Silver City council still working on the museum issues

By Lynn Janes

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

The council approved the agenda with some changes. Wheaton-Smith wanted to change an approval disapproval item to a discussion item. It had to do with the MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the museum. The finance depart would not be in attendance so they could not provide a report so it would be removed from the agenda.

Ceremonies

Tommy Munoz had been awarded employee of the month but not been able to attend. Wheaton-Smith read the letter that accompanied the award. The certificate has been presented in recognition of his outstanding performance, dedication and exceptional contribution to the town of Silver City. His hard work, positive attitude ad commitment had made a significant impact.

Proclamations

The town of Silver City proclaimed September 11, 2026, Silver City Grant County Gila Native Plant Society Day. The New Mexico Native Plant Society had been founded in the summer of 1976 and 2026 will be its golden jubilee. They strive to educate the public about native plants while fostering plant conservation and preservation of natural habitats. The annual conference will be held in Silver City on September 10-13, 2026. David Phillips, state board representative and local board, and Donna Stevens, president, attended to accept the proclamation. Phillips said he and Stevens were honored by the proclamation and they will be excited to be hosting the 50th anniversary of the Native Plant Society in Silver City.

Council comments

Salaiz had read the amended 1339 ordinance proposed and found it mind boggling and a little confusing. They had been addressing this issue for a long time with the museum society, and she found it frustrating to say the least. They had not had a meeting with them in a while, maybe since June. Currently many of the members have been out of town and no meetings have been scheduled. The frustration has come from the council voting unanimously not to postpone the negotiations several times and they still have been postponed and not happening. After reading the amendment she didn't see how it could work, and everything seems to be at a stalemate. People in the town want to see this issue settled and are tired of tax dollars being used to pay for lawsuits. She did not see how the amendment would help anything and thought it might make things worse. She would comment more during the discussion time for the amendment later in the meeting.

Salaiz addressed a comment the mayor made at the previous meeting about not wanting to be chastised over this issue. She pointed out that the people that supported her being on the council did so because they wanted to see honesty, transparency and integrity. "I am going to give them that." The mayor had told her to call him out if she believed he would be on the wrong path. She said she had not been unkind to him, but she knew he wanted her to be more kind. "I'm a kind person, not necessarily a nice person. I'm very much old school in not sugarcoating things for people. I've been sugarcoating too many things up here to be completely honest." At a previous meeting the mayor had told her to be more ladylike. "I am going to tell you right now I am not a lady." She said her voice becomes a little raised because of her passion for the job that people put their trust in her to do. She has not been happy about the way she has been treated because she speaks up and fights for what she believes. Being told the be more ladylike she had not appreciated and said she would continue to fight for the employees of the town.

Nanez wanted to mention the senior softball team and lodgers tax. The tournament had happened the last weekend and he heard that all the motels had been full and a few restaurant owners he had spoken to said they had a lot of the players come in. It brought a lot of taxes into the community. He appreciated everyone involved in that tournament.

Nanez had received a lot of comments on the vote for the budget and 80-85 percent of them had been supportive of his vote against it. "I owe it to my constituents. We inherited a mess and not excuses but people had put their trust in them to get them out of it." He said he had to bite the bullet many times in his profession and hated the taste of brass, but he would do it again simply because of his ethics. "I am not going to kick the can down the road any longer." A lot of work still needed to be done whether it be on finances or negotiations with the museum society. "I stand on my vote, and I am pleased my constituents agree with me."

Snider wanted to let people know about a couple of dates. Silver City Recycles would have an open house August 22, 2026, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm. They will have a presentation and open discussion at the Hearth. Recycle and reuse committee will have a meeting at the Little Toad Creek August 14, 2026.

Prince did not have any comments currently.

Wheaton-Smith read his comments from a script and said he rarely did that. He had been in office about seven months and had to agree with some comments that had been made that he had not done as good of a job as he should have. He referred to an article in the Silver City Daily Press about him breaking the tie and it caused an epiphany on how he could do better. He said the tie had been caused by an unresolved topic and it had been because they had not had enough debate. "In the future I may not break ties just because there's a need for quick closure. When I do break a tie, it will be because of me listening to the council debate and key points. It will not be on my personal thoughts or opinions." He said the finance department will have to provide the next budget much earlier, so the council has time and are not rushed as had happened this year.

