Print
Category: Front Page News Front Page News
Published: 07 September 2018 07 September 2018

By Mary Alice Murphy

The Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce held its luncheon at Bear Mountain Lodge, as it does annually. This year, it was held on Thursday, Sept. 6, and featured Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard and Grant County Manager Charlene Webb, both speaking about the importance of supporting general obligation bond questions that will be on the Nov. 6 General Election ballots.

img 7866Shepard said Bond D, if it passes throughout the state, will provide about $6 million dollars to WNMU. The funding is to construct or renovate campus infrastructure.

"The first $3 million will be to complete the renovation of Harlan Hall, our science building," Shepard said. "If you go to Harlan Hall today, you see a building that has fewer features than a normal high school lab. We want to improve on that and be competitive in this STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) age. We have to have the necessary funding to finish the facility."

The other $3 million will go to infrastructure improvements. "If you drive down College Avenue you will hit a dead end, where construction is going on. That is a cooperative effort between the town and the university. One thing you won't see are electric lines. They will be underground. Thank you, PNM. You're doing a great job. We will be putting up light posts and trees with twinkle lights on them for special occasions, or maybe we'll just leave them there. We are making it pedestrian friendly similar to what has been done at Light Hall, which was also paid for with GO bond money. The plan is to put more sculptures around the campus, and I want to make it an arboretum, which is a fancy name for lots of trees and a park. Someday I want people to come along and enjoy the shade of the trees we're planning. It's similar to the education we provide, which is planting a tree of sorts for tomorrow's generation. You have the opportunity to make a statement."

Shepard noted that all politics are local. "What really matters is your town. Our university is not just the classrooms. It's about culture. This money supports that. You see the sculpture and artwork popping up all over campus. It creates value and gives you the opportunity to enjoy them.

"This is your university," he continued. "I'm a placeholder for now, improving things until I leave."

He showed the pamphlet he had handed out, with information on the bond issue. "If you in your conscience vote for it, it will help us. Voting yes will not increase your taxes, because old bonds are paid off leaving capacity for new bond issues."

Shepard also asked voters to support the bond issue for libraries, which includes those in Silver City and Bayard, as well as at the university.

An attendee asked about "the list in Shepard's head" about what would be put in Harlan Hall in the way of equipment.

"Equipment is crucial," Shepard agreed. "But those microscopes today, not like the mom-and-pop microscope you may remember, cost about $1 million each, but they can drill down to photons. New equipment will help measure pollution in water, for instance."

Scott Terry, chamber president and director, asked about the new bagel shop.

"This semester we will be putting in an Einstein's Bagels shop as you go into the PE complex. Behind, we will form an amphitheater for concerts. Near the horse statue, we will put a fountain, a good place for photos."

He said another thing that no one will see is technology. "When I came we had about 40Mb of bandwidth. Now we have about 1 Gb of bandwidth. Forty-seven percent of our classes are online. You might ask why we are improving the campus if so many classes are online. Universities are about community and culture. If we focus on online, we would forget about the community. Another place we can put money is the Fine Arts Center."

"How many of you have enjoyed the bathrooms there?" he asked and got a laughing response. "We plan to bring the lobby out and build out the bathrooms. We will work on Kentucky Street in front, as well as the sidewalks. The Museum is another thing we have paid for with GO bond funding."

He said the construction and improvements bring economic value. "With the $6 million, we will have contractors, who hire subcontractors, who go guy a car at Lawley or go to Diane's for dinner or go buy groceries, which allows the people who work in those businesses to go out and buy things. From the chamber perspective, a GO bond is economic development. The folks who benefit from the jobs pay taxes, so the city and the county get tax money, which they put into more projects."

Ted Presler asked about drones, which he said he did not support. Shepard said WNMU is now offering classes in drone technology on how to use them and how to repair them.

"Also, the university is in partnership with Aldo Leopold High School," Shepard said. "The first and second floors of Ritch Hall have been converted into classrooms. We will still have dorm rooms for students who come from, for instance, Mexico to take classes and improve their English. We will eventually tear down Eckles Hall. I want to put a recreation center there, not just for the university, but for tournaments—basketball and volleyball, for example."

