[Editor's Note: This is the final part of a multi-part series of articles on the County Commission work session of June 11, 2019 and regular meeting of June 13, 2019. It addressed the agenda items.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

After presentations at the Grant County Commission work session of June 11, 2019, the review of the regular meeting agenda, which took place on June 13, 2019, commenced.

The first item addressed a commendation to Sheriff's Department Sgt. Manuel "Manny" Maldonado for actions he took, while off-duty, in Las Cruces to save a woman's life.

[Editor's Note: To read about the commendation and the following presentation, visit http://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/51756-grant-county-commission-regular-meeting-reports-and-presentations-061319-part-2]

A presentation on Grant County Trail Priority interest took place at the regular meeting. It can also be read about at the above link.

Commissioners, at the work session, heard about quotes received to address the Bataan Park Pavilion issues. County Manager Charlene Webb said two options could be considered. One was to make the interior of the pavilion ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant at $59,000. The second option would replace the HVAC systems and perform ADA parking, so people could drive in by the pavilion. The second quote at a cost of $116,000 is the walk-in version to make it ADA compliant from the current parking lot.

"(County Financial Officer) Linda (Vasquez) and I looked at the budget," Webb said. "We do have the money to do option 1, but not option 2. For the design-build, we wouldn't need to issue an RFP."

Commissioner Javier Salas said the county is going after a CDBG grant award. "Would it be an impairment to that grant?"

Webb said it would likely be an advantage. "It may be positive that we have the match and thus have leveraging. The more money you can match it with, those are benefit factors that could bring us higher points on the consideration of the grant. There are also Gordian fees, which I cannot explain to you, except they are part of the design-build process."

Commissioner Harry Browne asked if the fee structure could make it more expensive. Webb replied that because it is added on as part of the cost, "I believe they are included."

Commissioner Billy Billings said the commissioners had talked about going with local contractors, but "I think we would save money with the design-build process."

Webb said in her experience, it saves money, as well as the time that would be required to go out for RFPs (requests for proposals), which takes at least 45 days to go out to bid and get them back.

Community Development and Planning Director Michael "Mischa" Larisch noted that the bid included using local subcontractors.

Commissioner Alicia Edwards asked what the propane in the list would be for.

Larisch explained the electricity panel does not have enough capacity to carry new heaters, and that a gas line would have to be brought in from the highway, which would be expensive.

Edwards said she was opposed to cooling and heating a building that has six unsealed bay doors. "I say do the ADA and use the CDBG for fixing the doors."

Billings asked what the problem with the cooling was.

Larisch: "It's an old swamp cooler, not efficient, and we would switch to higher efficiency cooling and heating."

Billings noted the swamp coolers work better with ventilation from the unsealed bay doors.

"Until we have a way to control the cooling and heating, by having the cooling off if the bay doors are open, I don't want to heat and cool the outside air," Edwards said. "We need to look at the ADA compliance and look at the rest of the upgrades as a package. Would the fire code allow the bay doors to be locked?"

General Services Director and Fire Management Officer Randy Villa said there would need to be exits depending on how many people were in the structure.

Salas said the building needed heat in the winter. "And can we extend the cement slab across the front of the building?"

Commission Chairman Chris Ponce said the proposal was a start to "accomplish one of our goals."

Edwards asked if one bay door would be enough to stay unlocked.

Billings said he hated to see the county micro-managing the use of the pavilion. "If it's cold, close the bay doors. You can open them to cool it."

Edwards said the county is paying for the heating and cooling.

Villa said the heater in the building is not efficient for winter. "Fifty percent of the people want it hot. Fifty percent want it cool. A new heater would be more efficient."

Salas said he talked to Horace Jaramillo, who worked at the county when the pavilion was put in. "He said the bay doors are there, so the county doesn't have to worry about occupancy numbers."

Billings noted that the Cliff Fairground exhibit building has no heat. "It is freezing in there for food distribution."

Webb said that issue was being addressed.

At the regular meeting, Edwards moved they table the bids on the Bataan Park Pavilion, because of new information that had come forward.

Webb said the first area of concern was "a huge error on the quote. We are looking at the fire code with the state fire marshal. We would rather get it right the first time."

Salas said the scope of what the county was planning is impossible. "Can we do the access right now? Put in the ramp and concrete apron?"

Villa said he met with the fire marshal. "Basically, he said we have to have the A3 certificate of occupancy. When we apply for a building permit, whether it's outdoor ramps or any ADA changes, it would require a building permit. The state Construction Industries Division said anything we do with a building permit would require bringing the entire building up to code. We don't have the money. The thought is to put it all in the CDBG grant application."

Jason Lockett, county maintenance manager, said anything the county could do at the building could trigger the requirement to bring it to code, "even if it's just outside the building."

