By Lynn Janes

Before the meeting started a work session took place. Attendance at the meeting included Mayor Chone Fierro, Mayor Pro tem Raul Villanueva and councilors Jose Diaz, Frances Gonzales and Eloy Medina.

Diaz asked Kristina Ortiz why they had two fire reports and Ortiz gave a short explanation. Diaz questioned how many staff would be attending the annual budget conference. Ortiz explained it might be online and at this time didn't know who would be attending. It depended on if they had to go to the conference or could participate online.

The council discussed the item on the agenda pertaining to Ken Hughes and sustainable communities. Gonzales said being part of this would help them find more grants. She told Ortiz this should have been an action item and not old business and Ortiz should have talked to her. Ortiz had not been at the last meeting and needed more information. Gonzales said she didn't want to wait on joining the organization. She said she would get an appointment to do a zoom call with Hughes and Ortiz. They agreed to table the item until Ortiz and Hughes could meet. Fierro commented that in the packet they received he thought he saw that any community with less than 5,000 residents didn't need to pay the $1,000 membership a year. Ortiz said depending on what the organization is they may not be able to legally just award him projects. Gonzales said he does it with other communities, and they should not have a problem.

The next item the council talked about concerned the fire department and training. The conversation went to the different titles and how they ranked. They brought up having to have a medical director at the cost of $2,000 a year. They tried to split it up between the three mining municipalities, but Santa Clara had declined and said they didn't need it. Diaz commented that Bayard had a good fire department.

Joe Ramirez would be presenting the council with a request, and he represents the Carney Height Subdivision. Diaz asked subdivision location. Ortiz said the location is across from the softball field. She had not read all the covenants yet, but the covenants did not allow mobile homes. The covenants had been written in 1965 and renewed every ten years. At that time the residents can meet and make changes if they want to. Ramirez said a local realtor had sold one of the lots without giving them the covenants, fortunately they backed out at the end. Ortiz said she now had the plat map and covenants. Any future requests she would have the needed information.

Gonzales said she talked to Representative Luis Terrazas concerning the Southwest Council of Governments. He said we needed to have a plan ready and utilize the council more than what they do now. Ortiz said she works with them all the time.

Diaz had questions that had to do with covid policies on the agenda to be approved or not. Ortiz said they used the CDC guidelines along with the state requirements. They brought up that some employees had gone without pay because they exceeded the 14-day sick leave because of covid. The discussion ended because it had become time for the meeting to start at 6:00pm

The town of Bayard held a regular town meeting August 8, 2022. The meeting started with Mayor Chon Fierro calling the meeting to order. Attendance at the meeting included Mayor Chone Fierro, Mayor Pro tem Raul Villanueva and councilors Jose Diaz, Frances Gonzales and Eloy Medina.

The council approved the agenda and added the item from last meeting concerning Judge Jose Sandoval.

Public input

A resident from Dayhill Street asked the council for an update on repairs and when it would take place. Ortiz said they had been waiting on a quote from Southwest Concrete. She said she had been talking to New Mexico Department of Transportation, and they may be able to get more funding to help fix all the areas.

Selina Crespin wanted to let the council know how happy she has been about the new police officers. She brought up as in past meetings about the investigation of past police Chief Lee Alirez. She asked them why a proper investigation has not been done because no action has been taken against him. Ortiz said the city turned it over to risk management, which has been handling it. She said they don't know where the investigation stands but she knows it has not been closed and has been open and ongoing. Diaz pointed out they also could not comment because of it being a personnel matter and pending litigation. He apologized that it was not what Crespin wanted to hear.

Resident Jade Wilson wanted to know why the agendas didn't have the judge's report listed. She pointed out it had been on the last agenda and not addressed and wanted to know why. Fierro said it had been added to the agenda just not put on and would be during old business.

Consent agenda

The council approved all the consent agenda. It included minutes from the regular meeting July 25, 2022, public hearing July 25, 2022, budget work session July 18, 2022, fire report for July and wastewater report for July. Also included was attendance to the annual budget conference for finance staff and New Mexico economic development conference for finance staff and council.

Old business

Sustainable communities with Ken Hughes will be tabled until a meeting with Ortiz and him can be scheduled. A discussion of this took place in the work session.

The council approved the appointment of Gary Arellano as training officer for the Bayard fire department.

Law enforcement sign-on contract received approval from the council. Legal counsel made the contract very detailed, and it will also include the recent officers hired.

Judge Jose Sandoval had been available to attend the meeting this time. The council wanted to discuss with him the issues with the municipal court. The discussion went on for some time with all members of the council participating. Sandoval said he can't predict what tickets they will get and had been asked why he had dismissals. He explained why tickets are dismissed. They have "fix it" tickets and that includes license registration and things such as headlights. If the person brings in proof of fixing or licensing, etc. the ticket has been dismissed. He asked the municipal court clerk to go over the documents given to the council. Villanueva said the dates were scattered and needed to be in order. The data does not fit the month. Sandoval explained which document they should be looking at and it included the whole year. Villanueva pointed out that the court cost fees didn't match. The council had a hard time understanding the documents because of inconsistencies. Villanueva saw they only charged court costs four times. Sandoval said court costs are not always charged each time. A lot of back and forth took place. Ortiz explained that most of those costs go to other entities.

