Work continued over the holidays on the Town of Silver City's new, 29,000 square-foot recreation center, located across from Silver High School. The $16 million project features several new courts for basketball, pickle ball and other sports, and is expected to be completed in May.Silver City -- With 2025 now fully underway, Silver City town management and staff recently shared their many accomplishments of 2024. In addition to significant infrastructure improvements to local utilities and streets, major progress was made on the new recreation center, the regional water system, the Waterworks Building and Scott Park, all of which greatly enhance economic development, recreational, cultural and educational opportunities, and improve the quality of life for local residents and visitors alike.

Perhaps the most visible accomplishment of the past year is the new recreation center under construction at the southwest corner of Silver and 32nd streets, across from Silver High School. The 29,000 square-foot structure will include new basketball, tennis and pickle ball courts, as well as activity rooms, a gaming area and numerous spots for socializing. The $16 million project is expected to be completed in May.

To the north, a community open house was held last fall at the Waterworks Building to celebrate the completion of Phase One of the project, which includes clearing and cleanup of the historic property and the completion of the landscaping, featuring all native, drought-tolerant plants, with swales and other water-conservation features. This project -- a collaboration between the town and the nonprofit, Southwest New Mexico ACT -- is deeply rooted in the community. Local youth conservation groups, local businesses and dozens of volunteers have come together to create a local recreation and educational gem that is designed to serve as a way station for travelers along the Continental Divide Trail, with eco-friendly pit toilets, solar-powered showers and bath facilities, a community kitchen, camping sites and a large, outdoor educational pavilion. This initiative continues to enjoy the support of state tourism officials and has received millions of dollars in funding from the New Mexico Department of Tourism's Outdoor Recreation Division.

Capital Improvements: Public Works and Utilities
The provision of clean drinking water and safe roads are key services that residents rely on town staff to provide. In February of 2024, the town's water delivery system received a clean bill of health by the New Mexico Environmental Department following a comprehensive review of the entire system. The evaluation included all aspects of water delivery, including system protection, components and condition of the water source, treatment and distribution, water storage and pumping, as well water quality monitoring, reporting and data verification, system management and operation, and compliance with state regulations.

The Utilities Department, under the direction of Robert Esqueda, also completed an inventory of all 6,900 service lines located within the municipal water system. The inventory was required as a result of the revised lead and copper rule to identify any lead service lines that may exist in the system, both from the water main to the meter, and from the meter to the customers' dwelling or building. City crews worked from February through October of 2024 to complete the survey without hiring outside contractors, thus saving money for the town and local residents. No lead pipes were found.

Other utility improvements include a new, 300,000-gallon raw water storage tank at the Franks Wellfield, replacing the original, aging 150,000-gallon tank, and increasing the volume of water delivered to the town.

Water crew members also completed the extension of approximately 1,500 feet of eight-inch water line along Mountain View Road from Ranzo Way to the town limits, which improves firefighting capacity, and brings municipal water service to residents who were dependent upon domestic wells.

Street Improvements
Perhaps the most obvious infrastructure improvement completed in the past year is the $4.5 million reconstruction of 32nd Street from Swan Street north to Pinos Altos Road, which included new paving, replacement of sections of curb and gutter, new ADA-compliant sidewalks, improved drainage, drive-pads, striping to include bike lanes, and signage.

On Little Walnut Road, Phase IV construction began on September 9 and is scheduled for completion by late February. The project includes paving, curb and gutter, sidewalks on the west side of the street, drainage improvements at Cottonwood Creek, bike lanes, signage and striping. Funding for this phase was made possible by some $3.6 million in Colonias Infrastructure and New Mexico Department of Transportation funding.

The department's street division also completed 4.6 miles of the annual chip and fog seal project on several streets on the north side of town, just off Little Walnut Road. In 2024 the town was also awarded $1.5 million in federal community development block grant (CDBG) funds for road improvements on the southeast side to include paving, construction and repair of curb and gutter, new sidewalks where possible, ADA-compliant intersections, drive-pads and striping on the following streets:
• East Daniel and Dorothy streets from Hudson Street (NM 90) to S. Elias Street;
• East Victoria from Hudson to S. Bard Avenue;
• South Bard Avenue from north of East Daniel to south of East Victoria Street; and
• S. Elias Street from E. Daniel Street to south of E. Dorothy Street.
Public Safety
The Silver City Police Department's computer aided dispatching system has been upgraded to the latest technology, which will generate more accurate crime data and help administrators more quickly identify and address criminal activity, and communicate such information to local residents.

