Grant County Commission hears reports and updates at work session 111621 and regular session 111821, part 10

: Category: Front Page News Front Page News; Published: 16 February 2023 16 February 2023

tamal proclamation county 4119 copy Grant County commissioners and two county officials who were part of the committee for the Tamal y Mas Fiesta, present the proclamation to Santa Clara Trustee Olga Amador and Santa Clara Action Committee Member Robert Padilla, center. From left are Commission Chair Chris Ponce, Treasurer Patrick Cohn, Commissioner Alicia Edwards, Amador, Commissioner Javier Salas, Padilla, Commissioner Billy Billings and Assessor Raul Turrieta.
[Editor's Note: This is the tenth and final of several articles on the Grant County Commission work session on Nov. 16 and the regular meeting Nov. 18, 2021. This article addresses the work session review of the agenda and decisions made at the regular meeting The links to previous articles can be found at the end of this article.]

Photo and article by Mary Alice Murphy

At the work session on Nov. 16, 2021, Grant County commissioners started the review of the regular meeting agenda, which began with a proclamation for the Tamal Y Mas Fiesta, which took place on Nov. 20, 2021 in Santa Clara. They approved it and presented the proclamation at the regular meeting.

Financial Officer Linda Vasquez presented the financial report as of Nov. 11, 2021. Expenditures for the month totaled $3,395,518.35 including three payrolls for $633,745.51.

Extraordinary expenditures above $10,000 are included in the following PDF:

Vasquez also presented the quarterly financial report, which ended Sept. 30, 2021. The General Fund had a beginning balance of $4.3 million; Investments had $9 million; revenues totaled $2.5 million and transfers taken out were $866,718.29. The balance of the General Fund stood at $12.8 million, with required reserves of $593,910,48 leaving about $12.2 million.

The Road Fund began with a balance of $509,000, with revenues of $197,000, $418,000 of expenses, leaving a balance of $288,000, with $34,000 reserves, leaving a quarter-end balance of $252,000.

The Corrections Fund does not have a reserve requirement, but it had a beginning balance of $280,000, with revenues of $198,000, transfers in of $728,000, expenditures of $883,000 and an ending balance of almost $383,000.

For the overall quarterly report, the beginning balance was $15.7 million, with investments of $9 million, revenues of $10.6 million, expenditures of $8.3 million, leaving a balance of $27.2 million, with reserves of $628,000 taken out, leaving an adjusted balance of $26.5 million.

In new business, the Grant County Community Health Council requested the appointment of Stacey Cox. Commissioners approved the appointment at the regular meeting.

The next item to consider the ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding brought some discussion at the work session. Planning and Community Development Director Priscilla Shoup said she had received two requests, but the first, a request from the Gila Valley for $36,000 for playground equipment was deemed ineligible. Another request for $7,000 from the Sixth Judicial District Court for personal protective equipment (PPE) could be eligible. The item was tabled at the regular meeting to be reconsidered at the December meeting.

The next item also addressed ARPA funding for the Detention Center to pay for a consulting firm to provide an assessment and whatever the assessment showed might require an addition or remodeling of the existing structure. Zamora, at the regular meeting, said a first assessment would be done at no cost to the county by the New Mexico Counties association, for which the county pays dues. "We will need funding for a professional consultant."

Ponce said he knew it would take longer than a one-day assessment to drill down into policies and procedures.

Billings thanked Zamora for pursuing the assessments, and Zamora thanked the commissioners for providing feedback to him. Commissioners at the regular meeting approved the expenditure.

The ordinance on the redistricting plan was discussed at the work session. Commissioners had heard the proposal as a presentation at the work session, where discussion centered on Plan A being the better plan for the least disruption of current district boundaries. A public hearing at the beginning of the Dec. regular meeting will provide an opportunity for public input before final approval.

The consideration of an agreement for a capital appropriation agreement from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration to plan, design, construct, equip and furnish a detoxification facility in Grant County for $100,000 elicited discussion.

Zamora said the intent is to start planning for the best course of action for a detox center site in Grant County. "We will look at all the sites available in order to move forward. Money left over can go toward improving a detox facility."

