By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Town Council held a regular meeting June 13, 2023. The meeting started with Mayor Ken Ladner calling the meeting to order and leading the Pledge of Allegiance and salute to the New Mexico state flag. Council members attending the meeting included Jose Ray, Nicholas Prince, Guadalupe Cano, and Rudy Bencomo.

The council approved the agenda with one change. They removed the executive session for this meeting.

Ceremonies none currently.

Proclamations none currently.

Council comments

Prince said he had a beautiful and busy three weeks. He attended the Municipal League meeting in Albuquerque and had learned a lot. He had gone to the Blues Fest and felt it went really well. Regarding behavioral health the community has had some hard losses recently. "We need the resources to help respond to community needs."

Bencomo said he had met a lot of people at the Municipal League training. "I was the oldest and newest one there. It was good to see everyone from Silver City." He addressed Alex Brown, town manager, about some calls he had gotten recently concerning yards that needed the weeds removed. The homes currently have for sale signs, and he asked who would be responsible. Brown said the owners. He told him to give the information to code enforcement to check into. Bencomo had received a request from a constituent for a speed bump. Brown told him to contact the police chief and he would look at the area and see if it would be needed.

Cano said, "I was pleased that the whole council had attended the Municipal League training." The training went well, and she thought it would be beneficial to the city. She told the council she wanted to run for the Municipal League Board of Directors for the state. She must have the support of the board to run, and it will be on the agenda next time. She told them she hoped to have their support.

Cano said she had attended the Blues Fest and enjoyed it but "I had some issues because I am in a wheelchair." She hoped that events in the town would consider the needs of the mobility impaired. "Please ask for advice." The staff needs to be trained on this issue. She described an issue where a volunteer had tried to jump over her in the wheelchair. "I know I am not the only one with this struggle."

Ray said he had attended the Municipal League training, and it had been good to see everyone there. The Blues Fest had been well attended and had a lot of good music. They had many entrances and exits. The fence set up had been done well and they had good security. Next year he said he hoped to see two days instead of just the one.

Ray said July 8, 2023, they would be having something downtown. Some of the streets would be blocked and they would have a low-rider night. The event would not have a charge and they would see how it goes. More information will be coming at the next meeting.

The council approved the minutes from the May 23, 2023, meeting.

Public input

Ruben Udero, a resident, addressed the council concerning the Blues Fest. He said he had been a wrestling coach here for 44 years, coached girls softball for 16 years and received many awards from the state and locally. He currently teaches at both school districts. He said he has attended the Blues Fest for many years. He had gone this year and saw many open seats in the gazebo, in the shade so he sat down to get out of the sun. A person presenting himself as an organizer told him he could not sit there; the area was for VIPs (donors). He went on to tell him he had raised $160,000 for the event. Udero said "I moved and still an hour later out of about 60 chairs only two people were sitting and before I left only four people were using them. I felt humiliated that he said if I cut him a check then I could sit there." He said he had always fought for people's rights. He wanted the council and public to know what happened. He added that he observed people bringing drinks out of the beer garden. He thought that they had to stay in the beer garden to drink alcohol. "They had 60 chairs, they need to leave old people alone, no one was using them."

Reports

Carol Ann Fugagli with the New Earth Project addressed the council. This project concerns composting and food waste reduction. "I read the climate news, and I am terrified. This project is my way to deal with it and be proactive." The focus of the project has been environmental justice for the climate. They want to improve food security, carbon sequestration, soil improvement, food waste reduction and youth employment. The heart of the project has to do with a special form of composting called Johnson-Su composting. The process has been around for about ten years and was invented by Dr. David Johnson and his wife who live in Las Cruces. The process is clean, static, aerobic and does not smell or attract flies. It takes about a year for each bed to mature. At the end of the project the soil produced becomes very microbial rich and valuable. They collect about 1,200 pounds of food from several schools every week. Gila Wood Net weighs and puts it through a type of garbage disposal to break down the food into a small size. They then mix it with biochar and create a slurry. She had a slide presentation that showed the process, containers and students working on it. They currently have 37 containers, and the finished product will be 700 pounds of a finished fungal-rich product from each container. They have also been doing an outreach to the schools to teach and conduct activities on the process. Fugagli thanked the town for their past help and support. They have applied for a grant that could turn this into a permanent project.

Prince asked how much the compost sold for. Fugagli said they would be selling it for $2 a pound.

Managers' report.

Brown said he didn't have anything currently. Bencomo asked about 32nd Street project. They will be starting on Swan Street to Pinos Altos Road. He said they will be doing the area by the school first to try and finish before school starts. Bencomo asked him about sidewalks in that area. Brown said they would be putting sidewalks in the areas that didn't have any and repairing those that are unsafe and need to be replaced but would not replace the ones that don't need repair.

Public hearings none currently.

Work session agenda

They had three topics to consider. Cano wanted to add a fourth choice of the continuation of the discussion about a committee to determine a job description for town manager. She added a motion to just have that as the topic for the next work session and the council approved the motion

Unfinished business none currently.

New business

The council approved the special dispenser permit for Q's Southern Bistro on June 23, 2023, to be at 601 North Bullard, also known as The Hub. Bisbee on the Road will be the event for the permit. It will happen 7:00 pm to 9:30 pm.

The council approved resolution 2023-12. This had to do with the participation in the Local Government Road Fund program done by the DOT (Department of Transportation). Town Clerk Alfred Sedillo said this resolution would accept the funds for them to do chip seal work for 2024. The city would have to match the grant with $30,871.

The council passed an amendment to ordinance 1319 with Prince voting no. Jim Reynolds, town attorney explained the amendment. It amended part of chapter 50 of the ordinance. He said his predecessor Robert Scavron wanted to make this ordinance the toughest in the state. Ray had sponsored this amendment because of a request by a constituent. They wanted to eliminate the city requirement for side by side (ROV's) to have DOT tires. New Mexico code does not require them.

Prince brought up that the softer tires on the side by sides would leave more debris behind and cause damage to the environment. Reynolds said it would be the same as state statues and only used on town roads. Brown said they would not cause a problem, and actually the heavier vehicles cause more problems. He cited DOT laws on the matter. Cano clarified that they could cross main roads and are permitted to go to gas stations.

The council approved the amendment to ordinance 1320. Reynolds said this amends the nuisance ordinance for buildings and structures that have been damaged or destroyed by fire or lack of adequate sewer and water services. The amendment helps code enforcement with specific language. Prince wanted to know who made the determination of a nuisance structure. Reynolds said code enforcement.

The council passed an amendment to ordinance 1321 with Prince voting no. Reynolds said this amendment would change the definition to be more precise. The ordinance says "kept in an enclosure with adequate shelter." It does not have a provision for shade. The animal can be out in the heat with no shade. Adequate shade has been added to help code enforcement. They have had a problem with a number of these encounters.

Cano said that she insisted that they have some kind of education for the public. Brown said they would be doing ads, posting on Facebook, and announcing on the radio.

Prince said he had concerns that this would be a problem and now people would be criminalized.

The council approved the bid 22/23-2 2022 Colonias water system improvements for a 300,000 gallon booster tank to Morrow Enterprises. The cost will be $1,140,388 plus gross receipts. Brown said currently they have a 150,000 gallon tank and this would be an improvement. This will be on the Franks well field.

Meeting adjourned.