A decision on the future of the Otis Gym was tabled at the June 4 Eddy County Commission meeting.

The Otis Gym, located at 2513 Smedley Road, about three miles south of Carlsbad, was slated for demolition, but that decision was tabled at the April commission meeting after residents expressed concerns. During his presentation, Eddy County Public Works and Projects Director Jason Burns gave a timeline on the gym:

• Fall 2018: Eddy County completed a facilities assessment.

• May 2019” Eddy County Commission voted to decommission the Otis Gym.

• August 2023: Eddy County completed another facilities assessment. It supported its previous conclusions.

• February 2024: Eddy County advertised for bids for the abatement and demolition of the Otis Gym.

• April 2024: Eddy County Commission requested a presentation detailing the current condition of building.

Burns reported there is confirmed asbestos and leadbased paint in the gym, mold in the restrooms, a failing roof, electrical and HVAC that is not up to code, and water damage throughout, as well as structural damage in the wood pier and beam under the gym. He also reported the Otis Community Center is in good condition and the grounds have been improved.

Burns reported the 7,162-square-foot Otis Gym is in “system failure” condition and received a 123% total facility FCI score (cost of repairs divided by cost to replace) after the August 2023 assessment.

Burns laid out four options with estimates.

• Demolish and build new: $3.2 million

• Renovate: $4.55 million

• Demo only: $200,000

• Leave decommissioned: Unknown cost Prior to the decommissioning in 2019, the gym was used for weddings, dances, skating parties and meetings. Community members have expressed value in the historical aspects of the building. Historical preservation efforts would increase the costs “a lot,” according to Burns. An idea that was thrown out was to take a section of the gym and put it on the wall of a new facility to preserve it.

“Understand that if the direction is to rebuild this, it is not going to be like the existing Otis Gym,” said Burns. “It is going to be a metal building with a floor and new bathrooms and make it something that is not high maintenance. The entire point of building a new one is to spend the investment up front to lower our maintenance costs for the next 50 years.”

“I’m curious,” said District Two Commissioner Jon Henry. “It’s right by Loving. They got gyms. I’m trying to figure out what we’re truly trying to change? To have a gym? Or a place to have a dance? We’ve tried to get the gym into someone else’s hands, and no one wanted to do anything with it. I would like to see the rental history as well.”

“I understand the historical value,” said District Four Commissioner and Chair James Bowen. “Some of these old gyms are awesome. But what are we gonna do with them? I’m struggling with $4 million, and I am not sure who is gonna use it. I am willing to say there will be less than a fraction of a percent of the population of Eddy County that will actually use this place. In doing so, up front there’s money, and then there’s money in perpetuity after that for maintenance and upkeep.”

“We are talking about spending $600K on the splash pad in Otis,” said District One Commissioner Ernie Carlson. “If the splash pad can be utilized as a draw, so will a new facility there. The idea was to put the splash pad to get more utilization of the community center.”

Henry clarified the money for the splash pad is capital outlay money from Santa Fe and can’t be used on a gym.

District Five Commissioner Sarah Cordova said she would like to go in the facility and see it for herself. District Three Commissioner Fred Beard agreed the Otis Gym is historic.

“I think we need to do something with it,” he said. “I think if it was restored, the use might come back.”

The commission tabled a vote and schedule a meeting at 9 a.m. Friday, June 14, to tour the Otis Gym and receive rental usage information on the gym from 20142019.

Later in the meeting, Burns gave an update on Eddy County projects.

Crews will be setting up a detour and start paving the Kraus intersection in Carlsbad over the next couple of weeks. County crews bladed Longhorn Road to smooth it out until the start of a big overhaul project on July 1. Eddy County also finished a relocated convenience station in Artesia.

The transfer station, formerly located near the intersection of 13th Street and Fairgrounds Road, is now located adjacent the Eddy County Road Department’s Artesia warehouse at 2611 S. 13th St. Additional containers have been added.

Eddy County Sherriff Mark Cage reported U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan is putting an appropriation before the federal committee for a Rapid DNA system for Eddy County.

“The senator has been very instrumental in helping us with that,” said Cage. “It can help solve cases very quickly. We are expecting to see that happen.”

In other business Tuesday, the commission approved an ordinance granting a non-exclusive franchise to New Mexico Gas Company Inc., a New Mexico corporation and public utility, in Eddy County for 25 years.

The commission granted a bid for employment-related physical services and drug testing to New Era Physical Therapy and Lesher Health Clinic. The commission then approved the revenue report for April 2024 with the following information:

• Budgeted revenue: $262 million

• Budgeted expense: $295 million

• Actual revenue: $348 million

• Actual expense: $198 million

• Percent collected: 133%

• Percent used: 67% Joshua Mack, Eddy County Fire and Rescue (ECFR) chief, reported the weight room at the fire administration building is open to county employees and both new ambulances are in service.

