Approved Meeting Minutes

 

Held at 5:30 pm on Tuesday, November 18, 2025

 

Notes created on November 21, 2025,  at 9:40 AM by Minutes AI

 

Call to Order

  • Mayor Miller called the council meeting to order at 5:30 pm.

 

Roll Call

  • Ms. Cordova: Present

 

  • Mr. Davis: Present

 

  • Mr. Lopez: Present

 

  • Mr. Merrick: Present

 

  • Ms. Parker: Present

 

  • Mr. Rackler: Present

 

  • Mr. Robinson: Absent Arrived at 5:39 pm

 

  • Mr. Self: Present

 

  • Mayor Miller: Present

 

Invocation and Pledges

  • Mr. Merrick led the invocation.

 

  • Mr. Rackler led the Pledges.

 

Public Comment

  • Speakers limited to three minutes.

 

  • Speakers must sign in; topics limited to six speakers.

 

  • Public comments are not meant to resolve issues, but speakers may be redirected to the appropriate city department.

 

PHS Student Council President, Dalton Church

  • Dalton Church’s speech was read  by his advisor/teacher, Elizabeth Malone.

 

  • Student council activities:
  • Involvement in Habitat for Humanity.

 

  • Hosted freshman orientation.

 

  • Brought back the annual homecoming bonfire.

 

  • Hosted the class of 1975’s 50th class reunion.

 

  • Hosted a community event highlighting community resources for mental health and domestic violence.

 

  • Halloween Trick or Treat event.

 

  • Preparing 600 cards for deployed troops from Cannon Air Force  Base.

 

  • Working with “It Takes a Village” to give toys  to children in need.

 

  • Began Motivational Monday and Wisdom Wednesday at PHS.

 

Raelynn Brown

  • Raelynn Brown, Community Liaison with the student council, spoke about the canned food drive.

 

  • The canned food drive has been  hosted for six years.

 

  • Asked everyone to bring non-perishable donations to the High School. All donations are redistributed to the local food pantries.

 

Randy Lee

  • Randy Lee, a retired city employee, shared that people are complaining to him about the city’s street sweeping, patching, and sign  maintenance.

 

  • He encourages them (the citizens) to contact the city council.

 

Joesph Lentini

  • Requests new poles and light fixtures on the streets of Portales due  to poor visibility.

 

  • Suggests increased police presence at Walmart and Farmers Market parking  lots to check for handicap stickers.

 

  • Notes that the doors of the city should be handicap accessible.

 

  • Reports overgrown tree branches obstructing a stop sign at Abilene and Fifth Street.

 

  • Suggests the city council should answer questions immediately after  public comments, similar to Florida and New York.

 

Anthony  Lentini

  • Discussed a fire in a dilapidated building behind his house caused by homeless people.

 

  • Proposes reclaiming abandoned buildings to shelter the homeless or create low-income housing.

 

  • Suggests purchasing or reclaiming buildings through eminent domain.

 

  • Mentions boarded-up buildings, including a church, laundromat, and home, that could be repurposed.

 

Kolten Edgell

  • Addresses the poor condition of Railroad Street on the north side of town.

 

  • Notes the difficulty of accessing local businesses like Tropical Snow due to the road’s condition.

 

  • Asks about plans  to repair the road and whether  a road inventory  is publicly accessible.

 

Minutes—Approval

  • The minutes from the previous meeting held November 4th, 2025, were considered.

 

  • Motion to approve made by Mr. Merrick, second by Ms. Parker.  No roll call was made. Council verbally affirmed their unanimous approval. No corrections. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carries.

 

Presentation Items

Item 1. PFD—Service Awards. Presented by Chief Cathey.

  • Chief Cathey highlighted two staff members from the Portales Fire Department.

 

  • Salvador Lozoya: Joined in 2023, obtained EMT basic in 2024, firefighter one and two in 2025, and EMT intermediate.

