By Mary Alice Murphy

[Editor's Note: For details on some of the items approved at this meeting and discussed in the work session, please visit https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/54638-grant-county-work-session-held-on-nov-12-2019 ]

Grant County commissioners at the regular meeting on Nov. 14, 2019 approved the proclamation for the Tamal Fiesta y Mas that took place on Nov. 16, 2019.

"It's a great event. Get out and support Santa Clara," Commission Chairman and District 1 Commissioner Chris Ponce said.

After no public input, commissioners heard from elected officials.

Sheriff Frank Gomez said two deputies had completed training on the use of child protective devices and would work with the Silver City Police Department to hold an event in February to help parents install the seats correctly.

"Deputies have also complete narcotics training and we will be working with the Silver City Police Department and HIDTA (High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) on narcotics intervention," Gomez said. "Several deputies also trained on handling domestic violence calls. We held an active shooter training at Cobre Schools, with Silver Consolidated Schools also attending. We will participate in multiple Veterans' Day events and with the Youth Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition. We intend to register for the drug take back events in April."

He reported his office was short three deputies. "We're happy to say we have received $180,000 in Stonegarden funding for overtime and vehicles. It includes $15,000 for overtime traffic control on 1½ miles of Interstate 10. Some crime trends, such as crashes and traffic stops have increased. We intercepted 180 grams of marijuana, undetermined pills and 30 grams of methamphetamine. We answered 24 domestic violence calls in October. We answered three stolen vehicle calls. Fraud and embezzlement are up and livestock events are way down. We have answered 265 crashes to date, with four having injuries in October. We also spent several hours answering an incident at Bataan Memorial Park on Nov. 2 at 1:26 a.m. about shots fired.

District 2 Commissioner Javier Salas asked how serious the incident was.

"Very serious," Gomez replied. "There was a fight, with shots fired. We recovered casings from two weapons and interviewed 18 people. But the victim did not comply with pressing charges and signed a waiver of prosecution. That terminated the investigation."

District 3 Commissioner Alicia Edwards said: "So there's no consequences? In a domestic violence situation, can law enforcement prosecute whether the victim wants to or not?"

Gomez said under the Domestic Violence Act, "we can arrest if there is evidence, but if it's battery, the victim can choose not to prosecute."

District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings had a concern because it occurred on county property.

Gomez said the incident could go through civil court, but not criminal count. "It's hard to get information without getting permission from the victim."

District 5 Commissioner Harry Browne asked: "But isn't there evidence?"

Gomez said, even with 18 interviews, they could not determine who the suspect was.

Deputy Treasurer Veronica Rodriguez reported the office has collected $1.147 million this month, with $4 million outstanding. "For the county, we have collected $1.3 million for 2019, and $9.82 million for all accounts we service. People are having trouble paying with the biggest issue being the new website, which has the address of www.grantcountynm.gov. They are used to the old website address. We have talked to Kevin (Hubbs, administrative assistant) about a redirect from the old address. It was working for a while but stopped. The problem is in the IT department."

Commissioners approved the expenditure report from Oct. 18 to Nov. 7, 2019. For the period, the total expenditures were $1,215,725.93, including two payroll periods totaling $260,916.07.

In new business, the commissioners approved the local election canvass. Clerk Marisa Castrillo thanked the commissioners for each coming in to check the results. "We had a 23.5 percent turnout, which for a first-time election was quite successful."

Under agreements, the commissioners approved the Local DWI Program grant agreement.

One resolution was approved. Commissioners supported New Mexico Counties 2020 legislative priorities.

And one request for proposal was awarded to Hidalgo Medical Services, the only bidder. The RFP asked for proposals for a Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) service provider.

Commissioners, as the Grant County Health Care Claims Board, approved the five regular claims and two ambulance claims for a total of $20,012.47.

Brown, because the commissioners would not meet again until December, announced a public hearing on Dec. 4 on the proposed expansion of pilot training flights over Grant County.

Salas, Edwards, Billings and Ponce had no reports as they were headed into executive session. 

After a more than 2-hour executive session, where renewal of the county manager's contract was under discussion, Browne moved to table the issue until the December 12 meeting.

"We all agreed that this tabling does not relate to your performance," Browne said. "We had a lot of discussion on how to create an evaluation."

A special meeting was set for Dec. 2 at 1 p.m., where they would have a 3-hour block of time in executive session, after which they would come out and have a discussion on what they settled on for a process.

Edwards confirmed they would discuss the 2019 evaluation.

Billings also said the decision "does not reflect on the county manager. It reflects somewhat on us as a County Commission. Sometimes, we let things fall through the cracks. I thought we had already discussed the evaluation of the manager. But we have failed to meet with her on this evaluation. We need to have counsel look at the contract."

Salas said: "What we are really saying is we have to address the problems that have occurred. Hopefully in the future, the commissioners will have a good foundation for the evaluation."

Ponce also said it was not a reflection on the county manager. "We are making sure we are looking at legal issues. We want to make sure the county and the county manager are successful. Something we want for the county is to make sure everyone is successful."

The meeting adjourned.