Mack also reported the ECFR held a meeting at the Queen fire station May 8 and had 19 people complete applications to volunteer. The volunteers are in training, and they are hoping to get enough fully certified firefighters to re-recognize the fire station with the state. Mack also reported a new radio system should be in place by November or December.

Mack said the ECFR’s firefighter and EMS recruiting grant was recently unexpectedly capped at $65,000. The grant was supposed to cover 100% of first-year …

… salaries of entry-level EMS firefighters, 50% of second-year salaries, and 25% of third-year.

“It was recently capped, so for our employees with benefits and everything, the grant would cover 54.7% for Year One, and the county will cover 54.8%,” said Mack. “Year Two, the county will be covering 70.8%, and the grant would cover 29.2%. In Year Three, the county will cover 86.4%, and the grant will only cover 13.6%.”

Mack also shared citizens can check on wildfires at inciweb.wildfire.gov and on an app called WatchDuty Wildfire Maps and Alerts.

In his comments, Henry shared that Lea County is putting $21 million into housing, and he is looking into how they are doing that.

“Market-grade housing helps our first responders, it helps our county employees and teachers,” said Henry. “There are so many ways to help bring in workforce we are desperate for. I would like to see a possibility of a housing and economic development injection.”

The resolution and agreement consent agenda was approved, which included:

• renewal of a contract for commissary with Keefe Commissary Network, LLC, nationally headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.

• renewal of a contract for on-call engineering, surveying, testing and/or environmental services with Stantec Consulting Services, internationally headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

• renewal of a contract for landscaping services with The Garden Mart of Carlsbad.

• the purchase of marketing services from Red Rocket Media of Carlsbad.

• the purchase of a tire shredder for the City of Carlsbad.

• an equipment service contract with Sparks Office Solutions of Carlsbad for a copier/ scanner/printer for the administrative offices.

• an equipment service agreement with Sparks for the County Assessor’s Office.

• a service agreement with the Southeast New Mexico Community Action Corporation for senior citizens’ program services.

• a service agreement with the Carlsbad Community of Hope Center.

• a professional service agreement with the City of Artesia.

• a professional service agreement between Eddy County and the Artesia Chamber of Commerce for economic development services.

• a professional service agreement with Artesia MainStreet.

• a professional service agreement with the City of Carlsbad.

• a professional service agreement with the Carlsbad Department of Development for economic development services.

• a professional service agreement with Carlsbad MainStreet.

• a professional service agreement with the Village of Hope.

• a professional service agreement with Grammy’s House Artesia Domestic Violence Shelter.

• a professional service agreement with Affirming Heart Victim Services of Carlsbad.

• a professional service agreement with the Carlsbad Community Anti-Drug & Gang Coalition’s Teen Court.

• a professional service agreement with the Carlsbad Honor Guard.

• a professional service agreement with Paws & Claws Humane Society Inc. of Artesia.

• a professional service agreement with Noah’s Ark Animal Refuge Inc. of Carlsbad.

• a professional service agreement with the New Mexico State Mobile Library.

• a professional service agreement with 535 Group, LLC, nationally headquartered in McLean, Va., for federal lobbying services.

• a professional service agreement between Eddy County and the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce for professional marketing services.

• a Memorandum of Understanding with extension services in Eddy County.

• a Memorandum of Understanding with the Eddy County Sheriff’s Posse.

• a professional service agreement with the Artesia Chamber of Commerce for advocacy services.

• a professional services agreement between Eddy County and Cambiar Consulting, LLC, nationally headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz.

• a professional services agreement for general legal services for Eddy County.

• a Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Artesia for DWI offender tracking services.

• a Memorandum of Agreement with the City of Carlsbad for DWI offender tracking services.

• a contract with Dr. Van Warren for auricular detoxification supervision.

• a contract with Frank Magourilos for DWI Prevention Program oversight and evaluation.

• a contract with Nancy Husselman for DWI community wellness and outreach services.

… will run three to five months each.

“We’re looking at an overall project timeline of 18 months,” said Scott Hicks, project engineer for Smith Engineering.

A potential Phase One, still dependent on funding, will be from Main Street to just north of Grand Avenue, moving south.

Following that, four more phases will follow its completion:

• Phase Two: From West Grand Avenue to Washington Avenue, just south of Guardian Self Storage Center

• Phase Three: From West Washington Avenue to West Ray Avenue, which will also include rehabilitation on the bridge

• Phase Four: From West Ray Avenue to just north of West Mann Avenue

• Phase Five: From West Mann Avenue to West Hermosa Drive, connecting with the recent Hermosa Drive construction Hicks said there will be total closures, but detours will be clearly marked. “Please drive with care and caution in the area of the construction,” he said. “We ask that people follow those detour routes and leave a little earlier if they need to. Please have patience and we’ll try to get each phase done as quickly as possible.”

