City Council

MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING ARTESIA, NEW MEXICO January 10, 2023 The City Council of the City of Artesia, New Mexico met in the City Council Chambers at City Hall on Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 5: 00 p. m. in regular session with Mayor Jonathan Henry presiding, and the following present to wit: Ignacio Mariscal Sam Hagelstein George Mullen Raul Rodriguez Jarrod Moreau Wade Nelson Jeff Youtsey Richard Townley Also present: Summer Valverde, City Clerk/Treasurer Cass Tabor, City Attorney It was determined that a quorum was present. The invocation was given by Councilor Rodriguez with all joining in the Pledge of Allegiance. New Requests for City Facilities: None City Departments and Employees Community Development Director Jim McGuire and Councilor Rodriguez presented a plaque for appreciation of over 40 years of outstanding service with the City of Artesia on the Planning and Zoning Commission from April 8, 1982, thru August 2022 to Mr. Mike Dean and an extended appreciation went out to Mrs. Dean as well. Mr. Mike Dean accepted the plaque and stated, it' s been an honor to have worked for North Eddy County for over 40 years. My health has begun to fail and it' s time to take a break and pass on to the next young generation. I hope to see more involvement in doing the things that several of us have been able to do for many years. Stay with it young ones, be ready. Councilor Rodriguez congratulated Mr. Dean on his years of service. Councilor Rodriguez also stated volunteer service is very rare now- a- days and hard to find. Councilor Rodriguez thanked Mr. Dean for all his years of service and experience and knowledge that he has given the city. Police Chief Roberts stood before the mayor and council to give recognition to a couple of employees in his department, or at least past the recognition on from the Office of the Special Agent in charge of the Office of the FBI. Over the last year we began to assist the FBI in an outreach program to the school, cities, other police departments, and basically to anyone that wants to learn on how to create preventative measures and respond to mass casualty events. They are now asking us to join them in to go to neighboring states and around the country to present the  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 2 work we have accomplished. Chief Roberts read a letter from a Special Agent Raul Lejada and gave recognition to Commander Horrell and Commander Letcher. Special Reports None Consent Agenda HR Director Jerry Conde gave announcement of Ratification of Hires, Transfers within the city, and Resignations. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion to approve the consent agenda as written. Motion was seconded by Councilor Mariscal, and upon vote, the motion carried. 8- 0 CONSENT AGENDA January 10, 2022 1. Approval of Minutes December 13, 2022 2. Consideration of Bids: 3. Contracts, Leases and Agreements: A. Consideration and approval for an agreement between the City of Artesia and the New Mexico State Library to administer grants in aid. 4. Appointments: 5. Personnel Resignations, Hirings, Promotions, and Transfers: Upon recommendation of the Mayor, subject to successful completion of required pre- employment testing, permission to: A. * Hire: Name Department Position Rate of Pay B. * Ratification of Hire 1. Justin Stoneman Streets Equip. Op. II 2, 700 per month CA25 2. June Fisk Solid Waste Equipment Operator $ 2, 700 per month CA25 3. Shawn Chazarreta Comm. On Van Driver I 2, 253 per month Aging CA12 C. * Transfer: 1. Jenna Gonzales Police Prof. Stand. 2, 636. 40 Train. Coord CA15 D. Resignation( s) 1. Accept the resignation of Maria C. Aguilar, Assistant Supervisor, Commission on Aging, effective February 3, 2023. 2. Accept the resignation of Stephanie Robinson, Museum Clerk, Museum, effective December 31, 2022. 3. Accept the resignation of Tyler Forrester, Certified Firefighter/ EMTB effective November 26, 2022.  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 3 4. Accept the resignation of Jude Ruiz, Firefighter, Fire Department, effective January 12, 2023. 