[Editor's Note: Please note that this is the VERY belated completion of the July 9, and July 11, 2024 Commissioner meetings. Meetings since then will include primarily summaries of what took place. The Beat apologizes for the late reporting of these meetings, but mainly it was due to problems with the website and lack of time from a very, very small staff.]
{This is the fourth of a series of articles on the July 9, 2024, Grant County Commission work session and July 11, 2024 regular meeting.The work session continues with county reports and this concludes the regular meeting report.]
By Mary Alice Murphy
The first county report of the July 11, 2024, work session came from Kim Dominguez, Corre Caminos director. She presented the quarterly report. She noted that the ridership for the last quarter exceeded 2,000., including 187 for rides to the rodeo. She said all the employees were working on getting certified in CPR. Dominguez planned to apply for a DOT grant.
Daniel Graves, director of the Grant County DWI (driving while intoxicated) Program reported 35 new clients in compliance for the quarter and 145 year-to-date. Out of those 145, 35 percent were repeat offenders. "The recidivism rate has remained steady over the past several years. The program has added geo-fencing. He said he is trying to work with state representatives for more funding for the program and for alcohol alleviation. "We are not sending any money back to the state this year. We have spent it all."
Detention Center Administrator Joseph Andazola reported the jail has four openings with one application going through the hiring process and two in training. He continues to work on the accreditation plan, by uploading documents to the PAR-DMS system, and he plans to bring in accreditation representatives soon.
He noted the jail had 86 detainees on June 30, with an average of 86 daily for June. The RISE program had 24 in the program, with 10 in the facility and 14 in the community. He said he was working on the quarterly report. The contractor continued work on the door sliders. Andazola said he is working with HMS (Hidalgo Medical Services) to provide services in the facility. He also gave an update on the portable building being installed.
Emergency Manager Scot Fuller gave a short report. He said he is working on the hazard mitigation plan with partners and would hold a stakeholder meeting on hazard assessment management. He said he awaits hearing on the emergency management funds he had applied for. He also applied for funding for generators for the conference center so it could serve as an emergency center.
Roger Groves, county fire chief, said fires had increased in June, with a count of 13 fires, three of which were human-caused, one being with fireworks, and 10 lightning-caused. He noted rain had mitigated the problem, with no fires in the county the first week in July. He had worked with SkyWest media to develop public announcements about the use of fireworks. He had worked hard with the Cliff and Lower Mimbres volunteer fire departments to get them off probation and succeeded.
IT Director Adam Baca reported the department is implementing redundant firewalls at the county building and the Detention Center. They are also implementing a security information and event monitoring tool. They are also adding surveillance cameras at Bataan Memorial Park and at the Airport office, as well as replacing some networking equipment in the Administration Building and the Detention Center. They are in the early implementation phase of the IPRA report tool (inspection of public records act).
The at-that-time Planning Director Randy Hernandez gave his report:
Colonias
Crum Road & Franks Road (Design): Design in progress
North Hurley Road Phase 3 (Const.): Pre-construction meeting to be held the week of July 22.
NM Dept. of Finance & Administration
• Bataan Park Veterans Memorial Walking Path: Construction in progress. Concrete form path has been placed.
• Fleming Tank Road Improvements: Pending utility pole removal by PNM and seeding.
Others
EDA Grant: Comprehensive Plan update has begin. Contractor has begun work for a public engagement strategy and a website/interactive map.
Old Jail Brownfields Project: Pending final items from contractor to NMED and then work can begin.
Upper Mimbres VFD Underground Water Storage Tanks: Construction in progress. Contractor set to mobile the main station first and then the sub-station.
SWNM Collaborative: Ongoing meetings related to outdoor recreation priorities with government and non- government agencies.
Future ProjectsAs of 07/03/2024
Courthouse Improvements – Design Phase
• AOC Award: $403,125.00
• Alternatives: Renovation/Addition & New Complex
Ridge Road Improvements - Phase II Construction
• 0.85 Miles; Estimated Cost: $2.3M
• Colonias Application & NMDOT TPF Application
Arenas Valley Road Improvements – Phase II Construction
• 1.3 Miles; Estimated Cost: $3.5M
• Colonias
Little Walnut Road Improvements – Phase II Construction
• 2.58 Miles; Estimated Cost: $6.8M • Colonias
Airport Manager Rebekah Wenger said the USDOT issued the request for proposals for Grant County's air service on 6/10. Interested airlines have until 7/10 to submit their proposals. "We currently have 17 ABQ and 7 PHX flights weekly, but airlines can submit proposals for different options. They can propose different destinations and even the size of aircraft. Larger aircraft would reduce the number of flights available."
She noted she had spoken to Advanced Air, Boutique, SkyWest, Denver Connect and Southern Air. "We'll just have to see what proposals we get."
