City Council

MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING ARTESIA, NEW MEXICO May 09, 2023 The City Council of the City of Artesia, New Mexico met in the City Council Chambers at City Hall on Tuesday, May 09, 2023 at 5: 00 p.m. in regular session with Mayor Jonathan Henry presiding, and the following present to wit: Wade Nelson Mayor Pro Tern Jeff Youtsey Ignacio Mariscal Sam Hagelstein Richard Townley Jarrod Moreau George Mullen Raul Rodriguez 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 Raul Rodriguez and all joining in the Pledge of Allegiance. New Requests for City Facilities: A. * Tammy Neel request approval for permission to hold a Mother' s Day Market on May 13th, 2023, from 7: 00am to 5: 00pm. Request for street closure of 2nd Street between Richardson and up to the alley way. 111 City Clerk/ Treasurer Summer Valverde greeted mayor and council and announced Tammy Neel' s Mother' s Day Market. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion for approval. Seconded by Councilor Mariscal and upon vote, motion carried. B. * Quintan Pogan on behalf of Premier Flag Football League— request approval for permission to hold a PFFL Pros Camp, July 1st& 2nd, 2023, from 8: 00am to 3: 00pm at Jaycee Park( City of Champions Field). Contingent upon approval ofinsurance and payment( awaiting recreation committee to bring fee schedule approval) City Clerk Summer announced Quintan Pogan' s PFFL Pos Camp. Councilor Rodriguez stated there is a meeting set on Thursday at 4: 30 pm to establish a fee schedule for this and any future requests. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion to approve the Camp contingent upon insurance and use of facilities agreement awaiting fee structure and they agree to the fees that will be established. Seconded by Councilor Hagelstein and upon vote, motion carried. Mayor Pro Tern asked if this fee schedule will be adopted for future use and will council be reviewing that as well. Councilor Rodriguez stated yes, this is to get this establish and not hold this up. C. * Artesia MainStreet, Inc.- Request the approval to hold The Hang Out- Movie Night, June 1, 2023, from 7: 30pm to 10: 00 pm, on the City Hall Front Lawn/ Baish Park. City Clerk Summer announced the request from Artesia Main Street. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion for approval. Seconded by Councilor Hagelstein and upon vote, motion carried.  Minutes, May 09, 2023 Page 2 City Departments and Employees 11 None. Special Reports None. Consent Agenda HR Director Jerry Conde gave announcement if hires, promotions, and resignations. Councilor Rodriguez made a motion to approve the consent agenda and commented on item# 4 of the consent agenda and gave gratitude to those that are serving on the boards. Second by Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Youtsey and upon vote, the motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA May 9, 2023 1. Approval of Minutes April 25, 2023 2. Consideration of Bids: A. * Approval to award bid and have signature authority on the contract with J & S Enterprise Trucking& Farm INC 3. Contracts, Leases and Agreements: 4. Appointments: A. Approval of the reappointment of Emma Salgado to the Commission on Aging Advisory Council ( term to expire June 2025) B. Approval of the reappointment of Olympia Posey to the Commission on Aging Advisory Council ( term to expire June 2025) C. Approval of the reappointment of Joyce Moore to the Commission on Aging Advisory Council ( term to expire June 2025) D. Approval of the reappointment of Claude Whisenhunt to the Commission on Aging Advisory Council ( term to expire June 2025) E. Approval of appointment of Lee Johnson to the Commission on Aging Advisory Council ( term to expire June 2025) F. Approval of appointment of Juanita Salazar to the Commission on Aging Advisory Council ( term to expire June 2025) G. Approval of appointment of Jon W Syfred to the Library Board of Trustees ( term to expire 2024) H. Approval of appointment of Melissa Flores to the Library Board of Trustees ( term to expire 2024) 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 1. Stephan Najar Police Uncertified Police 22. 36 p/ hr Officer CAPS 2. Carmen Saiz F& A Customer Service 2216 p/ mo Clerk CA17 B. Ratification to hire:  Minutes, May 09, 2023 Page 3 1. Erika Mitchell Library Library Clerk 2080 p/ mo CA12 2. Maria O. Perez COA Maintenance Tech $ 2080 p/ mp CA13 Promotions: 1. Amy Gallegos Police Certified Police Officer $ 24. 