Smith Engineering is the same engineering firm that has completed similar road construction projects in Artesia, including the work on Main Street in 2015, the 13th Street Reconstruction Project in 2016, the 20th Street Reconstruction Project in 2022, and the recent road construction on Hermosa Drive.

— Artesia’s Fourth Annual Pride Event will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Pizza Hut. The community is invited to attend to honor those who have made sacrifices to make the world a more accepting place. All ages and identities are welcome to come make new friends, spread love, and show allyship.

RUIDOSO — The U.S. Forest Service has reported that the Blue 2 Fire burning north of Ruidoso was listed at 77% containment as of Wednesday.

The lightning-caused fire in the White Mountain Wilderness Area is currently listed at 7,532 acres in size and is engaging 399 personnel: five crews, 14 engines, two helicopters, two bulldozers and five water tenders.

Firefighters achieved additional containment just south of Bonito Lake Wednesday as work on the fire continues. A virtual public meeting is planned for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 6, and will be broadcast live on the Blue 2 Fire Facebook page.

Firefighters continue to focus on repairing dozer lines and hand lines created during the height of fire suppression efforts. As repair work is completed, it is inspected to ensure the standards identified by the Forest Service and New Mexico Forestry Division are met.

Brush cut to remove fuels has been chipped. Excavators are working along the dozer line from the 131 road to the 108 road, installing erosion control features and pulling brush on top of disturbed soil. Crews are checking for any additional hot spots on Soldier Mountain and using hand tools to create small ridges that will divert water and reduce future erosion potential along the handline.

The dozer line west of the communities along the Forest Service boundary is also being repaired. Masticators working along this dozer line have created a fuel break that will help reduce risk to the communities during future wildfires. Seed has been ordered and fire lines will be re-seeded. Law enforcement continues to enforce the forest closure so firefighters can safely complete their work.

Moisture was expected to enter the fire area Wednesday with potential for isolated afternoon storms. Significant moisture is expected in the coming days with higher humidity and daily storms.

The fire is producing minimal smoke. Surrounding communities will see good air. Transported smoke from other active fires in upwind states or Mexico may create some hazy skies on occasion. The interactive smoke map can still be found at fire.airnow.gov.

In the interest of public safety, camping and other recreational activities in the Bonito Lake area are still restricted due to ongoing firefighting activities. The forest closure order will continue to remain in effect for the White Mountain Wilderness Area.

— Artesia Clean & Beautiful will sponsor its Yard of the Week contest beginning Monday, June 3, and continuing through September. Colorful, attractive, well-groomed lawns with curb appeal meet the qualifications. To nominate a yard worthy of the title, contact Linda at 575-5130143 or the AC&B office at 575-748-3192. —————–

First Church Artesia, 402 W. Grand Ave., will hold a free screening of “Letter to the American Church” at 6 p.m. Friday, June 14. The public is welcome to attend. —————–

CHASE SCHOLAR

COMMUNITY SERVICE

— Chase Scholars will be performing community service for senior citizens June 19-21. Students will be in groups with an adult supervisor and will be available for yard work, cleaning exterior windows, and various odd jobs. Students will not be painting. Sign-ups for those needing work done are available at the Senior MealSite, the Senior Center, the Artesia Chamber of Commerce, and KSVP. For more information, contact Ginny at the Chase Foundation, 575-746-4610. —————–

ELECTRONIC RECYCLING

— Artesia Clean & Beautiful will host its annual eWaste Event from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Friday, June 21, and 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Eddy County Fairgrounds food court. Items to be accepted for recycling include all office-related

equipment, fax

machines, copiers, typewriters, CPUs, and consumer electronics including DVD and VCR players and video game consoles, radios, telephones and cell phones, server and telecom equipment, cameras and stereo equipment. There will be a $5 charge for large CRT monitors. Televisions and home appliances will not be accepted. For more information, call AC&B at 575-748-3192. —————– DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION — CARC Document Destruction will be at Artesia Clean & Beautiful’s eWaste Event from 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Friday, June 21, at the Eddy County Fairgrounds food court to accept any residential documents in need of disposal, up to 100 pounds. No commercial documents will be accepted. For more information, call AC&B at 575-748-3192. —————– GREAT AMERICAN CLEAN-UP — Artesia Clean & Beautiful will continue scheduling cleanups through June 22. Volunteers may sign up any time at the AC&B office, 422 W. Main St., to receive supplies. For more information, call 575-748-3192. —————– GAME-DAY APPAREL — The Artesia High School Student Council has launched its game-day apparel for the 2024-25 season. Fans can now purchase a variety of products at great prices; there’s something for everyone in the collection so you can show your support for the team in style. All orders must be placed online by July 24. Use promo code BULLDOG to remove the shipping cost. Pick-up will be available at the AHS office Aug. 16 and 19. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to gear up for the games and give back to the Student Council, and don’t forget to share with your fellow Bulldog fans! —————–

