Grant County Commission held combined work and regular session 010920 part 4

[Editor's Note: This final portion of the Grant County Commission combined meeting held on Jan. 9, 2020, will address the regular meeting agenda during the last hour and a half of the meeting.}

By Mary Alice Murphy

The first three articles on this meeting can be read at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/55343-grant-county-commission-holds-combined-work-and-regular-sessions-010920-part-1 and https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/55427-grant-county-commission-holds-combined-work-and-regular-sessions-010920-part-2 and https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/55524-grant-county-commission-held-combined-work-and-regular-meeting-010920-part-3

After approval of minutes of regular meetings and work sessions, as well as special sessions, Financial Officer Linda Vasquez presented the financial report for Dec. 6, through Dec. 30, 2019. Expenses totaled $1,701,732.57, which included payroll costs of $451,011.59.

Expenses of more than $10,000 are in the chart below

Commissioners approved the elections of officers of the various volunteer fire and rescue departments, including Cliff/Gila, Fort Bayard, Lower Mimbres, Pinos Altos, Sapillo Creek, Tyrone, Upper Mimbres and Whiskey Creek.

Cliff/Gila retained the same officers, Chief Brad Malone, Assistant Chief Latigo Malone, 1st Battalion Chief Billy McCauley, 2nd Battalion Chief Esker Mayberry, 1st Captain Robby Birch, 2nd Captain BJ Agnew, 1st Lt. Shelly Malone and 2nd St. Lynie Yates.

Fort Bayard also kept the same officers: Chief Joe Chavez, Assistant Chief Eugene Rodriguez, Captain Jacob Andazola and Secretary Monica Legarda.

Lower Mimbres chose Chief Michael Barragree, Assistant Chief Chuck Ulitchney; for Sherman Station Battalion Chief Dan Hazen, 1st Lt. Lynn Ulitchney and 2nd Lt. Jim Greer; for Faywood Station Battalion Chief Stan Rawlins, 1st Lt. Fran Rawlins, 2nd Lt. Ken McGraw; Dispatchers Wanda Spitzer and Rebecca Hazen; Treasurer/Secretary Assistant Rebecca Hazen and Secretary Jennifer Sinnott.

Pinos Altos chose a new Chief Ed Downard, Assistant Chief Lucy Whitmarsh, Secretary Jody Hall, Treasurer Ellen Cline; for PA Station Battalion Chief Fran Ferrara, 1st Lt. Brad Clark, 2nd Lt. Cynthia Clark; for the Wagon Wheel Lane Station Battalion Chief Larry Ruben, 1st Lt. Karen Rothberg, 2nd Lt. Jody Hall; for Cottage San Road/LS Mesa Stations Battalion Chief Steve White, 1st Lt. Duane Frost and CSR 2nd Lt. Rhonda Tapscott and LSM Station 2nd Lt. Amos England.

Sapillo Creek Chief Thomas Ross, Assistant Chief David Cabral, Captain Andy Tiegs, 1st Lt. Diana Jiron, 2nd Lt. Wes Grover, Secretary Diana Jiron and Treasurer George Martin.

Tyrone has many stations and a substation: Here is a chart of all the officers in PDF format:

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Upper Mimbres VFR chose Chief Ed Powers, Main Station Battalion Chief Gail Zimmerman, 1st Lt. Karen Cornell, 2nd Lt. Dave Roedel; Thunderbird Station Battalion Chief George Tripp, 1st Lt. Scott Kiefer, 2nd Lt. Sherry Simpson; Secretary and Dispatcher, Jan Tripp and Treasurer and Dispatcher Freda Powers.

Whiskey Creek VFR Chief Daniel Salaiz, Assistant Chief Tyler Morrison; Station 1 Battalion Chief Jesse Franklin-Owens, 1st Lt. Gale Sera and 2nd Lt. Brian Hollenback; Station 2 Battalion Chief Charles Dietz, 1st Lt. Jori Frost and 2nd Lt. Tanner Kovacs.

Commissioners also approved the EMS Fund Act Local Funding Program applications from Gila Regional, Gila Regional East, Gila Valley, Pinos Altos and Tyrone Districts 1, 2 and 3.

The next agenda item addressed the commissioners delegating management of a lobbyist to County Manager Charlene Webb.

"I reached out to a lobbyist I knew and have worked with previously and asked him for a proposal. His name is Mike Miller. I worked with him for 12 years. He will charge us $12,000 for the 30-day session. He is a former county manager, a former fire chief, has served on city council, and has served as a witness on EMS matters. He is meticulous. His contact with whomever you choose as the one point of contact will end March 1, on the date the governor must sign or not sign bills."

District 1 Commissioner and Chairman Chris Ponce said he thought it was a great idea to have someone who really understands the process to "get us any money available."

District 2 Commissioner Javier "Harvey" Salas said at last session he hung on to the coattails of a lobbyist. "It really opened doors."

District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards said she would like to see the proposal say something about regularity of communication and would like to see it in writing.

