By Lynn Janes

The Silver City Town Council held a regular meeting August 27, 2024. Attendance to the meeting included Mayor Ken Ladner, Mayor Pro Tem Guadalupe Cano, Rudy Bencomo, Nicholas Prince, and Stan Snider.

Cano ask that the agenda be approved with the removal of the agenda item pertaining to the job performance of the town manager regarding his oversight of the police department. Prince did not want to remove it because he felt it would be appropriate because of pending litigation. Cano said she had been the one to bring it to the council but since the situation had been dealt with and the council can't talk about pending litigation because it had not been listed on the agenda. It will have to be put on the next agenda. The councilors, except for Prince, voted to remove it.

Council comments.

Ladner wanted to make the public aware these would be comments by the council member and in no way reflected the town of Silver City.

Cano invited everyone to the seventh Outdoor Economics Conference in Las Cruces September 23-25, 2024. She said some of the council had received emails about issues that involved the police. "None of us are police, they must assist you. You need to call central dispatch."

Snider thanked the town for sending him to the Municipal League Conference. It had provided him with the opportunity to network with other councilors and discuss and strategize on issues. He felt it would be beneficial for town employees to attend.

Prince said he didn't have a prepared statement as usual. He thanked the town as well for sending him to the Municipal League Conference. He agreed it had been helpful.

Bencomo encouraged everyone to attend the Carnitas Musica y Mas Fiesta. It would be Labor Day weekend.

Reports

Freddie Portillo, police chief, had a report for the council. He had provided data from January 1, 2024, to August 1, 2024. The report had a lot of data, but he said he would highlight the top five moving violations. The department had ticketed 397 for speeding, 36 for failure to stop, 25 careless citations, 30 red lights, and 25 seat belt citations. They had 218 that failed to have proof of registration, 211 with expired insurance and 94 with no driver's license or not in possession of. They had cited 17 people for driving while using a cell phone. A total of 1,612 citations had been issued in that time period.

The department had received a grant from the state, $29,000 for traffic enforcement, zs well as $10,000 from Grant County for DWI.

Cano said she did not see any citations listed for people parked in a handicap parking spaces that should not be, and she said it has been a big problem. Portillo said they have had a lot of calls to respond to and have had to focus on them He has tried to redirect to parking violations in general. To get on track they have been working on a plan to have code enforcement help issue citations for parking violations.

Prince said he has had four major complaints from constituents. He listed them as uncovered loads, animal carcasses, street noise and street racing. Portillo said they had contracted with someone to remove carcasses. People just needed to call. For uncovered loads they have targeted Ridge Road and highway 90. The department had received emails about the car racing on Pope Street and Bullard Street, so they have been keeping an eye out for it.

Bencomo wanted to know if they had seen an increase or decrease from last year. Portillo said they have had close to 2,000 citations when including August due to a step up in operations. He had the first six months (January to June) of this year and last year. In 2023 they had 1,800 and in 2024 they had 1,500.

Ladner said in the past, the state police have helped and will without asking if they have the funding. He said they could ask for their help, but it would depend on the manpower.

Alex Brown, town manager, said the construction on the new recreation center would be going into full swing in the next few weeks.

Ladner wanted to reappoint Linda Nunez to the cemetery board. She has been recommended by the board chair and has 25 years experience in Silver City and Santa Clara. The council approved the reappointment.

The council approved ordinance 1331. Jim Reynolds, town attorney, said this would just put the ordinance in line with the state statues. It closes the loophole that allowed private clubs to have smoking.

The council approved ordinance 1332. Reynolds said this had been amended to comply with the rules and regulations of the New Mexico Finance Authority. It increased the range of income for people to qualify for affordable housing. It went from $120,000 to $150,000 and this would help more people qualify for Vista De Plata.

Meeting adjourned.