By Lynn Janes
Silver City held a regular meeting February 14, 2023. The meeting started with Mayor Ken Ladner calling the meeting to order and leading the Pledge of Allegiance and salute to the New Mexico state flag. Council members attending the meeting included Lucian Farmer, Jose Ray, Nicholas Prince (phone), and Guadalupe Cano.
The council approved the agenda.
Ceremonies none currently.
Proclamations none currently.
Council comments
Prince said he was glad to see how the community came together for the Grant County Days at the legislature.
Farmer said an issue had come to his attention when he had been contacted by one of his constituents This person has concerns over a proposed trail system being put behind their home. This person had no prior knowledge of the project and had just seen blue ribbons tied to trees in the area. It runs from 19th Street and over to 22nd Street. Seventeen of the residents have expressed opposition. Farmer said this showed a lack of communication with the trails and open spaces people. He went on to talk about the zoning, hazardous area and unlawful trails causing erosion that need remediation. "I am not opposed to trails, but the communication here fell apart for informing the folks."
He said some of the people would be giving public comment later in the meeting.
Cano had a whole list of comments. She introduced some college students that would be filming a movie in Silver City later and would be addressing the council about the project during public comments. She added that she thought their project would help the community a lot.
Cano and Prince attended the fire department awards banquet the past week. She said They had announced several promotions.
In the recent past Cano said she had attended the Territorial Charter Ball but had a problem. It took place at the Murray Hotel and the town had sponsored the event. She said, "It was a great event but was not accessible to everyone." They didn't have a ramp. They have one for events, but it had not been put out. "I had to uses a service ramp and it was steep and scary." She suggested an ordinance that requires if the town has sponsored an event, it must provide documentation it will be accessible to all. She added that the same thing had happened the year before.
Cano announced that the 4H would be looking for monetary donations for ammunition to use for an upcoming competition the rifle team will be having. She said the donations could be taken to the county extension office and added that Silver City's Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Fell is the coach.
Cano said she had received several phone calls concerning Penny Park and asked if they could have a report from the parks department on what has been happening there.
She thanked the Grant County Prospectors for all they do and commented on how beneficial they have been to the community. She added she would be working on a project with the governor.
Cano said she has gotten calls concerning the homeless population. "SPIN (supporting people in need) is full, and I am not sure if the gospel mission has any emergency shelter."
Last council meeting the Local Choice Energy bill came before them. Cano said it had not been on the agenda this time and expressed concern. She said her concern had to do with hearing from several legislators that Silver City had given support, and this had never been voted on. "We may or may not support, I don't know at this point. I think it is disingenuous for these sponsors to be telling this." She requested it be on the next agenda. "We need to have it on the record." One committee it went to ripped it apart and said to rewrite it. "This is what we were concerned about. It needed to be on the agenda this time and should have been so we knew if it would be supported or not."
Ray reflected back on the issue Farmer had brought up. He asked Alex Brown, town manager, if they kept up to date on the Boston Hill trails. Brown said every year they sponsor trail upgrades and a company used has been out of California and they give the town a good deal and charge about $10,000 each year. "Each year they come to us with projects. Concerning the issue Farmer talked about they had been asked for information and it has not been approved. They have been working on getting it designated as an open space," Brown said. "It is already being used as trails for hiking. They have just looked at it to see what they want to do." Brown pointed out. "They are aware of Indian ruins." An archeologist would need to be brought in before they did anything. Ray said they did have a lot of trails up there
In the last meeting Ray had commented on a parent being concerned about a book their student had been required to read on Kamala Harris. He said he had received a letter on the issue and would be addressing it at the next meeting. He added that if parents have issues, they need to go to their school board.
Farmer voiced support for Cano on the Local Energy bill.
Ladner wanted to encourage people to participate in a trash clean up coming up. "We all have a role to keep the community beautiful."
Ray thanked Brown for taking dirt to the Catholic cemetery to help cover graves.
The council approved the minutes from January 24, 2023.
Public input. Several people had signed up for different reasons.
Argelia Palomarez addressed the council concerning the proposed trail system behind her house. She said she would have Judy Ruebush speak on her behalf. Ruebush said Palomarez has total opposition to it. The area is dangerous. Her home backs up to the mountain and there would not be any place for parking. She has heard that the plan would be to put in infrastructure of different kinds and an outdoor theater. "People will e in our back yards. No environmental study has been done to ascertain the impact. "This project was only found out about after a year of planning, big surprise."
Janet Wallet-Ortiz said "I have lived in the community for 40 years and 35 of it in this neighborhood. I support bike trails and have volunteered for Tour of the Gila, but I stand against this. No assessment of the environment has been done." She said she has hiked up there for years and seen a lot of wildlife. For the past decade she said they had worked to stop any erosion and had been careful not to widen the trails. A retired archeologist had looked at the area and found it full of artifacts that just lay on top of the ground. Many of the residents have pottery wash down into their yard after the rains. "I am very unhappy this has gone on for a year without our knowledge or input." She said Farmer had told them nothing had been done but she had found hacked up yucca plants, bushes and trees trimmed. It seems to have been done for the ease of bicycles to travel through.