In future projects, she noted the FAA would conduct its annual Part 139 certification inspection July 29-21. "This is an in- depth review of airfield operations and equipment, record keeping, ARFF program readiness and staff training."
On the Essential Air Service proposals, the commissioners would give their final recommendation for which one they preferred.
Corey White gave the fleet maintenance report, which listed 14 oil changes and inspections, 33 diagnose and repair, 12 tire repair or replacements four blades receive cutting edges replaced and on warranty engine. Future projects included prepping and installing fuel tanks and hitches on new equipment operator trucks when there arrive, off-road diesel fuel tank alarm upgrade and certification, updating quotes for two service trucks and one drive-on lift, as well as continuing to move obsolete units through auction.
To a question from District 1 Commissioner and Chair Ponce about saving money, White said they do most of the repairs and oil changes in house, "unless we're swamped."
Jason Lockett, Public Works director, gave the Maintenance and Road Department reports. He said the department was cleaning up the grounds of the Old Aldo Leopold School grounds, removing 330 cubic hards of brush and trees, as well as 33 cubic yards of waste. He said they had 14 HVAC work tickets to address and they were working on installing 200 feet of water line at the Road Department of evaporative coolers. Door slider replacements were happening at the jail, with one complete. Future projects included laundry room washer upgrades and reconfiguration at the Detention Center. Also planned was a Bataan Park electrical service upgrade to the Pavilion and vault toilets, as well as tile replacement at Ace Hardware and the Manager's Office break room remodel.
For the Road Department Lockett said the Noonday low water project was almost 50 percent complete. Shouldering was being conducted to prepare for chip seal for 2924 Local Government Road Fund projects including Ridge Roda, Kirkland and Flury. He noted a 60-ft, by 5-ft tree was removed off the road on McCauley and Bald Knoll Road. He welcomed Kenneth Lopez and Levi Grijalva to the Road Department crew.
County Manager Charlene Webb introduced the new Financial Director Robert Placencio.
Next came the review of the Regular meeting for July 11, 2024.
First came public input during the regular meeting, with two referring to issues that caused the recent fire at a junk yard on Rodeo Road. David Martin said he had concerns about trashy property, abandoned vehicles and the fact that the junk yards not only are a danger, but can affect property values.He pointed out locations of some of his concerns, including an empty house where trash has not been removed. "I know of several properties that can be fire hazards. I did contact the code enforcement officer and she said she couldn't do anything."
Jeffrey Rolf said he lives across the street from a junk yard, and it seems to him that during his 42 years of living in Grant County, he's seen more and more junk yards in the county. He said he lives in Silver Acres, which has covenants against having a business. "I've seen people fixing cars for others. That's a business. One has been there for at least five years. The cars aren't his." Without a homeowners' board, they can't do much. They don't want to do a lawsuit and would prefer the county take care of the issues.
Jane Tucker lives on Ridge Road and the dump is at the end of the road. She noted the fine for an uncovered load is $5 and it costs about $8 to buy a tarp. "I pick up trash along the road all the time. Masses or garbage." She said the fine for littering is $300, and "I've yet to see law enforcement issue a ticket. Why not make it $300 for an uncovered load. I saw a car lose large tree limbs on the road. Start enforcing the law on littering and get law enforcement out there to do code enforcement. I like Silver City, but not all the trash."
Mark Sapp addressed quality issues at Gila Regional Medical Center, including surgical errors. "I cannot trust my health to the facility. I had an MRI, and they edited the records and then lost them. I had to have another scan, which was deleterious to my health." He described his experience as a nightmare especially his experience with the CEO. He said he has learned that to get accountability, he has to go through lots of channels repeatedly."
GRMC CEO Robert Whitaker gave the monthly report. In the month of May, the hospital had 99 discharges, 1470 emergency room visits and 5, 380 outpatient visits. The operating revenue total $7.6 million with $7.6 million in expenses, causing a loss for the month. Year-to-date, revenue totaled $83.9 million with a 3.3 million profit YTD. The hospital had 137 days of cash on hadn't. Projects included the completion of the Labor and Delivery remodel. The hospital expected the orthopedic remodel to be completed by the end of the month. Exterior projects included signage on 32nd Street and directional signage on the property. They were also working on an extension in front of the ER, taking out the ratings and trees and replacing with landscaping. Projects completed included wireless throughout the facility. They are staring on the phone system upgrade, which would take about four month and next would be the telemetry system and then the nurse call system."
Ponce said behavioral health was starting to take a different direction. "Is the orthopedic clinic where the behavioral health unit used to be? Is there some rooms for taking care of people who need it?"
Whitaker confirmed that the ortho unit was in Pod 3, which had been the BHU.