5. Accept the resignation of Christopher A. Miller, WW Assistant, Wastewater, effective December 30, 2022 6. Dates of Hearing: A. * Approval to set a public hearing on January 10, 2023, on the question whether the Alcohol and Gaming Division of the NM Regulation and Licensing Department should approve or disapprove the transfer of ownership of Canopy Liquor License No. 1327 for: 1) Name of Application: Touch Down Barbecue, LLC Doing Business As: Touch Down Barbecue Proposed Location: 811 W. Main St, Artesia, NM 88210 7. Travel and Training: A. Fire— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend NM Fire Chiefs Association Board Meeting in Santa Fe, NM. B. Finance— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend NMEdge Online training through NMSU Edge. C. P& Z— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the 2023 EduCODE Conference in Las Vegas, NV. D. Police— Permission for one ( 1) employee to attend Forensic Technician in Fort Worth, TX. 8. Routine Requests for City Facilities: 9. Routine Resolutions ( to be assigned a number by staff): 10. Budgeted Items: 11. Quarterly Journal Entries: 12. Non- budgeted Items: 13. * Payment of Bills Public Hearings— including consideration of final passage of any ordinance as to which proper notice has been published. Mayor Henry declared the meeting of public hearing for the following: 1. To hear and decide on the question whether the Alcohol and Gaming Division of the NM Regulations and Licensing Department should approve or disapprove the transfer of ownership of Canopy Liquor License No. 1327 for a. Application Number: 1246149 Name of Application: Los Agaves, LLC Doing Business As: Los Agaves Restaurant Proposed Location: 611 N 8th Street, Artesia, NM 88210 Councilor Rodriguez made motion to open the hearing. Motion was seconded by Jarrod Moreau and upon vote, motion passed. 8- 0 2. Staff comments— City Clerk Summer Valverde announced that if the council had any questions for the owners, they were present for the hearing this evening. No question for the owners or from staff. 3. Public comments- Three- minute time limit— None 4. City Attorney comments/ questions. - None 5. Council comments/ questions.— Mayor Pro Tern Youtsey commented he will be voting no on this. He initially voted no once before because he felt like it was put too close to Community Center, nothing against the owners. No other comments.  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 4 6. Entertain a motion and second from Council. Councilor Mullens made a motion to approve Canopy Liquor License No. 1327 for Los Agave Restaurant, Application# 1246149. Motion was seconded by Councilor Moreau and upon roll call vote, with the following cotes recorded: Aye: Townley, Mullen, Moreau, Rodriguez, Hagelstein, Mariscal Nay: Nelson, Youtsey The motion passed. 6- 2 7. Action as a result of whether the Alcohol and Gaming Division of the NM Regulations and Licensing Department should approve or disapprove the transfer of Canopy Liquor License No. 1327 for a. Application Number: 1246149 Name of Application: Los Agaves, LLC Doing Business As: Los Agaves Restaurant Proposed Location: 611 N 8th Street, Artesia, NM 88210 b. Approve/ Disapprove- Approved Mayor Henry declared the meeting of public hearing for the following: 1. To hear and decide for an Ordinance to opt into the Election of the Municipal Officers of the City of Artesia in the Regular Local Election. Mayor Henry stated before this hearing moves forward; he asked to table this hearing until further notice. He believes there is further discussions on this matter and would like to have before this hearing goes further. 2. Staff comments 3. Public comments— Three- minute time limit 4. City Attorney comments/ questions. 5. Council comments/ questions. 6. Entertain a motion and second from Council. 7. Action as a result of ordinance a. Approve/ Disapprove an ordinance to opt into the Election of Municipal Officers of the City of Artesia in the Regular Local Election. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion to table this hearing until further notice. Motion was seconded by Councilor Mariscal and upon roll call vote, with the following cotes recorded: Aye: Nelson, Townley, Youtsey, Mullen, Moreau, Rodriguez, Hagelstein, Mariscal Nay: None The motion passed. 8- 0 Mayor Henry declared all hearings closed. Councilor Rodriguez made a motioned to close all public hearings. Motion was seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote. Motion passed. 8- 0 Period for Hearing Visitors None.  