Encouraging the Community to Conserve Water at Every Opportunity using Water Saving Tips. (G) Requesting Approval of Update of Rental Policy for the Memorial Building & Adding the Yam Theatre. (H) Other Business/Citizens to be Heard. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORTALES met in regular session Tuesday, April 2, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., in the Council Chambers of the Memorial Building, 200 E. 7th Street, Portales, NM in full conformity with the rules and regulations. Mayor Jackson called the meeting to order and asked City Clerk MartinezTerry to call roll. Those present and constituting a quorum were:

MAYOR: Ronald L. Jackson
MAYOR PRO-TEM: Michael G. Miller
COUNCIL MEMBERS: Veronica A. Cordova (Absent) Dianne Y. Parker Chadrick H. Heflin Oscar H. Robinson Jake J. Lopez (Absent) Jessica J. Smith Michael James “Jim” Lucero
STAFF PRESENT: Sammy Standefer, City Manager Steve Doerr, City Attorney Joan Martinez-Terry, City Clerk Pat Gallegos, Police Chief Veda Urioste, Deputy City Clerk Chris Williams, Police Lt. John DeSha, Public Works Dir. Christine Mitchell, I.T. TECH Susan Baysinger, Pub. Wks. Proj. Adm. Gary Nuchols, FD Chief OTHERS PRESENT: Jamie Cushman, Press Bill Hendrickson, RCCDC Exec. Dir. Joseph Lentini Mayor Jackson asked Councilor Parker to give the invocation and Mayor Jackson led the Pledge of Allegiance and the Salute to the New Mexico flag.

(A) MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING(S): 1. Regular Meeting held March 19, 2019.
Mayor Jackson asked the Council to consider the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 19, 2019. He asked for comments or corrections. Mayor Jackson asked the pleasure of the Council. Councilor Parker made the motion to approve the minutes of the regular meeting of March 19, 2019 as presented. Councilor Smith seconded the motion. All Council members present v oted in favor of the motion. No abstentions. Motion carried.

(B) APPROVAL OF CITY MANAGER’S CONTRACT
Mayor Jackson asked the Council for approval of the City Manager’s contract. The Mayor stated that the contract was submitted to the City Attorney for their review. He commented that a copy of the contract was
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handed out to the Council. City Attorney Doerr told the Council that there is an error in Section 3.2 in the first two sentences of the contract. He recommended that the correction be made that the City Manager had accrued 480 sick leave hours when he has accrued in excess of 1,000 hours of sick leave. Mr. Doerr stated that the wording should say that Mr. Standefer will continue to accrue, but, that upon his departure, he would be paid no more than 480 hours of sick leave. He asked that the Council approve the contract with the stipulation that the changes he had mentioned be made to the contract. Mayor Jackson asked that the Council approve the change. Mayor Jackson asked the pleasure of the Council. Mayor Pro – Tem Miller made the motion to approve the contract with the stipulation of corrected wording as recommended by the City Attorney. Councilor Robinson seconded the motion. All Council members voted in favor of the motion. No abstentions. Motion carried.
Mayor mentioned that when the questionnaire had been released to the Council there had been good participation and that City Manager Standefer had taken the information in the evaluation seriously.

(C) RESOLUTION #18-19-34, A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE REMOVAL OF UNCOLLECTABLE TIME BARRED ACCOUNTS FROM AMBULANCE BILLING
Mayor Jackson asked Fire Chief Nuckols to present resolution #18-19-34, authorizing the removal of uncollectible time-barred accounts for ambulance services dated prior to March 31, 2015 and dating back to May 1, 2004 totaling $108,378.18 from ambulance billing. Chief Nuckols told the council that this is an annual resolution to remove uncollectable ambulance accounts for which there has been no contact for more than 4 years. He stated that the fiscal impact will reduce the amount of allowance for uncollectable receivables on the face of our financial statements. Mayor Jackson asked for clarification of the number of years to be removed. Chief Nuckols stated that it would be from 2004 to 2015. Mayor Jackson asked the pleasure of the Council. Councilor Parke r made the motion to adopt Resolution #18 – 19 – 34, authorizing the removal of uncollectable time – barred accounts from ambulance billing as presented. Councilor Smith seconded the motion. Roll call vote by all Council members present resulted in support of the motion. Motion carried.

(D) RESOLUTION #18-19-35, AUTHORIZING AND IMPROVING A RECRUITMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM FOR THE PORTALES POLICE DEPARTMENT
Mayor Jackson asked City Manager Standefer to present resolution #18-19-35, authorizing and improving a recruitment incentive program for the Portales Police Department. Mayor Jackson asked Police Chief Gallegos to present the resolution. Police Chief Gallegos told the Council that he was in attendance to present the resolution proposing recruitment incentive to attract certified officers. He stated that the incentives will be paid for with salary savings from vacancies in the department. He described the incentives: $5,000 for NM Certified Officers; $7,500 for NM Certified officers with more than 200 hours of training; and $10,000 for NM Certified officers with more than 400 hours of training. He stated that the qualifying officers would be required to sign a 3-year contract with the City of Portales Police Department. He stated that the recruitment incentive will last until the department is fully staffed or the end of the fiscal year. Mayor Jackson asked for questions. Mayor Pro-Tem Miller stated that this item had been presented to the Finance/Administration two times. He stated that the Committee had a lengthy discussion on the proposal and that the City may have to do this in other departments that require certifications. The Finance/Administration Committee had approved the proposal unanimously. Chief Gallegos asked the Council for their sincere consideration. Councilor Parker asked the Chief the number of officers to bring the department up to full staffing. The Chief said that he is down two (2) officers and that three (3) noncertified officers had been hired recently. Chief Gallegos said that he has had a response from a certified officer already. Councilor Lucero asked how salaries compare with other law enforcement departments in the state. Chief Gallegos stated that Portales can’t compare with the towns down south but are competitive with the local departments. Chief Gallegos told the Council that the plan is to attract a couple of certified
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officers. Councilor Robinson asked how they would fit into the salary plan as compared to other officers in the department. The Chief explained that right now there is a pay plan that they would fit into. Mayor Jackson asked for further questions. Mayor Jackson asked the pleasure of the Council. Mayor Pro – Tem Miller made the motion to adopt Resolution #18 – 19 – 35, authorizing and improving a recruitment incentive program for the Portales Police Department. Councilor Parker seconded the motion. Roll call vote by all Council members present resulted in support of the motion. Motion carried.

