That was a close one.

The Albuquerque City Council voted 5-4 Monday night to award city landmark status to El Vado Motel, giving it some protection against being torn down to make way for luxury townhouses. The vote followed more than two hours of sometimes-disjointed discussions that Councilor Don Harris labeled “a train wreck.”

The city landmark vote came to the council again after an appeals court ruled the Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission filed to consider economic viability reports during the first designation. El Vado was given city landmark status shortly after owner Richard L. Gonzales purchased it in October 2005.

A lot of strange stuff occurred during the meeting Monday. I’ll try to summarize them briefly:

– The council clearly had grown impatient about the lack of a settlement concerning El Vado and Gonzales after about two years of inactivity. Some councilors pointed fingers at the city attorney’s office for the lack of progress. But, in fairness, Gonzales also held the property in limbo much of that time because of appeals and similar finagling.

– At one point, the council moved to defer action on the city landmark application for two weeks so they could try to reach a settlement. However, one official pointed out that a demolition application on El Vado was slated to be decided on Jan. 15 and that a judge could grant it because the council had taken no action on the city landmark proposal. The deferral motion failed.

– After hearing about how El Vado Motel was no longer an economically feasible business, Councilor Michael Cadigan suggested that the motel’s shutdown shortly after Gonzales purchased it — and two years of no maintenance — led to its declining value. “What we have here is demolition by neglect,” Cadigan said.

– Because of a recently passed bond issue, the city has about about $700,000 available for a buyout of the property.

– Gonzales’ attorney asked for the council to turn down the landmarks designation and, in return, Gonzales pledged he would not tear down El Vado Motel for 60 days in an effort to reach a compromise. Councilors seemed reluctant to give Gonzales that much of an advantage.

– Councilor Isaac Benton discussed one proposal floated in 2005 in which parts of El Vado would be demolished, but leave standing the most visible parts facing Central Avenue and New York Avenue. But City Planner Ed Boles said if that occurred, “I guarantee” El Vado would be removed from the National Register of Historic Places.

– Gonzales, after making a fool of himself at a recent LUCC meeting, wisely let his attorney do most of the talking Monday. I think the attorney’s strategy was the cloud the councilors’ minds with dubious talk about property rights and accusations that the city hadn’t negotiated in good faith. The gameplan nearly worked.

– I found out less than 24 hours before the meeting that the El Vado item would be a quasi-judicial hearing that didn’t allow public comment, nor did it allow anyone to even contact the councilors by letters or e-mail. Does that strike anyone as being wholly unconstitutional?

In conclusion: El Vado is safe for now, but it will be in jeopardy again if the council doesn’t aggressively pursue a settlement. I think Gonzales’ attorney is trying to wear down the city so his client will eventually get his way. Here’s hoping the city puts that potential buyout money to use quickly.

That’s all I have for now. Maybe tomorrow’s reports in the Albuquerque Journal and Albuquerque Tribune will have some other tidbits.

UPDATE: Here are stories from the Albuquerque Tribune and Albuquerque Journal.

(Photo courtesy of Guy Randall.)

Bettie Ditto, the former mayor of the Route 66 town of Tucumcari, N.M., and longtime owner of the Pow Wow Inn, died at age 91 on Saturday, reports the Quay County Sun.

She was so respected in the region, she was called “Mrs. Tucumcari.”

A former city commissioner and real estate developer, she is perhaps best known for building the Pow Wow Inn into one of the city’s focal points and a popular stop on historic Route 66.

She remained a driving force in the community well into her 80s. She was elected to the City Commission at 85. At 89, she was ambassador and volunteer at the Tucumcari/Quay County Chamber of Commerce.

And her influence went beyond the city as she was well known among lawmakers in Santa Fe and even Washington D.C.

“While serving as mayor for the city of Tucumcari, I would visit Santa Fe on business and Gov. Bill Richardson would always ask how his friend Bettie Ditto was doing,” Mayfield said.

And here’s her history in the Tucumcari lodging business:

Ditto was 39 when she came to Tucumcari from Chicago in 1955, she told the Quay County Sun in 2005.

She said she was not intending to stay when she inherited Route 66’s Lins Motor Lodge after her father’s death.

But nobody wanted to buy the motor lodge. So she transformed the nine-unit Lins into the sprawling Pow Wow Lodge and soon began rallying behind a bastion of community causes.

“We expanded from nine rooms to 90,” Ditto said, adding she could not have done anything without the support — and funds — from her business partner John Farrell. [...]

Ditto said the motor lodge rapidly expanded, with the addition of a bowling alley in the early 1960s, a new 16-unit suite in 1975, and another series of units known as Pow Wow South.

The bowling alley became today’s Pow Wow West; the 16-unit suite became Pow Wow East; and the name Lins Motor Lodge became Pow Wow because of the many parties they threw.

“We used to have great parties,” Ditto said. “And when we had a party, we’d call it a pow wow. Everybody knew it by the Pow Wow so we changed the name. I even had a poodle I called Pow Wow.”

Here’s another story about Ditto from 2005.

UPDATE: Here’s the information on funeral arrangements:

At 7 p.m. Thursday a rosary will be recited at St. Anne’s Catholic Church in Tucumcari. At 2 p.m. Friday a Mass of Rescurrection will be celebrated at St. Anne’s. Burial will follow at Tucumcari Park Memorial Cemetery.

Here’s a version of Bobby Troup’s “Route 66″ that I previously was unaware. It’s a scene from the 1948 movie “Three Daring Daughters.” I’m not positive, but I think it’s Jane Powell and Ann Todd singing.

The person who posted the video won’t allow it to be embedded, but you can watch it by clicking here.

A VHS tape of the film can be bought here. Alas, it doesn’t appear to have been released on DVD.

After seeing my post about George Strait’s “Amarillo by Morning,” longtime roadie Becky Ransom alerted me of another hit song that prominently mentions the Texas Panhandle’s largest city.

It is Tony Christie’s “(Is This the Way to) Amarillo,” a worldwide hit in 1971 for the British singer. It was co-written by Neil Sedaka.

The song also enjoyed a second life a few years ago when it was featured in a skit on the United Kingdom television program “Comic Relief” and jumped to No. 1 on the UK charts. Do a search on YouTube for the song title and “Comic Relief,” and you’ll find scads of videos.

Here’s Christie in 1971 performing that tune, on “Top of the Pops”:

I confess I’d never heard the song until Becky told me about it. But it’s dang good. It reminds me of Tom Jones backed by a big horn section.

Interestingly, Christie had never visited Amarillo until 2005. The Amarillo Globe-News interviewed him shortly before his arrival:

“I’m thrilled to be coming,” Christie said Monday while taking a break from touring. “I’ve been around the world a couple of times on that song, but I’ve never been (to Amarillo). People are always asking me what it’s like in Amarillo, and now I’ll be able to tell them.”

The Globe News later reported that Christie made a one-day stop, where he picked up a cowboy hat and boots.

Hansen said the diminutive Brit might not look like he would fit into Western wear, but he took to it right away.

“He loved it,” Hansen said. “He enjoyed every minute of being in the store. He looks very much the Western part. He looks like a Texan now.”

Christie’s affinity for Western wear should come as no surprise, considering his upbringing, which left him with an appreciation for westerns and a few misconceptions about the area.

“We’ve been brought up on cowboy films,” Christie said. “I actually expected to see cactus everywhere when I got here.”