Edwards said she also talked to Salas about the 483-electricity system. "There was a difference of opinion and I wanted to know why. A professional electrician looked at the current system, which is a 483, and he said it would be possible to put an efficient heating system on the current electrical panel at the pavilion."

Lockett said he would talk to the fire marshal and the CID. "Electrical heat is more efficient than propane."

Edwards said another thing talked about was a thermostat. Lockett said a programmable one with a time clock could turn the heat or cooling on or off.

Ponce said it was disheartening to him to hear that the county doesn't have the money for Bataan Park, which is tied to outdoor activities and sports. "If we don't have $90,000, how can we get $100,000 for the outdoor recreation plan? We owe it to Grant County residents. I hope we can put some money into outdoor activities here. I'm hoping we can tackle both sides—diversifying the economy and taking care of Bataan Park."

At the work session, the first agreement addressed a master purchase, license and service agreement with Colossus Inc. dba Jail Tracker for jail management system services at the Grant County Detention Center.

County Attorney Abigail Burgess said it is about the software and services related to the Encartele system [a telecommunications system within a correctional facility, which was recently approved for the Grant County Detention Center.].

Detention Center Administrator Mike Carillo said the jail is moving to the Jail Tracker system, because of consistent issues with the former provider. "Their tech support response was not the best. Either we didn't get a response, or they didn't do what they said they would. I have met with this group. It is an upgrade and improvement on what we had. It is a better tracking system, and we can add to it what we need. It provides accountability to our officers and eliminates mistakes and oversights."

Edwards said at the winter affiliates meeting, she attended a workshop on detention centers and "this is what was happening around the state. Will this integrate with other state systems?"

Browne noted there also was a program that the Department of Health was pushing out to detention centers to help when inmates are released to other resources, such as the hospital. "It is important that this new system is compatible with the other systems."

Webb said the monthly cost was about the same as the current system.

Burgess said the previous agreement was expiring, so "we need to move forward with this one. We have a timeline to meet."

Webb said she believed that even if the system weren't compatible "today, an interface can be created."

Commissioners, at the regular session, approved the agreement for the Jail Tracker system, because internal IT said it believed the system had presumptive eligibility with no need to create integration.

At the work session, Cindy Blackman of the Grant County DWI Program, said the agreement between the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration and the county, was the agreement received for the contract that commissioners had previously approved. "I applied for $105,000 and got $95,000. The state slashed $10,000 from the treatment program, because many using our services are Medicaid eligible. Senate Bill 413 impacted the distribution. Some sort of tax on alcohol and breweries was reduced by almost 6 percent. We lost 9 percent, which I slashed out of enforcement." Commissioners approved the agreement.

At the regular session, commissioners approved the NM Tourism Department agreement with the Grant County Commissioners Lodgers Tax Committee for a marketing and advertising grant of $23,466.

Under resolutions, several addressed changes in election laws, impacting polling places, precincts and district numbers.

Clerk Marisa Castrillo said one polling place change was being requested by her office. "We want to move the Cliff polling place from the school to the Fairgrounds Exhibit building. Manager Webb has gone above and beyond on getting internet and working on getting heating in the building. The building is county-owned, so it will be much easier for us to work with. We never knew where we would be in the schools, and besides the schools don't want extra traffic during school time."

Browne asked what the potential cost to heat the building would be. Webb said she would get it figured out.

Salas asked if it would affect any other school-based polling locations.

"It should not affect San Lorenzo, the only other school we are using," Castrillo said.

Webb said the proposal to heat the exhibit building has been a need for a while. "It's used by the Fair Board and food distribution, as well as during the fair. We're not doing it just for elections."

Castrillo noted that it was not far from where the polling place had been at the schools.

Ponce said the county might need to look at San Lorenzo for security reasons in the future.

Precincts throughout the state should not exceed 750 votes each. "We have three precincts that had more than 750 votes in the 2016 election," Castrillo said. "One is a boundary shift moving to a natural road, instead of a light pole or whatever the boundary was at the time. Those who are in precincts 26 and 27 will not change the voters. That's the boundary shift. Precincts 8, 11, 12 and 13 will be split. Voters in 8 may move to precinct 36; in 11 to 37; 12 to 38; and 13 to 39. Instead of 35 precincts we will have 39. The change will be reflected on the new voter card you will receive. Research and Polling came in and made the changes. It will not affect your voting. With the convenience centers on Election Day, you can vote at any center in the county."

Webb noted that senior centers could not be used as polling places because of strict Area Agency on Aging regulations with funding. "The senior centers actually had to cut out a lot of activities that were taking place at senior centers."

Billings asked about the discussion on changing commissioner districts.

