By Roger Lanse

Retired Air Force Colonel Susan Beck told the Silver City Town Council at its Tuesday, Apr. 23, 2019, meeting that the draft environmental impact statement regarding the Air Force’s proposed airspace expansion for southern New Mexico is planned to be released in late spring or early summer of this year. The DEIS will list four alternatives, one of which has not yet been divulged to the public and the other is the standard “do nothing” option. The other two would add or expand flight areas.

Resolutions regarding the proposal have been received from Silver City, Bayard, Santa Clara, Hurley, and Grant County, Beck said, and will be included in the DEIS.

The Arizona Air National Guard’s Tucson Base already trains over the Gila area. That installation has 80 F-16s stationed there, of which eight are Iraqi and 10 are Dutch, Beck said. The eight Iraqis are due to leave soon to be replaced by about 20 Taiwanese F-16s from Luke Air Force Base in Phoenix. Pilots from 25 countries have been trained at Tucson ANGB and their training includes use of chaff and flares.

The use of flares is not normally allowed during times of high fire danger, Beck stated. The flares used in training are training flares, not combat flares. Training flares only burn for a few seconds and are dropped from a higher altitude. Flares are used as a defense against radar. Sometimes, the metal canister containing the flares is found on the ground by people as they cannot be retrieved, Beck stated.

Regarding low-level flights, according to Beck , C-130s from Rosecrans ANGB in St. Joseph, Missouri, practice low-level flights as part of a nine-day course at the Tucson ANGB that trains crews from USAF, USMC, ANG and allied nations. These flights are held here because the trainers like it, as the terrain is much like Afghanistan.

According to Beck, several military flight routes cross the Gila National Forest, and the Gila and Aldo Leopold wilderness areas, and airplanes flying these routes are allowed to deviate a few miles on either side of the route. Flight levels above 1,500 feet are prescribed for flights over the wilderness areas.

In summary Beck listed several points; 1. Much of southern New Mexico is already used for military training, including over the wilderness areas; 2. Tucson ANGB, not Holloman AFB, is the source of the majority of F-16 fighter training currently over the Gila region; 3. The Headquarters AF airspace optimization project for Holloman AFB could increase F-16 training in this region; 4. C-130s are flying training missions here about twice a month; 5. Aircraft on military training routes in southern New Mexico and over the Gila contribute to the number of low-level flights in the region; and 6. Any aircraft, military or civilian, may transit on VFR flight plans.

In other action, District 3 Councilor Jose Ray Jr. suggested preventing vehicles from driving up to La Capilla as it gets a lot of use and graffiti and destruction of property are a real problem there. He proposed a vehicle barrier, and a sidewalk from the bottom of the hill, to allow people to walk to the building but not drive.

Ray also stated the looming school bond issue needs to be voted down. “We’re tired of paying taxes,” he said. “It’s hard on those with fixed income, vote ‘No.’ It’s time for us to say, ‘No.’” He feels too much is being spent on non-essentials and that parents should foot the bill for expensive sports equipment. Ray believes school spending should be for basics, not extra-curricular costs.

District 4 Councilor Guadalupe Cano stated that downtown traffic continues to be a problem and suggested that all town-owned vehicles, including police units, have a bumper sticker affixed reading, “How is My Driving?”

Council approved two resolutions amending the approved and adopted budget for fiscal year 2019.

Town Manager Alex Brown told council that no increases in expenditures and staffing levels are foreseen for fiscal year 2020.That budget is very close to $10 million, he said. Because water use has declined, a shortfall in revenue from that source is expected, Brown stated, and he is recommending a .30/1,000 gallons increase in water rates. That rate would be the same for in-town users and out-of-town users. Gross receipts taxes are expected to be about the same as last fiscal year.

Cissy McAndrew suggested to council that as new concrete is poured in downtown for sidewalks, gutters, and the like, that the new concrete should be the same color as the existing old concrete to retain the character of the town.

Mayor Ken Ladner appointed Laszlo Sandor to the Planning and Zoning commission. Also appointed were Robert Schiowitz, Kenneth Sexton, and Martyn Pearson to the Trails and Open Space Advisory Committee.