By Mary Alice Murphy

Under resolutions on the regular Grant County Commission meeting held Jan. 11, 2018, the first was a repeat approval of a previously approved statement of vacation of the Turnerville Subdivision plat by the county.

County Attorney Abigail Robinson said a typographical error had been found and required re-approval of the resolution. Commissioners approved it.

Also under consideration was a resolution approving two Grant County Airport ground lease agreements. Robinson said the county matched up the two commencement dates to streamline the process. The agreements were approved.

Commissioners approved the county entering into negotiations with Fowler Brothers for a mine aggregate pit. Commissioner Brett Kasten abstained, because he owns a piece of land with Fowler.

As the Grant County Health Care Claims Board, the commissioners approved claims to Gila Regional Medical Center in the amount of $13,944.77, of which the amount of $709 was for a GRMC ambulance claim.

Assessor Raul Turrieta said his office is in the rendition period through the end of February. "We are still working on sales and business permits. We have mailed out tax notices and will go into the protest period."

He said he is up for re-election. "I want to keep the office running to the best of our abilities." Turrieta said his daughter had been named first chair for a large school concert at Popejoy Hall in Albuquerque.

Commissioner Gabriel Ramos asked Turrieta where things are on the Comprehensive Trail Plan. Turrieta said Traci Burnsed of his office would be giving a presentation on the progress at a future meeting.

Treasurer Steve Armendariz said the county, for the period ending Nov. 8, 2017, had collected $800,000 in tax payments. "Since then we have a new total of $3,653,224.87, just for the Grant County portion of collections. We continue to collect for other municipalities and districts, too. We have maintained our mail flow well, with staff working diligently. We got a big hit of mail on Dec. 29. I came in and posted about $8,000 worth. We also had $4,000 in ACH receipts that day." He said he suspected it was people trying to prepay their taxes before the end of the year.

Commissioner Harry Browne said it was his understanding that in order for people to prepay their taxes, the 2018 assessment would have had to be done.

Armendariz said some people were trying to pay off all their 2017 taxes.

He also said his office had an upgrade to the website for taxpayers wanting to pay by credit card. "Some people who were computer challenged were being charged multiple fees. If they were, they should write us a letter and we will refund the excess fees. If a payer uses a Visa debit card, the fee is $3.95 for the transactions. Any other debit or credit card incurs charges of 2.5 percent of the total amount being paid."

Commissioner Alicia Edwards said she had received a constituent complaint about the fee.

"It is because our office is covered under the anti-donation clause, so we cannot pay the fee," Armendariz said. "We pass the fee onto the vendor, who manages our payments. It's based on our volume and we don't have enough transactions for the vendor to give us a cut in rate."

County Clerk Marisa Castrillo said she was grateful for all of the support during her family emergency. "Thanks for all the cards and calls. Things are fine now and the staff has run the office smoothly throughout."

Browne was the first to give a commissioner's report. He thanked the commission for the moment of silence for Lloyd Alexander, who had been a friend and neighbor.

He corrected an earlier number of how many acres of wilderness in the Gila. "I think we have 760 plus acres on the Gila Wilderness."

Ramos wished everyone a Happy New Year. "It's been a heckuva seven years. I'm looking forward to this year." [Ramos is termed out at the end of December 2018, as is Kasten.]

Edwards also expressed Happy New Year to everyone. "I thank everyone in the county for making my first year as a commissioner relatively painless. I thank Chairman Kasten for his seven years of service and his help. I think the implication that the County Commission working with Juniper Advisory is causing instability is disingenuous. It is the commission's responsibility to ensure the very best for our hospital and health care for the community. We have a responsibility to see the hospital is healthy.

Kasten said: "It's been a blast these seven years. I got to sit in the chairman's seat on the first day of my first term. As I told each of you after the election, go have fun! It's a lot of work, but don't lose your sense of humor."

The meeting adjourned. The next commission meetings are set for the work session on Feb. 13 and regular session on Feb. 15.