Meetings roundup: Outdoor recreation business may occupy city-owned facility in the future

FARMINGTON — In 2019, the City of Farmington purchased some property at the corner of Piñon Street and Miller Avenue, near Boyd Park. The property includes a more than 14,000 square foot facility and, during the City Council meeting at 6 p.m. May 26, Farmington leaders will discuss allocating about $70,000 to renovate the property. That could allow the city to enter into a lease agreement with Desert River Guides and Black Bear Unlimited to operate a business related to outdoor recreation.

According to the agenda packet, Black Bear Unlimited will offer OHV repair, service and fabrication as well as excursions. Meanwhile, Desert River Guides will provide raft rentals and guide services.

In other agenda topics, the City Council may choose to implement stage 1 water restrictions due to the drought conditions. Stage 1 asks residents to voluntarily conserve water.

The meeting will be held via Zoom and people should contact the City Clerk for a passcode.

Aztec, Bloomfield discuss budgets.

With the economic crisis looming overhead, city governments this week will discuss cost-saving measures as they draft budgets for fiscal year 2021, which begins July 1.

Bloomfield City Manager George Duncan will present various measures to address the loss of GRT due to the combined effect of the coronavirus and the decline in the oil and gas industry when the City Council meets at 6 p.m. May 26. This meeting can be heard by calling (425) 436-6323 and using the access code 436935#.

Meanwhile, the Aztec City Commission will discuss its fiscal year 2021 budget during a work session at 5:15 p.m. May 26 that will be streamed over YouTube. It is scheduled to approve the preliminary budget during the City Commission meeting that follows at 6 p.m.

School districts to discuss funding

The Aztec Municipal School District Board of Education will have a special meeting at 6 p.m. May 27 to discuss applying for funding available through the CARES Act, which was passed to address the coronavirus pandemic. The Farmington Municipal Schools Board of Education will discuss the same topic when it meets for a special meeting at 7:45 a.m. May 26. The Aztec meeting will be streamed on Facebook and the Farmington meeting will be conducted using Zoom.

Hannah Grover covers government for The Daily Times. She can be reached at 505-564-4652 or via email at hgrover@daily-times.com.

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