"When I worked with him before, we talked daily or multiple times daily," Webb said.

"I would like him to tell us when we need to be there and what to do," Edwards said.

District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings was absent for a previous commitment for a time during the meeting but returned later.

District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne said he thought the county's biggest priorities are their capital outlay requests.

"He will work on New Mexico Counties priorities," Webb said. "We approved them. He can track down legislators. We know that priorities can change, and hearings move in time. He will work on our behalf. I think you would handicap yourselves if you chose specific priorities. We want him to work on whatever is the priority of Grant County at that moment."

Browne said that last year "we had trouble coordinating as a body. This may be a time to commit as a body. But I will leave that to the county manager."

"I think I know where each one of you stands," Webb said.

Browne said he knows there will be issues on the New Mexico Central Arizona Project Entity and "we don't agree within the body."

Ponce said he felt a 30-day session is more dangerous, because things have to happen more quickly.

Edwards asked if they could agree not to have the lobbyist lobby on anything concerning a diversion.

"Not without Billy here, we can't decide that," Ponce said.
The commissioners approved delegating authority to Webb, with the request for a special emergency meeting if required.

Commissioners approved an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for funding for purchasing repeaters and equipment related to Dispatch. "We are working to get us all compatible," Webb said.

Discussion ensued on whether to have one work session and regular meeting a month or two of each.

Browne said he preferred two meetings.

Edwards noted that with two meetings a month, much staff time is tied up with just getting everything together for the meetings.

Ideas brought up included having one meeting with all agenda items and another focused on specific topics; not having county employees at both meetings; having one regular meeting one month and two the next; and various other permutations of meetings.

"I thought we could manage the agenda better with two meetings a month, but it hasn't worked the way I envisioned them," Webb said. "Although in theory, it saves time, it doesn't really. If all discussion is in the work session, as it should be, it makes the regular meeting shorter, but we always seem to have carry over with discussion during the regular meeting, too. We will do whatever you want us to do."

Commissioner approved one work session and one regular meeting a month on the third Thursday of the month and the work session on the preceding Tuesday. Because of conflicts by Browne, the February and March dates will be changed to allow him to attend.

Edwards combined resolutions R-20-02, 03, 05 and 06 for approval. R-20-02 addressed allocation of funding for the 2019 Colonias Application for the Old Arena Valley Road Project; 03 the application for Truck Bypass Road Project; 05 for the Little Walnut Road project; and 06 for the North Hurley Road Phase III project. They were approved.

Priscilla Lucero, Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments executive director, said item S later in the agenda would need to be approved before discussion began on the application for a Silver Acres Infrastructure Master Plan.

Discussion began on 04, which was titled an Indian Hills Sewer project, because of a letter from a resident of the area.

Community Development and Planning Director Michael "Mischa" Larisch said the deadline for applications is Feb. 27.

He said the letter expressed concern about it being only a sewer line project. "Souder, Miller called it the sewer line, but it will also include roadway construction. In discussions with New Mexico Environment Department and Silver City, we decided the first scope of work should be the sewer system, so we don't have to dig up a new road to install it. This application is for funding for design."

Lucero said from the Colonias Board perspective, the application has to be based on a category. "In this case, we determined wastewater system improvements would be the best category to apply through. If we want roads, it has to be in that category. The application has to be competitive in the correct category."

Commissioners approved the R-20-04 resolution to apply for funding in the category of wastewater improvements for Indian Hills. The approval included a change of title to something about infrastructure and the addition of several whereas sections to document the alignment of intent to cover several projects in the area.

Next they addressed agenda item S, which was resolution R-19-72, first proposed in 2019.

The resolution would designate Silver Acres as a Colonia. A public input meeting was held and covered in this article: https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/55169-meeting-held-with-silver-acres-residents-to-discuss-colonia-designation-121919

Browne asked if the boundaries on the map could be changed.

"We looked at expanding the area," Larisch said. "Going all the way to Maude's Canyon is not a bad expansion. I think we can still include residences just outside the boundaries."

Lucero disagreed and said with new designations, every bit must be in the application. "We can call it Silver Acres area and include all the households in the area."

The designation was approved.

The resolution R-20-07 application for the Ridge Road project was approved, as was 08 for the Silver Acres Infrastructure Master Plan.

R-20-09 was approved to appoint Webb to the New Mexico Insurance Authority Pool Board and Edwards as the alternate.

As the Grant County Health Care Claims Board, commissioners approved $24,334.56 in claims to Gila Regional Medical Center and an indigent burial payment of $600 to Baca's Funeral Chapel.

During Commissioner reports, Salas had none, Edwards had none. Browne addressed Billings. "While you were gone, we discussed the New Mexico CAP Entity. I am concerned the entity is considering spending in Virden from the New Mexico Unit Fund. I think it's not the most efficient use of the funding. I would not like to see any more money spent in diversion projects. I will create a resolution to have our representatives not advocate for diversion at the Jan. 17 special meeting."

This is the final part of the Jan. 9 combined work session and regular meeting.