Bayard City Council Meeting
Monday September 9, 2019 2 p.m.

By Lorie Hildebrand

The Bayard City Council met Monday at their regular meeting. During the work session, councilors asked City Clerk/Treasurer Kristina Ortiz for clarification of some of the details of the ordinance. “ ROVs are not allowed on Hwy. 180 or Hwy. 356 except to cross. This includes following on the side of the highway as this is private property,” Ortiz said. Bayard Police Chief Lee Alirez said that his department is ready, and he sees no real problems ahead.

Another work session discussion was by Councilor Eloy Medina. He would like the council, in the near future, to look at paid positions for EMS and Fire in Bayard. Recruitment is way down and no volunteers are stepping forward to boost the numbers of Fire Department and EMS personnel. “Public Safety needs to be a top priority of this Council and town,” said Medina. Other councilors agreed. Ortiz will call other communities and see how they are addressing this issue.

At the regular meeting that followed the work session, all Councilors were present but Mayor Chon Fierro was out of town. Mayor Pro Tem Raul Villanueva called the meeting to order at 2:15 p.m.

First on the agenda was a presentation of a Proclamation for Copper Little League. ¬Villanueva presented a copy of the Proclamation to representatives from Copper Little League Minor Girls team and said they represented the City of Bayard to a high standard during an outstanding season.

Ordinance 4-2019 Recreational Off-highway Vehicles was approved by the Council. Starting Sept. 18, 2019 ROVs are approved for the city streets of Bayard. They can’t be on or running along the side of Highways 180 and 356 and are not allowed between Santa Clara and Bayard. Public comments during open period were few. Police Chief Alirez said his department is ready to keep people in compliance with the ordinance and hopes to have an education campaign for the public. All drivers of ROVs must be licensed and anyone under 18 must have completed the New Mexico Game and Fish on-line off-road safety course.

Councilor reports included a comment from Councilor Charles Kelly about the stop signs around the town. Some are faded and almost unreadable. "We need to look at replacement signs." Ortiz said she would get with maintenance to do so.

In the Police Department report, Chief Alirez advised the Council on the radio system. Motorola Solutions sent personnel to assess the system in use by the city now. “It is at the end of its normal lifespan. The techs also went to Hurley and Santa Clara checking out the dead zones. They found one of the antennas was not compatible with the existing system.” Work continues with getting specs and costs for a new system. The Chief also had concerns about the stop signs around town. Besides being faded, many are overgrown by tree branches and weeds. If they fall in line with homeowner responsibility for right-of way maintenance then maybe they need to be included in the letters going out to town residents. In other PD news, one of the nuisance property owners would like to talk to the city about a quit claim to get rid of a large property inside city limits. This would benefit the city as a large problem of abandoned buildings and overgrowth would be addressed. At the next council meeting, the Chief will set up a ceremony for promotions within his department to be public and is hoping family and friends will attend.

Next regular meeting will be September 23, 2019 at 2 p.m.

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