Terry asked: "Will I ever get to make seafood gumbo while tailgating for an evening game?"

Shepard laughingly said it was in the plan for 2073. "The stadium is used four or five times a year for football games. The other evening, I passed Silver High School during their football game. There were cars lining the streets and filling the parking lot. A lot more people go to their games than to our games. By the way, we're starting to recruit locally. But it would be nice to have evening games. When we play at 2 p.m., it's hot."

He said he is starting his eighth year at Western. "I have enjoyed it so much. It is the people, each of you, who make my time here enjoyable."

img 7869Webb spoke next. She has been the Grant County manager since 2014.

"I'm a little more boring," Webb began. "I don't have any jokes."

She said: "In July, the County Commission authorized two bond questions to be put on the ballot for $8 million total. The first question authorizes an amount not exceeding $4 million for remodeling or additions to public buildings. The second question, not to exceed $4 million, is for repairing county roads."

"Funding in New Mexico is a challenge," Webb continued. "We have three different options, pay-as-you-go, beg or borrow. Pay-as-you-go utilizes cash reserves or incoming revenue. We have worked hard, and our cash reserves are growing. We are finishing our Capital Asset Management Plan, which gives us a tool to manage our assets, such as how often do we replace roofs or how often do we re-chipseal roads. Begging includes grants or low-interest loans, but they need to be available at the right time for a project. Typically, they don't happen at the same time. In addition, delays and restrictions can sometimes cost more than what you get."

The third option is borrowing. "This is what we're talking about today. It spreads the cost over the useful life of the asset. It allows you to accelerate phased projects, which we do a lot, because it's hard to get enough money at one time. Borrowing also capitalizes on savings. It allows us to keep our cash reserves for emergencies. Some advantages of borrowing are that we can finance larger projects that we couldn't do with cash financing."

"Fortunately, this county has given broad-based support for tax increases for public improvements, which offer the cheapest rates." Webb said. "The most important thing for these bond questions is that your taxes will not increase. If the voters vote no, your taxes will decrease slightly. For instance, on a $100,000-value house, you will save $1.33 a month or about $16 a year. For a $150,000 house, you would pay about $25 less. Will most people notice this? I don't think so.

"If you vote yes, the county will receive $4 million to keep buildings and facilities operational, safe and efficient," Webb continued.

She listed items in no particular order and said that perhaps not all identified projects could be completed with this round of funding. They include a new roof for the courthouse. "We are also looking at installing solar there for electrical and HVAC efficiency. The Detention Center needs a perimeter fence and a new security system."

"The administration center needs a new roof, and if you have tried walking in the parking lot with heels, you know it's sketchy," Webb said. "We are looking at putting in solar there, too."

The Silver Street complex needs a new roof as well. The building houses the County Extension Service, Public Health and Dispatch, "your 911."

The water systems at the fairgrounds are tied into the Silver Schools, and when the schools have problems so do the fairgrounds. ADA projects in Tyrone and around the courthouse are also issues that need to be addressed.

"The other question asks for $4 million for roads," Webb said. "While I was sitting at the table, I heard lots of comments on the roads and that they needed work. I hear you loud and clear. We struggle year after year with never having enough money. In the plan, we prioritized roads, especially those that provide economic access to business, for tourism and parks and for connecting major highways. We have to have infrastructure and roads. Little Walnut Road is one of our Tier 1 roads, as well as the airport road. The airport is one of the biggest assets the county has. We are trying to capitalize on that. Silver City is difficult to get to, but we're lucky we have essential air service. Ridge Road is another one. It is hard to keep it safe. And the Santa Rita Mine Road. For just those four roads, the estimate is $7 million. We're asking for only $4 million. This is a constant roadblock for us. The Asset Management Plan identified more than $20 million to bring roads up to acceptable standards. That tells you our challenge, with $20 million in needs.

