By Mary Alice Murphy

Grant County Water Commission Chairman Gabriel Ramos opened the meeting on Oct. 2, 2018.

The commission is made up of representatives from the county and the municipalities of Silver City, Hurley, Bayard and Santa Clara.

Priscilla Lucero, Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments executive director, introduced the presenters for the workshop, Olga Morales and Karl Pennock of the Rural Community Assistance Corporation.

"At the August 8 workshop, it was evident that we needed the opportunity to present more information to the entities," Lucero said.

Morales said the RCAC is a non-profit organization covering 11 western states. "I'm the director for New Mexico. I oversee various projects in the state. I evaluate the feasibility of regional projects."

She said the goals and expectations of the workshop were to develop what those attending envision as the goals of the regional water project.

Alex Brown, representing the town of Silver City as its manager, said he would like a better understanding of financing for the project. "We would like a reliable source of affordable water."

Ed Stevens, representing as mayor the town of Hurley, said each municipality has its own goals and expectations. "The process seems to falter in that we're not moving forward and why not?"

Sheila Hudman, clerk of Santa Clara and speaking for the village, said she had mentioned to Morales that water is connected from Bayard to Hanover. "We put in a line from Terrazas Funeral Chapel to the Manhattan Subdivision. Why can't we connect Hanover to Manhattan?"

Richard Maynes, Hurley town councilor, said he would like to understand the numbers.

Morales said she always worries about giving out the numbers without explanations.

Allyson Siwik, representing the Gila Water Conservation Coalition, said she has been involved in the Arizona Water Settlements Act process for the past 15 years. "I urge this group not to give up hope on getting AWSA funding. I'm hopeful there will be additional money available."

Ramos said the New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity, which is working on a New Mexico Unit diversion and storage project, has an amendment to its JPA that is working its way through the process to have money available for use with other projects. "If your municipality is not a member of the Entity, I encourage you to become a member, so you have a say."

Morales then asked the participants to create a history map of water use in the county. The history ranged from the early mines in the 1700s up to today.

"This helps us take a large perspective," she said. "Regional access to water and utilizing resources is the best way to provide water to the residents. The data we will discuss with you is only as good as the information we have. We used data from the preliminary engineering reports of 2014 and 2017. We took into account the population of the county. Based on that population gives you the grant level you can qualify for. The worst case would be a 50 percent grant, including Silver City."

The overall estimated project cost is $18,345,377. The town of Hurley has no water rights, but the town of Silver City, which has water rights near the Grant County Airport, has deeded those water rights to Hurley. Phase 1 of the project is under way using different funding sources including Interstate Stream Commission and USDA funding sources.

Four options for total costs of the project, which would reach from Hurley to Silver City, were presented. Two were figured with a 75 percent grant and two with a 50 percent grant. One of each grant percentage included the Silver City complex and one did not.

The other options were the "postage stamp" type project cost per unit and the "train ticket" project cost per unit. The postage stamp type includes every entity equally. The train ticket type is split by need and population.

For instance, including the Silver City complex and a 75 percent grant, the total project cost remains the $18 million mentioned above, but the loan amount would be $4757,315 for 40 years at 2.63 percent interest. Using the postage stamp project type, the project cost per unit (per connection) would be a monthly minimum of $4.18 for each connection in each entity—Hurley and North Hurley, Bayard plus Hanover, Santa Clara and Silver City complex. The cost per 1,000 gallons for each connection would be an extra $0.37 and for 6,000 gallons an extra $2.20. With the train ticket project type, the monthly minimum cost per connection would be $31.79 for Hurley; $8.03 for Bayard; $6.78 for Santa Clara; and $1.03 for Silver City. The train ticket option would also require the other entities to pay an offset charge to Hurley.

Morales noted the cost of management was not included.

A 75 percent grant excluding the Silver City complex would raise the prices for the other entities. The 50 percent grant with or without Silver City would slightly increase the postage stamp option, and moderately increase the train ticket option.

Morales said the postage stamp option was the most attractive, but every entity in the commission would have to agree to it.

James Marshall, assistant Silver City town manager, said the joint powers agreement could own the project, but the original JPA was for planning and design. "One for authority would be a whole different JPA."

Morales recommended each entity's board meet to decide whether each will join the project or not. "Then we will come back to present the options for financing."