Photos added: Grant County Commission makes proclamations, hears reports

: Category: Front Page News Front Page News; Published: 23 April 2015 23 April 2015

Artilce and Photos by Mary Alice Murphy

At the Grant County Commission regular meeting April 23, 2015, commissioners started the meeting with public input.

James Baldwin, county resident, said he had concerns about the Grant County Administration Center building. "Two of the arches have serious cracks. This is an old building and the railings are starting to rust. I would at least like to see the railing look new and painted shiny black. The second concern is recycling. I would like to request a recycling bin at the corner of Artcher and Cottage San. There are about a thousand people in the area, who could access it."

Randy Villa, public works director and fire management officer, said he was commenting as the former county assessor. "I have had many phone calls, asking me if I was at fault on the titles and values (which the new assessor has said were not completed). I would like to address the false claims. The values during my tenure were always correct; everything was in compliance and all rates were verified and approved. Deeds were done within the 45-day limit, usually within 30 days. The allegations being made had nothing to do with me and my staff. The annual state evaluations will support what I have said. When you choose to come to work daily, things get finished. The public elected a new administration and I wish them luck. I have given 25 years to the assessor's office. It was not about the title, but the hard work I put in."

The next item was a public hearing on increasing the number of commission districts to five.

Research and Polling vice president Michael Sharp said he was contracted by the county to possibly change the number of districts. The county wanted to know what it would look like with five districts. "I have completed more than 150 redistrictings in the state."

"Basically, the purpose of redistricting is to redraw lines, so the districts are equal in population," Sharp said. "You have the option to redistrict if a county has more than 13,000 people in it. We use the latest census data, which is 2010. The decision is for the county commission to make at this level. The objective is to have the redistricting ready for the June 2016 primary.

"This is the second meeting to take input from the commissioners and the public," Sharp said. "The districts must have equal population, make sure minority voting rights are taken into consideration, each district must be compact, contiguous and not separate communities of interest."

He said the census counted everyone, and it was not limited to registered voters, whether the person was a legal citizen, or in the case of university students, whether they lived in the county all the time.

"Because it is hard in a smaller body or area like a county, a population may be plus or minus 5 percent from another district, with no more than 10 percent deviation overall," Sharp said. "With the county population, the target number is 5,903 per district plus or minus 295 per district. The range is from 5,608-6,198."

He said for minority voting, redistricting is able to create districts where the population have a possibility of electing a representative of their choice. "Race or ethnicity cannot be the sole determinant of a district.

"We want to maintain the core of the current districts, especially where the incumbent commissioners live," Sharp said. "We will respect and not split precincts. Neighborhoods, cultural and historic traditions must be respected, as well as geographic boundaries. We try to use precincts as the basic building blocks. All these plans keep precincts intact.

"It's difficult to create a perfect plan," he acknowledged. "Changes can be made to these plans, but they can cause a domino effect to the other districts. A population of 9,800 is ideal for the current districts."

He presented three plans, A, B, and C. The plans are available for viewing by the public in the front office at the Administration Center.

Commissioner Brett Kasten asked for public comment.

Lynda Aiman-Smith, speaking as a citizen, said she appreciated the commissioners' consideration of going to a five-person commission. "It is interesting to me about the shapes. I want to speak to the item, community of interest. We have some unique cultural areas. I would like to see more discussion on the historic and cultural district areas."

Baldwin asked: "Why do we need five?"

"We don't think we are saying that we do," Kasten said. "We want to hear what the public has to say. We will hold four hearings, and we hope to get a lot of good comments."

Financial Officer Linda Vasquez gave the financial report, which, out of expenditures of $1,550,856.24, included $19,000 for March jet fuel, $9,000 to Engineers Inc. for the North Hurley project; $18,000 for February inmate meals; $21,000 to Architectural Workshop for renovation of the Business and Conference Center; a lease payment of $14,000 for a Tyrone Volunteer Fire Department pumper; and $25,000 for fuel for the county fleet.

The expenditures included two payrolls for a total $412,888.47.

The cash flow analysis can be read at http://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/21371-grant-county-commission-work-session-reviews-regular-meeting-agenda-for-april-23

Sen. Howie Morales gave a report on the recent legislative session. "It was a different session from the past 62 years. We had a divided Legislature, with a Republican House and a Democratic Senate. In spite of what you may have seen or read, we had good bipartisan support in the Senate."

He said Grant County Day, organized by Prospectors, is "one of the most, if not the most well attended event during the session. It's a wonderful celebration."

