Residents urge city leaders to streamline convention-center bookings, website, signage and behavior toward presenters

Several residents used the public-comment period to press the City Commission for changes aimed at improving the city’s appeal to visitors and event organizers, focusing on the Convention Center’s booking practices and the city’s website and street signage.

David Brenner told commissioners they have an opportunity to change the city’s reputation and attract events and investment, urging them to be open-minded when presenters come forward. “Is this a city that removes barriers, that helps build support, that makes partnerships easy, or is this a place where vision gets stalled and opportunities slip away?” Brenner asked.

Joanna Thompson detailed problems she sees in marketing and facility operations, urging simpler navigation of the Convention Center webpage and stronger local marketing. She criticized the current online layout, saying the site’s top banner and layout prevent users from finding calendar and booking information easily across desktop and mobile devices, and suggested making the interface clearer. “If the convention center actually…was more like a business, where it had income and expense reports all the time,” she said, and recommended that the city’s marketing efforts make reservation and event details easier to access.

Thompson proposed a practical change for event organizers who cannot front money to reserve a room: a voucher system so a small event can be guaranteed a room without immediate payment. “Can we come up with Tucumcari cash…some kind of voucher system?…Let’s just give them a voucher for a room for the day,” she said. She also urged commissioners and staff to avoid rehashing past objections during presentations and to respond with “maybe” or “let me get back to you” to keep potential partners engaged.

Speakers also raised longstanding concerns about street signs and wayfinding. Thompson and commissioners noted that some streets lack clear names and that temporary measures such as painting curbs with street names could be a low-cost interim solution. Staff said the city purchased a printer to make signs but has had software and board-setup delays.

Other public comments touched on removing barriers related to an “anti-donation” rule (a speaker called it a roadblock for events) and on using lodging-tax reimbursements more flexibly for the Convention Center. Those topics were raised as suggestions rather than proposals the commission adopted during the meeting.

Ending: Commissioners thanked speakers and said they would consider the suggestions; staff and commissioners asked for lists of signs and candidate website fixes so they can prioritize work and follow up in future meetings.