By Jim Owen
Ever since the heavy downpours of 2006, a portion of McKee Street has flooded every time measurable rain fell in Bayard. One house and several yards have repeatedly sustained water damage.
City councilors, during their regular meeting Tuesday, took steps to solve the problem. They awarded a $28,960.72 contract to Deming Excavation Inc. to remove debris from one inlet and two outlets that get clogged when rainwaters rush down the street. The plan is to improve drainage structures so they operate more efficiently.
"We have been trying to work on it for the past two or three years," City Clerk-Treasurer Kristy Ortiz told the Beat. "It has been getting worse every year."
Ortiz reported that city officials have obtained easements from property owners to allow workers to access the problem areas. She plans to meet with the contractor later this week to determine when the project will begin.
In other business, councilors approved amendments to a city ordinance governing the newly created municipal cemetery. They decided to not establish a cemetery board, instead assigning administrative oversight to the City Council.
A lengthy amendment to the statute features rules and regulations for use of the cemetery. It sets rates, fees and penalties; and stipulates who is responsible for maintenance and operations.
Construction of the cemetery is nearing completion. Most of the work has been done, with only an entry gate and signage needing to be installed. Residents are already asking how to reserve some of the 400 burial plots, according to Ortiz.
She said that, when the city obtains additional funding, the facility will be expanded to include more plots, roads, curbing and drainage, a shade shelter, an irrigation system and landscaping.
Bayard obtained two appropriations totaling $400,000 from the State Legislature for the design and initial construction of the cemetery, just off U.S. 180 on the south end of town. Southwest Concrete & Paving of Silver City was the contractor.
On another matter, Councilor Armando Arzola received approval from his fellow councilors for bollards at his home at 107 S. Franey St. He erected the short posts, between the street and his rock wall, to prevent vehicles from backing into the wall while turning around on the narrow street.
Arzola hopes to not only keep his wall from being damaged again, but also to protect children who play in the yard. He agreed to sign an agreement with the city, stating that he is liable for any damage that results from the bollards.
The municipal code requires council approval of the bollards, because they are within the city easement.
Councilors also voted to fill two vacancies in the city's Maintenance Department. They hired Bayard residents Izaiah Herrera and Anthony Aveles as full-time employees.
The council agreed to pay the expenses of Ortiz and another staff member to attend a one-day grant application workshop, hosted by the Colonias Infrastructure Board, next month in Deming.