Clifton City Council approves order, agreement of general election in May 2024

The Clifton City Council during its regular meeting at the Clifton Civic Center on Tuesday, February 13 approved an order of general election for the City of Clifton this spring.

In addition, the council approved entering an interlocal agreement between the City and Bosque County for the election set for Saturday, May 4, 2024.

Three seats on the Clifton City Council will be open for the local municipal election.

The incumbents are aldermen Cybil Humphreys, Dale LaRue, and Leslie Perry.

Humphreys is currently filling the seat vacated by Mike Schmidt who was elected mayor last year.

Perry is filling an unexpired term for former alderwoman Andrea Crosby who stepped down from her seat late last year.

Appointment

The council selected LaRue as its nominee to serve as a director of the Bosque County Central Appraisal District (BCCAD) for the years 2024 and 2025.

The BCCAD had given the city council another chance to nominate a director representing Clifton on the board, Clifton City Secretary Angela Smith said.

The BACCAD provided new information and eligibility requirements to the city council for consideration.

Playground

The council approved replacing the playground at Olsen Park with new equipment using city funds.

The council decided to spend $62,153 on the equipment that includes a sunshade, rubber mulch, and installation as recommended by the city administration.

The current playground equipment there has been in disrepair and should have been replaced years prior, Clifton City Administrator David McDowell said during the meeting.

“It’s a need,” Alderwoman Kat Kennedy said.

Located at the north end of town, the park area includes a public swimming pool enclosed by tall fencing, a walking path made of concrete around the pool, and tennis and sand volleyball courts.

Concrete

The council approved spending $7,200 for Solow Concrete to pour 1,364 square feet of concrete outside Clifton City Hall.

City Administrator McDowell explained that city hall is considering filling in a flower bed outside the front door area for a safe viewing area for public sculptures and other artwork.

City Secretary Smith noted that the concrete would provide more stable ground for sculptures, which the City of Clifton must insure also.

McDowell said he intended to talk with local downtown merchants to discuss possibly moving sculptures from historic downtown to this new space by city hall.

Currently, the city crews have maintained the area outside city hall by removing leaves shed by trees near the open space.

Grants

The council approved four separate items for spending funds from the city’s hotel occupancy tax (HOT) account.

The items are as follows:

• $2,600 grant to the Bosque Arts Center (BAC) for promoting its “Fairy Tales on Ice” event on Sunday, February 25.

• $15,000 grant to the City of Clifton for equipment (portable toilets, etc.) to assist guests of the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8.

• $4,500 grant to the Bosque Museum for promoting its clay shoot fundraiser event on Saturday, April 27.

• $1,500 grant to the Clifton Volunteer Fire Department for promoting a fundraiser involving prowrestlers on a date to be determined.

Clifton Mayor Pro Tem LaRue stated that the HOT fund account had a balance of $98,000 prior to the grant allocations. These HOT funds must be used to generate tourism traffic that creates more hotel tax revenue.

BAC’s event coordinator Deb Phinney said that this year’s “Fairy Tales on Ice” touring group will have one performance with an expected attendance of 300. Last year the BAC hosted the group’s two shows that drew a 239-person attendance. The BAC asked for roughly the same among in grant funds last year.

Clifton City Administrator David McDowell said that the funds for the solar eclipse event were not budgeted but will likely be replenished due to the expected traffic from out-of-town visitors for the event.

Bosque Museum Executive Director Erin Shields said that the museum asked for fewer funds last year but is aiming for 90 participants for its clay shoot fundraiser this year. The museum’s staff is tracking the attendance for future planning purposes, she added.

Clifton VFD Public Information Officer Chris Blanton said that a similar wrestling event was held in Meridian in recent years, which drew 500-600 in attendance. The CVFD’s event will be held at the Clifton Middle School gymnasium, he noted.

Request

The council approved the Bosque Valley Antique Tractor Club’s request to host the 2024 Annual Clifton Antique Tractor Pull in Clifton City Park on Saturday, June 8, 2024.

TNMP contact

The council approved a contract with Texas New Mexico Power Company to install a lay-down station at the City’s reservoir property for a five-year period. The contract includes $50,000 in cash compensation to the City of Clifton.

TNMP will use the space located on the far east side of the the property as a temporary staging area for replacing poles in the county during the contract’s term.

The company will improve a portion of the threeacre property, which will be returned to the City of Clifton at the end of the contract.

Resolution

Clifton City Secretary performed the second reading of a resolution for On5th Gallery – Mike Gray regarding the $60,000 grant for building and sidewalk site redevelopment.