Edwards noted that HMS wanted to do a feasibility study and the money was put on the ICIP for the county, "which we received, but we still don't have the study. The first idea was to put the stabilization facility at Tu Casa, to remodel it for support and stabilization, as well as outpatient therapy."

The agreement was approved at the regular meeting.

Under resolutions, after commissioners heard about budget adjustments by Vasquez about the money being transferred to the ARPA fund out of the CARES funding, they approved it at the regular meeting.

The next item addressed a bid on the Bataan Memorial. The amount allocated by the county was $280,000. However, the bid came in at $341,000. Shoup said they were recommending the bid minus the decorative metal and bamboo posts. Zamora said it was important to go forward with the bid in order to be ready for the 80th anniversary of the Bataan Death March on April 9, 2022.

Zamora said the committee for the anniversary celebration could continue to look for private funding, and "we could add items back in. But we need to award the bid right now, in order to have a chance to get it ready in time."

Shoup noted the ramp was necessary for the site to remain within code requirements. Zamora recommended ordering materials now in order to have them on hand in a timely manner.

Ponce said he wanted Donnie Turner to be happy with the memorial.

After Turner, who had given public input at the regular meeting and stayed for the decision, indicated that he was happy to continue the project as proposed. "I'm happy with your taking out the bamboo posts, the bullet holes in the hellships and leaving out the boxcar for now."

Shoup said if the county goes forward with the bid award, "we can work with the contractor on the timeline."

Salas advocated for the bid to be approved and to allow the county manager to make changes as needed.

David Morrison, who had also spoken at public input, said it was very important for our veterans and their families to have a seat at the table.

Billings said the perhaps plaques on the kiosks could mention a phase 2 of the project.

In final discussion, Zamora recommended approval of the base bid, "and we can make changes." The base bid was $301,896.74, "which we can fund right now," Zamora said.

An informal request for proposal received from Daniel Stailey to serve as Restorative Justice Community Youth Building Program coordinator was approved at the regular meeting. Edwards noted that the commission has to approve it because the county is the fiscal agent for the group.

As the Grant County Health Care Claims Board, commissioners approved indigent claims in the amount of $1,157.11for the month of October 2021.

Commissioners had no reports at the work session but had several at the regular meeting.

Salas said he thought the Bataan Memorial will be foundational and will lead to better things. "I think this celebration can happen annually."

Billings referred back to an earlier report on the hospital. "It had no margins, no mission, when the county made the decision to take over governance of Gila Regional Medical Center, in April 2020. It had $1.7 million or nine days of cash and was $9 million underwater in accounts payable. In November 2021, it has $17.2 million in cash. That's about 10 times what we had in cash when we took over governance. HealthTechS3 did way better than we could have ever done. There were serious challenges to morale and the ability to recruit nurses."

Edwards thanked Billings for sharing the data. "I'm very hopeful that things that are in motion, including a new CEO coming in, will keep us going forward. I hope we have a plan about how to recruit and retain nursing staff. There are two things to keep in mind: 1) Our health care system nationally is very fragile right now. Some are hanging on but may not want to continue in health care. The state is more than 6,000 nurses short. And 2) we have a lot of repairing to do. The past 18 months have been very stressful, and Covid is not over. We are likely to see a spike in January, if we don't stay away from crowds. We must continue to mask and wash hands."

Ponce said a friend he had coffee with was concerned about the hospital that the elderly and the county residents rely on. "When I explained the situation, he felt better about the hospital being managed by HealthTechS3. I see light at the end of the tunnel. A lot of people talk to us and give us comments. I want to take my hat off to our new county manager and to Priscilla Shoup for everything they do. I don't think a lot of people understand what every county employee does every day. I want to say thank you for the great job you're doing."

He read from a letter he received from a resident who expressed his appreciation for the work the Road Department did out at Lake Roberts "to provide reassurance that we can get out on our road. The department installed a culvert and crowned the road. They did a great job."

Ponce said he was not aware of this project. "I thank all the staff involved." He wished everyone Happy Holidays and announced the work session for Dec. 7 and the regular meeting for Dec. 9.

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Grant County Commission hears reports and updates at work session 111621 and regular session 111821, part 10

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