 

  • Firefighter Hector Garcia: Earned his paramedic challenge coin after  1600 hours  of clinical  time, class time, internship, and national  testing.

 

Item 2. Finance Department. Presented by Liliana Rivera.

  • Presentation of the FY 2026 Q1 report submitted to the New Mexico DFA Local

Government Division  on October 30th, 2025.

  • Review of the Recap Report.

 

  • The report is a compliance requirement with DFA and audit procedures.

 

  • The report represents fiscal activity from July 1st through September 30th for all city funds.

 

  • All funds are within budget amounts and performing well.

 

  • General funds as of September 30th  had an adjusted balance of a little over 6.1 million

(includes investments).

  • Water Enterprise Fund had 13.5 million (includes investments of 7.3 million).

 

Item 3. Bicycle Pedestrian Path Project Presentation. Introduction by Jo McVey. Presented by Clare Haley.

  • Clare Haley, a transportation planner and project manager with Bohannan Huston.

 

  • Clare Haley is AICP certified and has a master’s in community and regional planning from the University of Oregon.

 

  • She has experience with complete streets, corridor studies, trail feasibility plans, safety action plans, bicycle encouragement programs, and parking demand studies.

 

  • The project was funded through the NMDOT Multimodal  Planning  and Programming Bureau, using  federal funds and state match, so there  was  no cost to the city.

 

Purpose of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan

  • Ms. Haley discussed the purpose of the bicycle and pedestrian plan.

 

  • Benefits of walking and biking:

 

  • Integrates movement and health into daily activities.

 

  • Affordable form of transportation.

 

  • Improves safety for current walkers and bikers.

 

  • Builds community connections.

 

Portales’ Existing Infrastructure

  • Portales has a good foundation for a biking and walking network.

 

  • The city is flat.

 

  • It has a grid network.

 

  • The grid network streets provide an alternative to highways.

 

  • Demographic analysis showed a high student population and low-income households that tend to walk and bike more.

 

  • Public engagement revealed community interest in walking and biking.

 

Public Engagement

  • Two phases of public engagement were conducted.

 

  • Pop-up tables at ENMU and downtown (50 participants).

 

  • Vision and goals survey.

 

  • Interactive map for destinations and safety issues.

 

  • Walking tour with stakeholders (community leaders and business owners).

 

  • Barriers to walking and biking:

 

  • Lack of safety and good routes.

 

  • Loose dogs.

 

  • Pavement conditions and maintenance.

 

  • Encouragements to walk or bike more:

 

  • Comfortable and separated infrastructure.

 

  • Better roadway maintenance.

 

  • Town Hall was conducted where participants voted  on priority projects.

 

Recommendations

  • Recommendations were developed for network maps for walking, biking, and crosswalks.

 

  • Programming and policy recommendations were made to build a culture around walking and biking.

 

  • Education around new infrastructure types.

 

  • Safe routes to school programming.

 

  • Strategies to reduce speeding.

 

  • The recommendations are not requirements but a guiding document for future decisions.

 

Implementation Strategies

  • The plan proposes strategies for implementing the bicycle and pedestrian network over time.

 

  • Traditional route: standalone projects.

 

  • Suggested approach: incremental implementation with resurfacing and restriping.

 

  • Streets can be assessed for walking and biking infrastructure during regular maintenance.

 

  • Streets can be restriped to accommodate those modes.

 

Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan

  • Redevelopment provides opportunities for implementation.

 

  • Coordination with the DOT is essential for projects on NMDOT-owned roadways.

 

  • Priority projects from the plan:

 

  • Improving the Third Street bike route.

 

  • Providing a path along  Avenue I near ENMU.

 

  • Improving Main Street for biking and walking.

 

  • Providing improvements on Boulder Avenue and Boston Avenue to connect the north and south  sides of town.

 

  • Improving the US70 and University Drive crossing.

 

  • Next steps: Jo McVey is working on a resolution to present on December 2nd to adopt the bicycle and pedestrian plan.