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 5 Comments from Public Officials and Contracted Services None Committee Reports: A. Budget and Finance- Councilor Moreau had nothing to reported and stated meeting being set for next week. B. Personnel- Councilor Mullen reported had nothing to report. C. Police and Fire- Councilor Nelson had nothing to report and stated meeting set for next Tuesday. D. Planning ( Project Management, Code Enforcement, Permits and Inspections) — None. E. Recreation- None. F. Infrastructure( Streets, Garage, Cemetery, Parks, Water, Wastewater, Solid Waste, Facility Maintenance)— Mayor Pro Tem Youtsey had nothing to report but stated there is a meeting set for January 19, 2023. G. Government- Mayor Pro Tern Youtsey stated they met before Christmas, and they discussed a few housekeeping items. Personnel A. * Safety stats HR Director Jerry Conde reported no reportable workers comp incidents and no reportable vehicle accidents for the month of December 2022. B. * Consideration and approval of Resolution 1815, amending the paid holidays for employees. HR Director Jerry Conde explains this resolution is adding two more days to the nine days already given to the employees. One is Martin Luther King Jr. ( MLK) Day and Veterans Day, giving the employees eleven holidays for the year. Mayor Henry stated they reviewed a calendar against other business and other business have any where from 10 to 13 days of So, adding MLK and Veterans Day seem to be a prominent one that most like to celebrate. Mayor Henry opened for discussion to council or any questions. Councilor Rodriguez asked if this would affect employees that are on call or holiday pay or double time paid. City Clerk Summer Valverde gave clarification to Council about how employees are paid. Councilor Rodriguez made motion to approve Resolution 1815. Mayor Pro Tem Youtsey seconded the motion and upon vote. Motion passed. 8- 0  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 6 Public Safety Police Department: 1) * Stats Police Chief Kirk Roberts greeted mayor and council. Chief Roberts stated that from the last council meeting the auto burglaries started late. It come on heavy this year with auto, home and residential burglaries. Chief Roberts stated where down throughout the year. Calls of service where also down; its normally more than what is listed. Councilor Nelson asked if any of the burglaries were for broken windows or unlocked vehicles. Chief Roberts responded with same thing year after year they are checking door handles to see if they are unlocked. Chief Roberts also stated they went out campaigning and putting out flyer to remind the public to keep doors locked, to take all valuables out of the car and try not to keep items in vehicles. Chief Roberts continue to review stats with council. Fire Department: A. * Stats Fire Chief Hope greeted the mayor and council. Chief Hope went over stats. He explained this was a record month in history of Artesia Fire Department ( AFD). Chief Hope stated there was an item not on the agenda but would like to discuss. AFD had their testing this past weekend. There were seven applicants show but only six passed. A good turnout. Chief Hope went on to explain they have five positions open, and it was discussed about over hire and looking for some guidance of whether we want to do that. He explained we do have some retirement coming up this year and generally we will lose some during the academy. Chief Hope explained he was looking for guidance of hiring more or not. Councilor Nelson and Moreau both commented to hire more. Councilor Moreau commented if they would be over budget or under. City Clerk Summer Valverde stated they are under budget now and should be ok to hire. Councilor Youtsey asked a couple years ago they were giving help for transfers, where are they with that. Chief Hope responded with there are no ground transfers due to a couple reasons ( 1) COVID change a lot of things and ( 2) due to staff shortage. With the program that we put together with the Flight Service it has helped tremendously. A lot of patients have been flown verses ground transfers. Community Development A. * Stats Community Develop Director Jim McGuire greeted mayor and council. Mr. McGuire stated he only had stats on the agenda and stood for questions. There were none. B. * Consideration and approval of Facilities Management Agreement between City of Artesia and Sports Facilities Management, LLC.  