95 CAP7 2. David Barlow Police Certified Police Officer $ 24. 95 CAP7 3. Alexander Williams Police Certified Police Officer $ 24. 95 CAP7 C. Resignations: 1. Accept the resignation of Keifer Klein, Uncertified Firefighter, Fire Department, effective April 17, 2023 2. Accept the resignation of Oscar Bejarano, Wastewater Assistant, Wastewater, effective May 12, 2023. 3. Accept the resignation of Mary Finney, Library Clerk, Library, effective May 13, 2023. 4. Accept the resignation of Ada Yandel, Mechanic I, Fire Garage, effective May 15, 2023. 5. Accept the resignation of Regina Davis, Customer Service Clerk, F& A, effective May 2, 2023. 6. Accept the resignation of Pablito Pineda, Van Driver, COA effective April 17, 2023. 6. Dates of Hearing: 7. Travel and Training: A. Police— Ratification of Mayor Henry' s approval for one ( 1) employee to attend the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police in Albuquerque, NM. B. Police— permission for two ( 2) employees to attend the Taser Instructor Course in Las Cruces, NM. C. Police— Permission for one ( 1) employee to attend the NASRO Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana. D. Police— Permission for one ( 1) employee to attend the Field Training Officer Course in Albuquerque, NM. 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. None. Period for Hearing Visitors Guadalupe De la Rosa, on behalf of the tenants from the Housing Authority. She came forward to the council about an area where the tenants are parking and would like to know if they were to park there, that they do not get charged for parking in that area. She also let the council know there is a blue healer that likes to bite, and at times there are two other dogs running loose with it. There are children playing outside the apartments. She doesn' t want anything to happen. She would like to see something done about those dogs running loose. Mayor Henry reminded Ms. De la Rosa that the council can not answer any questions at this time but will get her questions answered later this evening.  Minutes, May 09, 2023 Page 4 Jamie Guthrie, owner of Superior Carwash at 201 S 20th St. Brought to the council a request before they go and completely shut 20th Street off for construction work. He is concerned about the close off because of recent construction work that has been done has affected his business and brought down his revenue about 25% and is requesting if the city can do it in two phases. He thanked the council. Mayor Henry responded with there will be a presentation coming up he may want to stay and listen to. Morgan Fox with Artesia Main Street greeted mayor and council. She thanked the council for approving The Movie Night on Baish Park. Ms. Fox also stated she was here representing some merchants and community members that brought concerns to her about parking on Main Street. She stated that there are signs that say two- hour parking and noticed there are not enforcements or was wondering if they are just suggestions. But she wanted to bring this forward to council to help out some of our community that can use some of that parking on main street. She then thanked the council. Comments from Public Officials and Contracted Services None. Committee Reports: A. Budget and Finance— Councilor Moreau announced they have a meeting on 111 B. Thursday at 3: 30 pm. Personnel— None. C. Police and Fire— Councilor Nelson stated nothing, meeting next week. D. Planning ( Project Management, Code Enforcement, Permits and Inspections) — Councilor Rodriguez stated they have a meeting Thursday at 4: 30 pm in Council Chambers. E. Recreation— None. Mayor commented on the fee schedule and how it will impact some of these events moving forward. F. Infrastructure( Streets, Garage, Cemetery, Parks, Water, Wastewater, Solid Waste, Facility Maintenance)— Mayor Pro Tem Youtsey stated there is a meeting set for later this month. G. Government— Councilor Nelson reported there was discussion on the supervisor replacement, the future of the museum and what direction they want to go, went over some Library staffing, Senior Center on the Junior Bill, discussed some out- of-town activities for the seniors, discussed the Airport and fuel truck bids and the upcoming runway re- pavement. Personnel A. * Safety Stats HR Director Jerry Conde reported there were two reportable Worker' s Comp injuries for the month of April 2023. There were nine reportable accidents involving City vehicles in the month of April 2023. Stood for questions.  