 

Item 4. Water Conservation Report. Presented by Chris Bradley, Graham Chapman and Ezra Crumley.

  • Chris Bradley, practice lead for water and wastewater at Wilson and Company, introduced the Water Conservation and Use Report.

 

  • Graham Chapman is the primary project manager, with Ezra Crumley, who helped with design on the report.

 

  • The purpose of the water conservation report is to collect and analyze the municipality’s potable water data to assess the health of the water system.

 

  • Tracks water loss and aquifer health.

 

  • Uses state engineer and AWWA calculators.

 

  • Helpful for obtaining funding for improvements, especially from the Water Trust Board.

 

  • In 2024, the city and Roosevelt County consumed 735 million gallons of water.

 

  • Total metered produced water (pumped out of both Blackwater and Sandhill Wellfields) was 723 million gallons.

 

  • We used more than was pumped out of the wells. The discrepancy is believed to be from meter reading errors in the well field.

 

  • Proposed fix: add totalizing meters at the wells (end of) or (beginning of) storage tanks.

 

  • Residential water use in Portales has declined the most  compared to other  categories.

 

  • The average person in Portales has decreased their personal water usage, with 2024 being the lowest  average per person water use.

 

  • Portales used 68.5 gallons per capita per day.
  • The average water use in New Mexico is 77.3 gallons per capita per day.

 

Water Usage Analysis

  • Single family housing: 68.8 gallons per person per day.

 

  • Multifamily housing: 41.6 gallons per person per day.

 

  • Industrial and commercial: 38.5 gallons per capita per day.

 

Aquifer Analysis

  • The report analyzes the aquifer at the well fields, showing the depth from ground  level  to the water level over the years.

 

  • The Blackwater well field’s water level is still decreasing, though per capita use is lowering.

 

  • The Sandhill Wellfield shows that the wells have leveled out and are not decreasing as much since 2010 when it stopped being  used  as  a primary source of water.

 

Additional Water Supplies

  • Wastewater treatment plant reclaim system: No reuse water was used  in 2024  due  to complications at the treatment plant.

 

  • Ute pipeline project: Expected completion in 2032.

 

  • Other options: Repairing the water system to minimize  leaks, expanding the wastewater treatment process,  and expanding the wellfield.

 

Conservation Goals

  • Portales adopted a Conservation Plan in 2017, originally written in 2014.

 

  • Many goals for 2024 are unverified due  to a well field metering error.

 

  • Looking back at 2021 values, several goals were achieved or on their way to being achieved.

 

  • The first goal reused average annual  outdoor  goal  was achieved in 2021 and is most  likely still achieved in 2024  even  though we can’t verify it at this time.

 

  • The AWWA data validity score took a hit in 2024 due  to the well metering error.

 

Recommendations

  • Develop a new conservation plan to replace the 2017 plan, with goals terminating in

2029  and 2031, and long-term goals for 2035. Revisit the 2017 plan and develop a new 2026 plan..

 

  • Install master meters at the Johnson Hill tank to investigate meter discrepancies.

 

  • Improve the wastewater treatment plant to achieve a higher quality of reclaimed water.

 

Action Items:

Finance Department. Presented by Liliana Rivera.

Item 1. Ratification—Expense Report, July—September.

  • Governing body’s approval and ratification of accounts payable expenses for July through September. This item was approved and recommended by the Finance Committee at their last meeting on November 7, 20025.

 

  • The July, August, and September check reports were presented to and reviewed by the finance committee at the November 7th meeting and were unanimously approved to present to council.

 

Motion and Voting

  • Motion to approve made by Ms. Parker, second by Mr. Self.  No roll call was made. Council verbally affirmed their unanimous approval. No opposition. No abstentions. Motion carries.

 

Item 2. Cooperative Project Agreement.

  • Seeking approval for the mayor or mayor pro tem’s signature to submit to New Mexico DOT an agreement for the South Avenue K Cooperative Project.

