The Tucumcari City Commission at a special meeting called to order at 12:03 approved accepting a $1,530,313.88 grant from the New Mexico Department of TransportationTransportation Project Fund for the Third Street rehabilitation project and discussed contract change orders after property owners raised concerns about lost parking and insufficient notice.

City staff told commissioners the award is a 95% grant with a 5% local match. "The grant is $1,530,313.88. The city's match would be $80,542.84. We have already applied for the match waiver, with the commissioner's approval, for that 5%, but we have not heard back on it yet," City staff member Meredith said during the meeting.

The commission also reviewed the grant agreement details for the Third Street project. Meredith said the agreement specifies that the project includes replacing the water line that runs underneath Third Street and that the DOT funds would be available through June 30, 2028, if the city signs the agreement.

Commissioners then turned to construction contract modifications. Staff described Change Order No. 3 as two items: $1,936 to fix concrete curbing adjacent to San Franza Catholic School to improve drainage, to be paid from the project's contingency, and a separate $4,616 item proposing a redesign on a section of Third Street to remove curb and gutter and sidewalk and convert the space to vertical parking near the building described in the change order as the "old board house." Meredith said the contingency has sufficient funds to cover the smaller drainage change.

Property owners and their counsel told the commission they were not notified in advance and said the changes would reduce access and parking and could lower property values. "Nobody did their due diligence. So we were never informed. We never knew nothing about the project," said business owner Morris, who said crews had locked him out of his building while work proceeded.

An attorney representing Morris argued the city owed property owners outreach before work began and warned the city could face liability for taking or substantially impairing use of private property. "If you don't make this change order, you're substantially devaluing the property and its purpose in having it, and that's gonna subject the city to liability," the attorney said.

Other nearby business owners echoed frustration about timing and outreach. One owner said staff project managers later reviewed plans with him and explained the state-funded standard requires ADA-compliant sidewalks when using DOT money, but he questioned whether adding sidewalk and removing existing access was necessary. Another owner said the project's curb and pavement already in place were paid for by prior owners, and he objected to further work that would make it harder to use his warehouse.

City staff said DOT would need to review any design changes tied to the grant and that such a review could take at least two weeks to confirm whether a revision fits within the grant agreement and legal obligations. Staff also confirmed they had applied for a match-waiver for the city's required 5% share; commissioners asked staff to check which local fund would cover the match if the waiver is denied.

In a recorded vote the commission approved the resolution to accept the DOT Transportation Project Fund award for the Third Street rehabilitation project. The meeting record shows the resolution was moved, seconded and approved, with commissioners voting in the affirmative and one commissioner absent from the feed.

The meeting left unresolved whether the proposed redesign to remove curb/gutter and sidewalk for vertical parking would proceed; staff said they would seek DOT approval before any design changes are finalized. Commissioners also asked staff to verify the source of the local match funds and to report back to the commission.

The discussion combined a formal acceptance of state transportation funding and ongoing contractor-level decisions about curb, sidewalk and parking configuration; property owners asked the commission to use the change-order process to preserve access while staff coordinates any required DOT approvals.