By Lynn Janes

The Village of Santa Clara held a meeting January26, 2024. Mayor Arnold Lopez called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Albert Esparza trustees, Olga Amador, Peter Erickson, and Ralph Trujillo attended.

The council approved the agenda with some changes in the order of some topics on the agenda

Mayor's report

Lopez had gone to Santa Fe for the legislative session. He said it had been the first time to attend and a lot had been going on. He met and visited with many people. one being the Lieutenant Governor Howie Morales, and he advised they had been able to secure $1 million in funding for the infrastructure and rebuilding of Fort Bayard. They will be first addressing acquiring water and then working on the grounds. He cautioned it would not happen overnight but will be a process. "We have been asking for this for a long time and this is a real win for us and the surrounding area." Lopez has been asked to be on the board for planning for Fort Bayard and he said he was honored.

He met with many people in the house and senate and felt he had made many bridges that would be helpful in the future. Only 40 local people had been chosen to meet with the governor and he and Sheila Hudman, village administrator had been among them.

Hudman said she had attended two presentations. One had to do with the current software they have to use to do reporting with the state. It needs a lot of work so it can be used by all. She went over the current problems they have been having. The software the village uses to connect to is okay, but many other municipalities do not use it. She said she had also attended the presentation by the Department of Tourism and learned about some grants and opportunities available.

Lopez said, "So much happened and I was grateful for them looking at Fort Bayard."

On the last day Santa Clara had the House of Representatives give them recognition for their assistance in the efforts and commitment to preserve Fort Bayard. Santa Clara had obtained $3 million through grants from the state and federal and donations. Erickson read the whole letter which gave a history of the fort going back to 1866.

The council went into closed session concerning anticipated and pending litigation.

The council came back into open session

Public comment

Tom Caddel had questions about the purchase agreement for the armory. In the Silver City Daily Press, it said the village would be selling 21 acres and he wanted to know where that was. Yvonne Gonzalez , village attorney, said the negotiations had to do with the building and 4 acres. The Silver City Daily Press had been wrong.

Alex Tubbs addressed the council and thanked them for their support so far with the Open Space Brewery located at the armory. They want to have assurance of their future considering the possible acquisition of the armory by WNMU. "We have had a positive impact on Santa Clara." She went over all the events in the past and coming up they have been involved in.

New Business

The council approved allowing Bianca Martinez to act as cashier for utilities until the municipal court opens. The council agreed it would help until they had a judge.

The council approved both RFPs (request for proposal) from Stantec for general engineering that would cover both federal and state projects. They had received 2 RFPs for the service. The other had been Loman in Houston, Tx. They both scored very close together, but the committee chose Stantec in part due to their being local and easier to work with because of that.

Elysha Montoya, community engagement coordinator, with Frontier Foods, attended to give the council an update. She thanked them for the approval of the rental for freezer space at the armory. She went over the program and the grants they had received. One had been for the mining district. They will be building a training greenhouse and will be providing jobs. They will also be hiring someone to manage the greenhouse. She said she would be attending periodically to give them updates and would appreciate the council's support.

Lopez said they had a good project and wanted to be updated. "We will do all we can to help."

The council approved the purchase agreement for the armory with WNMU with a counteroffer of allowing the current tenants two years to relocate. Mathew Leef, Open Space Brewery, asked when they would know, and Lopez thought maybe around March 2024. Leef asked if the village would give them a lease to protect them. Lopez said he would meet with him and added they wanted to see them to be successful and he understood his concerns. Caddel wanted to know what the offer would be, and Lopez said $1 million had been originally talked about but a lot of questions still remained unanswered. The sale may not even happen. WNMU would need to obtain the funding.

The council approved resolution 2024-3 budget transfers. Hudman said it would just be to cover negative balances due to not receiving funding yet and told the council which ones.

Hudman had the council withdraw resolution 2024-04 budget adjustments. She had not been able to do them because of attending the legislature and they can be done at the next meeting

First regular meeting will be held Thursday February 8, 2024, at 6:00 pm
Second regular meeting will be held Thursday February 22, 2024, at 6:00 pm

Meeting Adjourned