City Council

MINUTES OF CITY COUNCIL MEETING ARTESIA, NEW MEXICO AUGUST 12, 2025 The City Council of the City of Artesia, New Mexico met in the City Council Chambers at City Hall on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, at 5: 00 p. m. in regular session with Mayor Jonathan Henry presiding, and the following present to wit: Richard Townley Jeff Youtsey George Mullen Wade Nelson Raul Rodriguez Michael Bunt Ignacio Mariscal Also present: Summer Valverde, City Clerk/ Treasurer Cas Tabor, City Attorney Fatima Salinas, Deputy City Clerk Absent: Jarod Moreau It was determined that a quorum was present. The invocation was given by Council Rodriguez, all joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Henry requested to place items 15. 0 and15. D after 3. C. Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. New Requests for City Facilities: Mayor Henry presented requests: A. * Ratification of Mayor Henry' s approval for Conquistador Council request the use of Baish Park for an Award Recognition on August 2, 2025, from 5: 00 P. M.— 7: 00 P. M. Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. B. * Michael Natividad requests the use of Central Park Gazebo for a Wedding on Saturday, November 1, 2025, from 1: 00 P. M. to 3: 00 P. M. Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. C. * Artesia Clean and Beautiful has requested the use of an area on Eagle Draw Park on JJ Clark between 13th St. and 15th St. on August 16, 2025 at 10: 00 A. M. Also requests 2 barricades and waiver of fees. Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. D. * Consideration and approval for public celebration permit to NMRLD for Red Dirt Black Gold festival to utilize Downshift Brewing Company, LLC, Guadalupe Mountain Brewery and Pecos Flavors.  Minutes, August 12, 2025 Page 2 Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. E. * Consideration approval for Artesia MainStreet to hold the Red Dirt Black Gold Festival, September 11- 13, 2025, for: a. Use of city services and road closures as stated on the application and waiver of fees, b. Resolution 1917 for the Red Dirt Black Gold event on September 11- 13, 2025. Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. City Departments and Employees None. Special Reports None. Period for Hearing Visitors Linda Stevens with Artesia Clean and Beautiful greeted mayor and council and invited the mayor and council to attend the dedication of the mural on JJ Clark on Saturday, August 16, 2025, at 10 am. Consent Agenda Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve the consent agenda as written. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. CONSENT AGENDA AUGUST 12, 2025 1. Approval of Minutes July 22, 2025 July 28, 2025 Special Meeting 2. Consideration of Bids: 3. Contracts, Leases and Agreements: A. * Consideration and approval of Agreement with Artesia Mainstreet for events during the National Championship Air Races. 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: C. Promotion: D. Demotion: E. Transfer: F. Resignation: 1. Accept the resignation of Aliciana Simms, Police Clerk effective August 08, 2025. 2. Accept the resignation of Angel Torrez- Gonzales, Police Officer effective August 13, 2025. 3. Accept the resignation of Saul Peralta Jr., Cemetery Equipment Operator I effective August 15, 2025. 4. Accept the resignation of Melissa Rutledge, Library Clerk effective August 15, 2025. 6. Dates of Hearing: 7. Travel and Training:  Minutes, August 12, 2025 Page 3 A. Police— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the FBI CJIS Working Group Meeting in Greensboro, NC. B. Police— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the Dolan Consulting IA off Duty Investigations online. C. Police— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the Management Skills online. D. Solid Waste— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the Transfer Station Facility Operator Certification Course in Las Cruces, NM. E. Solid Waste— Permission for one ( 1) employee to attend the New Mexico Recycling & Solid Waste Conference in Santa Fe, NM. F. Wastewater Treatment— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the 2025 Fred Ragsdale Memorial Central School. G. Fire— Permission for four( 4) employees to attend the Swift- Water Rescue Technician I& II- Practical in T or C, NM. H. Fire— Permission for four( 4) employees to attend the Swift- Water Rescue Technician Didactic in Carlsbad, NM. I. Fire— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the Texas EMS Academy in Corpus Christi, TX. J. Fire— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the RLBB Sparrow Entry Class in Carson City, NV. K. Police— Permission for two( 2) employees to attend the Instructor Development in Albuquerque, NM. L. Police— Permission for three( 3) employees to attend the Pat McCarthy' s Street Crimes Tactical Training in Rio Rancho, NM. M. Finance— Permission for one( 1) employee to attend the Conducting a Records Inventory and Purge Course online. N. HR— Permission for two ( 2) employees to attend the Conducting a Records Inventory and Purge Course online. 