By Mary Alice Murphy
The first person to approach the public speaker's podium at the Grant County Commission regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 26, was Armando Amador asking about whether the agenda had an item about the architect for projects at the Bataan Veteran's Memorial.
County Manager Charlene Webb said her understanding was that the Vietnam Veterans' group had been discussing the issue with the County Planner Anthony Gutierrez. "Either I or Anthony will discuss with you who the architect will be. We have two architects we will be approving today, and we don't know which projects they will be involved in."
Jim Baldwin, county resident, said he had the opportunity to attend a Southwest Solid Waste Authority meeting. "Mrs. Webb and Anthony were there. I found it interesting what was acceptable for recycling. They told us plastic No. 6 and Styrofoam and styrene are not accepted. When I go to the bins, like the one in the parking lot here, I see lots of Styrofoam. I saw in the budget $200 for public education, but only $62.59 had been spent. I feel like if the public were educated about what is recyclable, the county and the Waste Authority would benefit. They also talked about audit discrepancies, including financial discrepancies and overspending."
"I also found out that single-use plastic bags have been acceptable since the beginning," Baldwin said. "I would like to see the Styrofoam issue addressed."
Reina Turrieta, La Plata 8th-grader, said: "I am here to talk about the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) test. We are concerned there is too much pressure on teachers, students and the community for these tests. Last year, we had the SBA (Standards-Based Assessment) test, which was reasonable. Silver Schools have never taken tests on computers before. We're worried. I am requesting that the commission request we return to the SBA testing."
Financial Officer Linda Vasquez gave the expenditure and cash flow reports. County expenditures from Jan. 2 through Feb. 23, under accounts payable included larger payments of $9,622.50 to Architectural Workshop for tasks related to the Business and Conference Center; a payment to New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service for $16,250; the second quarter payment to High Desert Humane Society for $16,375; to the New Mexico Counties Insurance Authority for $283,171, for law enforcement liability insurance; $242,584 to the NMCIA for the multi-line pool; to Mira Loma Construction for work on the exhibit hall at the Fairgrounds for $44,912.38; and to Stone, McGee, $17,501 for the 2014 audit, totaling $2,417,807.60. Four payrolls totaling $836,468.42 brought the grand total expenditures to $3,254,294.02
The General Fund cash flow analysis shows, as of Dec. 31, 2014, a balance of $1,246,997, with an estimated cash balance at the end of the fiscal year, June 30, at $2,615,254, minus the three-twelfths required reserve of $2,362,053, leaving an estimated surplus of $253,201.
The Road Fund, as of Dec. 20, had a balance of $1,959, before transfers in, and will end the fiscal year with an estimated $138,180, minus the one-twelfth reserve of $137,684, leaving a surplus of $496.
The Corrections Fund, had $101,401 as of Dec. 31. The fund has no required reserve and is expected to end the year with $39 surplus.
Under new business, Randy Roth, resident of Elias Road, asked to present a petition, a map and photos to the commissioners. Commission Chairman Brett Kasten asked that he send the documents to the county manager.
Roth said he represented the residents, who were requesting gravel or other improvement to Elias Road, which is on the western side of the Fort Bayard Game Reserve. "It is a county-maintained road about 2,500 feet in length. I contacted Commissioner (Gabriel) Ramos and Road Superintendent (Earl) Moore and asked if we have the ability to put gravel on the road. When it's wet and muddy, we can't drive a two-wheel drive car up the hill, and we can't pull a trailer. I have talked to Moore, and I am more than willing to do my part. I have a heavy tractor, and I will spend my fuel and time to help spread the gravel and smooth it."
Ramos thanked Roth for calling him. "I ask you to continue to work with Mr. Moore."
Roth said he had called about every 90 days and "it's hard to get hold of him. I know budget is a problem, but if I know it's going to happen in a few months or a year or two, I'm patient."
Silver City Arts and Cultural District Director George Julian Dworin gave the group's quarterly report. "We are contracted with the town of Silver City for fulfillment, and we work with the chambers and manage the Visitor Center."
"For fulfillment, I have to talk about marketing," Dworin said, as he handed three magazines each to the commissioners. "The first is Zocalo, out of Tucson, which is where a lot of our tourists come from. New Mexico Magazine has a 12-page spread on Silver City and Grant County this month. The third is Edible, which is a southern Arizona borderlands food magazine. I meet regularly with these publishers; we have many writers visit the area; and we have received incredible press."
In statistics, Dworin said the Visitor Center visitation is up 19 percent, with, in the second quarter, more than 4,000 visitors. Events that brought in large numbers of tourists to the center include the Red Dot Studio and Gallery Tour, the Tamal y Más Fiesta and the Lighted Christmas Parade.
"We are partnering with Western New Mexico University," Dworin said. "With the university's Language Institute bringing in 120 students from Mexico, many of them came often to the Visitor Center. Forty of them came and thanked us and said they would come back to Silver City."
The main targets of marketing for the area are the regions from which the most tourists visit. "In numbers, Tucson, El Paso and Albuquerque bring us the most," Dworin said. "States in order of the most visitors are Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, California and Colorado. We have many coming from other countries, with Mexico first, many from Canada, and visitors from the UK, Australia, Germany and others."
He said word-of-mouth is the No. 1 means of people finding out about Silver City, as well as from the Internet. He said surveys show that the average length of stay is two to three nights, with the main draws being the outdoors and downtown, with dining high on their list.
"We have sent out by mail 534 requests for information," Dworin said. "The most visited page on our site is our calendar page, with an average 2