 

  • Total project cost: $585,206.00 (Federal share: $500,000.00, Local share: $85,206.00).

 

  • Funding championed by Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez.

 

  • Anticipating releasing an invitation to bid next month  for the South Avenue K project spanning from US70 to West  University.

 

Motion and Voting

  • Motion for approval by Mr. Robinson, second by Ms. Cordova. No roll call was made. Council verbally affirmed their unanimous approval. No opposition. No abstentions.  Motion  carries.

 

Water Department. Presented by Scott Mitten.

Item 1. Navitas Global Water  Permit Application

 

  • Navitas Global needs a water permit and has submitted an application.

 

  • Application approved by the Public Works Committee and recommended for city council approval.

 

  • Initial water draw estimate: +/- 3 million gallons a month for a couple of months during startup.

 

  • Sustained average peak: initially recorded as about  100,000 gallons per month  until they worked  the bugs out.

 

  • Mr. Zaydman stated that the ultimate goal  is to return up to 20% of water back to the city through  a wastewater treatment plant.

 

  • Mr. Davis asked when the water usage would drop below 100,000 gallons per month. Mr. Zaydman  estimated about  six months.

 

  • Mr. Merrick asked if all permits with the state for wastewater and air quality are in place. Mr. Zaydman  responded that they  are finishing  them  up.

 

  • Mr. Merrick asked about plans  for getting rid of bad  product from fermentation tanks. Mr. Zaydman  stated that their technology has  three  levels  of proportions to catch that at a very small scale about  400  gallons.

 

Water Filtration Byproducts

  • Mr. Zaydman: Byproducts from the filtration process are blended for animal feed.

 

  • The byproduct contains yeast and nutrients from fermentation, removed via centrifuge.

 

  • Salts are removed via reverse osmosis.

 

Concerns About Smell

  • Previous ethanol plant had smell complaints from citizens due to solids  being  dumped in the open.

 

  • Mr. Zaydman: The new system is designed as a closed system with no release to the outside.

 

  • Liquid is pumped and stored in tanks, moved via tanker.

 

  • Mr. Zaydman claims there should  be less  smell  than the DFA plant across the street.

 

Motion and Voting

  • Motion for approval by Mr. Robinson, second by Ms. Cordova. Initially, no roll call was made. Council  was split between approval and disapproval votes. Mayor called for a roll call vote. Results as follows:

 

Roll Call Voting

  • Ms. Cordova: No

 

  • Mr. Davis: Yes

 

  • Mr. Lopez: Yes

 

  • Mr. Merrick: No

 

  • Ms. Parker: Yes

 

  • Mr. Rackler: Yes

 

  • Mr. Robinson: Yes

 

  • Mr. Self: No

 

  • A five (5) to three (3) in favor of approval. Motion  carries.

 

Item 2.  Water Meter Project Delay

  • Seeking permission to delay the purchase of $2.92 million in water meters and related devices.

 

  • The current loan has a 5.1% interest rate over 15 years, costing the city $290,000.00 annually.

 

  • The speaker wants to explore options like Water  Trust Board  loans  (0.0025% or 1%

interest)  or 90/10 grants.

 

  • Finance Committee approved the delay to explore cheaper options.

 

Motion and Voting

  • Motion for approve the request for delay by Ms. Parker, second by Mr. Lopez. No roll call was made. Council verbally affirmed their unanimous approval. No opposition. No abstentions.  Motion  carries.

 

Community Services Department. Presented by Kelly McClellan.

Animal Shelter Grant

  • Seeking approval to accept a $30,000.00 grant for an enrichment space for cats.

 

  • The enrichment room will allow cats to play, climb, sleep in the sun, and meet people.

 

  • It will also provide volunteer opportunities for people who can’t walk dogs or deep clean kennels.

 

  • This will be the first such space at the shelter.

