[Editor's Note: This four-hour meeting will be covered in multiple articles. This portion completes the new business portion of the agenda.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

The first item of new business addressed at the May 2, 2017 meeting of the New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity was a revision of the entity's Open Meetings Act resolution, regarding the calling of a special meeting or an emergency meeting.

Entity Attorney Pete Domenici Jr. led the discussion. "The change gives the authority to the chair or to a designated alternate to the chair to call a special or emergency meeting. The current language calls for the entity to call the meeting, but that would be a violation of the OMA."

Aaron Sera, representing the city of Deming as second fiscal agent to the NM CAP Entity, pointed out that an emergency meeting should be called only for financial issues. "We can't expect it to be within 24 hours, if it must be printed in a newspaper of general circulation. Our Deming paper is printed only two days a week, and even here you can't get a notice in within 24 hours."

ISC Attorney Dominique Work, who was attending by phone, said an email blast could let members know, and notices in public buildings could suffice for a special meeting.

Domenici said he would bring the issue back to the next meeting with the necessary changes.

The following item was to approve the fiscal year 2018 budget. ISC non-voting member Kim Abeyta-Martinez said the entity had already approved the FY 2018 budget. "You should be good to go."

Sera noted that if the entity goes forward with a request for proposal, the budget might need changes.

"We have no allocation outside of the $60,000 for professional services," Entity Executive Director Anthony Gutierrez said.

Abeyta-Martinez said the money has been appropriated to spend beginning July 1. "We can amend it at any time, except for the $800,000 item (which is in the budget to prepare for possible purchase of exchange water credits)."

"We still have money if we enter into a contract with an engineer before the end of fiscal year 2017," Gutierrez said.

Abeyta-Martinez cautioned the group to make sure it has enough money in the current budget.

The next agenda item featured discussion of the 2018-19 bi-annual project plan for the New Mexico Unit.

Gutierrez said the plan includes $4 million for advance funding to Reclamation for the NEPA process. "Even though we're not in NEPA yet."

He recommended approving the document.

Vance Lee, representing Hidalgo County and, as the entity's vice chairman, serving at this meeting as the moderator in the absence of the chairwoman, asked if the money allocated was drawing interest.

Abeyta-Martinez said the New Mexico Unit Fund is investing $5 million a month, but not the money that was advanced to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Gutierrez noted that with a different proposed action from what was sent to Reclamation last July, NEPA could be less expensive.

Abeyta-Martinez noted that if the funding is put in the agreement and not all of it is spent, it must be returned to the Unit Fund.

"The number $11 million for NEPA is being thrown around," she said. "$4 million has been advanced, but Reclamation has spent only $35,000 of that."

The next item centered around requesting quotes for engineering services. Gutierrez requested a quote for engineering services to evaluate the Freeport-McMoRan infrastructure.

"We can go out for quotes for a scope of work," Gutierrez said. "If the expenditure would exceed $60,000 we would have to go out to request for proposal.

"If we move forward with Freeport, we need additional information on the infrastructure, which has been in place for many years," he said. "Engineering services would help us determine if we want to proceed with using the infrastructure. We need the information to provide to the board and the ISC to find out what condition it is in."

Abeyta-Martinez asked for clarification on what Gutierrez was thinking in the request for quotes and why the entity is not using an RFP for a consultant engineer.

"It's so we can get the information more quickly without going out for RFP, which requires numerous approvals," Gutierrez said.

Sera said the requirement in this case would be that the low bidder would receive the award.

Abeyta-Martinez said the ISC would not be a signatory. The contract would be between Deming and the engineer.

Howard Hutchinson, representing the San Francisco Soils and Water Conservation District, asked if the entity was asking for operations and maintenance costs and whether energy costs would be included, to which Gutierrez said: "Yes."

Hutchinson asked if the entity would have to physically visit the site and "has Freeport given permission?"

"We are talking to Freeport and asking for a tour to visit the infrastructure sites," Gutierrez said.

"Do we know much about the impact on the amount of water involved and the impact it would have down to Virden?" Wendell Hann, representing the Gila Farm Ditch asked.

Gutierrez replied: "No."

Domenici said for the entity to acquire use of the infrastructure would be "significant and a fairly complicated process. Freeport is very cognizant of what it has. They have extra capacity, but do not want to jeopardize it. We are negotiating with the engineers on what they want to make available to us. Freeport has invited us to bring an engineer. We would have to do due diligence, and whether before or after a letter of intent, we would have to try to come to agreement."

Work said: "I want to clarify that under the terms of your JPA, the entity must use money for furthering a New Mexico Unit. We have to amend the JPA, if use of funding is not related to the New Mexico Unit."

Domenici agreed and said: "We will need to amend the JPA and we have progressed in that direction. We need to move quickly to get the JPA amended to use money to hire an engineer."

Hutchinson asked if the potential was there to use the infrastructure for diverting Arizona Water Settlements Act water and could the infrastructure be used to deliver water to Luna County.

"I think there is enough nexus to use AWSA water," Domenici said. "Freeport is not suggesting never to use AWSA water. They do not want to be tied to the New Mexico Unit, but our primary purpose is to use AWSA water."

Work said she and Domenici needed to continue the discussion.

Campbell moved to approve the request for quotes for engineering services. It was approved.

The next article will begin with the executive director's report.