The state of New Mexico requires that all police officers receive specific training, both annually and biannually. Silver City Chief of Police Freddie Portillo strives to exceed state requirements, and officers were trained in a variety of police specialties in 2024, including domestic violence, child abuse and child welfare, crisis management, proper use of force, how to manage persons with mental illness, and cultural sensitivity.

Police administrators were once again able to secure more than $50,000 in grant funding to aid in fighting violent crime and drug interdiction, and additional funds to purchase new equipment, pay for extra training and add more traffic safety officers to prevent impaired driving.

Fire Chief Milo Lambert reported that the local "insurance services office" or ISO rating dropped from four to three in 2024. The ISO rating is a preparedness rating for fire departments nationwide, and reflects a given department's ability to fight structure fires. The improved rating may result in lower insurance premiums for homes and businesses, and helps determine if insurance is even available in a given area. The rating also helps corporations determine where to invest in constructing new facilities, and is also a factor in allocating state funding to local municipalities for firefighting.

Grant funding allowed the department to purchase two, new, state-of-the-art cardiac monitors, and to replace the roof of the public safety building on Hudson Street. Additionally, eight new firefighters were hired and trained, and the department responded to
2899 calls for emergency medical service, 60 calls for fire protection, and held 22 day-long middle and high school educational events, and more than 26 visits to local elementary schools.

Education, Culture and Community Collaboration: Silver's Library and Museum
Library staff strengthened community partnerships in 2024, significantly enhancing outreach and library activities. Collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service as well as local police and fire departments resulted in expanded children's programming, with numerous visits to local schools and child care centers, as well as classroom visits to the library. Library staff also made several visits to two local apartment complexes to offer technology training and assistance and children's activities.

Staff also developed a new partnership with the Silver City Senior Center to bring technology training and assistance to local seniors. The library also hosted several educational events, including a successful gardening workshop in partnership with the Southwest New Mexico Seed Library. The Southwest Women's Fiber Arts Collective offered two, high-quality project workshops during the summer reading program, and the Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society offered a well-received set of geology-related activity stations in July. The New Mexico Department of Game and Fish presented an engaging educational presentation for children, and also partnered with the American Legion to screen the World War II documentary, A Rendezvous with Destiny.

The Silver City Museum opened a new exhibit at the end of 2024, "Healers and Heroines: Women and the Shaping of Local Health Care." The exhibit examines the role of women as healers, foundation builders, adapters and activists, and addresses institutional sexism, autonomy and self-determination. The exhibit was developed with input from local historians, healers, educators and health care professionals, which provided a baseline for the history and guided the research.

The critically-acclaimed "Nuestra Voz: A Chihuahua Hill Story" exhibit of oral histories, objects, and photographs was relocated to a permanent gallery on the second floor. This collection represents years of work and countless stories from that community, and now has a dedicated space where it will be appreciated for years to come.

Through the "Museum on the Move" initiative, staff engaged with other local organizations to reimagine how the museum serves as a catalyst for meaningful discourse by celebrating art, education and local culture, and participating in community events such as Carnitas, Musica y Más, Pride Fest, the Southwest Print Fiesta and the Tamal Fiesta in Santa Clara. Additionally, Museum Director Bart Roselli and Javier Marrufo, museum curator, offered presentations on a range of topics at events throughout the state, including Eastern New Mexico University, the League of United Latin American Citizen's (LULAC) Southern Regional Conference on Civil Rights and Social Justice in Alamogordo, and the American Folklore Society in Albuquerque.

Staff also developed an oral history curriculum for eighth-grade English/Language Arts classes, and an ethnic, cultural and identity studies curriculum for high school juniors.

For more information about the Town of Silver City, please visit www.townofsilvercity.org,  or contact Alex Brown, town manager, at (575) 538-3731, ext. 6.