Three college students KG, Jaron Lunsford and Jackson Markman addressed the council about the movie they would be filming in Silver City. They said they came from Las Cruces, and it would be their senior project. The said it would be a short film and wanted to involve the community and asked that anyone interested to contact them. KG gave an email for contact. HBCasting2023@gmail.com
Stuart Egnal addressed the council to give his support to the trail system that had been discussed in the meeting. He said it started at an open space meeting the past summer and not a year ago. They live near Silver Heights and Juniper Street. The kids have no safe way to ride a bike downtown. Using existing trails seems logical. "Those who oppose it and think it is the end of the world I encourage them to get involved in the planning and not oppose. It serves a legitimate need and is something that should happen. All issues can be resolved."
Raul Turrieta addressed the council concerning property taxes. It had to do with saving the taxpayers money. The town will be sending out evaluations of property in March. He said this would be very important because a document would be enclosed on how to pay the bill electronically. By paying electronically it would save the town a tremendous amount in postage.
Turrieta commented on what Cano had talked about concerning the Territorial Charter Ball, and he saw she had struggled. He added the mayor had done a great job at the ball and Grant County Days.
Cathryn Wallace, a local lawyer, said she would be speaking on behalf of a client who could not attend. The client lived at 5 Crestwood, and this had to do with the trail system. She read a document her client had sent her. The area residents would all be stakeholders, yet they had no involvement, and would be the most affected. None had been contacted and what information that could be found seemed vague. On the open spaces and trails website they make reference to kivas and picnic grounds. No mention of an environmental, wildlife impact or Native American sites. She listed several other concerns.
Brian Heslin spoke to the council in opposition to the trails project. He said no one knew about it until recently. A lot of people walk their dogs in the area, and he expressed concern with bicycles hitting them. He also spoke about no parking being available. He appreciated a quiet neighborhood.
Ladner thanked everyone for their input.
Reports
Brown gave the council a quick rundown on the current projects. The recreation center has been out for bid and the next meeting they should have who the award had been made to. They will be waiting to see if they get the requested funding to finish the city annex building. The architect wants to start the swimming pool project in March. The golf course continues to be busy when it warms up. Little Walnut Road has been completed. The 32nd Street project will go out for bid the end of February. When the project is awarded, they will have more information on scheduling available.
Brown brought up the last work session concerning retention and recruitment of staff. He met with the fire department, and they had agreed on a few things and would be working with the staff on some others. He also met with Chief Portillo and Sheriff Villanueva concerning the grant money for retention and recruitment and how to get those funds out.
Cano asked him what they could do about the homeless. Brown said police could only respond to emergencies. He said, "I will contact the Gospel Mission and see what they are doing."
Ladner said he had met with Brown, James Marshall, assistant town manager, Freeport McMoRan and other state officials concerning the regional water project. "I am proud of the job Brown did at the presentation in Santa Fe."
Public hearing
The council approved the zoning change after hearing all the information. Richard Mata wanted to change the zoning of a property he owns from split zone residential to industrial. The property address is 502 N Silver Street. Marshall said all processes had been completed to make the change. He provided the council with photos of the area. Planning and Zoning had approved the change.
Mata said he would not be doing anything to the property he only wanted to be able to park his dump truck on the property if needed.
Work session agenda
The council discussed what would be on the work session for the following meeting. They went over each item listed. Cano wanted to consider the discussion of the wants and needs of the committees. She said she has been on the museum board, and they had not had a meeting since 2019. She added clearly from earlier in the meeting they needed to talk with the trails and open spaces committee. Farmer said in general they needed to work with the committees to see what has worked and what has not. Ray suggested doing a different committee every month. Farmer wanted to add one not on the list. Assess the relationship between town communities, government, and management. Ray asked if they thought it would be feasible to address each district and their needs. Cano said she didn't see how they could pick and be fair. Farmer suggested more public input and to advertise it
Ladner said they could not go to all committee meetings and these people all have volunteered. He suggested having them provide minutes to their meetings.
Cano said she had concern that some committees think they have more power than they do. She referenced the discussions earlier in the meeting.
They combined the two ideas proposed for the next meeting.
Unfinished business none currently.
New business
The council approved the notice of intent on ordinance 1316. This would amend the land use code for the cannabis ordinance. Cano commented they knew they would have changes trying to streamline the process. "This will continue to be a work in progress."
The council approved resolution 2023-05. This had to do with the joint powers agreement agreed on recently for the regional water association. Brown gave the council a brief history. The regional water association had been attempted in 2006 to join the mining district water lines so they all had a secondary source if needed. In 2011 they ran into a problem. Hurley and Santa Clara didn't have enough water to have the project go forward. Recently Freeport McMoRan came forward in 2022 and donated water rights and easements. They donated 200 acre feet to Hurley and 250 acre feet to Santa Clara . This made the project able to go forward. Silver City will not directly tap in, but the town has several water associations that use the town system. This would allow them to tap into the regional project and alleviate the impact on town fields. It will allow for economic development in all these areas and that helps Silver City. Brown explained further by saying Silver City gets the majority of gross receipts tax, 80 percent in Grant County. Anything that promotes growth helps the town. They had been very productive with the project in the last six months. He added that Freeport McMoRan would also be helping Bayard with the wastewater treatment plant with a donation of $1 million. The preliminary engineering report had been done in the beginning, now they will be looking to have the design done. By having this agreement, they can apply for funding and grants. They already have some funding and Bayard had a project that could not be done completely and had funds left over they will be reallocating to the water project. The funds total approximately $1.2 million.
Marshall added a comment about the project. He said the New Mexico Senate Finance committee used this project as an example. "This was an amazing occurrence to get this agreement done."
The council approved the reappointment of Stan Snyder to the planning and zoning commission. This will be a two-year term.
Meeting adjourned.