By Lynn Janes

The town of Hurley held a regular meeting October 11, 2022, beginning with the roll call and the Pledge of Allegiance. Attendance to the meeting included Mayor Ed Stevens, Mayor pro tem Richard Maynes, councilors Mateo Madrid, and Freddie Rodriquez. Nanette Day did not attend.

The council approved the agenda for the meeting.

Public input

Eloy Medina attended the meeting and is running for district 2 county commissioner. He said he wanted to let them know he would work for them if he were elected, and his goal will be to make life better for the residents. "I am not a politician but have been traveling all over talking to the people." He said currently he sits on the Bayard City Council and has experienced how to work with budgets and staff.

The council approved the consent agenda. It included regular meeting minutes for September 13, 2022, maintenance department report, clerks report, fire department report, animal control report, code enforcement, and police department. The consent agenda also approved the resignation of Judge David Ramos.

Blas Rodriguez from the maintenance department told the council he had been waiting on parts to do some of the maintenance. They also have been picking up trash around town.

Lori Ortiz, town clerk said she has been out of the office most of September. "They have been in the middle of working on a comprehensive plan and it is going well." She said she would have some information at the next meeting concerning the wastewater rates.

The fire department did not attend to give a report, but Stevens had information to present. He said Whiskey Creek Volunteer Fire Department had offered to donate a fire truck. The truck has 35,000 miles and is in operational condition.

Stevens said they had an alternate judge for the time being and would advertise for letters of interest to fill the open position. The person would serve out Ramos's term until January 2024.

The council approved attendance to the 2022 New Mexico Infrastructure Finance Conference for Ortiz. The conference will take place October 26 and 27 in Albuquerque.

Mayor and councilors reports none currently except Stevens.

Stevens said he had attended a regional water meeting and felt it would all benefit the town. He told the council that they hoped to run all the water systems together in the mining district, so everyone had a secondary source if needed. He said Freeport McMoRan had given 250-acre feet to Santa Clara. He pointed out that one-acre foot equals approximately 350,000 gallons of water. Connecting the water and ensuring a secondary source for everyone would be very important for the growth of the community.

Next regular meeting will be held Tuesday, November 8 , 2022, at 5:00 pm.

Meeting adjourned.