By Lorie Hildebrand
At the Hurley Town Council Meeting many residents appeared before the council with a variety of concerns. During the Public Input session Mayor Ed Stevens reported that there will be another work session meeting about Animal Ordinance issues. The date will be announced later. A question was asked by an audience member about public input before the council votes on approval or disapproval of agenda items. Mayor Stevens said he would look into that and report back. Normally public input is about citizen concerns that will be followed up on by the council at a later date, not for debating agenda items.
Mrs. Brewer, resident had concerns about how all three of her cats were caught in one trap. Also she had turned in a kennel license but then it was lost and when the Animal Control Officer took her cats to the vet for shots, she did not receive the tags. She also had concerns about weeds along and in sidewalks and alley-ways. Also Brewer had pictures of the Animal Control vehicle in Silver City after hours at a gym. Mayor Stevens said they would contact her to address her issues and will look into her allegations. Mr. Montoya had issues with property belonging to Freeport not being taken care of. He wanted to know if they get letters from City Hall like the residents. Mayor Stevens said “they will next time.” He has met with managers from the company and they are going to clean up. Also, at issue was property owners getting letters about their rental property instead of the renters getting the letters to clean up or be fined.
Again the question was asked about property owner responsibility for areas outside their property lines. There is confusion about keeping weeds down in the alley-ways, all the way out to the curb, and one homeowner thought the boundary for clean-up was to the middle of the streets. The council thoughts are, out to the curb and half the alley-way next to homeowners’ property is what is expected to be kept up. Resident Mr. Harter was concerned about the elderly and disabled who can’t afford to have someone clean for them and are unable to do so for themselves. "Who is helping them?”
In other public input, the Hurley store will have a pumpkin patch sale. Get a pumpkin for a donation of two cans of food for the food bank, 10-2 p.m. on Oct. 26.
Maintenance Department Sept. report: winterized the pool, continue to work on waste water back-flow equipment, cleaned town properties, fixed a couple of water leaks, and worked on the Gazebo at the Cemetery. Since taking on North Hurley for maintenance, they have had to fix only one leak. No other issues at this time.
Fire Department Sept. report: Had one fire and one smoke call. A shed burned on D street. It was knocked down fast. Still awaiting investigation report for cause. The Department now has 14 volunteers, with the Chief making 15.
Animal Control Sept. report: Had 3 complaints last month, 12 animals at large calls, and sent out 10 letters on various issues. No adoptions last month. The shelter will be offering free cat traps Oct. 21 to Nov. 1, 2019. Diamond Muller, Animal Control Officer reminded the public to “not feed feral cats, please!”
Police Chief Jamie Serrano reported for Code Enforcement who could not make the meeting. They are working on getting trailers and RV’s off the city streets. Thirty nine unkept yard letters went out, and one citation for debris and cars was issued.
Police Department Sept. report: Issued 32 citations and had a few reports of suspicious vehicles. There were no domestic disturbances during the month. New Officer Morales is working out fine. She is doing a good job patrolling streets to cut down on car breaking and entering incidents.
Hurley Pride Sept. Report: Tammy Gonzalez reported that there will be Christmas decorations this year. There are only 4 people on the committee at this time and most can’t climb ladders well anymore so light displays will not be the same as in the past. Flags will still be put out on special days. The committee will not be hosting a pumpkin patch this year. See Don Spann at the Hurley Store this year. A few folks are talking about putting together goodie bags at Christmas for the Fire Department Santa to hand out. Will have more information on that later. They will also support Shop with a Cop as in years’ past.
Resolution 11-2019/2020 approving the form of amended and stated joint powers agreement by and between Grant County, the Town of Silver City, the Town of Hurley, the Village of Santa Clara, and the City of Bayard relating to the Southwest Solid Waste Authority; Authorizing the Town of Hurley to join in a loan agreement by and between SWSWA and the New Mexico Finance Authority with respect to specific covenants, was approved.
Adoption of Ordinance 19-D-Ordinance Relating to Municipal Judge; Qualifications; Residence; Term of Office; Election; Salary; Responsibilities and Duties, and; bond Requirement. This is to increase the monthly salary of the Judge. It was adopted.
Resolution 12-2019/2020 declaring a surplus of vehicles in the Maintenance, Fire, and Police Departments which are not essential for municipal purposes and authorizing and directing the sale or disposal of said property in accordance with statutory requirements was approved.
Approval of a Purchase Order to Overhead Door Company to install push up doors on maintenance department storage units for $5,093.73 was approved. This will provide more security for equipment.
Approval for Maintenance Labor Adrian Romero to attend back flow prevention class in Albuquerque November 4-8, 2019 was approved.
Resolution 13-2019/2020 FY 2019/2020 for second quarter Budget Adjustments was approved.
Approval for Town Clerk Lori Ortiz to attend Local Government Division Annual Budget Conference in Albuquerque November 13-17, 2019 was approved.
Approval of Intent to Adopt Ordinance 7-V 2019 Changes to the Uniform Traffic Ordinance was approved. The changes update 2018 Cover page and preface with 2019 cover and makes changes in regard to parking in Disability Spaces and Financial Responsibilities of drivers.
Council Reports: The mayor will set a date and time for a special meeting on Animal Control Ordinance.
Judge Ramos pointed out that “Old Business” section used to be on agendas years ago and should maybe be put on again. Mayor Stevens said he would see that it was on the next agenda.
The next regular meeting will be Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 5 p.m.