The Tucumcari City Commission accepted the resignation of former Mayor Cherry and appointed Joel Oglesby as mayor during its meeting. The commission approved funding for the Clay Regional Emergency Communications Center, amended several grant agreements, approved a $4,300 change order on a wastewater reuse contract, and authorized purchase of a John Deere 320 backhoe. Commissioners tabled an HVAC contract award for the Convention Center until staff and the vendor address roof-warranty and installation-timing concerns.

The new mayoral appointment came after the commission moved to accept the prior mayor's resignation and then voted to appoint Oglesby. Commissioners also agreed to advertise to fill a separate vacated commission seat, with applications to be published June 4 and June 11, to close on June 13 and candidates to be interviewed at the June 26 work session with an appointment at the June 26 regular meeting.

Why it matters: The dispatch funding and joint powers decisions affect how emergency calls are routed and how the city shares operating costs with the regional center; the procurement and grant votes set spending and project schedules for municipal services, capital equipment and downtown revitalization work.

Most important votes and decisions

- Mayoral transition: The commission accepted the resignation of former Mayor Cherry and appointed Joel Oglesby as mayor. The commission also set a process and timeline to fill a separate commission vacancy by advertisement and interview.

- Emergency communications: The commission approved the city's share of the Clay Regional Emergency Communications Center (dispatch) costs for the coming budget year, $55,243.72, and approved a revised Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) that updates contribution percentages and clarifies required financial contributions if emergency-tax receipts are insufficient.

- Capital equipment and maintenance: The commission approved purchase of a John Deere 320 backhoe for the public works/water department and discussed multiple other equipment requests (a Bobcat skid steer and a compact tractor); the skid-steer and related equipment purchases were discussed but referred for additional budget/finance review before final action.

- Facility systems: The award of a bid for nine new HVAC units at the Convention Center to JQ Air & Electric (best-and-final $166,625, down from an initial $212,650 bid) was on the agenda; commissioners expressed concerns about a short labor warranty, coordination with an ongoing roof repair and possible puncture/warranty exposure. The commission voted to table the HVAC award to allow staff to resolve warranty and roof-coordination issues with the vendor and contractor.

- Grants and downtown projects: The commission approved a 24-month extension to the Main Street grant agreement to align with an upcoming grant, and approved an amendment to a recreation/quality-of-life grant to change administrative reporting from monthly to quarterly as required by the funding agency.

- Wastewater project: A change order (Change Order No. 2) for the wastewater reuse Phase 2 project was approved for $4,300 to cover additional concrete-slab testing required by the funding agency.

- Tourism and events funding: The commission approved funding for event tourism and marketing items on the lodging/promotional side. It approved $9,000 from promotional funds and $1,000 from the executive side for the M and M golf events as presented, and authorized one Dinosaur Museum billboard for one year from the executive account at $5,439 (the other two billboards were previously approved from promotional funds).

Other substantive discussion and public comment

- Cannabis hours: Resident and business owner Manuel Guede spoke during public comment urging the commission to revise Section 7(f) of Ordinance 1161 (the city's cannabis regulating ordinance) to extend retail hours beyond the current 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. limit to better serve the town's tourist economy. Guede provided research and said cannabis is regulated similarly to alcohol and should not face stricter hours; commissioners said the ordinance is under review and staff will consider the proposal submitted in packet materials.

- Landfill compliance and engineering: Staff reported conflicting guidance from EPA versus engineering consultants about landfill cover thickness (agency inspectors flagged insufficient cover while engineers said there may be too much cover). The city is awaiting a more detailed engineering report; staff said the current saleable capacity is roughly three-and-a-half years and that repairs (including a leaky line) and possible fines are outstanding issues under resolution.

- Public works staffing, training and equipment: Department leaders described equipment needs, proposed training for new hires, and outlined plans to rotate older machines to other departments. The water superintendent and street superintendent said the requested equipment would improve safety and repair capacity; training for equipment operators is scheduled starting in July.

- Dispatch and NextGen 911: The regional dispatch director provided a report on call volumes, staffing and an upcoming training and system cutover to a state-provided 911 platform to support next-generation 911 services; staff said no service interruption is expected during the June cutover.

