By Mary Alice Murphy

Joseph Holguin, Grant County Planning and Capital Projects director, opened the meeting on Wednesday, May 27, 926, to discuss with those attending how the ICIP (Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan) process works and what feedback he expected from those in the room.

"Right now we're working between 2028 through 2032," he said. "Every year we have the option to change the priorities, change the dollar amount, what's been requested, things like that, and the forms you fill out end up being pretty dynamic because we do get new commissioners and every commissioner has their their own projects they want to work on, initiatives that they're focused on."

He asked the question that he gets asked often. "So what would qualify as eligible projects? These are typically things like roads and bridges. Public safety, of course, is a big part of that. Vehicles and heavy equipment, so this is the time when our road department could be requesting things like maybe they need a new blade because they're going to be expanding and trying to get more coverage for similar projects. It can also be vehicles, and in the past we've requested and been successful in securing funding for the Sheriff's office for them to purchase vehicles and safety equipment. Also things like community centers, libraries, and parks absolutely fit in that category, as well as facility renovations and new construction."

He said the Department of Finance Administration wants to see things that are $10,000 or more, and ones that the county needs to try to get 10 years of serviceable life out of it.

Holguin noted the DFA wants to see fixed assets, something that is tangible. Something like consultant fees or reoccurring costs generally don't fit in that timeline. Routine maintenance is considered operational, so those things aren't on there. Salaries, benefits, things of that nature are not eligible.

"Some things that we have received funding for, and this is for the financial years 2020 through 2025 We have received funding from the state, and also from general bonds, severance tax bonds, or out of the state's general fund. It does not include things like the grants that we've received through various agencies. This doesn't include a bunch of the FFA grants that we get out here r for the stuff that our emergency manager applies for."

He pointed out other things that the county has put on the ICIP and received funding for, such as the Bataan Memorial Park, fairground improvements have been on there a couple times "We're going to be working on installing a restroom facility out there. And that facility is available for other rentals and things of that nature, right. It's not just rodeo and the fair. We have a big show barn out there that they rent out for weddings and graduations It's great if you have family coming in, as they have an RV Park with hookups."

The ICIP also allows counties to request planning funding for fixed assets. Another recent funding opportunity has provided improvements to the airport parking lot.

He said the development of the ICIP goes through a couple stages before it's adopted. The ICIP usually has some items that roll from year to year. "One of the things that is going to become a staple for us is keeping things on there, like general road improvements. Those are things we're going to make sure are on there, because when we do apply for certain funding sources, hat they will come back yo make sure it is a priority for Grant County, by asking: 'Is it on your ICIP?'"

It may be eligible for maybe for federal highway transportation funding. ICIP starts off with the biggest part being community input. "This is really your plan with the coordination of staff, along with County Manager Charlene Webb, and elected officials, so your commissioners have their input on this. They help us prioritize these projects. Ultimately, they are the individuals that sign off on it and assign that priority, but this is why your voice today is important for those things, because we will take that, and in the next work session, we're going to go ahead and relay the information to them."

"So once we've assembled a list, this goes in front of our commissioners, and they all agree to it as a resolution, and when they assign or when that's adopted as a resolution, again, there's a dollar amount assigned to it, a priority assigned to it, and then these projects are submitted to DFA, the Department of Finance Administration, and DFA vets those, they look at it and they say, okay, these are all eligible projects that all fall under the capital criteria. Those are all things of that nature. Why this is so important for us to get these two steps in is our legislators will not hear community input unless these items have gone through DFA. Really, when it goes through that legislative process, to be funded, it must be adopted, and it should go whether it's a 30-day or a 60-day session. This is the document, this ICIP, that they're going to be referencing every single time, and they want to know where is it on the ICIP, is it your top three, is it in your top five? If it's not on there, we're going to have a really challenging time getting things funded.

"Just like I mentioned, there's a lot of other programs out there that they just want to make sure it's identified as a community priority, so we can apply for grants, because that is a question we get for a lot of Colonias projects that we apply for. They just want to know that it's on the list, that it's a community priority. One of the things that we placed on there this year is going to be Broken Arrow road improvements. We're looking at that and requesting money this time around for design money, and if it's successful, we'll go back for construction funds. Broken Arrow is one of the few roads in that whole Silver Heights subdivision that's just a dirt road. There's a lot of surface water drainage issues, so of course when you're driving down there under heavy rains, there'll be multiple points where the water jumps across the road, because the bar ditches on the site aren't even."

He had some paper forms that attendees could fill out.

"If you go on the grantcountynm.gov website, go under planning and community development, he said. "There's a link to the ICIP form, and you can fill it out there. We're hoping to get this to the commissioners on June 9th in their work session for them to identify those priorities, and then they will adopt it as a resolution on the 11th. It's a Microsoft survey form. It's really quick and easy."

The deadline for input is June 8, 2026, but preferably before that so Holguin has time to compile it all.

"I will present all these facts to our commissioners, let them decide," he said.

One attendees had questions about the streetlights on highway 90 and the Tyrone townsite, which had been removed, making the intersections at night less safe. "It's really dark there, and it's it's not safe. I went around door-to-door to get signatures from people to support it for the petition. A lot of people told me different stories about things that had happened," she reported "And the speed limit is 65. When you're coming from Lordsburg, it changes."

Holguin said she should talk to her commissioner, Tom Shelley , who is over Tyrone and to let him know that it is a priority. These are safety concerns in a D O T corridor. "Tthen a combination between myself working with D O T and Commissioner Shelley, we can encourage them to take some action there.Those lights along 180 were the same thing.That was done because advocates from the community went to the commissioners, and the commissioners working with another agency made that happen.

One attendee said she had looked at the form for feedback and one of the questions is how much the project will cost. "I'm like, yikes, I have no clue what this would cost."

Holguin said to just ad any cost, and the county will make adjustments, usually after talking to a consultant who can give a more precise figure.

Another attendee said he was looking for some sort of improvements at the Little League fields near the golf course. "It's just for the fact that everybody in the district, even in the mining district, will use Scott Park Little League fields for soccer, baseball, softball, even tournaments from out of town. But right now, it's miserable. We need some trees, some shade, not just a golf umbrella. And it's hard to walk on the gravel, especially for older people. The sidewalks are limited."

Holguin said he knew that Silver City did the maintenance, but it might be possible to do some sort of agreement between the city and the county. "We should be having cross collaboration between us and the town. If they have stuff on their ICIP, we're going to hope that they're going to share that with us."

One of the attendees asked that the the video board that provides notices at the conference center be repaired. "We can't put a rodeo sign up there because it's broken."

A lot of discussion went on about the firehouses and their need for volunteers and what a wonderful job law enforcement and firefighters did with the Trout Fire last year.

Holguin said one item they would be adding to the ICIP is emergency responder radios that work even when someone is out of range of a cell tower.

He also noted that Franks and Cum roads would likely be on the list again, even though they have been funded. "Some thing we always trying to improve on is our road infrastructure, and then, of course, public safety. One of the items that got placed on it was requested from the airport, which was to get a water line installed out to the airport that could possibly open up that ability for larger expansion of commerce for vendors and stuff to set up shop in there right now, and we're working on that out in mining district with the Copper Collaborative.

Also requested was road rehabilitation after they replace all the pipes for the water system in Tyrone and to include ADA compliance with the sidewalks there, also.

Holguin thanked everyone for their participation and reminded them to fill out the forms at https://grantcountynm.gov/350/ICIP