Wheaton-Smith said the next major change will be he will not be the co-negotiator between the museum society and town and went over the past meetings. He recommended that two of the council members do the negotiations and they decided to have Prince and Salaiz be the co-negotiators.

He said he had not done a very good job and has been disappointed in himself. The idea behind the ordinance number 1339 amendment had been to clarify roles.

Wheaton-Smith said the complaints on jake brake usage had died down. He did discover the town did not have an ordinance against the use of the jake breake and had spoken to a semi-truck driver and found out they use them for safety reasons. It allows them to not use their brakes as much and not taking the chance of burning them out.

He had received a lot of complaints about the parking lot around Arby's, a private parking lot. People had become angry at the town staff, and he told them to contact him or the council and treat the staff with respect.

The council approved the minutes from the regular meeting on July 28, 2026, and special meeting July 23, 2026.

Public input

Ashley Castillo said she had conversations with the mayor on this subject. She has two girls and a husband. She had talked with the mayor on youth relations and the disconnect with the youth in Silver City. She had been born and raised here herself. The community needed to invest in more activities , events and opportunities for youth and families. People have been moving out of town for various reasons, and the mine has a lot to do with it, but a big factor has been the lack of things to do and resources available for families. "We have to refocus our attention on the future generation and make sure our community is a place where young people want to stay, and families want to grow." She brought up her family liking to see movies and the Silco has been closed for renovations. They went to Deming and a large number of people from Silver City had been down there. "There is a lot more to do down there." This had been her fourth time to come to the council to speak about this and has not seen any change. She suggested an outreach committee and she thought even though money has been tight they could still find things to do with families at a low cost like movies in the park. She felt the town needed to invest in the youth, so they want to stay.

Barbara Bush thanked the council and mayor for all they have done and knows it's not and easy job. She started with transparency and addressed the agenda and the lack of explanation of items on it. They needed to provide more information on the agenda and maybe people would not be so concerned. She applauded Nanez and Salaiz for speaking their truth.

Bush had seen a letter to the editor in the Press that said Nicole Eleck had been lying about what happened at the museum with Bart Roselli. She wanted to see this addressed. "The fact that the Silver City Press, our hometown paper printed this opinion piece, which sways people. Hee slandered her, and the Silver City Daily Press allowed that to happen. I'm just wanting to speak that I'm very disappointed in that and I'm hoping that the city doesn't stand for that." She had heard Roselli has still been on suspension and still being paid. Because he had been indicted, he would no longer be receiving pay she hoped.

Victoria Reese found it hard to believe they still had been talking about the museum. "It is absurd that this has not been handled." The mayor had said he wanted to negotiate with the museum and museum society and part of it put Roselli back in power and that will sabotage the talks. She didn't understand why they continued to drag this out and wanted to know why and audit of the museum expenses had not been done that had been asked to happen for months. "Why did they go over budget in the amount of over $200,000?" The two organizations had worked well together for over 40 years and all of a sudden it degenerated; the only difference had been Roselli. She wanted to know why he continued to be paid and said he has a pattern of mismanagement. Reese continued to cite his past and had opinions on why it had continued citing white guy, sexism, attack on women, etc. The friends of the museum continue to collect money for the museum and advertise as the fundraisers for the museum. She thought that would have been stopped. She understood the town had not turned in an audit for fiscal year 2025-2026 and they would be hiring outside help at a huge cost.

Reese said the museum society had a plan to run the museum for a lot less, half of what the budget says. She had a list of things the town and museum have been doing as absurd. She felt this would turn into a lawsuit and would not have if the situation had been investigated properly months ago.

She had a few comments she would be addressing to the mayor directly. "The museum and Roselli have been mishandled from the beginning. Covering up his abusive behavior instead of investigating it is a problem and lack of good faith dealing with the museum society." Reese continued, Lack of concern for the town priorities with the budget. Lack of transparency with the public. All the lawsuits that have been filed against the city and against the museum instead of dealing directly with these people and trying to talk to these women. Roselli still continues to be paid, the museum has not been audited for their expenses and no audit for fiscal year 2025-2026. "Mr. Mayor, I campaigned for you. I believed very much in what you said you were going to do and how you said you were going to run this town. I do not believe you have lived up to that."