 

Motion and Voting

  • Motion for approval by Mr. Robinson, second by Mr. Rackler. No roll call was made. Council verbally affirmed their votes with seven (7) voting to approve and one (1) vote in opposition by Mr. Davis . No abstentions.  Motion  carries 7-1.

 

Staff Comments & Updates:

Police Department Update (Chief Williams)

  • One new uncertified officer started a week ago.

 

  • The police department had a total of 627 calls last month.

 

  • Calls for service: 23

 

  • Traffic stops: 121

 

  • Reports: 75

 

  • Several hundred kids from Lindsey-Steiner visited the Greyhound arena.

 

Emergency Management (Antoinette Brezovsky)

  • Toured city buildings with the New Mexico Health Insurance Fund to identify  safety improvements for employees.

 

  • Working with department heads to increase employee safety.

 

Public Works (Pat Gallegos)

  • Nine vacancies.

 

  • Wastewater treatment plant project underway.

 

  • Trees have been cut  down.

 

  • A machine that separates solids from liquids is being  repaired, and staff are being trained  to fix it in the future.

 

  • Weeds will be cut to get the pond  up and running.

 

  • A plan is in place to complete the project in the next few months.

 

Dispatch (Janelle Combs)

  • Staffing is the same as last month.

 

  • One dispatcher graduated from the academy on November 4th.

 

  • Another dispatcher will start the academy in February.

 

  • A special grants project application was submitted, with a due date of December 15th.

 

  • Calls for service this month: 915

 

  • Total phone calls  received: 1597

 

Fire Department (Chief Cathey)

  • No changes to staffing or training.

 

  • Seven of 11 fire apparatus in service.

 

  • Five of six ambulances in service.

 

  • 137 calls for service this month.

 

  • 91% EMS, higher than statistically average.

 

  • Fire response times do not meet the NFPA  17 standard.

 

  • A staffing plan will be presented to the public safety committee on Thursday.

 

  • Top three EMS calls for service: psychiatric problems and/or vehicle accidents.

 

  • Junior firefighter challenge on December 6th at the Station, 301 South Avenue C for kids to do a mini physical agility and see what they do.

 

Code Enforcement/Animal Control (K. McClellan)

  • Code enforcement tagged 39 properties.

 

  • 21 properties are in compliance.

 

  • 18 are in the process of compliance.

 

  • Cleaned up two alleyways.

 

  • Three vehicles removed.
  • One forced cleanup.

 

  • Stopped four unpermitted constructions.

 

  • Animal Control took 386 strays off the street in the first nine months of 2025.

 

  • Grand opening of the new animal shelter on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.

 

 

Finance (Liliana Rivera)

  • Charles Clark, former HR executive assistant, is now the deputy finance director.

 

  • The finance department is fully staffed.

 

  • Team members are attending training or doing internal cross-training.

 

 

Library (Tawna Luscombe)

  • Library is fully staffed.

 

  • Upcoming children’s programs: stream story time, family night, and Lego club.

 

  • Young adults are hosting a movie for adults.

 

  • The Friends meeting is tomorrow at noon, with a guest speaker from Eastern  presenting on the community garden.

 

  • Roosevelt Refreshers will be this Thursday at 5:30, with a special guest doing the Casas

Grande pottery.

 

  • Closed for Thanksgiving next week, reopening Monday morning at 10.

 

Human Resources (Genna Richards)

  • Vacancy for an executive assistant.
  • First review of applicants will be on December 1st.

 

 

  • Working on onboarding new staff.
  • Wrapping up open enrollment on Thursday.

 

  • Working on getting the new council situated next month.

 

  • Departments will reach out to council members to provide onboarding and refreshers on critical items.

 

City Clerk (Danielle Swopes)

  • Looking forward to meeting and onboarding newly elected officers.

 

  • Staff numbers are staying the same.

 

  • Hoping to add a new member to the clerk’s department to manage IPRA records.

 

Mr. Mitten’s Report

  • Developing a training program for newly elected officials.

 

  • Newly elected officials can spend time with department heads.

