Silver City Council hears public input on museum problems

By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Town Council held a regular meeting April 28, 2026. Attendance to the meeting included Mayor Simon Wheaton-Smith, Nicholas Prince, Stan Snider, Victor Nañez and Angela Salaiz.

The council approved the agenda with the addition of adding a second position for appointment of an out of city limits member.

Council comments

Nañez did not have any comments at this time.

Salaiz wanted to reiterate the coal-rolling ordinance would not affect all people with diesels. She had heard a lot of misinformation, people had said it would affect all diesel vehicles. "If you are not coal-rolling people and actively seeking out to assault people nobody is going to come after you." She added she has familiarity with diesel trucks and her family owned a ranch. Adding again this would just be about coal rollers. She reminded everyone to be mindful of people on bicycles because Tour of the Gila would be happening.

Snider had several items he wanted to speak to. He had attended the movie, Last Days on Lake Trinity. It addressed the story of homeowners being displaced from their homes due to a mobile home park being sold. It has become a common occurrence across the country for mobile home parks being sold and homeowners displaced due to rent increases. Many times, the cost to move the home cannot be afforded by the mobile homeowner. In the movie it showed a home being demolished because the owner could not afford to move it. After the movie they had a discussion on how the situating could be avoided.

Snider thanked Western New Mexico University (WNMU) and Silver Consolidated Schools for working together on the Sixth Street Elementary School sale and making it the early childhood education center for WNMU. This had been a win-win situation for the local neighborhood and the history of New Mexico.

Snider had heard a comment on Continental Trail Divide Day. A hiker had been quoted saying out of all the gateway cities to the Continental Divide Trail, Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail, Silver City had been the most friendly and welcoming.

Prince wanted to echo the comments made about the Continental Divide Trail Days. He had heard many hikers make similar comments. They had reviewed the last month's gross receipts tax (GRT), and the town had been ahead $357,000 over last year. He said they would be able to start having reports for the Economic Development and Research Committee. These reports will have recommendations on how the city can reinforce weaknesses in this time. Prince added he was looking forward to public comment in this meeting.

Wheaton-Smith commented he would talk faster than Prince but thought the FCC might object. He had also spent some time at Gough Park for Continental Divide Trail Days. He would be having a meeting with Lodgers' Tax committee and the lodgers' tax process.

Wheaton-Smith said he had been coated in oil the other day by the coal rollers and asked them to show some respect. "You may not agree with what people are saying but that is part of our country. We have freedom of speech."

He spoke to some of the committees and what they would be doing, touching on mobile homeowners and the problems they face if the park sells. Moving the mobile home can be very costly and many times could not be afforded. "We have a lot of committees, and they do an enormous amount of work and get very little credit." Wheaton-Smith listed some of the committees that had vacancies. Coffee with the mayor would rake place May 18, 2026, 10:00 am at WNMU.

The council approved the minutes for April 14, 2026

Public input.

Victoria Reese has serious concerns about the museum and the person running it. She had some facts for the council that might surprise them. The information would be easy for them to find and verify for themselves. "I don't understand how Mr. Roselli could have been hired." She asked if any vetting had been done. Her comment referred to Bart Roselli, Silver City Museum director. She said he had been fired from his last job in Seneca, New York for mismanagement. He then filed a lawsuit against them for age discrimination, and it had been dismissed for lack of cause. "It seems to be the way he handles things, threatens people and attempts to file lawsuits. He bullies people, and I don't think that is what we want in a city employee." Years ago, she had heard he banned the museum society from the museum. The museum society raises funds to help the museum, and he had banned them because they asked to see the budget and finances. With previous directors they had done this with no problems. She added that she understood the district attorney, Norm Wheeler, has a state police investigation going on Roselli that has been held up waiting to see what the city wants to do. She wanted to know why it had been held up. Reese had also read in the newspaper that artifacts that people donated expecting them to be returned have now gone missing. She felt all of these things would be big red flags. Reese said Roselli has been known for spreading rumors around town about people that had not been true which could open up the city to a defamation lawsuit. She asked if she would be safe from Roselli and would he now threaten her with a lawsuit; and said it appeared to be the way he operates.

