[Editor's Note: This article continues with county reports. This is part 4 of a multi-part series of articles on the Grant County Commission work session of Aug. 9, 2022, and the regular meeting on Aug. 11, 2022. For previous articles, please see the end of this article where they are linked.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

Continuing county reports at the Grant County Commission work session on Aug. 9. 2022, Detention Center Administrator Joseph Andazola reported he has two officers in training, two officers doing on-the-job training and two openings. "We have a full complement of our administration with Lt. Misael Rios, who was promoted to lieutenant of operations yesterday. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army and military police, with experience in El Paso and Lincoln counties, and he comes with a lot of experience in special response teams."

Rios said he was happy to be in Grant County and looked forward to the jail going in the right direction.

"We are looking at partnering with the JUSThealth program which is in the process of sending a contract for review and application to the New Mexico Primary Care Association for a presumptive eligibility coordinator at the facility," Andazola said. "We are also applying for 50 percent for a paid position. As of July 31, the population was 99, and the average daily population for July 2022 was 101. We are often over capacity. And the state is seeing crises on staffing for fall detention facilities. We keep on working on recruitment, and we need to work on retention."

He said the RISE program in July 2022 had 28 participants with 15 in the facility and 13 receiving services in the community. "We will also share quarterly and annual numbers."

"We are talking to New Mexico Counties about opening up programs we had previously but had to quit due to Covid," Andazola said. "Idle hands cause problems."

For future projects, "I want to begin a discussion of possible funding for a body scanner. Luna County just got one. I want to check out how they work, but I think it would keep our staff and other inmates safer if we find out upon entry if they have drugs. Maybe we could use the opioid funding to help with the expense."

He also said he wants to begin developing a special response team along with policies and procedures. "We hope to have a 5-year plan in place maybe in September or October. Deputy Administrator Rios has a lot of experience in crisis teams. We are also working on our IT to develop a long-term plan for the facility. We need to phase the purchase of new computers."

Andazola said New Mexico Counties would provide training for trainers in Dona Ana County. "Rios will get certified to train. We are also looking to double the training that Sgt. Galindo has. He's on year 17 and will retire at 21 years. We will work on getting others certified, because he has a lot of certifications. We are also looking toward a date for a potential mock survey on accreditation, so our officers know what they can expect. We continue to work with updating policy and procedures, so we can apply for accreditation in 2023. The 5-year plan will help with that, too."

District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce said that the previous week at the New Mexico Counties meeting, "we had a lot of discussion on the underfunding of detention centers. It is in the top three priorities. We receive $65,000 for housing state prisoners, but it's not enough. And I know we just approved a $4.1 million budget for you. That's a lot for our small county. Hopefully, we can make headway on getting more funding. It's pretty sad when judges are letting people pay off their debt on fines at $58 a day, when we're paying $95 a day to house them. Maybe we need to talk to the judges and bring it up at the legislative session, It's a 60-day session coming up. It's a hot topic."

Andazola said it would be good for the state to reimburse the county more for the housing "Maybe they could do community service, too, to help with their debts."

Ponce said a lot of municipalities are starting to go with state charges, rather than local ordinances. "Maybe we should talk to the Municpal League, too. Whatever I can do to help you, I have a seat there."

Edwards welcomed Lt. Rios and said: "Despite that we're above capacity a lot, I like seeing that our hiring and training is going well. I'm glad to see all the RISE participation. It's also encouraging that we are looking at a succession plan. You're doing a great job, and we appreciate your leadership."

Planning Director Randy Hernandez presented his report.

The Arenas Valley Road design project is at 25 percent scoping. The Bataan Trails project is near completion pending installation of trail kiosks and signage. The draft ordinance for abandonment of Bald Knoll Road is being finalized, with the public hearing on Aug 23. The Little Walnut Road design is scheduled for completion in October with the construction phase in readiness with Colonias funding. The North Hurley Road Phase 3 design is 95 percent complete, with expected final design in September. The SE Group has conducted the motorized survey for the Outdoor Recreation and Trails Plan, and the group continues data collection. The Quality of Life grant applications are due Aug. 12. The final design for Ridge Road is expected in October, with a pending award from New Mexico Department of Transportation for construction. The Silver Acres preliminary engineering report is due Aug. 19. Engineering is working on a re-design of the Truck Bypass Road construction for a rebid. For staff updates, Hernandez said applications for Code Enforcement Officer were due by Aug 19. The ICIP for fiscal years 2024-28 would be on the agenda for the regular meeting Aug. 11, for submission by Aug. 18.

