Proposed for approval by the city council this week are two items related to city land sites. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday at the Chaves County Administrative Center, Commission Chamber, 1 St. Mary’s Place.
One of these items is the possible relinquishment of East Ninth Street by the city to Roswell Ford, which operates on either side of that street, and allow it to become the responsibility of the business to take over maintenance and convert the street to a one-way route heading east, to discourage drivers from making left-hand turns to and from North Main.
This vacation concept would include the alleys on both sides of the street from North Eighth to 10th streets and be used primarily for customer service access.
After the flood disaster this past October, Roswell Ford, 821 N. Main St., decided not to move its dealership to West Second Street. Staying along North Main was accompanied by interest of the company’s principals to improve the overall operation of the company and implementing “more modern building processes,” said Scott Hicks of Smith Engineering Co., during the council’s meeting in April.
Councilors tabled this item last month after there was no appraisal or municipal purpose information with Roswell Ford’s submission to the city’s Planning and Zoning Department or the city councilors. It wasn’t presented to Mayor Timothy Jennings or City Manager Chad Cole as required either.
The other proposal calls for a decision about whether to sell approximately 7.5 acres of city land to Amazon for a center where packages are taken before final delivery to customers occurs. The southside location is part of a larger 30-acre area meant to be used for light industrial businesses.
It’s located near South Sunset Avenue and Monksdale Road, on the northeast side of the intersection and south of the Louis Jones Training Center, which faces West Brasher Road but conducts exercises along South Sunset. This site is considered well suited for the purpose Amazon could potentially choose, because the Relief Road and Roswell Air Center are nearby.
And the Roswell-Chaves County Economic Development Corporation has been working with Amazon long-term. Mike Espiritu, RCCEDC president and CEO, said that the function within Amazon is what’s anticipated for the site during the most recent Legal Committee meeting.
This type of operation could bring many jobs to the area and increase the city’s collection of gross revenue tax.
Other items
Columbarium addition: The South Park columbarium project, with Waide Construction Company as its contractor, is now in the hands of councilors. The $970,100 cost for the work was negotiated between the city and the company, which had first presented a $1.08 million estimate. Payment to the contractor will come from two sources available to the city: $840,629 in American Rescue Plan Act money and $129,475 from the Well House Project Grant.
Marketing of air races: Councilors will consider a proposal that would allow $300,000 in Roswell Lodgers’ Tax to be fronted for marketing the National Championship Air Races and Air Show (NCAR), which will be at the Roswell Air Center from Sept. 10-14. This is the first year the event will be in the southwest after decades spent in Reno, Nevada, at the Reno-Stead Airport. The city is estimated to receive $1.1 million in revenue from the air races.
Skills development area: The proposal for an Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting training site to be set up at the airport with temporary fencing and K-rail could be approved by the councilors. The cost for the fencing and railing would be approximately $460,000. It’s a project required by the Transportation Security Administration. Its purpose is to control access to the area and protect the equipment and people using it. It will be needed for the pylon racing training of potential pilots who want to participate in the air races, coming to Roswell on Sept. 10-14. The location will also be used for other purposes, including safety skills improvement related to aviation, and by the U.S. Navy fliers who hone their air skills at the facility once a year.
Airport terminal building restroom improvements: This item is a request for approval to award the construction of the Air Center Terminal Restrooms to White Rock Construction and Services Inc., in the amount of $484,819. A request for proposals process was completed for this project, which includes the renovation of two sets of restrooms at the airport’s terminal building. The completion date is set for Sept. 1.