"Finances were a roller coaster," Morales said. "We thought we would have operational new money of $288 million, but by December, with the oil price dropping, it was down to $140 million, and at the beginning of the session, it was $83 million. It still was not as bad as in 2008, when we had a shortfall and had to make cuts. This year, we could put in some new dollars. Thanks to cooperation between John Arthur Smith and me, we in the southwest part of the state benefitted. We put $2.1 million into the regional water system, which will leverage more funds. I always go to the session advocating for senior citizens, veterans, education-pre-K to university-and for the disabled. We put $800,000 into providers for the disabled. We put $500,000 for security cameras at Western into the operational budget and it was signed into law. The students at Western now need to put in a proposal to use the funding.

"Grant County is known for starting new projects that spread," Morales said. "First Born has gone statewide and now we put in $100,000 for Imagination Library to go statewide.

"We had a slight spending increase in the budget, although we haven't gotten back to pre-recession levels," he continued. "We put some dollars into the court systems to help alleviate the backlog of cases, but it got vetoed out.

"I thank Grant County and the Prospectors' process, which helps me defend my requests," Morales said. "We put in capital outlay for the Road Department for a roof and for the Substance Abuse Treatment Center. The most important thing is for you to get a site chosen. You have my commitment to support the center."

On the issue of capital outlay, which was not passed before the end of the session, Morales said the Senate got it to the House with 16 minutes to go. He said it had passed the Senate 40-1. The House, he said, cut $80 million, and it did not get passed before the session ended. "When you take funds out and give it to roads in Southeast New Mexico, even though they may need them, and cut out what the senators advocated for, it's not OK with me."

Although he said the governor was not happy, and she said there would be no special session, "I think things have cooled down, and we will have a special session. I think it should be for one day only and only one issue-capital outlay."

Kasten asked if it would help if the county sent a letter asking for a special session. Morales said the Municipal League mayors have sent a letter. "If New Mexico Association of Counties could do that, it could help."

Kasten said he could advocate for that at the NMAC meeting next week in Truth or Consequences. "It will be our turn to host next year."

Commissioner Ron Hall thanked Morales for his open door policy and his input and advice outside the session.

Commissioner Gabriel Ramos said he appreciated when he went to the session to know that Morales would talk to the commissioners at any time, even if he had to step out of committee.

Morales then read a proclamation created by Senate Joint Memorial 5, which named Feb. 19, 2015, as Colonias Day, because the Colonias Infrastructure Fund is "most impactful in southern New Mexico. This helps us equalize the larger population in the north. Colonias covers entities in counties from Catron to Eddy that are within 150 miles of the Mexican border. We are asking the governor to make it part of the overall state plan. It's a battle every year because the dollars might go to other parts of the state. We need it especially in the overlooked areas in the south." He presented the proclamation to the commissioners. He concluded: "Thank you for allowing me to serve you as your public servant. The Roundhouse is your house as well."

George Julian Dworin, Silver City Arts and Cultural District manager, said he is contracted by the city and county to provide tourism services.

"We celebrated Continental Divide Trail Trails Day last weekend, which brought people from outside the state," Dworin said. "The event is raising awareness of the area. We expect 200 through hikers walking 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada.

"I am proud to present the third quarter report," he continued. "We had the highest number of visitors to the Visitor Center in the past three years, with a 37 percent increase in February and a 55 percent increase in March."

He said numbers at attractions such as the Gila Cliff Dwellings and the City of Rocks "validated our increase in traffic."

Three lodgings will be added to the report to give a snapshot of what is happening now and an estimate of what lodgers' tax will be.

"We have had 3,262 requests for tourism information," Dworin said. "We went to the Tucson Book Festival with representatives of our Southwestern Festival of the Written Word and engaged with thousands of people."

He said the third quarter again saw tremendous press coverage, with a 12-page piece in New Mexico Magazine. "We were so excited about the piece, we partnered with New Mexico Magazine to reprint a 16-page report as a fulfillment piece. The calendar is our most popular page on our website, and we have had press in other magazines, including Psychology Today." He said a writer came and participated in yoga and other programs at the Lotus Center and wrote about how relaxed she found herself here.

"We are seeing an increase in tour buses, and will have one this weekend," Dworin said. "The Jaguar Club and the Model-T Club are coming."

He said he would attend the governor's conference on tourism.

"I'm always proud to be from Grant County with its beautiful scenery," Hall commented.

The next agenda item recognized Town Manager Alex Brown and the town of Silver City for donating lights to Bataan Park.

Ramos said he put the item on the agenda, because "little gestures like this are a big deal for us."

Hall said the county and city coordinate a lot of efforts. "It's important for us to work together."

Brown agreed. "All of the electeds work together well. I knew you needed the lights, and we were just going to store them."

Matt Schultz gave an overview of the Gila National Forest Plan revision.