Minutes, May 09, 2023 Page 5 Mayor Pro Tern stated we go month to month without accidents and then we have nine, what would be the reason. Mr. Conde responded with Corrina did a review on the OSHA and Comp reportable accidents and this is what she came up with. Mr. Conde also stated that before Corrina came on there was some confusion and stated if they wanted, he can go back and review that past and get those to the council by email. Mayor Pro Tem Youtsey stated the important thing now is that we have a Safety person for these incidents now and what we are doing about it. Councilor Rodriguez asked if he could get them a list of the condition vehicle involve in accident and if those vehicles are going to have to be maintenance, fixed or repaired or need to replace them. Councilor Mariscal asked for clarification on the injuries. Mr. Conde gave explanation and better clarification. Public Safety Police Department: Police Chief Roberts greeted the Mayor and Council. Chief Roberts reported the stats on crime. Stood for any question on them. None. He then moves on to reporting Animal control stats. Chief Roberts did speak of the blue healer the citizen came forward to report running around the Housing Authority. Chief Roberts also stated they are looking into other alternatives to try and retrieve the dog. Then stood for questions. Mayor Pro tem Youtsey asked about the dogs if it is all calls or a mix of calls and stray pickups. Chief Roberts responded it is a mixture of the two and gave explanation. Councilor Townley asked about the 3 new employees and if it brought him back up to full staff Chief Roberts stated they are the ones coming out of training and beginning their probationary period and we hope to have one more listed in upcoming meetings. We had seven openings and with these four leaving us with three openings. Fire Department: Fire Chief Kevin Hope greeted Mayor and Council. Chief Hope gave an update on the graduation of four recruits from the academy yesterday, leaving them with one position open. Then stood for questions. Mayor Henry asked about how the City and the County are working. Chief Hope responded with when County decided to hire fulltime, we changed our agreement and has become extremely beneficial to have extra numbers showing up. There were no other questions. Community Development Community Development Director Jim McGuire greeted the Mayor and Council. Mr. McGuire stated he only has stats to report. Then stood for questions. Mayor Henry commented about how there will be a lot going on their next Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. McGuire responded with yes there will be zone change, annexation, and three sets of ordinance amendments. No other comments or questions.  Minutes, May 09, 2023 Page 6 Infrastructure A. * Discussion and Direction to staff on Phase IV of 20th Street Project. Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair greeted mayor and council and stated he had a couple of quick updates. He began with 1) the new lights going in out at Jaycee Park for the football and soccer fields. They should be up by Thursday and will be turning on and off throughout the week until they are set with the app. 2) Jaycee Park will be closed from 8 to 5 for a fog seal on May 12th and 15th. Councilor Moreau asked what a fog seal was. Mr. Landfair responded with it' s a thin layer of asphalt that goes over chip seal projects that helps lock the rock down and keeps it from spalling out long term. Mr. Landfair updated on Phase three stating there are 33 days left and will be using all 33 days. Then Turned over to Scott Hicks, Smith Engineers. Mr. Scott Hicks greeted Mayor and Council and presented Phase IV. Mr. Hicks gave a brief background history of why they are doing this and addressed the first three phases. Mr. Hicks then went into discussion of Phase IV and recommended not to go into a second phase but modify 20th street so that the Carwash can continue with business coming in from 20th Street and what would be the quickest way to complete the phase without it prolonging it much longer. Discussion and direction took place on several options on how they can deal with the issue. City Attorney None City Clerk A. * Presentation of the 2021- 2022 audit and approval of resulting Resolution 1822 City Clerk Summer Valverde introduced Carmen Spivey with