By Roger Lanse

At its Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2018, meeting the Silver City Town Council heard from Karl Pennock of the Rural Community Assistance Corporation in Las Cruces. Pennock, in this preliminary analysis, pointed out the GCRWP (regional water project) when completed would serve Hurley, Santa Clara, Bayard, Arenas Valley, and Silver City. Cost of the project was estimated at $18 million in 2014, and the 2018 estimate is $18.3 million. Pennock stated the first phase involving connections in Hurley has been funded. When the entire project is completed, sometime in the future, all communities between Hurley and Racetrack Road will have the opportunity to be connected, including Silver City, as its water line extends to Racetrack Road to service Arenas Valley.

If Silver City chooses not to participate in the project, costs will go up significantly for the smaller communities, Pennock said, as there would be fewer connections and if fees are based on use rather than connections, the cost to smaller communities would go up even more.

Town Manager Alex Brown told council that the town has been working on the RWP for many years. “We’ve actually gotten to the point of construction for Phase I. They’re finalizing the bid to get ready for construction.” Brown stated.

Brown lined out three options for additional water for Silver City and Grant County’s smaller communities in the future. The first would be to pump all the water the town owns. He said presently the town owns about 941 acre/feet of water rights at the Hurley Airport and in 2011 were using about 64 percent of that. The town has the capacity of pumping up to 80 percent of the water for which the town has rights, but to pump that amount would require substantial infrastructure costs. Brown said this option would require all the costs to be borne by the town alone just to get the water the town owns.

The second option, Brown said, is to adopt a water conservation plan. Brown stated the town has started implementing conservation practices with new water meters and other measures. “So, now the water usage has gone down and leveled out around 47-49 percent of what we own,” he said.

The third option, Brown iterated, is to take advantage of the Regional Water Plan. Brown doesn’t believe Silver City would ever use water from the RWP, “but what we would do is require some of the water associations to move to the RWP, therefore decreasing the demand on our infrastructure. So, that will free up a lot of water and decrease our demand.

“I feel we need to make some decisions that aren’t too expensive but will impact this community in the long term,” Brown went on. “I really feel we need to continue listening and working to see what are our best options.” Brown figured there is a possibility the town could get a 50 or 75 percent grant to complete the project. “Who knows? We might get to be funded outright. We’re not asking for any decisions now. We’re trying to educate.”

Mayor Ken Ladner stated, “This plan is so wonderful for Hurley because in the near future they would have been without water, and, so, this is lifesaving for their community.”

Pennock stated the cost to Hurley for Phase I of the RWP which will bring water to Hurley from the wellfield is about $8 million, which is being borne entirely by the residents of Hurley.

Brown said as the RWP is completed, more communities will connect and the cost to all will go down.

Ladner asked Brown about the possibility of making the intersection of Pope and 12th streets a four-way stop as he experienced traffic moving faster recently when the signals were malfunctioning and everyone had to stop at the blinking red lights. Brown said he would look into it.

Council approved an ordinance amending the Municipal Traffic Code for the town preserving the town’s amendments made to the New Mexico 2017 Uniform Traffic Code. Town Attorney Robert Scavron pointed out some state rules don’t fit Silver City.

Council also approved two resolutions supporting applications to the New Mexico Finance Authority under the Colonias Infrastructure Fund; one for a $900,000 street and drainage improvement project on Ridge Road between Highway 90 and Chukar Drive, and a second for an approximate $200,000 improvement to the town’s wastewater treatment plant.

Council approved a resolution for the town to submit a joint application with Grant County for a street improvement project on Little Walnut Road between Chavez Lane and the city limits, involving pavement, curbs, gutters, bike lane, sidewalks, drainage improvement, and ADA requirements. Brown told council the county is funding a project of street improvement on Little Walnut Road from the city limits to the Little Walnut Picnic Area, which will bring improvements all the way from town to LWPA.

Ladner said, “This is really exciting. It’s going to give us a great economic boost. We are going to be able not only to say we’re the Gateway to the Continental Divide Trail and to the national forest but we can back it up with the infrastructure.”

Brown ended the meeting by adding a note to keep in the back of everyone’s mind. He is looking at alternate uses for the Rock House on Little Walnut Road and thinks it would be an appropriate trailhead for the CDT system. “I’m going to be working on that, just so you know.”