Nicole Eleck said she had been hired in March of 2025 as a temporary utility biller for the town of Silver City. She had enjoyed her time at city hall and made friends with her coworkers and had provided excellent service to the customers. She had also discovered dozens of broken water meters she had brought to the utility's attention. When she had arrived at work on February 11, 2026, at city hall she had been told she would be the administrative assistant for the Silver City Museum and working for Bart Roselli. In the two months at the museum, she had finished multiple projects, including digitizing all the financial year 2025 files, purchase orders and invoices. She had Excel spreadsheets for each account and had agreed to take on the volunteer coordinator duties in mid March along with other duties. During a project meeting she experienced Roselli's anger as he yelled at her and made strange aggressive gestures. After the meeting, he asked her what she thought of him yelling at her and she told him it had been inappropriate and not to do it again. She went into a number of other times he yelled at her in meetings. On April 14, 2026, her job had officially changed to administrative assistant because she had been paid still as a utility biller. At that time, she sent an email to a fellow museum staff person about her updated permanent position. Later Roselli came to her and told her she was really stupid referring to the email she had sent. He told her she had been gossiping and continued to yell at her. She tried to speak to him, and he continued to yell even louder. At that point Eleck told him she didn't appreciate him yelling, and he told her he could talk to her any way he wanted. She got up to leave and Roselli positioned himself between the door and her and would not let her leave. The situation escalated from there, ending in Roselli telling her she was fired. She managed to exit another way and went to human resources but because she had a temporary status, they could not help her. She had rights and would be making a complaint. On her first day, Roselli had told her that Raul Turrieta had stolen $1.3 million from the museum and Patsy Madrid had said the N word and his only job would be to take down the museum society. Every day for two months, he had continued the accusations and inappropriate behavior. She said even one of the council members that sits now on the town council had been part of some of those conversations but said they would support Roselli because he fought for the employees.

After Eleck's meeting with human resources, she returned to the museum to retrieve her belongings. Roselli had been there waiting for her and yelled had her demanding the keys and chased her around the office. She asked him to stop so she could find the keys. This interaction continued with Roselli continuing to scream at her. She has also made a police report and has seen Roselli drive by her house twice. Through Eleck's whole comments, she exhibited extreme emotion about the interactions.

Wendy Spurgeon had served as the education program manager at the Silver City Museum for a little over a year and had been actively recruited by Roselli. When the museum received a grant of $100,000 from the New Mexico Creative Industries Division, he had selected her to design and implement the Living History Program based on her professional theater background and track record for producing strong community programs. In the beginning he had praised her work to her, at times almost uncomfortably. She had been fully committed to the project.

Over time Spurgeon had been concerned over the mismanagement of the grant and lack of progress towards the program goals. After she raised those concerns to him his tone shifted, and the environment became increasingly unstable. She sent an email to Roselli ,addressing outstanding deliverables and next steps. His response had been irate and he terminated her with no reason beyond not being a good fit. Spurgeon had also experienced and witnessed public outbursts; private verbal aggression and her professionalism had been undermined in front of colleagues. She had come to support Eleck and all the other women who had come forward repeatedly. Eleck's experience reflected a pattern she recognized. This has not been about one moment or one employee but about leadership, accountability and responsibility of stewardship. She asked them all to take these concerns seriously.

Barbara Bush said, "It is my opinion that Bart Roselli is a liability to Silver City." She called for his immediate termination on behalf of those who had spoken and those that have suffered in silence. If they would not do this at least suspension without pay until a third party investigation has been completed. He had shown poor judgement and appalling leadership. No woman should have to be subjected to what he had done, not to mention the terminations without cause and the damage to their reputations. "We can no longer have the old boys' club. The New Mexico Open Meetings law requires all public business be conducted in public."

Allyson Hearst has lived in Silver City three years and loves the community and how they take care of each other. She thought it odd when Roselli tried to talk her out of attending a museum society membership meeting. As a member that has supported the museum society financially it didn't make sense. If she had not attended, they might not have a quorum, and she said that seemed to be what he wanted. She then recounted her first meeting with him. How many others had he done this to? Hearst has continued to hear people share negative experiences with regards to the museum and Roselli in particular. The town supports the museum, and they could do something about this. "I do not want women threatened in my hometown nor have town funds paying him to bully and abuse them." She felt he should be suspended without pay until a full investigation had been done.

Carole Czujko stood in solidarity with Eleck, Spurgeon and other women that have been subjected to harassment. "Workplace harassment was wrong in the 1970s, 1980a and 1990s when she and others had experienced it. Fifty years later it is still wrong and illegal by federal law." She requested that the town council, mayor and all relevant take steps to remove the museum director. Not acting to stop this makes them complicit. As taxpayers they already have had to pay over a police officer that had not been dealt with. She has understood that 25 people or more had left under the supervision of this museum director either by force or just left. This needed an independent investigation. "Workplace threats, intimidation, and retaliation is illegal."