(E) REQUESTING APPROVAL OF AWARD OF BID FOR JOHNSON HILL TANKS REHABILITATION PROJECT
Mayor Jackson asked Public Works Director John DeSha to present the award of bid for the Johnson Hill Tanks Rehabilitation project. Mr. DeSha told the Council that he was before them to request that they award the bid for the tank rehabilitation project. He stated that this is a project that has been a few years coming. He added that this is desperately needed for all the tanks. He told the Council that the lowest responsive bid was received from Smithco Construction, Inc. Council Robinson commented that he was disappointed that there is no painting in the contract. Mr. DeSha responded that it was a possibility if there is money available after the project gets underway. Councilor Lucero asked what the rehab process was for inside the tank. Mr. DeSha said that the process had started about 4 years ago adding that the manways are not up to code; the internal ladder is not up to today’s standards; exterior gauges need to be updated; piping changes and chlorination system are required as well. He stated that the rehabilitation will give us more control with the tanks. Mr. DeSha stated that the tanks could last another 70 to 80 years with proper maintenance. Councilor Lucero asked about the SCADA system and how the work would affect the system. Mr. DeSha commented that there is not a lot of SCADA system work, but some improvements. Mayor Jackson asked the pleasure of the Council. Councilor Lucero made the motion to approve the award of bid for Johnson Hill Tanks Reha bilitation Project. Councilor Robinson seconded the motion. All Council members present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. No abstentions. Motion carried.

(F) RESOLUTION #18-19-36, A RESOLUTION ENCOURAGING THE COMMUNITY TO CONSERVE WATER AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY USING WATER SAVING TIPS
Mayor Jackson asked Public Works Director John DeSha to present Resolution #18-19-36, on water conservation. DeSha presented it as the annual resolution – included commercial and industrial users and added the work at the Johnson Hill tanks. DeSha stated that we would be down 3million gallons of storage. Lucero asked why the watering scheduling is not included. John said that people really react better to voluntary rather than mandatory. Mayor Jackson asked the pleasure of the Council. Councilor Parker made the motion to adopt Resolution #18 – 19 – 36, encouraging the Community to Conserve Water at every opportunity using water savi ng tips. Seconded by Councilor Smith. All Council members present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. No abstentions. Motion carried.

(G) REQUESTING APPROVAL OF UPDATE OF RENTAL POLICY FOR THE MEMORIAL BUILDING & ADDING THE YAM THEATRE

Mayor Jackson asked Donna Rutherford to present the updated rental policy for the Memorial Building & Yam Theatre. Ms. Rutherford told the Council that the Yam was added to the policy. The document previously used for the Yam was called the event space contract. The word “Leasee” was changed to “User” and added user responsibilities for to cleaning the building and regarding the use of alcohol at the Yam. She commented that wording was added to clarify the policy, and did have rate changes to the policy. Mayor
Minutes of April 2, 2019
Jackson asked about a six months only scheduling for the Yam. Ms. Rutherford stated that the six month rule is standard for reservations. Councilor Parker asked who would be responsible for reservations. Ms. Rutherford stated that this will be taken care of at the Memorial Building. Mayor Jackson asked the pleasure of the Council. Councilor Parker made the motion for Approval of update of Rental Policy for the Memorial Building Adding the Yam Theatre. Councilor Smith seconded the motion. All Coun cil members present voted unanimously in favor of the motion. No abstentions. Motion carried.

(H) OTHER BUSINESS
Mayor Jackson asked for items of other business for any matter not known about or which could not have been reasonably foreseen prior to the time of posting of the agenda. Public comments will be limited to three (3) minutes per speaker. Individuals are limited to one (1) presentation per meeting, and only a maximum of six (6) speakers per subject. Councilors will not respond to comments or answer any questions to avoid any possible violation of the Open Meetings Act. Questions, or requests for information, in writing should be directed to the City Manager during regular business hours.
Mayor asked for comments.
Comments from Citizens: Joseph Lentini was recognized by Mayor Jackson. He complained about trash being left by the dumpster in his alley. In as separate comment, he stated that he understands the reason for going up on the fees for P.A.T. riders adding that it may be caused of the minimum wage going up to $9.00 an hour. Lentini stated that transit rides are free in Florida. He stated that Florida gets businesses to advertise on the buses. He suggested that the City look into the possibility.

Comments from RCCDC Executive Director:
Mayor Pro-Tem Miller stated that the New Mexico Self Insurer’s Fund will be giving the City of Portales a credit on the premiums for Workers Compensation, Property insurance coverage and for the general liability insurance coverage.

Councilor Parker had a question about the recycler on West Fir and N. Avenue B. City Manager Standefer and Ms. Rutherford told the Council that B & B has been trying to put up a fence around the property. Mayor Jackson stated that they need to urge him to get the fence to look uniform and to stay in compliance. He stated that that would help to make it a lot less of an eyesore. Ms. Rutherford commented that the recycler yard on N. Abilene looks worse. The Mayor and Councilors were in agreement, but the comments were that the yard on Abilene is not as visible to the public.

ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mayor Jackson adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m.