Castrillo said the state has a formula that the counties must meet for odd and even district numbers. "Some counties are having a real issue with changing the districts and have to extend some commission terms. Ours was actually easy. If we just make Billings District 1 and Ponce District 4, then terms remain the same. They have no changes other than their district number designation—same districts, different numbers. The new election code changes required all odd numbers districts to be elected in one year and the even-numbered ones in another year. Switching the district numbers was the easiest way for us to comply."

Grumblings were heard on having to get new campaign signs, because the number had changed.

Commissioners, at the regular meeting, approved a grant agreement for the 2019-20 Community Wildfire Protection Plan Wildfire Risk Reduction grant program for $15,000.

Three resolutions addressed cooperative agreements between the county and the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

The first, for Project CAP to patch roadways, overlay and lay single penetration chip seal with drainage, shoulder improvements and striping of roads within the county, was approved at the regular meeting. At the work session, Road Superintendent Earl Moore said the funding was a 75%-25% split. "We do most of our 25 percent with in kind work. This year's funding was based on last year's funding, and we got less, so we will have to cut five miles off our projects. If we get the money for Hurley, I will look at moving money around. If we can't get construction money for Ridge Road, we may have to cut some more. We got $198,245 this year."

Webb said they were hearing throughout the session that there would be more money for roads, "and then we get less, and again less next year. There is no logical explanation for cuts to the Local Government Road Fund."

Project SP is to install an 80-foot prefabricated bridge south of Ridge Road. "We didn't have enough money this year," Moore said. "We are going to try to get it done in the fall. Tyrone Mine access was deemed unsafe because of the bridge." Webb said if the county cannot get the extra money that the state seems to have "found, we can use bond money."

Moore said a detour had been built for residents and workers, but it wouldn't carry big trucks.

The last road agreement was for project SB, to patch roadways, lay single penetration chip seal, with drainage, shoulder improvements and striping of roads for school bus routes. "That is quite a bit of roads," Moore said. "If oil prices go down, it will help us get them done. If not, we may have to cut some."

Commissioners approved the three agreements at the regular meeting.

A resolution authorizing the submission of a CDBG grant application and authorizing the commission chair to act as the county's chief executive officer and authorized representative in all matters of the grant program was discussed at the work session and approved at the regular meeting.

Webb said, at the work session, that she had fulfilled the requirement to hold two public hearings. "I held three—two in the morning and one in the afternoon. Bataan Park was mentioned. I have met the obligation for pre-publication requirements and then a post project public hearing will be held."

"I did put Bataan Park into the application, so funding can be used for that purpose, among others," Webb said.

The last resolution declared an emergency and made a request for emergency funding for the Hanover Mutual Domestic Water Consumer Association.

"A week ago, their well went down," Webb said. "The county has stepped in in the past. We rented a generator for them, and they received water from Bayard, but that amount is capped. This resolution allows Hanover MDWCA to apply for emergency funding to the New Mexico Finance Authority."

She noted that the expense of fixing the well would completely deplete the association's reserves.

After approval at the regular meeting, Browne said he would appreciate an update on the situation within the next few months.

Commissioners approved an RFP from Bohannon Huston to provide airport services. It came out on top of the bid process, because of its expertise and previous successful work with the county, according to Randy Hernandez, county chief procurement officer.

In commissioner reports at the work session, Browne gave a public apology for creating the impression that he was dissatisfied with the attorney's services. "Thank you for your service. I love talking law. I apologize for not making this statement at the time of our announcing your resignation."

Edwards said she was even more asleep. "Absolutely, you've been an asset to me and the county."

Salas said he received a phone call that the county was trucking water to the arena in Cliff for an event.

"It was not for a specific group," Webb said. "It is a county facility. I asked the road department to wet the ground, when there are going to be events. But only if they are available to do so. It's part of preparing the facility for someone to use."

Edwards asked if the county had a set of directives or policy "on what we are going to do for facilities we rent that may require preparation?"

Webb said, at the conference center it is clear what renters will get. "For other facilities, it probably needs to be reworked. Bataan Park and the fairgrounds are vague."

Browne said he normally didn't think it was something the commssioners should get involved in "for this type of decision."

Salas said it was not malfeasance, but it was using county equipment. "Does the rental cover the cost of using the equipment to haul water?"

Webb clarified by saying the county is not hauling water. "The water is donated by a gentleman out there. It was also used as training for the truck driver. We may have to do a cost analysis and perhaps raise rents."

Ponce said the issue of costs and rents may been to be revisited to make sure the county is recouping costs.

"We're looking at other counties," Webb said. "We'll work with Jason and Earl on expenses."

Ponce said it was a matter of perception. "We have to be fair and consistent."

Edwards said there is a rental fee for a facility, whether it is for one or 100. "We have to prepare the facility. Water on the ground at the arena is different from what is needed at Bataan Park. This is part of the county manager's job and she brings us the results."

Ponce also thanked Burgess for her services. "You've been a great help to all of us."

At the regular session, no commissioners had reports.

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