James William "Bill" Harrison, at left, receives the honor of his 100th birthday being named James William Harrison Day from Silver City Mayor Ken Ladner. Photo Courtesy of Clerk Alfred Sedillo

Council approves settlement agreement

By Roger Lanse

At its June 14. 2022 meeting, the Silver City Town Council entered into closed executive session and approved a resolution approving the $10,000,000 settlement agreement relative to the lawsuit brought by the estate of Nikki Bascom against the Town of Silver City. The lawsuit arises from the events which led to the April 21, 2016, death of Bascom, in which she was shot to death by her partner, Silver City Police Department Captain Marcello "Marc" Contreras. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit claim the event resulted in injuries to them.

Following are statements given at the council's meeting by Silver City Town Manager Alex Brown and Silver City Police Department Chief Freddy Portillo

Brown – "Mayor and Council. We are here today to announce a settlement between the Town of Silver City and the estate of Nikki Bascom.

"First, we want to express out most sincere condolences to the family of Nikki Bascom and to talk about the changes that have been made by the Silver City Police Department to ensure that something like this never happens again.

"Although there is no amount of money in the world that could ever make up for such a devastating loss, I am hopeful that the significant changes implemented by SCPD and the settlement provides some closure to Ms. Bascom's family.

"The New Mexico Self Insurer's Fund, the insurance pool of the New Mexico Municipal League (NMML), only notified town officials in late October 2021 of the severity of the claim. I immediately consulted with the NMML attorney for the Town, met with Town councilors, who were officially briefed in closed session during the regular November 23, 2021, town council meeting, and quickly moved forward to complete the settlement agreement.

"The bulk of the settlement will be paid for by the issuance and sale of a bond in the amount of $7.6 million, plus $1.4 million in general fund reserves and $1 million from the New Mexico Self Insurance Fund.

"This is a very big settlement for a small town. Fortunately, revenues are up, and because our credit rating as a Town is exceptional, I expect to negotiate a low interest rate on the bonds. I'm pleased to say that our financial future is strong."

Portillo – "Mayor and Council, as we have moved forward we have made changes in Administration and Supervisory Personnel. We will continue to move forward and take appropriate steps necessary to ensure that a tragedy like this never happens again.

"Policies have been revamped and revised by Daigle Law Group. It is not only the Silver City Police Department's directive that these new policies implemented be adhered to, but also the direction given to us by Daigle Law Group. Training was also provided to us by Daigle Law regarding internal affairs and our Investigations Captain is assigned to handle internal affairs investigations. It is very important that we continue to be very thorough when handling all complaints and internal affairs investigations.

"We have upgraded out body cameras and continue to conduct video audits of police interactions with the community to not only identify policy violations, but also identify and mitigate any future risks that would be detrimental to the Police Department and the community.

"Training is and will always be a priority moving forward. It is imperative that the Police Department continues to recognize training needs and goes above and beyond what the State of New Mexico requires.

"It is our direction to not just focus solely on making mental health services more of a requirement within the department. We will continue to be proactive changing the mindset and the culture within the Police Department which allows Officers to come forward with any issues regarding their mental health and offer services to them along with family members.

"We are confident that these changes that have been made will continue to keep us on the right path. We understand the importance of holding ourselves accountable in order to build public trust."

District 4 Councilor Guadalupe Cano stated that Portillo came into a "very touchy situation," when he became acting chief in 2018 and chief a year later. Mayor Ken Ladner opined that the council together with the town manager has an important role to "keep an eye on what's happening."

The council honored James William "Bill" Harrison. By declaring June 22, 2022, as James William "Bill" Harrison Day. Harrison will celebrate his 100th birthday June 22. Harrison, Ladner stated, is a WWII Navy veteran, served as Silver City Town Manager from 1969 to 1971, was first director of the Southwest Council of Governments, served as a Grant County commissioner from 1993 to 1994, and taught business law at Western New Mexico University. Harrison said he didn't deserve the honor but all those who got him where he was deserve it, then said, "Thank you, Mr. Mayor – Now, I'm going home."

District 3 Councilor Jose Ray Jr encouraged prayer for the residents of Uvalde, Texas, and for no more abortions. He also encouraged everyone to be civil to one another in this time of division. He also encouraged residents not to forget to attend the Fiesta Latina sponsored by WNMU from Thursday, June 16 through Sunday. June 20. "Lots of good food and music."

Ray also stated planning has started for a SPIN (Support People In Need) project on Cooper street right across from the 6th Street School. He stated if it comes before the council he "will guarantee he will vote 'no' for it." He suggested putting the homeless shelter behind Walmart.