Patsy Madrid had come to express being offended and hurt. She was born in 1943 and started school in the basement of the Washington School and had gone through discrimination in those times but as time went on had seen changes. The hate had left. Now she sees it coming back and doesn't understand. People here choose to be natives or have been born here. "Then we get the bad apples that have this behavior." She had been called by Roselli and told she had been ashamed to be Mexican and wanted to be white. She had been accused of being racist, being too old and using the N word. Madrid, as a Chicana, was proud to be asked to be on the board.

Madrid went in ready to raise money and make the museum more approachable. She herself had not been to the museum more than once in her lifetime. When they started asking questions, Roselli had banned them from being in the museum. "Are you going to allow this man to abuse and yell at people? Who is he to attack my heritage? I'm a proud American of Mexican descent. How dare he!" She asked the council how they could continue to condone his behavior after hearing these complaints over and over.

Daniel Duran Paiz wanted to share some of his experience as a member of the fundraising committee for the museum society. He had worked four Territorial Charter Balls, two ice cream socials and all the bingo games over a three-year period of time. Everyone had pitched in to help and recounted the tasks they had done. Early on he had not asked for reimbursement for purchases but had started asking when he felt the disrespect. "The sense of community is strong. Whether you are someone whose family has been here for generations, someone that is a newcomer or somewhere in between. One of the things that we have in common is that we all want to be here."

Diane Smith, a licensed clinical social worker, that has been in the field 38 years said in every organization she had been required by human resources to do training on harassment in the workplace. She had never been a target of this but knew what to do. Because of this situation with the museum, she decided to look up what should be done since it had been a while since she attended a training. She read information she pulled off the webpage of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She read an extensive part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

At the end it read, "The employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages. If the supervisor's harassment results in a hostile work environment, the employer can avoid liability only if it can prove that One, it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior. Two, the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventative or corrective opportunities provided by the employer." To restate their words, the employer will be liable if they knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate action. "We are here today to request the city follow federal law and take appropriate measures to follow through on these concerning reports of harassment at the Silver City Museum."

Kevin Hearst had come to speak the council on the museum. His wife had spoken earlier, but he had come to support these women. The community had been very welcoming to them, and they made more friends here than he has in his life. "We feel so connected here." He had heard all the issues and included the university. In his career, he had spent 29 years working for the government and had to attend many mandatory training seminars because of sexual harassment, cultural awareness, misappropriation of funds and records. He included many more types of training and said all of this had happened because someone sued the government for those things and millions had to be paid out. As a community, they needed to know something would be done and they could move forward.

Richard Johnson said he had retired as a professor of computer science at WNMU. Twice he had been elected as president of the faculty and now is secretary of the Silver City Museum Society board of directors. He had been actively involved with them for over 32 years. Johnson said the board has engaged legal counsel with the desire to reestablish a relationship of 40 years providing significant support to the museum. At the request of the town of Silver City representatives, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) had been presented to the town attorney over three weeks previous ly because of their desire to move rapidly. Their attorney had not received any response despite repeated inquiries for the status of the document. "It is our hope that this can move forward for the betterment of the museum."

Harry Browne had come to speak on the Trails and Open Spaces Committee. The mayor had hoped for a report from the committee. He had signed up to do this and said they could do it quarterly. The committee uses two guiding documents, trails and open spaces plan and a master plan adopted in 2003. They also have a Big Ditch and greenway plan that may be seen on their website.

The previous mayor had pointed out a problem with the Continental Divide Trail part that for hikers walking on highway 180 and down Snake Hill, it could be dangerous, so they have been looking to reroute that. They have settled on a path that will take hikers down the truck bypass road to a trailhead at the Boston Hill trail system that resides on BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land. They will be needing signs to make this change, but Browne thought the coalition could help with that and may also need help from the town.

Another item they will cpontinuing working on is Toss No Mas, cleaning up the Big Ditch. In March they had worked near The Commons, at the bridge.

Browne said they had received a grant to provide educational materials and have put them at the visitor center and at kiosks. They have been working to place kiosks at every trailhead with all kinds of information. Another project that has been difficult has been to have the trailheads marked on Google Maps.

They have had a big issue that keeps coming up, with dogs on Boston Hill and needing to be on leash by ordinance of the town. However, they have a group of dog owners that believe their dogs are well trained and under voice control. They are not happy that they cannot use Boston Hill. A lot of discussions on this issue and trying to balance everyone's rights and have solutions has taken place. No solutions had been made but more will come in the future.