Beasley, Mitchell & Company to present the audit. Carmen Spivey greeted Mayor and Council. Ms. Spivey stated she will present the audit for July 2021 thru June 2022 Ms. Spivey presented on a) Independent Auditor' s Report pg. 2, b) Government Wide Financial Statements pg. 7, c) Government Fund Statements pg. 11, d) Budgets, e) Proprietary Funds and Notes pg. 19- 29, e) Leases pg. 52, f) Supplementary Information Regarding PERA, g) Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards pg. 94, h) Internal Control Report pg. 97, i) Compliance Report pg. 99, j) Summary p. 102 k) Schedule of Findings pg. 103- 104. Ms. Spivey indicated that the city had received an Unmodified opinion, and everything was good, and nothing was found on the federal awards but there was one finding a significant deficiency for the financial statements. She stated this was due to bank reconciliations couldn' t be provided, not that they were not completed but that they were not able to be reprinted. Ms. Spivey recommended that the policies be changed so that those reconciliations can be reprinted in the future to have them in timely and to avoid any mistakes. In conclusion everything was 11 good. She thanked management, Summer and her team and Ms. Spivey thank her team as well throughout this audit. Then stood for question.  Minutes, May 09, 2023 Page 7 Councilor Rodriguez stated that on page one not all the elected officials were listed. Ms. Spivey responded with she will make note of that. Councilor Hagelstein asked Mrs. Valverde about the accounting software that when it gets updated if this issue will get resolved. Mrs. Valverde responded yes, looking into Incode 10 there is a feature that will allow to recreate the reports. Mayor Pro tern Youtsey expressed if we do well consider that she goes out and presents other municipalities audits. Ms. Spivey responded yes, and her supervisors have commented to her that the City of Artesia is one that does very well on audits. Councilor Rodriguez, motioned to approve the Resolution 1822 for the Audit. Seconded by Councilor Moreau and upon vote, motion carried. RESOLUTION 1822 B. * Consideration and approval of Library Emergency Plans City Clerk Summer introduced Library Supervisor Valerie Martin and presented briefly over the Library Emergency Plan. Councilor Rodriguez motioned to approve the Library Emergency Plan. Seconded by Councilor Hagelstein and upon vote, motion carried. City Clerk Summer thanked and gave appreciation to Valerie on her hard work she has been doing for the library. C. * Consideration and approval for the F& A to hire a summer intern from Abilene Christian University for 8 weeks. City Clerk/ Treasurer Summer Valverde explained that the PY Foundation was not able to hire an intern this year and asked if we would. They would pay for his housing, and we would pay his wages. Ms. Valverde stated she did a cost of salary for them to see how much it would be for us to hire him. Councilor Rodriguez motioned to approve the position. Seconded by Councilor Hagelstein and upon vote, motion carried. Mayor Mayor Henry spoke how the city is moving in the right direction and he is seeing how the citizens are pleased with what is happening in the city. He also gave appreciation to the council 11 and how they have been listening to the citizens when they call or speak up. He also stated we were able to get in the first bond cycle for the two big projects of the bathrooms and the splash pad. He shows appreciation towards the departments on how things are moving.  Minutes, May 09, 2023 Page 8 II New or other business from Councilors Councilor Townley commented on a great turn out this evening. expressed his concerns on the upcoming 20th Street project. Councilor Mullens gave a Happy Mother' s Day to al the mothers. Councilor Mariscal also gave a Happy Mother' s Day and encouraged the public to come out to council meetings. Councilor Moreau commented on his invite to speak for the Empowered Women' s Group and thanked all the director for responding in a timely manner for him to give his presentation, Mayor Henry also added that the newspaper will be running an add on what is happening in Artesia for the citizens. Adjournment There being to further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6: 21 P. M. on May 09, 2023. iI 11 Jon Henry, i or i riATTEST: z ummer Valverde - City Clerk/ Treasurer i i, ill ii, 4 elk- T.. 4 r. 1 moo• Brio 1 Of ir/ iilii. 1111%t% n4 ,