The Roswell Finance Committee met Thursday afternoon and made their way through nearly two dozen agenda items.
Construction of a columbarium and committal shelter at South Park Cemetery using only available funds was recommended by the Infrastructure Committee before reaching members of the Finance Committee.
The draft Request for Proposals (RFP) refers to the project as the “South Park Cemetery Columbarium Plaza.” The document explains that the cemetery, founded in 1883, uses 120 of its 210 acres and contains more than 30,000 interments.
This project was initially approved at the less substantial price of about $850,000, which had already been allocated. However, the project ended up being more costly. The latest estimate was more than $1.5 million.
Going ahead with the project for the higher price was approved by city councilors in April.
However, the project will be downscaled instead with the remainder of the work completed when there is money to pay for it.
The matter will move to city councilors to consider approving a new proposed RFP as part of the consent agenda during their meeting on Thursday.
ICIP requests begin to be prioritized
Questions arose during the review and ranking of projects for the Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) that its members were asked to evaluate.
Only a section of this plan has been given to the Finance Committee. Legal, Infrastructure and Public Safety committee members each review a list of 34 different projects with the ranking supplied by the city department it would be for.
This list focuses on needs expressed by these city departments during the 2026 through 2030 fiscal years: Administration, Convention Center, Golf Course, Public Library, Museum and Information Technology.
Finance Committee members will revisit their list when they meet in July.
City councilors ultimately make final choices before the plan is submitted to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration. This needs to occur by July 12. The document allows city and county governments to plan and provide information about each project, which can help these localities obtain state and federal funds for these projects.
Other Finance Committee recommendations
— A one-year extension of the city’s current contract for ambulance service from American Medical Response (AMR). The existing contract for ambulance services with AMR costs the city $112,333 a month, which adds up to about $1,35 million a year. Ordinance 23-10, approved this past September, allows the city to raise funds for the in-house service, which started at the beginning of this year. The ordinance set the tax at a five-sixteenths rate, 0.3125%.
— An award of the Wastewater Extension Design Project to HDR Engineering of Albuquerque for nearly $173,500. That amount includes gross receipts tax and was the lowest bid of the three companies that submitted offers for this work. This is a consent item for Thursday’s council meeting.
— Agreements with both MainStreet Roswell and the Roswell Hispano Chamber of Commerce, with some adjustments to the proposed contracts. MainStreet would receive $75,000 a year while the Hispano chamber would get $50,000 annually. Both are also part of the councilors’ consent agenda for their meeting on Thursday.