Votes at a glance (items recorded on the meeting agenda)

- Acceptance of resignation of former Mayor Cherry — outcome: approved (vote tally: not specified in transcript)
- Appointment of Joel Oglesby as mayor — outcome: approved (vote tally: not specified in transcript)
- Approve city share for Clay Regional Emergency Communications Center (dispatch): $55,243.72 — outcome: approved (vote tally: not specified in transcript)
- Approve Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with Clay Regional Emergency Communications Center — outcome: approved (vote tally: not specified in transcript)
- Approve Main Street grant agreement amendment (24-month extension) — outcome: approved (vote tally: not specified)
- Approve amendment to recreation/quality-of-life grant reporting schedule (monthly -> quarterly) — outcome: approved (vote tally: not specified)
- Approve Change Order No. 2, Wastewater Reuse Phase 2 (additional testing) — outcome: approved; amount $4,300
- Award to JQ Air & Electric for Convention Center HVAC (best-and-final $166,625) — outcome: tabled pending warranty/roof coordination
- Approve purchase of John Deere 320 backhoe (funding from current budget) — outcome: approved (vote tally: not specified)
- Approve M and M golf funding package (promotional $9,000; executive $1,000) — outcome: approved
- Approve Dinosaur Museum billboard (one year) — outcome: approved; amount $5,439 (from executive funds)
- Accept professional services task/RAI for landfill permit renewal (request for additional information and further study) — outcome: accepted for further review (no final procurement approved)

Speakers (attributed in the meeting record)

- Joel Oglesby, Mayor (appointed during this meeting) — government
- Cherry, former mayor (resignation accepted) — government
- Manuel Guede, resident/business owner — citizen (public comment on cannabis ordinance)
- Jonathan Brown, Superintendent, Water Department — government (spoke on backhoe request)
- Tomas (last name not provided), Street Superintendent — government (spoke on skid-steer request)
- Dispatch Director (name not specified in transcript) — government (provided TQR/ECC report)
- Finance/Grants staff (names not all specified) — staff members

Authorities referenced

- Ordinance 1161, "cannabis regulating ordinance" (referenced by public comment on retail hours) — referenced_by: ["public comment on cannabis hours"]
- Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) with Clay Regional Emergency Communications Center — referenced_by: ["JPA approval"]
- Resolution 2025-16 (City appointments to Clay Regional Emergency Communications Center) — referenced_by: ["appointments to ECC"]

Clarifying details (from discussion and staff comments)

- HVAC bids: initial JQ Air & Electric bid roughly $212,650; after negotiation vendor submitted best-and-final $166,625; labor warranty proposed only 30 days in the bid package; equipment warranty likely one year (equipment supplier)
- Dispatch share approved: $55,243.72 (city's portion for the budget year)
- Wastewater change order: $4,300 for additional concrete slab testing required by funding agency
- Dinosaur billboard (executive-funded): $5,439 for one year
- M and M golf funding: $9,000 (promotional) + $1,000 (executive) as approved by commission
- Landfill: estimated saleable life roughly 3.5 years; conflicting agency/engineer guidance on cover thickness; possible fines and a leaky line under repair; potential compactor procurement discussed (price not specified)

Proper names (extracted)

[{"name":"Tucumcari","type":"location"},{"name":"Clay Regional Emergency Communications Center","type":"agency"},{"name":"JQ Air and Electric","type":"business"},{"name":"John Deere","type":"business"},{"name":"Main Street","type":"program"},{"name":"Ordinance 1161","type":"other"},{"name":"M and M Golf Tournament","type":"event"},{"name":"Dinosaur Museum Billboard","type":"other"}]

Community relevance and next steps

The commission scheduled advertisement and interviews to fill a vacant commission seat; dispatch JPA and funding decisions will carry into the next budget year and affect the city's emergency-communications budget. The HVAC award remains unresolved and staff will return with a vendor warranty agreement and coordination plan with the roof contractor. Staff also said they will review the cannabis hours proposal in the ordinance packet and return recommendations.

Provenance (transcript evidence spans)

- topicintro: {"block_id":"s=431.08502","local_start":0,"local_end":115,"evidence_excerpt":"My name is Manuel Guede. ... proposal to ordinance 1161 ... hours of operation between 7AM and 9PM ..." ,"reason_code":"topicintro"}
- topfinish: {"block_id":"s=2941.8","local_start":0,"local_end":40,"evidence_excerpt":"So just know, for the record that we get them a new backhoe, their whole backhoe is gonna go to other departments within the city. Yes. I'll make a motion to accept the approval of purchase of the John Deere's 3 20 backhoe. Second. And roll call, please.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}

Salience

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engagement_forecast

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