By Lynn Janes

The Village of Santa Clara held its regular meeting October 26, 2023. Mayor Richard Bauch called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Albert Esparza, trustees, Olga Amador, Arnold Lopez, and Peter Erickson attended.

Mayor's report

The village will be getting the millings from the highway 180 construction. They will grind them up to redo Pinon Street. Bauch said for now it will be placed by the Brown Derby. The regional water project has come down to two proposals for the water lines. Bauch will bring a map for the council to view in November. They will be trying to get the PER (preliminary engineering report) done by the end of November, so they have something for the legislative session. The funding all looks good and because of the project being a combination of municipalities they will not have to provide matching funds. "It is nice and developing well."

New Business

The council approved the donation of sick leave by three other employees totaling 188 hours to Leandra Esparza for maternity leave.

The council approved the appointment of Epitacio Ordonez as interim municipal judge after some discussion. A resident asked about background checks and Bauch said they had been done. They had two applicants. Yvonne Gonzalez, village attorney, said another background check would be done after hiring and added they both had been vetted.

David Grijalva said when he was younger, he had a problem but now had changed his life for many years. He said he had not had any convictions. Grijalva said he would be running for the municipal judge position. Gonzales pointed out he could not serve as judge when he will be running for the position.

Bauch said he had not wanted to bring the issue up but felt now he had to. Bauch said Grijalva had two felony convictions. Grijalva said he has been working with a lawyer and the governor to get that record expunged. Bauch pointed out those convictions are on record, and he had pled guilty on them.

Resolutions

Bauch asked to have resolution 2023-8 tabled again. Some changes still need to be made and the council voted to table the resolution.

The council approved resolution 2023-19 with some small changes. Gonzales said what had been changed had to do with outside employment and in a subsection the change had not been neglected to be made. The resolution had to do with the polices and procedures section I-K titled volunteer work by village employees and appointed officials.

The council approved resolution 2023-20. This had to do with the policies and procedures section 1-L titled travel per diem.

The council approved resolution 2023-27. This allowed all the first quarter budget adjustments to cover negative balances in other funds awaiting funds for reimbursement.

The council approved resolution 2023-28. This allowed all the first quarter budget adjustments for revenues and expenses.

The council approved resolution 2023-20. This allows the village to set up an auction for the sale of a 2008 Harley Davidson used by the police department. This had been set up for auction previously, but Bauch said he had taken it out to have it reassembled first so they could get the most money for it. Tom Caddel, resident, wanted to know what the minimum bid would be. Bauch said they had not set that yet but felt they could start at $2,500. The revenue from the auction of the motorcycle will go back into the police department.

Public Comment

Caddel said all the potholes had been fixed except one. "I told you to put dirt into it." Bauch asked him for the address, and he would see they got it fixed.

Amador announced the upcoming Tamal Festival. This year it will be held at Fort Bayard. They still need vendors and nonprofits do not have to pay the booth fee. It will be held on the old hospital grounds and will be November 18, 2023, from 10 am to 4 pm.

The community cleanup would be held the coming Saturday after the meeting.

First regular meeting will take placeThursday November 9, 2023, at 3:00 pm

Second regular meeting that would be Thursday November 23, 2023 has been canceled due to Thanksgiving

Meeting Adjourned