Bayard Council Discusses Halloween Restrictions and Updates on Town Projects at the October Regular Meeting 101420

Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 19 October 2020 19 October 2020

By Alexis Rico

The City of Bayard Council met for a regularly scheduled meeting on October 14, 2020, via Zoom at 2:00 p.m. Present for the meeting were Mayor Chon Fierro, Mayor Pro-Tem Raul Villanueva, Councilor Charles Kelly, Councilor Eloy Medina, and Councilor Adrian Ortiz.

The council began the meeting with the review and approval of the agenda for the meeting. The only change made to the agenda was to item number 8, Resolution 28-2020 NMDOT (New Mexico Department of Transportation) Lighting Improvements. Clerk-Treasurer Kristina Ortiz explained that she had received a message that this resolution no longer needed to be approved.

As there was no public input for the meeting, the next item reviewed and approved by the council was the consent agenda.

The consent agenda consisted of:
• Approval of the minutes of September 2020
• Accounts Payable Report for October 14, 2020
• Approval of the Fire Report for September 2020
• Wastewater Report for September 2020

The next item reviewed by the council at the meeting was the discussion relating to COVID-19 restrictions and Halloween events.

"When this item got put on the agenda, we had a couple of departments or groups that were wanting to do Halloween events, so we put it on there for discussion," Ortiz said. "But as of yesterday, the Governor has provided us with further restrictions due to COVID, which would eliminate anything with groups larger than 5."

Councilor Medina questioned how they would handle Halloween this year. If they would leave it up to the people if they wanted to pass out candy or Trick or Treat this year.

Ortiz stated that the Governor had announced that there would be no Halloween events going on this year.

"I do not know how the law enforcement would handle it as we don't officially have any regulations on it," Ortiz said. "It all comes from the state level."

Mayor Fierro stated that he would talk with Bayard Police Chief Alirez and ask about how many officers would be on duty for Halloween.

"We will go ahead and tell him there will be no Halloween activities that night as per the public order," Fierro said. "I will ask him if he needs additional help from the Sheriff or State Police."

The council then adopted Resolution 26-2020 for N. Foy Street Improvements - Street and Drainage Project and Resolution 27-2020 for the Highway 356 Sidewalk Project.

These resolutions were adopted together during the meeting as recommended by Ortiz as they are both funds coming from the NMDOT.

The next item on the agenda was the recommendation for termination of Adam Muniz effective as of October 13, 2020, for failing to maintain the requirements under his disciplinarian action as given to him in August.

This item failed due to the failure of a motion at the meeting.

For Mayor and Councilor reports, Medina asked Ortiz about getting Narcan on hand to be administered for Opioid overdose patients by EMS.

Ortiz stated that she had reached out to several individuals and institutions for the medication and had learned that the Bayard EMS does not have a pharmacy license to be administering medications to patients.

Ortiz stated that she is working on getting the proper license for medication administration for the EMS.

"So that the EMS department can be in compliance with what they have and are administering to patients," Ortiz said. "I am hoping that we get those licenses at a free or reduced-price from the Department of Health."

Ortiz stated that a majority of the supplies for the packets had arrived.

"We are just waiting on four more deliveries and we can then begin to build the packages and get them dispersed," Ortiz said. "The packets are being pretty well accepted. I am glad the community is looking forward to those items."

Ortiz also stated that she is working on one final purchase order under the CARES Act fund.

"This would be for all the council and staff that would be eligible for telework access if that need comes so we are prepared," Ortiz said.

For his report, Fierro informed the council that the Maintenance Department went on October 12, 2020, to the property by McKee street to chop down some trees to clear that area.

"It has been a pain for the city for many years," Fierro said. "I am glad that it is being taken care of."

The next regularly scheduled meeting will be held on October 26, 2020, at 2:00 p.m. via Zoom.

Content on the Beat

WARNING: All articles and photos with a byline or photo credit are copyrighted to the author or photographer. You may not use any information found within the articles without asking permission AND giving attribution to the source. Photos can be requested and may incur a nominal fee for use personally or commercially.

Disclaimer: If you find errors in articles not written by the Beat team but sent to us from other content providers, please contact the writer, not the Beat. For example, obituaries are always provided by the funeral home or a family member. We can fix errors, but please give details on where the error is so we can find it. News releases from government and non-profit entities are posted generally without change, except for legal notices, which incur a small charge.

NOTE: If an article does not have a byline, it was written by someone not affiliated with the Beat and then sent to the Beat for posting.

Images: We have received complaints about large images blocking parts of other articles. If you encounter this problem, click on the title of the article you want to read and it will take you to that article's page, which shows only that article without any intruders. 

New Columnists: The Beat continues to bring you new columnists. And check out the old faithfuls who continue to provide content.

Newsletter: If you opt in to the Join GCB Three Times Weekly Updates option above this to the right, you will be subscribed to email notifications with links to recently posted articles.

Submitting to the Beat

Those new to providing news releases to the Beat are asked to please check out submission guidelines at https://www.grantcountybeat.com/about/submissions. They are for your information to make life easier on the readers, as well as for the editor.

Advertising: Don't forget to tell advertisers that you saw their ads on the Beat.

Classifieds: We have changed Classifieds to a simpler option. Check periodically to see if any new ones have popped up. Send your information to editor@grantcountybeat.com and we will post it as soon as we can. Instructions and prices are on the page.

Editor's Notes

It has come to this editor's attention that people are sending information to the Grant County Beat Facebook page. Please be aware that the editor does not regularly monitor the page. If you have items you want to send to the editor, please send them to editor@grantcountybeat.com. Thanks!

Here for YOU: Consider the Beat your DAILY newspaper for up-to-date information about Grant County. It's at your fingertips! One Click to Local News. Thanks for your support for and your readership of Grant County's online news source—www.grantcountybeat.com

Feel free to notify editor@grantcountybeat.com if you notice any technical problems on the site. Your convenience is my desire for the Beat.  The Beat totally appreciates its readers and subscribers!  

Compliance: Because you are an esteemed member of The Grant County Beat readership, be assured that we at the Beat continue to do everything we can to be in full compliance with GDPR and pertinent US law, so that the information you have chosen to give to us cannot be compromised.