"The forest plan provides guidance management for all resources on the forest for the next 15 or more years," Schultz said. "It is an opportunity to get your knowledge and comments to be heard for a shared vision."

He said a revision is required every 15 years, but the forest has been working under the plan developed in 1986, which has been amended many times over the years. "Changes warrant a revision. Large wildfires, drought, and uses and demands have changed. The wildland-urban interface will be a focus in the revised plan. Science and technology have changed. We have news tools, with GIS and remote sensing. We also have threats to sustainability, with invasive species, climate change and intrusive wildfires.

"It will be a forward-looking document, with desired future conditions," he continued. "It will have objectives, but the forest plan does not override existing policy. Not all the 1986 plan is obsolete. We will decide what is working and what's not. We will follow the 2012 Planning Rule, which calls for increased collaboration and public engagement. There will be opportunities for the public to participate. We will coordinate with other federal agencies and with state and local government. We want all local plans to incorporate into this revision."

He said the process would cover multiple years, probably about three years. The first phase, assessment, will take about a year. The second phase is the National Environmental Policy Act phase, and once the revision is approved, the implementation phase will kick in.

"We will start the assessment phase next month, as a follow up to the March meeting," Schultz said. "We have 15 ecological, social and economic resource topics, with the first five in ecology and the next 10 on social, cultural and economic issues. We will assess the infrastructure and cultural resources. We will look at land ownership and potential special designated areas.

"We need your help," he continued. "You have the knowledge and data. You will have the opportunity to review the draft plan and made comments for revision. We will identify areas for possible special designation. I stress 'may' designate, because we would recommend, and it would be up to Congress to designate. We want Grant County to be an active participant. We will post updates to our website."

"Do we need to request to be a coordinating agency?" Kasten asked.

"Once we enter the NEPA stage, you will need to request coordinating agency status," Schultz replied.

The next two items on the agenda were proclamations. The first was to name the week of April 19-25, 2015 as Marine Corps League week, because the Gaffney-Oglesby Detachment 1328 is hosting the state Marine Corps League Conference April 24 and 25 in Silver City. "We welcome the community to join us," Frank Donohue of the detachment said.

The second proclamation was for May 5 as Give Grandly! Give Local Day. Lucy Tully, representing the Grant County Community Foundation advisory board, said last year on Give Grande Day, the most money ever for non-profits was raised.

Commissioners approved Fire Protection Funds for the 2016 fiscal year for Volunteer Fire Departments at Cliff-Gila, Fort Bayard, Lower Mimbres, Pinos Altos, Santa Rita/Hanover/Fierro, Sapillo Creek, Tyrone, Upper Mimbres and Whiskey Creek.

Shooting Range Board members appointed include Kurt Carlson, Gregory Collins, Milo E. Lambert, Robert L. Love II, Philip L. Mickey, Scott T. Neilson, and Sean Rees.

Commissioners approved:
€¢ The transfer of title of a 2007 utility trailer from Erickson Wayne (according to the agenda) to the Pinos Altos Volunteer Fire and Rescue;
€¢ The transfer of unit 2809 ambulance from Sapillo VFD back to Gila Regional Emergency Medical Services;
€¢ Inventory deletion from Lower Mimbres VFD;
€¢ An amendment to an agreement between the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging and Grant County for a decrease in funding;
€¢ A bid for a brush truck body for the Whiskey Creek VFD;
€¢ A resolution allowing the county manager to provide the adopting and approving continuing disclosure compliance procedures for bonds and loans of the county, other matters relating thereto and ratifying actions previously taken in connection therewith; and
€¢ Another similar resolution with the same language for tax-exempt bonds and loans of the county.

The commissioners then recessed and reconvened as the Grant County Indigent and Health Plan Claims Board to approve 55 claims for $40,213.54.

Recessing and reconvening as the Grant County Board of Commissioners, Kasten said he had to leave for a funeral.

Hall gave his commissioner's report and said he and others on the Substance Abuse Treatment Center committee had put in a lot of hours on Tu Casa, the name of the center. "It is an exciting time for us. We are in negotiations for a site."

He said he went to the Disabilities Resource Center open house. "It has come together on a shoestring, with lots of community donations."

"I've also participated in the Day in the Life of a DWI Offender program, as the judge, passing out fines and jail time," Hall said. "I think it has enlightened a lot of the kids that it is not a joke and has affects on them for the rest of their lives."

Ramos said he attended the Grant County Water Commission meeting. "It will take $5 million to drill a well and connect the water to Hurley. We are trying to get it done as soon as possible, before Hurley's water lease with Freeport runs out."

The commissioners adjourned, without going into executive session, which the manager said could be put off until next month.

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Photos added: Grant County Commission makes proclamations, hears reports

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