Captain Antonio Carrillo came to provide a little bit of insight on what the police department has been doing. They do have a police shortage in New Mexico, and they have been actively trying to recruit. Silver City police has been severely understaffed and in a restructure phase. He, other commanders and Freddie Portillo, police chief, have a vision and have actively been trying to recruit effective, positive people that will support the mission, town and make Silver City a safe place. Currently they have five officers in the background check phases required to hire an officer. They must do physical and written assessments. The department must do their due diligence.

Currently officers have had to take on extra shifts. Commanders and detectives have stepped in to cover some of this. "We are being positive, and our officers are being positive." Carrillo said people don't see what administrative command officers do on a daily basis such as meet several times a day. They have also been meeting with the council members to find out what problems they have heard and work on solutions. "Our biggest goal is to keep the town safe." Communication will be key. He asked for patience as they move forward to hire the right personnel and shifting people to the right place. He thanked their department employees and wanted to do it publicly. They have been boosting moral effectively through their promotional process. Some have been made sergeants and detectives but because of shortages in personnel they will not be moved over because they have been needed on the streets.

Carrillo said they want the town to thrive. They have families growing up here. He hoped whenever he met with people and they had a conversation hopefully whether it had been a heated discussion, good discussion or anything he hoped he made them feel welcome.

George Carr wanted to echo some of the things Bush had said about thanking them for their public service and they don't receive enough pay. He also echoed Bush on their comments about the agenda. He could not find anything in the packets to explain items and didn't know the reason. "It certainly does not help the appearance of regularity." Carr said the city council could gain a great deal of credence by simply having a credible independent audit of the finances. He had read proposed ordinance 1339 amendment and found it baffling, and it will not have any effect.

Carr thought it would be interesting to look at the composition of the museum advisory group and strongly recommended adding language making sure the composition of the group reflects the various cultures of everyone in Grant County.

Reports

Manager's report

Jacqui Olea, interim town manager, reported that the cornerstone project slated to be on the 32nd Street Bypass Road would be having the groundbreaking in the coming weeks. It will be a 30 unit single occupancy supportive housing complex for people experiencing substance abuse issues as well as other mental ailments. They will also be utilizing some of the capital outlay funding for pedestrian crossings on highway 180. The town will be looking into a wage study, and it had been a conversation for the past few months. This will be very important in regards to recruitment and morale to see how the town compares to other municipalities within the state.

Olea thanked the police department and acknowledged their shortage of personnel and commended them for their service to the community. She acknowledged the utility crews with the monsoons had a number of water main breaks.

The town has been acknowledged as part of the AARP Network for Age-Friendly Communities. They will be looking at the process to receive that designation and thanked the community development department for initiating that project. The museum had received an award from the Historical Society of New Mexico for outstanding achievement representing the people of New Mexico with the Nuestra Voz, Chihuahua Hill story. It will be presented at the September conference. "I am proud that the history of Silver City's longest inhabited area within the town has representation at the state level."

Olea said she had taken a lot of personal reflection in her potential of being the next town manager. She appreciated everyone's support but decided it would not be something she had interest in at this time. She looks forward to working with the next town manager in the capacity of assistant town manager to help ensure that the objectives with the town will be met and move forward working with the council to ensure they will be representing the people.

The reason for the delay of the finance report had to do with them still uploading the numbers for the final fiscal year 2026 budget to the state but will have it to the council as well as posted on the website as soon as practical.

Prince thanked Olea and the finalization of the cornerstone project. Salaiz told Olea she had done a fantastic job and understands the pressure and stress, but she had done well. Nanez thanked Olea for stepping in and taking the challenge. He thought she had done an excellent job. Snider and Wheaton-Smith echoed the thankyous.

Committee reports

Scott Zwiger, museum advisory group chair, said he had been elected to the position in May, and the first full meeting had been August 3, 2026. "The official name is municipal museum advisory group because they are not a board." Key word would be advisory because they will not be making decisions but help make decisions. The current group still has one opening but have a diverse membership. They will work with the director or interim director to help them with a direction and will take public input. The last meeting had been a brainstorming session talking about topics they will be exploring in full such as strategic plans. "We are looking to be a positive entity for the community."