District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne asked for an update on Ridge Road. Hernandez said he wasn't sure of the number, but he thought the funding was a bit more than $1 million for the first phase.

Jason Lockett, Facilities and Grounds Maintenance supervisor, presented the General Services report. He said the airport was looking good, as it had recently had its annual FAA inspection, and the staff has updated the Airport Certification Manual, the Airport Emergency Plan and the Wildlife Hazard Management plan. The Cliff Arena bleachers are completed, The Cliff/Gila playground equipment installation is scheduled for this month. And the Detention Center generator was repaired and the backup removed. For the DWI program the August newsletter for the schools was sent out; prevention is beginning in the schools and the program policies and procedures were updated. For Corre Caminos, one driver position is open, and "we're still waiting on the signs for the busses, because the vinyl is backordered. We are working on the fiscal year 2024 grant application, and preparing the budget for FY 2023, which will be presented at the September work session."

Lockett said Josh Rascon, airport tech had completed his training and is now certified as an Airport Rescue Fire Fighter. The airport manager will attend the state aviation conference Aug. 10-13. And a new airport employee Amanda Davila begins this month and will be training and become certified.

Acting County Manager Randy Villa said Financial Officer Linda Vasquez took a couple of days off. "Everyone in the finance department has been working hard on the budget." He noted that vacant positions in the department had been filled, with Veronica Rodriguez in the procurement officer position; Angelina Duncan in the accounting specialist accounts payable position; and Jazmine Prejean in the accounting specialist solid waste position. Villa said auditors will begin field work for the audit beginning Aug. 29.

Road Department Superintendent Joe Grijalva presented his report. He said the blade men were on their regular routine. And with not too many washouts, his road crew was addressing complaints as they came in. The department has been patching potholes on Mangus Road and Tyrone townsite. "We are waiting for warning lights for Airport Road and the school zone in the Tyrone townsite. We are cleaning up culverts and starting the curb and gutter on Agua Blanca in North Hurley and setting culverts and lifting and capping the road on Little Walnut. As always, we ask for patience and understanding from the public as we work to address work orders."

He noted that he has only two truck drivers and they are working on advanced training. "We used to do the training here, but don't have a trainer any longer. We are trying to replace a whole blade, because it's more than 7 years old. We replace the cutting edge as needed It's a $40,000-$50,000 item. I'll get some more information. We do have some other equipment that needs replacement. Our sweeper is more than 20 years old."

Ponce asked for an update on Spring Creek Road. He noted that when the Legislative Finance Committee was in town, he told them about the department having to clear debris from flooding after the Black Fire. "Is there any way to get cost estimates for the manpower and equipment, so we can apply for reimbursement. I did make a comment that it costs us money to keep up the roads."

Grijalva said he would get cost estimates. "On Spring Creek Road, we cut down a tree."

Villa said he would work with Grijalva on the cost estimates, because he had been out there that day.

"We opened up a culvert on Spring Creek Road, but there's still work to do," Grijalva said.

Edwards asked Grijalva if he had a figure per mile to maintain unpaved roads.

Grijalva said he would work on it and sent it to her.

Edwards said Bald Knoll Road for the proposed abandonment had cited $600 a mile to maintain the unpaved road.

The final report came from IT Director Adam Baca. He said he and Robert were working on the site-wide implementation of the remote monitoring and management tool, as well as implementation of the anti-virus solution and of the new backup infrastructure environment. "We are setting up backups and testing recovery in the Google Workspace environment, as well as setting up remote backups between the Administration building and the Detention Center." He noted the department has backups for most departments. "We are also looking to configure and implement an updated Granicus server for the live streaming of Commission meetings. We are also working with engineers on solutions we purchased."

The following article will get into presentations and reports at the regular meeting.

To view the previous articles please visit https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/73714-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-080922-part-1; https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/73774-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-080922-part-2 ; and https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/73792-grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-080922-part-3 .