"We are trying to take advantage of this opportunity to go to you, the voters, not to increase your property taxes and to help make this a better place to live," Webb concluded.

She had handed out a flyer to attendees with all the important dates for registering and where and when to vote. "You have no excuses not to vote. We would love to have your support."

Terry said he had a statement. "I was attending the city council meeting during a rainstorm. Where (Silver City Assistant Manager James) Marshall was sitting, a light fixture filled up with water and started dripping. I understand your need. I hear that in the Sheriff's Office it's like water running down a wall."

Rocky Mondello of Morningstar asked if the road plans include bike paths.

"We are trying to look at bike paths for Little Walnut, but a lot of times we don't have enough right-of-way, which would require us to purchase the right-of-way. But where does the money come from? Yes, it is a consideration."

An attendee asked how old the roofs are that need replacing. "The courthouse roof is old, but I don't know how old. The administration center roof is from when the county bought the building in the 1980s or early 1990s. All the roofs in the list have exceeded their useful lives. In the Asset Management Plan, we should not be letting roofs go to that point; we should be checking them more often."

Ted Presler said he was talking to a civil engineer who had recently moved into the area. He suggested putting economic activity at the airport.

"Yes, we have considered that, and it is on our radar screen," Webb said. "How do we increase economic development? With the assets we have and that's a jewel the county owns. We are fortunate to have the Forest Service as a tenant."

Tom Vaughan of FEVA Fotos noted that with $20 million backlog in roads, "do you have any idea how fast you can address them or does the backlog grow? Will you ever get caught up?"

Webb said all the road needs different. "I would like to say yes, we could catch up at some point."

"Will you fall further behind?" Vaughan asked.

"I think we've made some changes in how we address things," Webb replied. "Hopefully, this bond passes and gives us a big step in the right direction. We can continue to lobby for more Local Government Road funding. The mayor (Ken Ladner) can attest to how little we get there. We are actively looking for federal funds that we can match, so I would like to think we're moving in a positive direction and not falling further behind. That's me being optimistic."

County Assessor Raul Turrieta noted that the bond issues would not cause a tax increase overall. "However, in the Mining District, Bayard, Hurley and Santa Clara have increased their millage rates, which will increase their bills."

Announcements included the Red Hot Children's Fiesta to take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8 at Penny Park. The Gila River Festival will take place Sept. 20-23 and the Mimbres Harvest Festival Sept. 29. The Purchase Prize show will hold its opening Sept. 25 at 5:30 p.m. at the Hearst Gallery in Pinos Altos. Fort Bayard Days will take place Sept. 21-23, and the Cliff-Gila Grant County Fair will take place beginning Sept. 19.

Shepard handed out a flyer for the WNMU cultural series. Colleen Morton of the Silver City Arts and Cultural District said the group had received a grant for a feasibility study for a combined studio and maker's space. She said, in early October, two or three consultants would be meeting with people locally. She also announced a photo contest and a Clay Arts Trail meeting on Sept. 26. More information can be found at silvercityacd.org.

Cynthia Bettison, Silver City mayor pro tem and WNMU Museum director, said Brazil's National Museum in Rio de Janeiro had been completely destroyed in a fire on Sept. 3. "It has no fire suppression system. That's why I pushed so hard for one in the university museum." Brazil's national museum recently celebrated its 200th birthday, but everything from artifacts to art to documents were completed destroyed. Bettison said the museum is seeking photos that people might have taken over the years in the museum to help them determine what was lost.

It was announced that on Oct. 12-13, Santa Clara would celebrate its 150th birthday. On Oct. 6, at 3 p.m. the Grant County Community Concerts will feature the Malpass Brothers. Fort Bayard along with Santa Clara received $10,000 in grants to change the armory to a business center.

Shepard also added at the end of the meeting that he had just received a text telling him that enrollment at Western is up by more than 3 percent as compared to other universities in New Mexico who are facing enrollment declines.

The next regular chamber luncheon will return to the Sunset Room at the WNMU cafeteria on Oct. 4.