William Woodward said this coming August will be the 81st anniversary of Silver City developing the Franks well field. Maggie Franks had been one of the pioneer families in the 1870s. Woodward's family had come later in 1882. The problem that the descendants of Maggie Franks have been having, six generations now, no price escalation has happened. It had not been put in the contract and the family still receives payment at 1945 prices. Whenthe contract first started a 1946 Cadilac could be bought in a year, It had been a good contract. At the time the understanding would be the town would develop the well field and when it depleted the Franks would not have any more water. In 1954, the town had approached his grandfather with no choices, either sign the contract or they would move over to a neighboring ranch and develop there. In 1966, the city decided they needed another production well and started drilling without speaking to his father because at that time his grandfather had passed. His dad came in to speak to the city attorney, at the time Hilton Dixon, and he told him the contract didn't cover that land and they could do what they wanted to, and the city moved forward drilling the well. His father had done a little work and found the city didn't have a right to drill that well and he went back in and spoke to the city attorney again. At that time, he had been able to have the contract amended but had not been able to provide adjustments for inflation and the family has been stuck with 1967 prices. They don't have any recourse, and the city has been doing exactly what the contract says. The family does not have any grounds but pointed out a moral issue. "In time you will pump all the water out from under us. There is no debate on that." He asked that they do the right thing and adjust for inflation going forward.

Raul Turrieta came to remind people the last day to contest their property valuation wouldl be May 1, 2026. He had been working in the assessor's office for 40-45 years and wants to keep the community informed. He reminded people over 65 may qualify for a valuation freeze, if their income comes under $44,900. That does not include the tax just the valuation; if taxes go up the tax will increase. He then went over the different exemptions people may qualify for. Veterans now have increased exemptions after the last legislature.

Reports

Police report

Police Chief, Freddie Portillo said for the month of March they had 93 frequent patrols, 21 downtown full patrols, 7 Big Ditch patrols, 12 citizen contacts documented, 8 traffic stops, 14 traffic citations issued, 4 code enforcement citations and one arrest. They had a total of 37 calls for downtown service with 5 being suspicious person calls, 3 parking complaints, 1 reckless driver, 1 animal complaint, 5 welfare checks, 3 unwanted subjects, 1 suspicious activity, 1 suspicious vehicle, 2 code enforcement complaints, 4 citizen assists, 2 alarm, 1 found property, 1 domestic disturbance, 1 battery, 1 medical, 1 civil matter, 1 abandoned vehicle and 2 vehicle accidents. The department had one suicide threat and did not have any noise complaints or odor complaints.

Prince thanked them for the increased foot patrols downtown. Wheaton-Smith said he had seen the increased foot patrols and thanked them.

Managers report

Jacqui Olea, assistant town manager, said she didn't have anything to report at this time.

New business

The council approved resolution 2026-14 to form a downtown action committee for the town of Silver City. Wheaton-Smith said this will be a short-term, 3 years, committee with seven people. It will be short term because they want to look for issues, find the solutions and implement them. Of the seven people they want a broad range of people from both in the city and out of the city. They will also be asking for someone from WNMU to be on this committee.

The council approved resolution 2026-15 authorizing the execution and delivery of a Colonias infrastructure project fund loan agreement. Olea said the loan will be with the New Mexico Finance Authority. This project is for street improvements from 32nd Street up to 41st Street to include curb, gutter, sidewalk and ADA improvements at the intersections. It is a $1.8 million grant, with a $200,000 loan component that will be paid with gross receipts already marked for the project.

The council approved the mayor's appointments to the Municipal Museum Community Advisory board. They are George Carr and Scott Charles Zagger

The council approved the mayor's appointments to the Downtown Action Planning Committee. They are Charmaine Wait, Karen Louise Hymer, Laura Ann Schoen and Laura Miles Aubry

The council approved the mayor's appointment of Nanez as ex officio nonvoting member of the Downtown Action Planning Committee.

The council approved the mayor's appointment to the Economic Development and Research Committee. Robert Van de Graaff-Randolph, Miguel Vicens Feliberty and Linda Darlene Aiman-Smith

The council approved the mayor's appointments to the Lodgers Tax - Alessandro MacKenzie

The council approved the mayor's appointment to Planning and Zoning David Stone and Laura Ann Schoen

Prince wanted to revisit the discussion to adopting an amendment to resolution 2026-06 to change one member of the committee to reside outside of the town limits but in Grant County. The council approved the change and now two members may reside outside the city limits.

Meeting adjourned