By Lynn Janes
The town of Hurley held a workshop and special town meeting February 22, 2022, beginning with the roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attendance of the meeting included Mayor Ed Stevens, Mayor Pro Tem Richard Maynes and councilors, Freddie Rodriguez, and Nanette Day. Mateo Madrid did not attend.
They approved the agenda for the workshop.
Stevens turned the meeting over to Maynes to begin the discussion on the proposed new cannabis ordinance. Maynes handed out a proposed business zoning map. It included the Gateway restaurant area, the Hurley Bar to the end of the street going east and the property west of the railroad tracks. The council discussed the map and asked questions addressed to Maynes.
Maynes said the language needed to be specific to the town. Day said they should use the same language as used for the liquor ordinances.
The council asked Darlene McBride, clerk's office, if any of the others had done their ordinances? She said some had but all were very different. McBride said she would gather what she could for the council.
Jared Najjar joined the meeting via Zoom. Najjar is an attorney with the Municipal League of New Mexico. He is working with the town to help put together the ordinance.
Discussion continued concerning the zoning, HVAC requirements and several other concerns.
Day said looking at the current ordinance there didn't seem to be anything about licensing. Najjar said that they could not do anything that would conflict with the state statute.
Stevens said he saw two or three scenarios for a business that needed to be included in the ordinance. He said the legality over the language will be important and the ordinance needs to be exact with zoning.
Day pointed out that the zoning needed to be looked at for the long-term impact and not base it on just the cannabis but consider all future possibilities.
The council continued to discuss the zoning and brought up a few more areas of consideration. The old snappy mart property and a few other areas.
Stevens said he thought they needed to take it home and really think on the zoning map.
The council had some questions for Najjar. Maynes asked him if he had put together plans for other municipalities and if the proposal is comparable to the others. He said he had done others and yes to his question. Najjar said this proposal would get the ball rolling. Stevens asked about zoning importance. Najjar said zoning is important. He said many towns are equating it with their liquor ordinances. He cautioned the council not to make it any harder than any other license would be. If they did, they would be opening the town up to a lawsuit.
Stevens said the town didn't have any zoning currently. Najjar said putting one together now would be a good idea. He told the council they needed to come up with a zoning map and have a public hearing and notice. He encouraged them to think forward so in the future they would not have to amend it.
Day asked Najjar how long state licensing took. He said the state has 90 days from the time they receive the application to render a decision. They can do it any time after receiving the application but because of the amount they are currently receiving they will probably take the full 90 days.
Maynes asked Najjar if setting the zoning map should be their first step and he said yes. Najjar said he could draft a general zoning ordinance for them if the council wanted him to. He told them to contact Myrah Valdez at the municipal league to set that up.
Najjar reiterated that they needed to stick to the cannabis regulation act. He said people are just waiting to sue any town not adhering to the law.
Maynes said they needed to set up a public hearing for feedback on the zoning map. Stevens put forth the plan for a public hearing Thursday March 3, 2022, at 5:00 pm. After that the ordinance would be addressed.
The next item for the workshop discussion included police officers contracts. Day had been reviewing current and past contracts. She said she also met with the chief to ask questions. She has questions to ask the council for their input. She said all the contracts for the police officers were different. They discussed how much it cost the town to pay for their certification, WNMU academy. The cost of the academy is approximately $6200. The problem in the past many have left shortly after.
Stevens said the council must realize they are an entry level town and that is not going to change.
The council discussed offering reimbursement to all and how to reimburse. They talked about contracts to stay for 2 or 3 years and if certification should be paid at the time of attending the academy or after the 2 years. Discussion surrounded many scenarios. Day proposed paying one third at 2 years and two thirds at the third year. They brought up possible monthly payments for reimbursement. One decision included legal recourse for anyone not fulfilling their contract.
The council adjourned the workshop and started the special meeting. Stevens called the meeting to order and began with the roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Attendance of the meeting included Mayor Ed Stevens, Mayor Pro Tem Richard Maynes and councilors, Freddie Rodriguez, and Nanette Day. Mateo Madrid did not attend.
The council approved the agenda for the meeting.
The council approved resolution no. 15-2021/2022 that declared a surplus of vehicles in the maintenance department. The agenda said fire department, this was an error. The vehicles are no longer essential for municipal purposes. The equipment being auctioned will be a John Deer backhoe.
The council approved resolution no. 16-2021/2022 for submission of 2022 colonias application, roadway improvements.
Public hearing for new zoning will be March 3, 2022, at 5:00 pm
The next regular meeting will be held Wednesday, March 8, 2022, at 5:00 pm.
Meeting adjourned.