Ponce asked if her could meet with Whitaker and the board chair, which was agreed upon.
Next , came the report from GRMC Board of Trustees Chair Dr. Fred Fox. He noted that the board had completed its first year, and recommended that the two members up for renewal be approved - Seth Traeger and Javier Salas. [The commissioners approved the renewals later in the meeting.] Fox also spoke to bringing back a family doctor residency program. He noted that Memorial Hospital in Las Cruces was willing to offer financial support. "We are still hoping to bring back the residency program in 2026. The first year for residents would be spent in Las Cruces, and the second and third years at HMS (Hidalgo Medical Services) and other places, including clinics.We need a community effort to recruit physicians." He said Grant County is a great place to live, but "we need jobs for the spouses and schools for their kids.. We are fortunate to have a lot of physicians here, but we need more for retirement replacements. I encourage county residents to speak to their legislators on the challenges faced by rural health care providers."
Gloria Ruth Dirmeyer gave a presentation on the fiscal year 2024 Grant County Continuum of Youth Services. She presented the five programs pertaining to juvenile delinquency prevention and intervention efforts. They include the community youth building program, the day reporting learning lab, the families solutions program, the project towards no drug abuse, and juvenile surveillance. Entities that provide referrals to the programs include the Juvenile Probation Office, behavioral health agencies and organizations, churches, self-referrals and the public schools. The Continuum programs oversight and keys to success include oversight by the state Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, a local board to provide guidance and support, fiscal agreements and match-in-kind support from the county and town, funding through CYFD Juvenile Justice, the New Mexico Legislature, Silver and Cobre Consolidated School districts, as well as 10 facilitators who provide effective and year-round programming and services. She noted the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee was created by NM statute, with members appointed by the governor, representing different fields, such as law enforcement and juvenile mental health workers.Local boards govern the continuums throughout the state. She went into detail on how the various programs work.
Also at the work session the Deputy Assessor Raul Turrieta said those in the office were happy to help anyone wanting to protest assessments. He noted the state is a non-disclosure state, which makes it hard to be fair and equitable with assessments, because it's hard to determine valuations without being able to access real estate transactions. He also said the office is sending questions to vacant and commercial property owners. "We want to come up with a bill that allows for full disclosure for residential, commercial and non-residential properties. We also want to develop a county ordinance, and it's also important for cities and municipalities to have a similar ordinance." He emphasized that he is not at ll for any tax increase, and then he encouraged people to vote in the (AUGUST) upcoming school bond election.
Sheriff Villanueva asked residents to come forward and report any concerns to his office. He noted that deputies had been given permission to enforce any uncovered loads headed to the dump.
District 2 Commissioner Eloy Medina complimented Villanueva for how one of his deputies had helped handle an EMS call. Villanueva said: "I like to hear compliments, thank you!"
At the regular meeting, commissioners approved the financial reports as previously discussed in the work session.
Other items approved by the commissioners include:
*• The election of a new Whiskey Creek fire chief;
• The re-appointments of Seth Traeger and Javier Salas to fill 3-year terms on the Gila Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees;
• Asset deletions;
• Agreements between the county and San Juan County for housing juvenile detainees; and
Grant County Continuum of FY2025 Youth Services grant; and
• The Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2026-30.
District 4 Commissioner Billy Billings said he had been thinking about the Rodeo Road fire and the decades of building up of stuff on junk yards like that one that went up in flames endangering many nearby residents. "We need to clean up places like that, especially in residential areas. The threat is not only to the residents and their property values, but also to their safety." He noted he knew of at least one resident who had moved into a hotel because of smoke damage in his home, and "he's concerned about a place to live."
Billings said he had received photos and aerial photos of the fire. "How many junked vehicles do we have in the county, similar to those? I'm going to continually ask about citations and if the ordinance we have in place is working, as well as whether the justice system is taking care of it. We have to think outside the box. I know of one county that brought in a car crusher to get rid of junked vehicles. It will take a lot of cost and time to get rid of all those cars just on the burn site on Rodeo Road."
He noted that a meeting had taken place addressing the fire issues, with the county manager, the county fire chief and the county emergency manager taking primary roles in the meeting. "Mr. Fuller (emergency manager) and Mr. Groves (fire chief) hit the ground running. I think the citizens are learning about difference sources for recovery, and the are also learning about defensible space around their homes. Maybe we should consider implementing fire permits within the county, as the city has."
Chair Chris Ponce asked if the county could look into addresses that have been brought to the county's attention of other places within the county that are also fire hazards like the Rodeo Road on and look at enforcement.
The meeting adjourned.
To read the previous articles, please visit https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-070924-part-1 ; https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-070924-part-2 ; and https://www.grantcountybeat.com/news/news-articles/grant-county-commission-holds-work-session-070924-part-3 .
