[Editor's Note: This is part 2 of a multi-article series on the Oct. 11, 2022 work session and the Oct. 13 regular meeting. This one begins with the chamber and conference center presentation.]

By Mary Alice Murphy

For the second presentation at the Oct. 11, 2022 work session, Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce Director Romeo Cruz, who also manages the Grant County Veterans Memorial Business and Conference Center, gave his report.

"I want to touch on what is happening with the EDA (Economic Development Administration) grant," Cruz said. "The chamber is a co-sponsor of the grant. We're part of the business expansion and retention. For instance, we want Daylight Donuts back. It's a workforce issue that caused them to close. Mi Casita wants to expand. Footwork and door-to-door with businesses is key to what we're doing."

For the chamber report, he said the board is planning a food truck alley at the conference center. "We're also working on a more permanent location for the food trucks. We are extremely busy at the conference center, surpassing previous years. We have about $97,950-worth of events scheduled for the contract year beginning in April. We've already surpassed the $82,000 from last year. We expect to be seeing $122,000 by January 2023 for what's on the books right now, and perhaps up to $130,000. Last year, we paid back to the county $60,000 of the $80,000 we received. We expect to give back a full $80,000 or more this year. You asked for a comparison to 2019. We made $79,000 in that year. The way we've promoted it, everyone is wanting to have conferences here, state conferences, national conferences here in Grant County."

He said one thing he would like to request is "since 2017, we've haven't looked at the fee structure. We would like to revisit it, because just with a comparison across the state, we're at the low end for conference centers. Most conference centers run on a peak season, so for holidays they may triple their fees. I got a call from Red River, and they want to increase their fee structure. We have a similarly sized facility, but theirs is curtained off. As of right now, for their large room, which is comparable to ours, they are charging $1,000 a day, which doesn't include the projector, for instance, with everything broken down by charge. What we have at the conference center is all inclusive. People coming from out-of-town are surprised we don't charge for internet. We get a lot of compliments on that. I see the spike we have. Ms. Edwards asked if it was a one-time thing or would continue. I think this is proof that we are trending in the right direction. I would like to sit down with the county manager to address the fee structure."

District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards suggested Cruz create a proposal for the fee structure. "When we talked about a fee, we had a fear that we would not make money on the conference center. I believe you've proven that we can. Please remember that we don't want to make it too expensive for locals. I like the all-inclusive because it saves you time."

"We are not looking to piece it out," Cruz said. "We aren't talking about a huge jump because we do want to be competitive for us locally. I'm thinking a 20 percent jump would still be OK for locals. I don't want to make it too expensive. We have a wedding almost every weekend. We are working on the audio and the wear and tear on the facility. We're working with (IT Director) Adam Baca and Robert Hood (IT specialist) on the audio and with (Facilities and Maintenance Supervisor) Jason Lockett on maintenance. I would like to bring in some more professional signage to make it look better."

District 1 Commissioner and Chair Chris Ponce agree that the county wants to keep it reasonable. "I think some can afford more and could pay more. I think signage should be addressed. I'm glad you're doing that. I think you're doing a good job."

District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne said he likes the simplicity of the fee structure. He also said he thought it might be appropriate to differentiate among the fees for locals or businesses. "Lastly, I want to thank you for your flexibility at getting a meeting in within a couple of days."

Cruz said: "We are on call at all hours and if we can get people scheduled in, we do."

One other thing he wanted to address. "Back in May, we had an event, a graduation party that got out of hand. "I want to talk about the adult-minor ratio. We had 20 adults and 250 kids. Even with security, it's not something that we can cover. A couple of things were damaged and fixed. I would prefer to figure out how to mitigate that."

With no more questions, commissioners took a short break, while the county attorney came on the line.

A following discussion ensued on animal control. Ponce said he brought it up about maybe making a deputy responsible for animal control. "Ms. Edwards and I spoke to our county attorney and it's also why I asked the sheriff to be here today, because it may be a liability issue. It may be better to have a civilian animal control officer."

To Attorney Ben Young of Mynatt, Martinez and Springer PC, Ponce asked him to talk about the potential of liability of having a deputy as animal control officer.

"Under the Tort Claims Act, the New Mexico Legislature has waived liability of government officials for the actions of law enforcement officers," Young said. "Law enforcement officers under the law are described as certified police officers employed by a governmental entity and their duties include holding a person accused of a criminal offense in custody to maintain public order or to make an arrest for crimes. So, if a deputy were to serve as an animal control officer, he could fall under that to take into custody or arrest a person. If you have an employee who is not a certified police officer enforcing the county's animal control code and is not tasked with arresting or holding in custody, then their job duties would be issuing citations for violations of the animal control code and leaving it up to the sheriff's office or district attorney's office for dealing with the citations. All government employees fall under the Civil Right Act to ensure actions enforcing code do so with the constitutional rights of residents in mind."

Browne asked for a yes or no answer. "Is there any difference in liability between a non-law enforcement officer under the sheriff's office and a non-law enforcement officer under the manager?"

"Yes, there would be a difference in liability," Young said. "The non-certified police officer would not be allowed to take anyone into custody."

District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings said he was as confused as Browne. Browne replied: "Thank you, Billy."

Edwards said she was not confused before the conversation started, and now she was.

Young explained that the county would not be subject to claims under the Tort Claims Act if the person were not in the Sheriff's office.

Following more confusion, Young said courts have said that law enforcement officers have specific duties, but an animal control officer would not be tasked with the same list of duties and could not be sued under the Tort Claims Act. But the animal control officer could be sued under the Civil Rights Act. "They cannot violate the rights of residents."

Young said there could be a benefit of having a non-certified law enforcement officer in the sheriff's office to be able to transfer the violations to a deputy. "One office is not necessarily better than the other. What is critical is the scope of job duties."

He explained that if the animal control officer were a certified deputy, he could arrest someone, and it could fall under the Tort Claims Act. "Not being a deputy would bring the advantage of not being sued."

Sheriff Frank Gomez weighed into the discussion. "I would rather see the animal control position be a non-certified law enforcement position, not a deputy. If it's a deputy, it takes that patrol officer off the streets, because he would need to come back to the office and get in the animal control vehicle. I'm short two deputies right now, and soon to be three short."

"If I can't find deputies, then I would prefer the position be in the manager's office," Gomez said.

Browne said the county has never hired a deputy whose main job was animal control officer. If it's a non-certified law enforcement officer, "I see no difference whether it is in the sheriff's office or the manager's office."

Ponce, as a retired law enforcement officer, noted that any time an officer stops a person for a traffic violation, that is effectively taking the person into custody. "I don't mind where the animal control officer goes. I think it's between the Sheriff and the manager to make that decision."

Edwards asked Gomez: "Let's assume the position is not going to be deputy. Should a non-certified position be in be in your office or the manager's?"

Gomez said it would come down to policy. "If the position comes to our office, I'm good with it."

Ponce reiterated it is between the sheriff and the manager. "I know we are getting a lot of calls, so the faster we can do this the better."

Edwards agreed that the county needed to move quickly on an animal control officer. "I think I would prefer the position to be based in the manager's office."

The next presentation will address the essential air service proposals for the Grant County Airport.

For the prior presentation from GCWEDA, please visit: https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/75074-grant-county-commission-held-work-session-101122-part-1 .