Villanueva explained why all of this had been in question. The town in the past had to put $20,000 in to keep municipal court running and last year they had to put in $65,000. Ortiz interjected it had been $45,000. Villanueva then brought up they had to increase the utilities partially because of this.

Sandoval said he did not like the insinuation that something fishy had been going on in the municipal court.

An example of a dismissal given by Sandoval had to do with a young kid speeding. He said the kid had been caught speeding, and he gave him a break. The story behind this had to do with the grandparents raising the kid and had been able to buy a car for them to go to work. He gets caught going over the speed limit 5-8 miles an hour. The kid has a clean record otherwise. If the ticket stands it will not just be the fine but creates a ripple effect. It effects the insurance and makes it hard to get it or maybe can't. He said: "I put them on a 60-day probation, make them take a safe driving course and pay the $29 court fee. If they do those with no problems or re-offenses the ticket will be dismissed." He said in all his years as a judge rarely has he seen any of those people again. Now if a person is carelessly driving that would be a different matter. All cases will be treated differently.

Fierro pointed out that the city had to move funds into the municipal court for the last four to five years. He wanted to know why they must do this.

Judge Sandoval said another reason has been the city has had only 1-2 police officers for some time and that means no citations are written. He added he would not go to the police chief, code enforcement, or animal control and tell them to find people to give citations to.

The court has gone from forty hours a week to two whole days and one-half day.

Sandoval pointed out he had gotten a salary but didn't know the court would go downhill. He said: "By law you cannot decrease the salary but at the end of the term the council can abolish the position. I would not plead for this job."

Diaz said this has been a problem for the past four or five years and: "We are not asking you to talk to the police chief, code enforcement, or animal control. That would be unethical and wrong." He said he had been told the police move everything to magistrate court because municipal court dismisses everything. "Now we have a fully staffed police force. We are just making you aware of our concerns and the impact it has had on the people of Bayard."

As a former municipal court judge, Gonzales said she had been aware of how the fees go. She said the number of dismissals concerned her. "When I had a court the only time the clerk would be there would be for court." She said the rest of the time she had been there to collect money and maybe that should be looked at. Concerns from the public have come in that they don't know when they can come make payments. Sandoval said the times are clearly written on the door, but he would be willing to change.

New business

The city of Bayard received a complaint concerning the behavior of Gonzales at the Summerfest held at Cobre on July 30, 2022. The complaint came from Samantha Morales. She thanked the council for their time and proceeded with the series of events that day. She had been walking by the city council booth when she overheard Gonzales say she was very unhappy about the Republican booth being so close. The location being behind and to the left of them. A Democrat booth had been about three booths away from the Republican. Morales commented to her she didn't understand what the problem would be. Gonzales replied: "Republicans are racists and don't like people like us." Morales responded to her in Spanish: "We Republicans are for the working people." Gonzales bantered back she had been chair of the Republican party. Morales decided to let it alone. The event had been for the kids. She said this behavior does not reflect well on the city of Bayard especially when it includes an elected official. She asked that the council investigate the actions of Gonzales at the event.

Gonzales said she had another side to the story. She said: "Miss Morales is not so innocent. She has a long history of harassing us. Both she and her father have caused problems since I became chair of the Democrats." She said she had not been talking to her but admitted she should have not said that. She said she had another comment but would not say.

Morales encouraged her to say what she wanted.

Gonzales said she had said something else under her breath. Morales said she didn't and would swear on a Bible. Gonzales said, "I am not deaf."

The chief of police Hector Carrillo came an hour later to the event at the request of Fierro. Carrillo said he and Annette Acosta (coordinator of event) had gone to see what they could do. He said there seemed to be history between the two. From what he concluded the event didn't amount to anything criminal, just unethical and unprofessional.

Morales said what she had come to this meeting for had been an apology. She added she had no idea why Gonzales brought her father into the issue and added she had never met Gonzales before.

Gonzales answered that she had called the Democratic party and she had answered. "You had complained that you could not get on the Facebook page." Morales said she had been blocked and it violated free speech. She added that this had nothing to do with why she had come, it had been about Summerfest.

Gonzales apologized and said she should not have said anything. "I should have just sat there and sucked it up."

Morales said, "You are an elected official, and it does not reflect well on Bayard." She commented that it had been wrong to bring up past history and added: "If I had known you, I would have said Hi initially."

Gonzales said she no longer held the position of chair for the Democrats in Grant County because of doing other fun stuff.

