By Lynn Janes

The Village of Santa Clara held a regular meeting January 22, 2026. Mayor Arnold Lopez called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Albert Esparza and Trustees Olga Amador, Peter Erickson and Ralph Trujillo attended.

The council approved the agenda and past meeting minutes.

Mayor's report

He had been in meetings for the design phase of the new pump track. The meetings had gone well, and they will be ready to start the project soon. People involved with the company from Louisiana and Australia had been part of the meetings and Lopez said they had designed many parks in New Mexico. They did ask that the area be cleared out so they could easily come in and level off the land. Part of the process will be to fly a drone over the area to take photos to aid in the design of the track. Once a design has been done it will come before the council for approval. They hope to have a design by February and construction to start in March or April. "This will really be something for the folks in Grant County to use."

The other project that has been moving forward was the Colonias water system improvements. He had a three-hour meeting with them, and they will be replacing one tank that had been built in 1955. The village will be replacing all the valves and adding some so if they have a leak more sections can be shut off. All design has been done by Stantec, and they will be putting the project out for bid. The will wells will be done first and then the tanks. This project will not start until after the summer, so they don't have any water interruptions.

Lopez had met with Stantec on another project that had been approved by the Department of Transportation for some road management projects. "It is very hard to get money if you don't have a shovel-ready project." The village had proposed a bond for road improvements, but it had failed in the recent election. In the past they had been awarded $900,000 for engineering plans addressing the road improvements for pavement, curbs, gutters, and repairs. If the necessary legislation passes, they will start in March but will not see construction until 2027. They village will not have any match funding on this. Lopez felt that because it would be shovel ready, they could obtain the funding for the construction. "I want these roads that are not paved to be paved and the ones that need to be fixed be done over again."

The Maple Street bridge will be out for bid. The project has been designed by Stantec and is shovel-ready. The construction should start in April of May. The Oak Street bridge project is ongoing and once the design has been finished, they will begin to look for funding.

Lopez said the police chief has been testing two applicants that had done well but will not be certified police officers. He has been looking to hire one other person.

The village had received a grant for the animal shelter so it can be heated and cooled along with other upgrades. The dogs will also have more space with a choice to be inside or outside. A cat room will be added. The construction would be starting the following Monday, and the funding will also allow for the addition of a washer and dryer. Larry Montoya, animal control officer/fire chief and Shiela Hudman, village administrator, had worked on this grant for two years.

Public comments none currently

New business

The council tabled the recommendation for village employees living within the city limits to receive discounted water and sewer rates. Yvonne Gonzales, village attorney, said they needed to make sure they followed all the guidelines on anything done for city employees. It would be a considered an employee benefit and needed to make sure it would be in compliance and not go against the anti-donation laws.

Old business

The council approved the request made by Robert Young and Pantano Inc. for a four-lot subdivision. He had agreed and signed a letter to the requests of the village. He will be responsible for all plumbing, water and sewer from the property into the village. Young will also be responsible for installing a fire hydrant. The maintenance and fire department had been involved in the process.

Resolutions

The council approved resolution 2026-03 second quarter budget adjustment. This would be due to transfers that needed to be made because of grants received. Leandra Esparza, city clerk, went over all the adjustments and why they needed to be made. Payments for some things must be made from the general fund until the grants have been received and then it must be replaced.

First regular meeting will be February 12, 2026, at 6:00 pm
Second regular meeting will be February 26, 2026, at 6:00 pm

Albert Esparza said they had a lot of really good news in this meeting and thanked everyone for the hard work to make it happen. Lopez credited the council for all their help and the people that work for the village.

Meeting Adjourned