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. Comments from Public Officials and Contracted Services Haley Klein with Artesia Chamber of Commerce greeted mayor and council and gave an update on the Air Races for September. Committee Reports A. Budget and Finance— City Clerk/ Treasurer Summer Valverde stated discussion was on ending cash balance. B. Personnel— Councilor Mullen stated discussion was to move forward with adding City Administrator to the classification plan, and for HR to give information to personnel and/ or council when people are department exiting, such as their exit interviews, etc. C. Police and Fire— None. D. Safety— Mayor Pro tem Youtsey reported a discussion on the Teladoc system. E. Recreation— None. F. Infrastructure/ Planning ( Streets, Garage, Cemetery, Parks, Water, Wastewater, Solid Waste, Facility Maintenance, Project Management, Code Enforcement, Permits and Inspections)— Mayor Pro tem Youtsey reported the Infrastructure Committee discussion on a citizen interested in purchasing a small city owned lot, a proposal cell tower on the meal site property, and discussed and reviewed utility rates. The Planning Committee discussed options for solving ongoing property boundary issues and recommendations of instilling the 2- hour parking in areas between Main and Quay.  Minutes, August 12, 2025 Page 4 G. Government— None. Personnel A. * Stats B. * Consideration and approval of Resolution 1916 Amendment to the Classification Plan to add City Administrator Position. Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair presented safety stats and stood for questions. There were none. Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve Resolution 1916. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. RESOLUTION 1916 Public Safety 1) * Stats Commander Letcher greeted mayor and council and presented stats. 2) * Ratification of Mayor Henry' s approval of professional service agreement with CGR and the City of Artesia. Commander Letcher presented the agreement with CGR. Councilor Bunt moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Rodriguez and upon vote, the motion passed. 1) * Stats Fire Chief Kevin Hope presented stats and stood for questions. There were none. 2) * Consideration and approval for Richard Champion to sublease the ground lease at the Artesia Airport with Skydive New Mexico. Fire Chief Kevin Hope presented the sublease the ground lease. Councilor Rodriguez and Councilor Mullen moved to approve to allow the sublease to be signed out the council. Seconded by Councilor Bunt and upon vote, the motion passed. Infrastructure A. Community Development: 1) * Stats Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair greeted mayor and council and presented stats. Mr. Landfair also informed the public on food trucks and to make sure they have the appropriate paperwork. Also, for building inspections, the electrical inspector is out on FMLA and will need to go through the state for electrical inspections. There were no questions. B. Infrastructure: Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair updated mayor and council on projects around the city. City Attorney None. City Clerk A. * Consideration and approval of agreement with DFA for the Capital Appropriation Projects 25- J2977, 25- J2978, 25- J2979, and 25- J2980. City Clerk/ Treasurer Summer Valverde presented the agreements. Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. B. * Consideration and approval for public celebration permit to NMRLD for JS Ward & Sons 100th Anniversary Celebration.  Minutes, August 12, 2025 Page 5 City Clerk Summer Valverde presented the NMRLD. Councilor Roriguez moved to approve. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon vote, the motion passed. City Clerk Valverde updated mayor and council on the water billing. Mrs. Valverde then introduced Caryle to update the council on the Senior Center Event on August 21, 2025, from 10: 00 am to 2: 00 pm at the senior center. Mayor A. Executive session: In accordance with the State of New Mexico Open Meetings Act, Section 10- 1 5- 1-( H)( 8)( 2): a. Limited Personnel Matter— Infrastructure i. Action because of executive session Councilor Rodriguez moved to approve to go into executive session. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and upon roll call with the following votes recorded: Aye: Nelson, Townley, Youtsey, Mullen, Rodriguez, Bunt, Mariscal Nay: None. The motion passed. Council recessed to executive session at 6: 00 p. m. Council reconvened at 6: 11 p. m. Councilor Rodriguez moved to reconvene from executive session, limited personnel was discussed, no action take. Seconded by Councilor Mullen and Councilor Mariscal and upon roll call with the following votes recorded: Aye: Mariscal, Bunt, Rodriguez, Mullen, Youtsey, Townley, Nelson Nay: None. Councilor Rodriguez moved to uphold the suspension of an employee in the infrastructure department for the time that was designated. Seconded by Councilor Mullen, Councilor Mariscal, and Mayor Pro tem Youtsey, and upon roll call with the following votes recorded: Aye: Mullen, Youtsey, Townley, Nelson, Mariscal, Bunt, Rodriguez Nay: None. New or other business from Councilors Mayor Pro tern Youtsey stated he is looking forward to watching the Artesia High School Football games. Councilor Rodriguez gave a reminder for Thursday at 6 p. m., the Artesia Bulldogs will be scrimmaging the Las Cruces High Bulldog and will have Hamburgers and, the Artesia JV will be going against Tularosa. Mayor Henry gave thanks to those that have been coming out to minute with the mayor. He gave updates on the pickleball courts and asked the citizens to be vigilant and aware of the school zones and traffic. School is in session now; be care and drive safe. He also gave thanks to Luke on his progress with the website and social media platforms. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8: 26 P.M. on August 12, 2025. 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