LIBRARY BOARD

The Artesia Public Library is seeking to fill soon-tobe- opened seats on the Library Board of Trustees. Anyone interested should submit a letter of inquiry to Library Supervisor Omar Acosta at the library or by email to oacosta@artesianm. gov. —————– PHLEBOTOMIST PROGRAM — Applications are now open for Artesia General Hospital’s certified phlebotomist program. To learn how to apply and for more information on this career opportunity, call 575-736-8178 or email foundation@artesiageneral. com.

—————– INTRO TO YOUTH SPORTS — The Artesia Center is offering a program for children ages 3-5 that introduces kids to sports in a fun, non-stressful environment. The program is held from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Center. For more information, contact Bernice at 915-2498934. —————– COMMUNITY FITNESS CLASS — The public is invited to attend a fun, free community fitness class, led by certified group fitness instructor Dottie Ellis, from 5:306:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the Artesia Center, 612 N. Eighth St. —————– DRIVERS NEEDED — SENM Veterans’ Transportation is in need of volunteer drivers to transport veterans to and from doctor’s appointments. Anyone interested in volunteering is urged to contact Alice or Donna at 575622-0729. —————– WIDOW’S MIGHT Widow’s Might, a support group for widows at all stages of grief, will meet at 6:30 p.m. each Thursday in the classroom building on the east side of West Main Baptist Church, 1701 W. Main St. For more information, call 575-746-3528, email widowsmightnm@gmail.com, or visit widowsmightnm. com or facebook. com/widowsmightnm.

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GRIEF SUPPORT — A Grief Group meets at 1:30 p.m. each Tuesday in the Saint Damien Center at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church, 1111 N. Roselawn Ave. Free support is offered in both English and Spanish. For more information, contact Nora at 575-308-3248. —————– MEN’S PICK-UP BASKETBALL — The City of Artesia is hosting men’s pick-up basketball from 5-8:30 p.m. Wednesdays at the Artesia Center, 612 N. Eighth St. For more information, call 575-746-9009. —————– TOPS — The Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) Club meets at 9 a.m. Wednesdays at the Senior Center. For more information, call the Center at 575746-4113.

RUIDOSO — The U.S. Forest Service reported Saturday afternoon that the Blue 2 Fire burning near Ruidoso was at 14% containment.

The lightning-caused fire eight miles north of Ruidoso in the White Mountain Wilderness Area is listed at 7,457 acres and is being fought by 802 personnel: 17 crews, 32 engines, eight helicopters, three bulldozers and 12 water tenders.

Friday experienced moderate weather, which assisted firefighters in completing additional containment. The southern end of Soldier Mountain gained more containment line as mop up work continued in the area by fire crews on the ground. Additional containment line was achieved on the fire perimeter west of Granite Knob. Firefighters are working hard to be able to mop up along the fire’s edge to prepare for the forecasted hot and dry weather early next week.

Fire crews continued mopping up and securing lines along the 107 A road and Soldier Mountain. Heavy equipment has been successful in progressing the contingency lines that surround the fire. Structure protection will continually have a presence throughout the surrounding communities on both day and night shifts to ensure that communities are being monitored for any changes to the fire. Mop up and patrol continues across the entire fire perimeter. Pumps, sprinklers, and water sources are being used to support structure protection and mop up efforts. Handline on the eastern forest boundary near Enchanted Forest and Sun Valley continue to progress.

Humidity was high during the day until late afternoon which assisted firefighters to continue working safely around the perimeter. Storm clouds were seen at the eastern edge of the fire area, however the fire did not receive any moisture. During the evening there was a drop in humidity due to southwesterly winds that dried out fine fuels. Today, higher humidity and wind is expected. Storm clouds will be seen during the day around the eastern side of the fire. Even though wind and storm clouds are expected, a major increase in fire behavior is not expected.

Smoke production has decreased due to minimal fire activity. Thunderstorms predicted outside of the fire perimeter will produce downflow winds that could move some light smoke into surrounding areas. View an interactive smoke map at fire. airnow.gov.

Evacuation levels remain unchanged. Evacuation shelters are expected to stay open over the weekend. Effort is continually being made by fire crews to ensure that the fire perimeter is safe before repopulation of the surrounding communities. For an interactive evacuation map go to tinyurl. com/Blue2Evacs.