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 7 Facilities Management Agreement between City of Artesia and Sports Facilities Management, LLC. was not ready for approval. C. * Consideration and approval of Resolution 1816, approving the submission of the local government Planning Fund Grant application. Community Develop Director Jim McGuire explained that we must do an updated resolution to add to the grant we are applying through the state. The state is requesting that we have an updated comprehensive plan updated every five years and a resolution stating an approval for the city to apply for the grant. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion to approve Resolution 1816 the submission of the local government Planning Fund Grand application. Motion was seconded by Councilor Hagelstein and upon vote. Motion passed. 8- 0 RESOLUTION 1816 Infrastructure Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair greeted the mayor and council. Mr. Landfair stated he had nothing on the agenda tonight just a few quick updates. Mr. Landfair stated the infrastructure department had a tough week last week. An 18" line breached on us again, but it turned out to be an old repair. It was an old piece that rotted out. A couple of contractors came out and helped us out to where we were not of water for too long. Mr. Landfair state we had about 70 residents be with out water for two days. On Saturday a controller went out for a lift pump out at treatment plant went out. Wastewater employees were out most Saturday working on that. There was a communications issue but IT Supervisor Peter was able to get on that first thing on Monday. Mr. Lanfair thanked the staff from Wastewater for their hard work and long hours. Mr. Landfair updated the council on 20th Street. He stated he sat down with engineers, and they have eleven allotted days. He went on to say they have ten days for Ray and Briscoe, totally up to 21 days and they still have seventeen weather days. Mr. Landfair stated that we are looking at the middle of February before moving on to next phase. He stood for questions. Councilor Hagelstein asked if there were any vouchers given for hotel rooms. Mr. Landfair responded with no; total rooms available for those two nights were about eight to nine rooms. So, we delivered water every morning to their doors and anytime they requested more. One resident did have to be put up in a hotel room due to resident fighting cancer and was in a medical phase. It was important for the resident to have running water. Councilor Mariscal asked if this was the same one that broke out by Bulldog Bowl. Mr. Landfair responded with it is the same one. He explained the 18" goes West from 18th Street out to Bulldog Tank. 11 Councilor Nelson asked where we at on the lighting out at Jaycee Park. Mr. Landfair responded with all should be out except the ones that are on timers. The new stuff there is a work order out on it but they are waiting for part to come in.  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 8 Councilor Nelson asked if there is a plan for lighting around walking track. Mr. Landfair responded with not at this time. We are looking to finish the draw first before we move on to that. Mr. Landfair gave an update on the chain link on First Street. He stated the first 500 feet has been installed. A private donor came in and matched us on some moneys to go a little further down from where we are having vandalism happening with the trees. City Attorney None City Clerk City Clerk Summer Valverde greeted the mayor and council and presented: A. * Consideration and approval of Resolution 1817, Adopting an Open Meetings Resolution and Rescinding Reso 1774. City Clerk Summer Valverde stated resolution 1817 is to adopt an Open Meeting and rescind resolution 1774, which was last year' s resolution. She stated all is the same the only changes are the dates from it being in July and now it will be in February to accommodate the retreat coming up in February. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion to approve Resolution 1817, Adopting an Open Meetings Resolution and Rescinding Resolution 1774. The motion was seconded by Councilor Hagelstein, and upon vote. The motion carried. 8- 0 RESOLUTION 1817 Mayor None. New or other business from Councilors Mayor Henry looking forward to retreat. We have a lot to discuss. Councilor Mullen commented Happy New Year. Councilor Mariscal commented Happy New Year. Adiournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 5: 56 p. m. January 10, 2023.  Minutes, January 10, 2023 Page 9 ill Jonathan Mayor ATTEST: 45PodiA,...,,_ ummer Valverde - City Clerk/Treasurer l‘ ttttttti;/, I s fie- . I t a• e P Z • ' 2 till s w s, s.z. 1 l' iiiiil WI"