By Alexis Rico

The Town of Hurley met for their regularly scheduled meeting on October 13, 2020, via Zoom at 5:04 p.m. Present for the meeting were Mayor Ed Stevens, Mayor Pro-Tem Richard Maynes, Councilor Esther Gil, Councilor Mateo Madrid, and Councilor Freddie Rodriguez.

The meeting began with the approval of the agenda for the meeting.

There were two people present through Zoom to speak with the council during the Public Input section of the meeting.

Jennifer Bivens explained to the council that she was present for the meeting because she was recently attacked by a pit bull while walking her dog. This was the second time she and her dog have been attacked by a pit bull and was bitten in the same leg. She did state that her dog was on a leash and her dog is up to date on his shots and everything.

Bivens stated that her concern is the many animals running around lose throughout the town.

"People just need to be accountable for their dogs the way I am," Bivens said. "People have to walk around with some type of weapon for self-defense. And this is just scary and unacceptable."

My dog is traumatized," Bivens stated. "I am definitely traumatized. I just want to know what we can do. The dog catcher from Bayard was present and did a great job in helping me. We have a huge problem with animals running loose."

Mayor Stevens told Bivens that the council will certainly address the concern. The council also wants the town to be safer.

"We are very sorry about what happened to you," Stevens said.

Wayne Kleck spoke to the council next. He was also present for the meeting to discuss with the council about his concerns for the loose dogs in the area that are making it unsafe for many people.

Kleck informed the council that he had recently moved from a smaller town in Texas.

"I really love it here in this little town," Kleck said. "My only concern so far is the dog situation. I did hear Jennifer screaming and the dogs fighting down the road."

"I do want to commend the work of the Bayard Chief and Armando (Bayard Code Enforce Officer) for their help during the attack," Kleck said. "My concern is that I do walk around the town and my Great Pyreneese has been attacked 3 times. And she is scared. I just wish that more people were more cautious with their animals."

Kleck stated that he has reviewed the animal ordinance and that is well written.

"I do think that the Town should look at these ordinances and abide by them," Kleck stated. "This may be a bit hard to get people to follow them."

Kleck stated that he would like to see some solutions towards the problem even before a new animal control officer is hired.

Steven stated that the council will look into the concerns and solutions for the problems the Town is facing. Stevens also stated that there is a high possibility that the council will need Kleck's help with the solution as he used to be a dog trainer.

After public input, the council approved the consent agenda.

The consent agenda included;
· September 8, 2020 – Regular Meeting Minutes
· September 30, 2020 – Special Meeting Minutes
· Approve Maintenance Dept Report
· Approve Clerk's Report
o Financial Statements
· Approve Fire Department Report
· Approve Animal Control Report
· Approve Code Enforcer Report
· Approve Police Department Report
· Approve Judges' Report

The council then approved the purchase order to Core & Main for the purchase of supplies for fire hydrants repairs. Stevens stated that there are several fire hydrants in the Town that need to be repaired.

The council also approved the purchase order to Century Machinery for the purchase of a Wacker Neuson plate compactor.

For his report, Councilor Matteo Madrid talked about speeding in a specific area of town. Madrid asked the council if a speed bump could be placed there to help slow down traffic. The rest of the council discussed this and agreed that they would need to look into the regulations on speed bump signs before they can put a speed bump anywhere.

Stevens talked about the dog issue during his report.

"The dog issue is becoming very severe," Stevens stated.

Stevens stated that the courts are closed at the moment and no citations have been issued at that time. The Bayard Animal Control Officer does not patrol Hurley and only comes when he gets a call.

Stevens stated that the council could consider hiring a temporary animal control officer while they are discussing and considering what to do about the combined police force option.

Councilor Gil asked the council about the progress in the combined police force with the Bayard Police Department proposal.

Stevens stated that he had not talked to the Bayard Police Chief since the special meeting.

Town Clerk Lori Ortiz stated that Bayard Police Chief had come to her and asked a lot of questions about the budget. Ortiz stated that she had given him a copy of the budget so he can begin the process of working on combining the budgets. They would then be able to move forward with the process.

To discuss this item in more detail as to considering the combining police forces, looking into hiring a new police chief, or looking more in-depth at internal issues – the council decided to schedule a workshop to discuss all options. The council did not decide on a date for the meeting.

The meeting adjourned at 5:46 p.m.

The next regular meeting is scheduled for November 10, 2020, at 5:00 p.m. via Zoom.