Diaz said he wanted to make a comment to Morales. He said he represents the people not a party and it had been unfortunate this happened. "I apologize for the city of Bayard." Gonzales said she apologized, and he didn't need to apologize for her.

Morales thanked each council member individually and said she knew this would be a touchy subject but maybe training courses would help.

Joe Ramirez representing Carney Height Subdivision addressed the council with a request for the town to enforce and protect the covenants. He represents 20 of the 25 residents of the subdivision. The covenants had been done in 1965 and renewed every 10 years. Residents can make changes at that time. Earlier in the work session he had explained more. He had provided the council and Ortiz with the covenants and plat. Ortiz thanked him so when people requested permits, she had the information she needed. Villanueva asked him to provide changes whenever they had been made. Gonzales asked if a resident passed away, do they have to vote to let the new people in. Ramirez said the covenants run with the land. Ortiz asked if the Realtors had a copy and Ramirez said they must do their research when selling a property.

The council approved the annual dues of $2,200 to Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments. Ortiz added how helpful they have been and through the years very beneficial.

The council approved the credit card processing policy for submission to the Department of Finance and Administration. Ortiz explained the state now must approve all policies.

The next item under new business had to do with covid policies, procedures, sick leave, self-screening and reporting. The discussion went on for some time. Gonzales asked about FMLA (family medical leave act). Ortiz explained that only guarantees their job and does not require pay for the leave. Ortiz said they received $600,000 from the first round of CARES (Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act) , however it had to be used by the end of that year, so the town paid for a lot of equipment needed and various other projects. The question came asking if the town had to pay for the leave. Ortiz said she checked with other municipalities and no other one pays.

Diaz brought up that this should have been a conversation in January. Now the town needs to go back and check to see if any employees had more than the allotted 14-day sick leave used.

Villanueva said maybe the town pays them back with a fifty percent reimbursement. He announced employees need to wear a mask. He pointed out the employees that made the choice not to be vaccinated. Because of this the unvaccinated people get sick and the town gets the backlash. "We have to protect our employees."

Diaz said the governor does not have a mandate so the town can't do this. "People will get sick no matter what we do, mask or no mask. They can wear a mask here all day and then go to the grocery store and get it. It will be an injustice to force employees to wear a mask."

Fierro said it should be their choice.

Villanueva said, "So what are you going to do when you have nine employees out?"

Diaz said they can't control this.

Villanueva asked: "Why not have an extra layer of protection. "We have to treat our employees well; they are an asset."

The discussion continued for a while and ended with the employees that have not been vaccinated are mandated to wear a mask and the vaccinated do not.

Ordinances and resolutions

The council approved the adoption of two resolutions and one ordinance. resolution 18-2022 Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments contract and annual dues, resolution 19-2022 employee compliance with public health requirements and ordinance 3-2022 personnel policy amendments.

The council went into closed session to discuss personnel matters.

The council came back into open session and reported what decisions had been made.

Michelle Holguin's introductory period will be extended 30 days and Joseph Gomez will be suspended immediately without pay.

Mayor and councilors reports

Villanueva said that the bingo had been a great success and they had a great turn out. He added the Summerfest event went great. It had a lot of participation and brought a number of people to the community.

Medina said Bayard would be putting together an employee forum to talk to them about the budget, why they could not provide raises and to be careful with the equipment. He also commented that he had spoken to a few of the police chiefs in the area and they said Bayard had set the bar high by raising the wages of the police officers significantly.

Gonzales commented on how well bingo had gone and how much people liked it. She also announced that the Housing Authority meets the third Wednesday of the month at 4:00 pm and invited everyone to come. She also announced the meeting at the library on the sixteenth at 5:00 pm.

Diaz thanked Ortiz and the office for the great job they did giving out backpacks at the Summerfest. He also thanked the police for their help with the event. He thanked the wastewater department for the report and cost estimate. He said the project had been really needed. The lieutenant governor said in order to do anything he would have to receive all the documents with needs and numbers, and he would see what he could do. He added in that he would need it within the month.

Gonzales said to tell the lieutenant governor they need $10 million.

Diaz went on to thank the beautification committee that gave out 800 free bottles of water at Summerfest. He had one comment left. M and A has a tractor in a dangerous place and it could be an accident waiting to happen. He said: "We went after M and M, so we need to go after them."

Jason Jaeger said they had plenty of water and that all but one well had been working. A contractor has been contacted to fix the one well not working.

Police Chief Hector Carrillo said he had been working on getting four separate neighborhood watch groups together.

Fierro said the bingo had been great and the city employees did a great job helping with the Summerfest. He thanked maintenance, wastewater, and the police chief for a great job. He did ask Carrillo if they had or needed riot shields. Carrillo said they didn't have any, but it might be a good idea to have two.

Villanueva requested that next meeting they invite the little league and have the meeting at the community center.

The next regular meeting will be held August 22, 2022

Meeting adjourned.