City Council

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Gallup City Council, City of Gallup, New Mexico, held in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 110 West Aztec Avenue, at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 22, 2015. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jackie McKinney. Upon roll call, the following were present: Mayor: Jackie McKinney Councilors: Linda Garcia Allan Landavazo Yogash Kumar Absent: Fran Palochak, Councilor Also present: Maryann Ustick, City Manager George Kozeliski, City Attorney Mayor McKinney advised that Councilor Palochak was attending meetings with the New Mexico Municipal League. Presented to the Mayor and Councilors were the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of September 8, 2015. Councilor Garcia made the motion to approve the August 25, 2015 Regular Meeting Minutes. Seconded by Councilor Kumar. Roll call: Councilors Garcia, Kumar, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. The Mayor and Councilors presented a Proclamation to Eric Babcock, Fire Chief, and representatives of the Gallup Fire Department, declaring the week of October 4-10, 2015 as Fire Prevention Week. Presented to the Mayor and Councilors were the following Discussion/Action Topics: 1. Transfer of Property to Gallup-Mckinley School District No. 1 — George Kozeliski, City Attorney Mr. Kozeliski said the School District has requested 3.46 acres of City owned property located directly north of the Fitness Center for the construction of the new Lincoln Elementary School. He recommended approval of the quitclaim deed to transfer the property to the School District. Discussion followed concerning the transfer of the property to the School District which consists of Romero Park and the old skate park and the School District’s plans to construct a new playground toward the front of the new building for public access. MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 9/22/2015 Page 2 Councilor Garcia made the motion to approve the transfer of property to the Gallup McKinley School District No. 1. Seconded by Councilor Kumar. Roll call: Councilors Garcia, Kumar, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 2. Request for a Street Closure for the St. Francis Parish Fiesta to be Held Sunday, October 4, 2015 Rick Macias — Mr. Macias presented the request to close Wilson Avenue between Second and Third Streets for the annual event. Councilor Kumar made the motion to approve the request for a street closure for the St. Francis Parish Fiesta to be held on Sunday, October 4, 2015. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Landavazo, Garcia, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 3. Request for Street and Alley Closures for the Second Street Arts Festival to be Held Saturday, November 21, 2015 —Carol Sarath and Maria Chavez, gallupARTS Ms. Sarath and Ms. Chavez presented the request to close Second Street between Coal and Aztec Avenues and the alleyway between First and Third Streets for the first annual event. Councilor Garcia asked about the certificate of insurance for the event. Ms. Sarath said the insurance will be in place for the event. Councilor Landavazo made the motion to approve the request for street and alley closures for the Second Street Arts Festival to be held on Saturday, November 21, 2015. Seconded by Councilor Kumar. Roll call: Councilors Landavazo, Kumar, Garcia, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 4. Grant of Easement from Mckinley County to the City of Gallup for Reach 27.6, Project #6 of the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project (NGWSP) — George Kozeliski, City Attorney Mr. Kozeliski said the County has granted an easement to the City of Gallup over its property near Montoya Boulevard and the Miyamura Overpass. The easement will be used for the eastern reach of the NGWSP. MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 9/22/2015 Page 3 Councilor Kumar made the motion to approve the Grant of Easement from Mckinley County to the City of Gallup for Reach 27.6, Project #6 of the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project. Seconded by Councilor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Garcia, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 5. Resolution No. R2015-29; Condemnation of Certain Real Property Located at 822 East Aztec Avenue Clyde “C.B.” Strain, Planning — Director Mr. Strain said the property has fallen under disrepair due to a lack of regular maintenance that it has rendered the building unfit for human occupancy and a threat to the public’s health, safety and welfare. As of this date, no action has been taken by the property owner to repair or remove the nuisance at the property. The property owner has been cited in the past for code violations, including weeds, trash and debris on the property. Nearby property owners have also complained about the code violations as transients are trespassing through neighboring properties to gain access to the dilapidated structure. Mr. Strain recommended approval of the proposed Resolution to abate the code violations which currently exist at the property. Mayor McKinney asked if the property owner at 822 East Aztec Avenue was present to address the matter before the Council. The property owner was not present. Councilor Kumar asked if the property owner contacted City staff regarding the code violations. Mr. Strain responded no; however, staff has sent several notices to the property owner regarding the code violations as well as notice to the owner regarding the proposed condemnation. If the proposed Resolution is approved by the Mayor and Councilors, Mr. Strain said staff will send notice to the property owner regarding the owner’s right to appeal of the condemnation. Mr. Kozeliski said he will personally contact the property owner to ensure the owner was notified. Councilor Landavazo made the motion to approve Resolution No. R201 5-29. Seconded by Councilor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Landavazo, Garcia, kumar, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 6. Appointment of Ron Samarzdia to the Lodger’s Tax Committee — Mayor Jackie McKinney Based on the resignation of Anna Dallago from the Lodger’s Tax Committee, Mayor Mckinney recommended the appointment of Ron Samarzdia, General Manager of the Hilton Garden Inn, to fill the vacancy. Mayor McKinney thanked Ms. Dallago for her years of service and dedication by serving on the Committee. MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 9/22/201 5 Page 4 Councilor Garcia made the motion to approve the appointment of Ron Samarzdia to the Lodger’s Tax Committee. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Garcia, Landavazo, Kumar, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 7. Resolution No. R2015-30; Joint Resolution with Mckinley County Directing the Allocation and Distribution of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Projected Liquor Excise Tax Revenue and Prior Years Un-Allocated Revenues Received George kozeliski, City Attorney — Mr. kozeliski said the City conducted an emergency procurement for the operation of the Gallup Detox Center after October 2, 2015. The proposed Joint Resolution with the County provides for the allocation of Liquor Excise Tax (LET) revenues as follows: $378,339.39 of carry forward receipts from previous years and $121,660.61 of FY 2016 projected revenue to the City of Gallup for payment of operations at the Gallup Detox Center; $300,000 of FY 2016 LET projected revenue to the City of Gallup (to be used for protective custody); $300,000 of FY 2016 LET projected revenue to Mckinley County ($200,000 for the JSACC program(s) and $100,000 for the County DWI program(s)); and the remaining FY 2016 projected revenue of $378,339.39 shall be reserved for future discussion and allocation. Councilor kumar made the motion to approve Resolution No. R2015-30. Seconded by Councilor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Garcia, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 8. Agreement with Na’Nizhoozhi Center, Inc. (NCI) for Administration and Operation of the Detox Center Maryann Ustick, City Manager — Ms. Ustick said the Navajo Nation has provided the City with notice that they are terminating their agreement to provide detoxification services effective October 2, 2015. To ensure that services at the Gallup Detox Center are not interrupted, an emergency Request For Proposals (RFP) was issued by the City. Four proposals were received on September 16, 2015 and were evaluated on the basis of qualifications, cost and ability to commence services immediately. The proposal submitted by NCI was determined to be the most responsive; therefore, Ms. Ustick recommended approval of the agreement with NCI in the amount of $404,850 for a five month period contingent on NCI providing a certificate of insurance prior to the commencement of services. Dr. Kevin Foley, Executive Director, NCI, answered questions posed by the Mayor and Councilors concerning the commencement of services by NCI, the tout of the Gallup Detox Center facilities and areas of the facilities that need to be addressed, the length of time for holding clients, NCI’s operation of their facility in the Fuhs Industrial Park in MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 9/22/2015 Page 5 addition to the Gallup Detox Center, and the governing board members of NCI. Ms. Ustick also provided feedback on the responsiveness of the proposal submitted by NCI as well as the component in the proposed agreement for providing emergency shelter during the winter months. Following discussion, Councilor Garcia made the motion to approve the Agreement with Na’Nizhoozhi Center, Inc. (NCI) for Administration and Operation of the Detox Center contingent on NCI providing a certificate of insurance to the City. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Garcia, Landavazo, Kumar, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. Presented to the Mayor and Councilors was the following Presentation and Information Item: 1. Fire Hazard Awareness — Jesus “Chuy” Morales, Fire Marshal Fire Marshal Morales provided a short video presentation on the 2015 Fire Prevention Week theme, “Hear the Beep Where You Sleep, Every Bedroom Needs a Working Smoke Alarm!” He provided an overview on the Fire Department’s school visits on fire prevention and information on the newly remodeled safety house. Fire Marshal Morales also provided a power point presentation on fire safety and prevention. Overall, he asked all citizens to cut and remove all weeds and dried vegetation from their properties to prevent fires. Discussion followed concerning the hazards created by weeds and dried vegetation throughout the city; the City’s code enforcement efforts on the removal of weeds and rubbish on private properties; the burden of responsibility for removing weeds and rubbish in the alley ways and City rights-of-way; the exposure of individuals to glass, needles and snakes in areas where mass amounts of weeds and rubbish exist; the pretreatment and application of herbicides for controlling weeds in the City rights-of- way; and the removal of weeds and rubbish in hazardous areas on a case by case basis. Councilor Kumar made the motion to adjourn into closed session for the purpose of discussing collective bargaining strategy preliminary to collective bargaining negotiations. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Landavazo, Garcia, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. The Mayor and Councilors adjourned into closed executive session pursuant to §10-15- 1-H(S) NMSA 1978 Comp. (as revised). MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 9/22/2015 Page 6 Following the closed session, Councilor Kumar made the motion to reconvene the regular meeting. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Landavazo, Garcia, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. Mr. Kozeliski certified for the record that the mailers discussed during the closed session were limited to collective bargaining strategy preliminary to collective bargaining negotiations. Comments by Public on Non-Agenda Items None. Comments by Mayor and City Councilors Councilor Kumar said he was glad that NCI submitted a proposal to assume the operation of the detox center. He was also happy to see an emergency shelter component included in the agreement. Councilor Landavazo encouraged everyone to buy, believe and build Gallup. Mayor McKinney said he was previously informed that Steve Coleman wanted to address the Council. Since Mr. Coleman stepped out of the Council Chambers during the Public Comment segment of the meeting, Mayor McKinney allowed Mr. Coleman to speak at this time. Mr. Coleman expressed his concerns about a Police Department policy that prohibits detectives from being called out after 4:30 p.m. Mr. Coleman said he asked for the detectives’ assistance after 4:30 p.m. because he and his wife thought they found items that were stolen during a burglary of their store which occurred during the Labor Day Holiday. Mr. Coleman said he was told that the standby detectives would not respond and that the detective handling his case would call him the following day. Ms. Ustick said she spoke with Chief Robert Cron and an investigation will be conducted on the matter. Ms. Ustick also said she will report back to the Mayor and Councilors with the results of the investigation. Comments by City Manager Ms. Ustick said a work session will be held prior to the next regular meeting on October 13, 2015 regarding electric power supply options. She has also been in contact with the County Manager regarding a joint meeting with the Mckinley County Board of Commissioners to discuss legislative priorities for the City and County. The joint meeting has been tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, 2015 at 1:30 p.m. MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 9/22/2015 Page 7 There being no further business, Councilor Kumar made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Garcia, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. kcKiny,ior AU ST: Alfreó”Abeita II, CiLC1rk Approved 10/13/2015