 

  • Department heads will convey 3-5 important things.

 

  • Planning a swearing-in ceremony before the first city council meeting of the year.

 

  • Received a request to put a defibrillator in the senior center.

 

  • Will work with Chief Cathey to determine how to proceed.

 

  • The PATS (Portales Area Transit System) contract was renewed for the next 12 months.

 

  • The jet on display (US 70, SE of town) is on loan from the Department of the Air Force Museum at no cost to the city.

 

  • The city pays about $100.00 a month  for total loss  insurance.

 

Council Comments:

  • Mr. Rackler: There is an EPCOG meeting on December 16th, the same day as city’s council  meeting.

 

  • Hopefully, someone from the city can attend.

 

  • Mr. Merrick: Congratulated the newly elected council members.

 

  • Will request an item on the December 2nd agenda regarding base housing legislation changes.

 

  • Ms. Cordova: Thanked JP Stone for the community event for Ron Jackson.

 

  • Focused on the downtown area for the upcoming light parade.

 

  • Will be out of town for the next council meeting and will request a Zoom link.

 

  • Mayor Miller: January 13th and 14th is the New Mexico Municipal League orientation.

 

  • The Municipal Officers Leadership Institute will begin  on the afternoon of the 14th and the 15th.

 

  • Look forward to the grand  opening of the animal shelter.

 

Executive Session—Motions and Voting

  • Mayor Miller requested a motion to go into executive session to discuss matters under New Mexico Statutes Section 10-15-1 paragraph H number  (7).

 

  • Motion by Mr. Merrick, second by Ms. Parker. Roll call vote was made. Results as follows: Ms. Cordova, Mr. Davis, Mr. Lopez, Mr. Merrick, Ms. Parker, Mr. Rackler, Mr. Robinson, Mr. Self—Yes. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carries unanimously.

 

  • Executive session began at: 6:56 pm. Council Chamber was cleared of all unnecessary persons. Recording was stopped.

 

  • Public and staff were asked to reenter council chambers. Recording was reinitiated. Mayor Pro Tem Cordova (sitting in for Mayor Miller who left shortly after Executive Session began due to for personal reasons) asked for a motion to reconvene in regular session.

 

  • Motion made to come out of Executive Session by Ms. Parker, second by Mr. Lopez. No roll call vote was made. Council verbally affirmed their unanimous approval. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carries. Regular session resumed at 8:17 pm.

 

  • Ms. Cordova quickly thanked Chief Williams for attending Rotary and explaining Santa Cop.

 

  • Mayor Pro Tem Cordova: We have one action item. Motion to approve the mayor’s signature on a letter of recommendation for the Austin settlement agreement made by Mr. Rackler, second by Mr. Robinson.

 

  • No roll call vote was made. Council verbally affirmed their unanimous approval. No abstentions. No opposition. Motion carries.

 

Adjournment

  • Having no further business or questions, Mayor Pro Tem adjourned the meeting at 8:19 pm.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

This is to certify that these Meeting Minutes were approved by council at their last regular meeting on Tuesday, December 12, 2025, and made available to the public within the OMA required post-meeting time allowance. It is a summary of the above meeting. A full transcription of the meeting can be obtained from the city’s YouTube channel.

 

__________________________________________________________________________________

Danielle Swopes, City Clerk, or Melissa Carrillo, Deputy City Clerk

 

 

If you are an individual with a disability who needs a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in a hearing or meeting, please contact the Portales City Manager or City Clerk at 575-356-6662, Option #0 at least one (1) week prior to the meeting or as soon as practical. Public documents, including the agenda and minutes, can be provided in various accessible formats. Please contact the Portales City Manager or City Clerk at 575-356-6662 if a summary or other type of accessible format is needed. Questions, requests, or comments from citizens should be submitted in writing to the City Clerk or City Manager by 4:00 p.m. a day prior to the meeting. Contact information for both officers is on the City’s website: https://www.portalesnm.gov/departments/.