By Lynn Janes

The town of Bayard held a regular meeting August 12, 2024. Attendance included Mayor John L. Ojinaga, Pro Tem Eloy Medina (phone), councilors, Frances Gonzales, Eloy Gonzales and Gilbert Ortiz. Martha Salas, city clerk/treasurer also attended.

Public input

Hector Carrillo, police chief, wanted to give recognition to the co-op workers they had. They had completed every task asked of them and did it without hesitation. It had been a successful project and reflected well on Bayard. Carrillo said he had invited them all to come back and work for the city.

Consent agenda

The council approved the consent agenda that included minutes, reports, Carrillo to attend a conference and Officer Delilah Chavez to attend training. It also included the accounts payable.

Department head reports.

Michale Paez, maintenance director, said he didn’t have anything to report. Frances Gonzales asked if they have been moving forward on the repairs for the wastewater treatment plant. They had been using Trumm on some repairs and using capital outlay funds. They have not received confirmation on the federal funding. They have an application process that still needs to be done according to Priscilla Lucero, Southwestern New Mexico Council of Governments.

Carrillo said school had started and they have been present in the mornings and afternoons for the school zones. They have already had some incidents in the schools and have had to file charges. He has been meeting with all the principals in Bayard and has offered any assistance they might need.

Carrillo had received a report last week from the animal shelter and from November 2023 to July 2024 they had helped transport 19 dogs for adoption. One of the volunteers has even done training with them. Carrillo pointed out how much time they volunteer and thanked them. “I appreciate them.” They even transport dogs to Albuquerque on their own time and don’t ask the city for any reimbursement.

Chuck Gray, beautification committee chair, said he has been happy to see no new graffiti. One of the businesses has been hesitant to let them come paint over the graffiti.

Planning and Zoning chair had not been able to attend. Frances Gonzales did report they had become completely caught up on all the backlog.

Martha Salas, clerk / treasurer, had a report on the community center. The permit had been approved and the contractor would start as soon as the materials came in ,and he has been keeping Salas up to date. The new refrigerator had come, and it had been put in. They will be working on a new HVAC system. The contractors from Ideum would be in Bayard the next day for the workshop. They will be the ones working on the Mine Mill project.

New business

The council approved the purchase of a police vehicle using LEPF (law enforcement protection funds) funding. Carrillo said they had some of the funds left over that would have to be sent back to the state if they didn’t spend them. Salas found a vehicle from the state contracted list. The DFA approved the rollover of $36,000 to use as part of the purchase of a new vehicle. It will be a V8 Dodge Durango from Melloy Dodge. Carrillo said he has stayed in contact with Dona Ana County, which will be receiving a whole new fleet and will donate a vehicle to Bayard.

The council approved the professional service agreement with Southwest New Mexico Council of Governments (SWNMCOG) for NMGRO funds for the library. Representative Luis Terrazas had allocated $5,000 to the library. NMGRO funds must be administered through SWNMCOG.

The council approved the professional agreement between the city of Bayard police department and Padraic Dugan, attorney. Carrillo said it would be the same contract the council approved with Bradburn. Dugan, which also represents for Silver City police department. Carrillo said he had met with the district attorney Michael Renteria and he said he would pay half of the $400 fee for each case. Medina said he wanted it in writing from Renteria that his department would pay half and made that contingent for the approval. Carrillo said the department has been without an attorney to try cases for 9-10 months.

The council approved temporary pay increases for the police officers due to the shortage and required extra work. Carrillo said they had used the full recruitment grant and covered the salaries of the officers with it saving the city money. Carrillo went over the accomplishments of the department since he came three years ago. The officers have not just been handling calls but doing the investigating and seeing it through to the end. In July they had handled 1,079 calls. He has been asking the officers to step up. He said he had one uncertified candidate currently. Carrillo has not been able to find a candidate for the sergeant position. He will be expanding the recruitment. Carrillo said he felt it would only be for a month or two at the most. He wanted to help his officers and had worked with Salas on the idea. This will be money that has not been used from the police department fund. It will provide them with an additional $5 an hour. Carrillo said they had been working hard and solving crimes. Currently they have four arrests warrants that can only be served during the day because of them being juveniles.

The council went into closed session

The council came back into open session

Action items resulting from the closed session

The council dismissed Fire Chief Cody Dove with the recommendation of Ojinaga.

Action for personnel

The council approved the appointment of Andrew Gonzales as fire chief. He has been on the fire department and served as the training officer and will be looking to restructure the department.

The council approved the hiring of Cindy Renee Provencio as head librarian. She said she had been raised in Bayard, attended Cobre High School and graduated from WNMU (Western New Mexico University). She has previously worked with Silver City Main Street and Miller Library where she managed a $1 million budget.

The council approved the hiring of Guadalupe Chavez as a janitor. She had been the only applicant but had started out well. She will only be doing 20 hours a week for now.

The council approved the hiring of Gabriel Benavidez for the maintenance department. He has been working seasonally for the forest service and did very well in his interview.

The council approved the completion of the introductory period for Minnie Carrillo, utility clerk and Martha Salas, clerk treasurer.

Mayor and council reports

Eloy Gonzales welcomed all the new employees and said he felt the city has been accomplishing a lot.

Frances Gonzales agreed with Eloy Gonzales and said Salas has been doing very well along with Tanya Ortiz, deputy clerk. She announced the housing authority meeting on August 21, 2024, and planning and zoning September 5, 2024

Gilbert Ortiz thanked Salas for everything.

Ojinaga congratulated all the departments and said he visits them every week. He thanked Salas and Tanya Ortiz for doing such an excellent job and said they help him a lot.

The next regular meeting will be held August 26, 2024

Adjourned