District 1 Councilor Lucian Farmer thanked Silver Schools, Superintendent Hawkins, and the school board for offering to pay for students' supplies for the coming school year.

District 4 Councilor Guadalupe Cano gave props to the Silver City Fire Department for responding to her two non-emergency calls in five days in a professional and helpful manner.

Cano attended the Blues Festival last weekend and had good things to say about the ease which handicapped people could move around at the event, although there were some problems with people bringing their dogs as some apparently could bring them inside the fence while others could not. And the dogs who were brought inside were often annoying by barking, growing at strangers, and jumping on people. Cano said. Another problem Cano saw was with the security team hired to maintain control who believed they didn't have to enforce town ordinances as they were not hired by the town and didn't work for the mayor. Next time, Cano said, we need to specify that town ordinances will be enforced by the security team or the security team will no longer be approved.

Cano emotionally read a list of incidents that have happened to her and other residents of her district caused by those persons housed in the SPIN house, or Seasonal Overnight Shelter, at 610 N. Silver Street. The area of Cano's district affected by the SPIN house residents, she said, was originally a four block area but has now stretched from 12th Street to Broadway and Mountain View to Corbin Street. A list of occurrences she characterized as mental health issues for district residents caused by those seeking refuge at the SPIN House, included; Cano's mother was pushed by a homeless man who she found sleeping in her shed, not being able to sleep through the night because someone has started a fire outside your house, having to carry a bat while on your own property, trying to walk your dog, having to lock your door while you are home, being afraid to get out of your car when you return home after working a night shift, having to build an expensive rock wall around your property to keep intruders out, watching your daughter have a heart attack and have to be flown out because she was threatened with a gun and the father hoping he survives the night, being a very small woman and being afraid of the unknown man in your yard, driving down the street you grew up on and seeing people fornicating on the pavement, having to smell the human waste on the hillside or in your neighbor's yard in the summer, wondering if someone is going to steal your possessions if you leave your house unattended for an hour, having to watch people loitering in the neighborhood so they do not steal your vehicles after you run them off your property, making sure your disabled child is getting the rest they need while dealing with people peeping in your windows and screaming obscenities, not being able to feel your family will be safe if you are away. "Every single one of these things has happened to at least one resident of that neighborhood already. Enough is enough."

Cano stated a homeless shelter in a residential neighborhood is a rotten idea, and something must be done about moving the SPIN house-Seasonal Overnight Shelter from its present location.

Brown gave council updates on three projects – new rec center, new city hall, and Gough Park. Regarding the rec center, the town is still negotiating the final contract for architectural services and a steering committee meeting in a couple of weeks is planned. Keys to the new City Annex at the old Washington Federal Bank building will be turned over to the town in August when the bank's lease agreement expires, Brown said. In reference to Gough Park, the University of New Mexico's School of Architecture has put together some drawings, and the New Mexico Department of Tourism is interested in providing funds for the project to coincide with the town's plan for the park to be the hub for the Continental Trail system.

Two residents, Patrick Cohn and Patricia Cano spoke to council complaining about the SPIN house residents, Cohn who stated he has looked at selling his house but the location discourages buyers and that he has developed PTSD from constantly dealing with the homeless people, and Patricia Cano stating her group has a plan for dealing with the homeless question and suggested certain people to be on a task force to address the issue.

Andy Tayne, Sharon Bookwalter, and George Carr told council, in response to the lawsuit against the town in the Nikki Bascom incident, the town needs a citizen's advisory review board as a neutral third party, Bookwalter said, to hear complaints about the police and follow those complaints through to resolution.

Council approved a recommendation by staff to award bid lots 1 and 2 for the Indian Hills Sewer Extension project to J&S Plumbing of Silver City for $1,244,396.52, including GRT.

Town Attorney James Reynolds told council redistricting for councilor districts in the town must take place every 10 years and this redistricting is now due and recommended Plan A which requires the least change. He said that Districts 1 and 3 will be unchanged, while Districts 2 and 4 would only require a change of a few blocks. Council approved Plan A.

Council approved a resolution sponsored by District 2 Councilor Nicholas Prince and brought to council by the town's Emergency Manager Jeff Fell, who stated while a little moisture has come into the area the town's limited ban on the sale and use of certain fireworks will remain in effect.

The continued participation in the Local Government Road Fund program administered by the New Mexico Department of Transportation was approved by council. This participation will allow funding for a chip seal project for fiscal year 2022-2023, of which DOT's share will be $86,844 and the town's share $28,948.