Kitty Clements, Lodgers Tax committee chair, said while listening to people during public comment they had brought up tourism numerous times. The committee has had three meetings and have agreed to meet monthly on the first Monday. They chose Monday because many business owners involved in tourism will be closed on Mondays and they wanted their attendance. "Tourism is everyone's business." Each person on the committee has taken responsibility for a task. One will be working with the advertising agency and New Mexico True to make sure the images representing the community will be the best to sell the community, one will be taking inventory of the beds available and if they have been permitted, paying taxes. Another one will be chasing down the contacts needed to address the ratty looking billboards. She had been gathering data and looking at financials, budgeting, marketing research and trends.

Clements said in 2000 Grant County had 31,000 people and now in 2020 it had dropped to 28,000. If they want young people to stay in the area, they must have activities for them and pay employees better. For that they need more visitors coming to the area spending money. To have a more vibrant downtown they can't depend on local spending they must have visitor spending also. Visitors stroll and shop, snack and have fun. People behave a little differently when they travel out of town. Local people tend to shop more online.

Clements said lodgers tax had come up at almost every meeting she had attended, and she didn't know if it had been because of the heightened awareness because the board had been dormant since 2018, but it keeps coming up in all the meetings.

During their second meeting, they adopted a marketplace facilitator amendment to the lodging tax. If that ordinance passes it would require every booking engine to collect the lodgers tax at the time of purchase providing 100 percent compliance. It will also save $44,000 on the budget because the town has been paying a third party vendor to collect the taxes. It will also make it easier for the short term rental owners because the platform used can't be figured out by most people. One third party booking vendor says Grant County has 92 short term rentals and AirBnB has 185, so a lot of taxes have not been collected. It would greatly help the town budget.

In the third meeting, they talked about the current contract with the advertising agency and had made recommendations to the town and council. The committee recommended they put out an RFP (request for proposal) to find the very best for the community. She thanked Nunez for attending all their meetings and asking probing questions about the industry.

Brent Steinberg, downtown action planning committee chair, did not want to see an RFP done for lodgers' tax but wanted to see reform in the system. He said he had paid over a million in lodgers' tax because of short-term rentals and long-term rentals. He addressed the marketplace facilitator amendment Clements spoke about. Steinberg said he had tried to have this done in the past by contacting the council and mayor, but nothing had happened in the several tries he had made in 2019, 2021 and 2023. He went on with the data he had pulled and submitted. Just before the town had to cancel many sponsorships, he had met with some administration and showed them where they had lost about $600,000 in lodgers tax. He cited a study Main Street had done on the vacant buildings. Currently they have 16 new businesses downtown, 8 closed and 4 expanded. They have had a lot of positive growth downtown. One of the big complaints has been the homeless and that had not been touched on because he didn't know how that could be fixed but it had become better. Many have seen an improvement on the issue. He suggested a public relations campaign to let people know about the new businesses; it needs to be promoted. They had walked around to look at the lighting and found 16 lights that needed to be replaced out of 110. He had gone to the PNM website to report them. The committee talked about people having private cameras downtown that could help assist the police in crime prevention. Steinberg continued to list a number of ideas for some time.

Nanez thanked the volunteers for the committees. He could feel their desire to make the community better.

Public hearing

Olea introduced Charles Kraisenbeck, general manager /co-owner, Branding Iron Restaurant at the Murray Hotel. They had put an application in for a beer, wine and spirits service. Mark Rhodes, attorney had joined online. Rhodes answered several questions the council had. They had met all the state requirements concerning notices. He also went over the process they had with the state. The council approved the license.

New business

The council went into closed session to discuss personnel matters.

The council came back into open session and affirmed they had only discussed personnel matters.

The board had a discussion on the draft for the MOU (memorandum of understanding) between the town and museum society and ordinance 1339 amendment. Salaiz had read the ordinance and had concerns that it did not have any structure to solve issues and went over some of the problems both with the structure and animosity towards the society. Prince had a long comment about his understanding of the challenges. Wheaton-Smith suggested that the negotiating team bring back a rewrite of the ordinance and MOU. Prince said he thought the MOU does a clear job describing the different roles. Salaiz and Prince will be negotiating with the museum and museum society. Nanez and Snider did not have any problem with them taking the lead.

The council voted to cancel the August 25, 2026, regular meeting.

Meeting adjourned