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, November 10, 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 Fran Palochak Also present: Maryann Ustick, City Manager George Kozeliski, City Attorney Presented to the Mayor and Councilors were the Minutes of the October 20, 2015 Joint Work Session with the McKinley County Board of Commissioners and the October 27, 2015 Regular Council Meeting. Councilor Palochak made the motion to approve the aforementioned Minutes. Seconded by Councilor Kumar. Roll call: Councilors Palochak, Kumar, Garcia, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. Presented to the Mayor and Councilors were the following Discussion/Action Topics: 1. Proposal to Name the Fitness Center the “Cecil Garcia Fitness Center” — Joe Milosevich and John Pena Mr. Milosevich presented the proposal to name the Fitness Center in honor of former Councilor Cecil Garcia. Mr. Milosevich said Mr. Garcia was a strong proponent and advocate for sports, recreation and physical fitness in the community. He also said M. Garcia promoted the expansion of the facility, exercise equipment and the activities at the Fitness Center. The Mayor and Councilots also spoke in favor of the proposal. They recalled former Councilor Garcia’s passion for physical fitness, his tenacity in pursuing ways to improve the Fitness Center and the devotion he had to the constituents in his district and the citizens of the entire community, Following discussion, Councilor Garcia made the motion to approve the proposal to name the Fitness Center the “Cecil Garcia Fitness Center.” Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Garcia, Landavazo, Palochak, Kumar, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 11/10/2015 Page 2 2. Acceptance of an Easement from KRJG, Inc. for Reach 27.6, Project #6 of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project (NGWSP) George Kozeliski, — City Attorney Mr. Kozeliski said KRJG, Inc., the owner of KGAK radio, has granted an easement to the City of Gallup over one tract of its land at their tower site north of town. The easement will be used for the eastern reach of the NGWSP. Councilor Kumar made the motion to accept the easement from KRJG, Inc. for Reach 27.6, Project #6 of the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Project. Seconded by CounciIor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Garcia, Landavazo, Palochak, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 3. Gallup Fire Fighters Union-International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4296 —City of Gallup Collective Bargaining Agreement Kb Abeit, — Human Resources Director Ms. Abeita presented the proposed agreement which has been ratified by employees within the Gallup Fire Fighters bargaining unit. She provided an overview of the key provisions of the proposed two-year agreement as follows: the composition of the bargaining unit includes the positions of Firefighter 1, Firefighter 2 and the Lieutenants (Battalion Chiefs are no longer a part of the bargaining unit); clarification of the tiers in the vacation accrual table of the agreement; payment of a one-time $500 non-recurring lump sum to the firefighters to be subject to statutory taxes and deductions; the removal of the “me too” clause which pertains to across the board increases to be paid to the firefighters if such increases are paid to any other group of employees; no automatic step increases during the term of the contract unless both parties negotiate pay increases for Fiscal Year 2017 during the reopening of negotiations 12 months from the date of the contract execution; an improved process for approving and maintaining documentation for all shift exchanges; and new language concerning shift exchanges which designates the level of firefighters that may trade shifts with other level firefighters. The fiscal impact for the lump sum payment will be $20,290 for Fiscal Year 2016. Patty Holland, Chief Financial Officer, provided an explanation on why the $500 lump sum to be paid to the firefighters is subject to statutory taxes and deductions. Councilor Palochak made the motion to approve the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the Gallup Fire Fighters Union-International Association of Fire Fighters Local 4296 and the City of Gallup. Seconded by Councilor Kumar. Roll call: Counciior. Palochak, Kumar, Garcia, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 11110/2015 Page 3 4. Request for Street Closures for the Annual Christmas Parade to be Held on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 1:00 P.M. David Hinkle, — President/CEO, Gallup-Mckinley County Chamber of Commerce Gretchen Herriman, Gallup-Mckinley County Chamber of Commerce, presented the request to close Aztec Avenue from Sixth Street to First Street for the parade. The annual parade route is being changed from Coal Avenue to Aztec Avenue due to presence of overhead lighting on Coal Avenue and the presence of hot air balioon burners being ignited during the parade. Councilor Kumar made the motion to approve the request for street closures for the Annual Christmas Parade to be held on Saturday, December 5, 2015 at 1:00 P.M. subject to the completion of the event permit for the parade. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors kumar, Landavazo, Palochak, Garcia, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. Comments by Public on Non-Agenda Items None. Comments by Mayor and City Councilors Councilor Garcia commended Ms. Abeita, Ms. Holland and Eric Babcock, Fire Chief, for their work in negotiating the collective bargaining agreement with the Gallup Fire Fighters. She also recognized the family of former Councilor Garcia who were present in the audience. Councilor Garcia also said the Veterans Helping Veterans are holding a candlelight vigil this evening and she encouraged everyone to attend. Councilor Kumar expressed his condolences to the family of former Councilor Garcia. Councilor Kumar commended the Mayor and Councilors for their action to name the Fitness Center after Cecil Garcia. Councilor Kumar also encouraged everyone to attend the Veterans Day parade tomorrow. Councilor Landavazo thanked Mr. Milosevich and Mr. Pena for submitting their proposal to the Mayor and Councilors to name the Fitness Center after Cecil Garcia. Councilor Landavazo also thanked the Garcia family for being in attendance at the meeting. Councilor Palochak invited everyone to attend the Veterans Day parade and activities tornorrow as well as the Veterans Helping Veterans candlelight vigil. She will also hold her neighborhood meeting this coming Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Stagecoach Elementary School, Regarding the action taken to name the Fitness Center after Cecil Garcia, Mayor MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 11/10/2015 Page 4 McKinney said it was a good decision for the Council to be passionate about what they care about in this community. Mayor McKinney said he had the pleasure of visiting with the Indigenous Australian Rugby Team this afternoon. He said the Aussies were in Gallup to play against the Indigenous Warriors, a local rugby team, and will be touring the Navajo Nation in the next few days. Mayor McKinney also encouraged everyone to honor Veterans by taking part in the Veterans Day parade and activities tomorrow. Gregory Ballenger, a local artist, will be recognized during the Veterans Day activities for his work in painting the portraits of seven local veterans on buildings in the downtown area. Comments by City Manager Ms. Ustick said there will be a Community Open House this Thursday at 5:00 p.m. regarding the draft Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan and the Arts and Cultural District Plan. Ms. Ustick said both plans as well as the Growth Management Master Plan Update will be presented to the Mayor and Councilors for their consideration in the upcoming weeks. Although there are significant items that will be presented to the Mayor and Councilors for their review and action, none of the items will be ready for the November 24, 2015 Regular Meeting; therefore, Ms. Ustick recommended canceling the meeting. There was no objection from the Mayor and Councilors. Mayor McKinney recommended a review of the meeting schedule for the month of December since the second meeting of the month falls on the week of Christmas. Ms. Ustick said a Speciai Meeting may be called in December for the purpose of taking action on the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan and the Arts and Cultural District Plan. There being no further business, Councilor Kumar made the motion to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Councilor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Garcia, Landavazo, Palochak, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. Jackie McKinney, Mayor ATTEST: /7 YI Alfd Abelta I!, Ci rC-1erk Approved 12/8/2015