By Lynn Janes

The Village of Santa Clara held a regular meeting August 22, 2024. Mayor Arnold Lopez called the meeting to order. Mayor Pro Tem Albert Esparza, trustees, Peter Erickson and Ralph Trujillo attended. Olga Amador didn't attend.

Mayors report

Lopez had met with the new director for the senior citizen center. They will be continuing what they have been doing but want to improve the services offered to the mining district. They plan w to add more events like bingo on Fridays with lunch and he had a flyer to give out. Lopez said all were welcome but needed to register and said Silver City had been invited also. He went over some of the other events they talked about.

Sheila Hudman, village administrator, said they talked about having dances and monthly birthday cakes. The senior center will also have someone available to speak to about estate planning. Meals on Wheels has been a popular service used by the seniors.

The senior center applied for capital outlay funds for three different projects and will be receiving that funding. It will allow some facility upgrades.

Lopez said they had a good program and encouraged seniors to check it out and receive a good meal.

Lopez attended a DOT (Department of Transportation) meeting. Hudman went over some of what had been said. DOT will be doing a safety study on the curve around Santa Clara. She suggested they reduce the speed to 35 mph. Recently they had the sixth pole taken out by a driver. Each time it cost $10,000. If the people responsible have been caught their insurance pays but three have been hit and run and the village must pay. They had talked about adding curb and gutters to help stop it.

Hudman said they had been awarded the grant to do the Oak Street bridge.

Lopez said they had also discussed additional highway lighting around the Dollar Store because of it being difficult to see traffic coming.

Gabriel Ramos addressed the council about his run for the state senate position. He asked them for a copy of their ICIP (infrastructure capital improvements plan). It would give him a running start to know what they needed so he could help them. He thought the safety audit would be good for the village. Ramos mentioned the possible restaurant and project that Representative Luis Terrazas spoke about and how it would help the community. Lopez said they have been trying to move forward on projects. "It is a team effort, and we want to continue to move forward." Ramos said they have been fortunate to have one of the most experienced administrators in the state to help them, referring to Hudman. He thanked the council for the opportunity to speak with them.

New business

The council approved the application of Julianne Martinez to move a 16x60 foot 2025 Champion single-wide mobile home. The mobile home will be on the son's lot, and they have plenty of room. Rosemary Arciero, code enforcement said they had met all requirement.

The council approved the application of Faith Maynes to move a 28x60 foot 2023 Loralei double-wide mobile home. Arciero said they had met all requirements, and the lot would be plenty large enough for the home.

Resolutions

The council approved resolution 2024-27 adopting section 04-R of the policies and procedures manual for the village of Santa Clara volunteer fire and rescue department and the use of on-call emergency vehicles. Yvonne Gonzales, village attorney, said this would address some questions and concerns about emergency vehicles. The chief and deputy chief have always had the permission to take vehicles home so they could respond to any emergency call. The policy just gives guidelines. The state fire marshal had received complaints. Lopez said, "It will just clean up the policy to protect both sides and enforce a little more."

The council went into closed session

The council came back into open session

Lopez said they had received an application for the position of public works clerk. He recommended the applicant. The council approved the hiring of Cruz Salas at $16 and hour with a six-month probation period.

The council approved Leandra Esparza, clerk, and one other office employee to attend a training in Salt Lake City for the government software Caselle. Hudman didn't have the complete information but said it would be something they should attend and learn how to use. She had attended and it helped her a lot. They will be driving, and the training would be $600 each and probably around $800-$900 for travel, lodging and meals. Lopez thought it would be good training for them to attend.

Lopez thanked Larry Montoya, fire chief and animal control officer, for doing double duty and doing a good job. He had applied for two grants and had received one and they will be waiting to hear on the other. Hudman agreed and said he asks a lot of questions and takes the initiative to do the applications himself. Gonzales said she enjoyed his positive attitude all the time. Lopez added he takes pride in what he does.

Hudman said the MFA (mortgage finance authority) had approved the ordinance for the affordable housing act. They had posted the intent to adopt but had no public comment. This benefits the public. The village can now help with things like helping to fix the homes of the elderly, without violating the anti-donation laws. It allows the village to apply for funding and bring in developers to provide housing. The council will adopt the ordinance at the next meeting.

Lopez wanted the village to know that last week they had been awarded the most improved in the state for audits and how well the funds had been used to improve the community.

First regular meeting to be held Thursday September 12, 2024, at 6:00 pm

Second regular meeting to be held Thursday September 26, 2024, at 6:00 pm

Meeting Adjourned