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, March 22, 2016. 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 Regular Meeting of March 8, 2016. Councilor Palochak made the motion to approve the aforementioned Minutes. Seconded by Councilor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Palochak, Garcia, Kumar, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. The Mayor and Councilors presented a Commendation to Viola Hoskie, 2016 Golden Apple Award Winner. The Mayor and Councilors also presented a Proclamation declaring the week of April 10-16, 2016 as National Library Week. Mary Ellen Pellington, Library Director, accepted the Proclamation on behalf of the Octavia Fellin Public Library. Presented to the Mayor and Councilors were the following Discussion/Action Topics: 1. Ordinance No. S2016-2; Boardman Land Development Company Annexation Unit 2 Clyde (C.B.) Strain, Planning Director — Mr. Strain presented the request by VJ Holdings, LLC, property owners, for annexation of the following described territory: Boardman Land Development Company Annexation Unit 2, being an annexation of a portion of Tract 5, north of Aztec Avenue, of the Boardman Land Development Company Division, containing 3.07 acres more or less, at 2800 East Historic Highway 66. Based on the property owners request for a subdivision, it was recently discovered that the subject property is a county island within the city. Although the surrounding properties were annexed into the city over time, it is unknown why the northern portion of Tract 5 was never annexed. The proposed annexation is necessary to allow for the subdivision and development of the property MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 3/22/201 6 Page 2 under the City’s Subdivision Regulations and Land Development Standards. The Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the request and sends a positive recommendation to the Mayor and Councilors for approval of the annexation. Discussion followed concerning the location of the land and the collection of taxes for the subject property. Councilor Kumar made the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 62016-2. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Landavazo, Palochak, Garcia, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 2. Proposed Budget for Red Rock Park Roof Reconstruction Projects — Stan Henderson, Public Works Director Mr. Henderson said the roofs of the museum wing and the hospitality/concession building at Red Rock Park are in poor shape and need replacement before the onset of the summer monsoon rains. The museum roof protects valuable artifacts that are susceptible to water damage and the hospitality roof covers a critical support building for arena operations and events. Mr. Henderson recommended the following: establishing a project budget of $350,000 for the reconstruction of both roofs; contracting with Wilson and Company for the project design and construction inspection through the Cooperative Educational Services (CES) Contract; and contracting with Progressive Roofing for the reconstruction of both roofs through the CES Contract. Ms. Ustick said the Risk Management Fund may be used to pay for the project since the City’s artifacts are at risk due to the substandard condition of the roof. Discussion followed concerning the protection of the artifacts at the museum during construction. Councilor Palochak made the motion to approve the proposed budget and staff’s recommendations for the Red Rock Park Roof Reconstruction Projects. Seconded by Councilor Garcia. Roll call: Councilors Palochak, Garcia, Kumar, Landavazo, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. 3. Write-off of Bad Debts — Patty Holland, Chief Financial Officer Ms. Holland presented a listing of the City’s bad debts on terminated utility accounts that are four years old or more, terminated utility accounts that are bankruptcy cases, and outstanding accounts receivable invoices that are four years old or more and have been determined as uncollectable. The total amount of the terminated utility accounts is MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 3/22/2016 Page 3 $476,524.40 and the total amount of the miscellaneous accounts receivable invoices is $108,563.33. City staff usually presents the bad debts to the Mayor and Councilors to be written-off on an annual basis; however, Cty staff has focused its efforts during the past few years on addressing mailers to achieve a clean audit. Discussion followed concerning the City’s collection efforts in previous years, the recommendation for the use of outside credit reporting agencies to collect the City’s outstanding debts, the improvements that were noted in the City’s 2015 Audit regarding the City’s collection efforts, the statute of limitations for collecting the City’s outstanding debts, the possibility of filing legal action against those owing the outstanding amounts, and the improvements made to the City’s ordinances and policies concerning delinquent utility accounts. Councilor Landavazo asked Ms. Holland to report back to the Council regarding staff’s findings on the use of outside credit reporting agencies. Councilor Kumar asked that future bad debt listings to be submitted to the Council by date rather than by customer name. Following discussion, Councilor Kumar made the motion to approve the write-off of bad debts as presented. Seconded by Councilor Landavazo. Roll call: Councilors Kumar, Landavazo, Palochak, Garcia, and Mayor McKinney all voted yes. The following Presentation and Information Items were presented to the Mayor and Cou ncilors: 1. Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month Event to be Held April 2, 2016 Charles Reado, Mckinley County Protective Services — Mr. Reado provided information about the upcoming event, which will take place at the Gallup Mckinley County Schools Student Support Center. He also extended an invitation to the Mayor, Councilors and all citizens to participate in the event. 2. 2016 Gallup Authors Festival, “A Celebration of Cultures” Library — Mary Ellen Pellington, Director, Octavia Fellin Public Library Ms. Pellington provided an overview of the festival, which will take place April 8-9, 2016 at the Octavia Fellin Public Library. The event will consist of 32 southwestern authors participating in the event. She invited the Mayor, Councilors and the public to attend the festival, to meet the authors and to hear them speak. MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 3/22/2016 Page 4 3. Update on Film Liaison Activities — Lisa Rodriguez, Film Liaison Ms. Rodriguez provided a summary of the activities and services provided as the City’s Film Liaison. She also provided information concerning her professional affiliations and plans for future ideas. Discussion followed concerning the State Film Office and its function as a point of contact for production companies wanting to film in New Mexico and the recent production that took place on the east side of town. Councilor Kumar asked Ms. Rodriguez to provide a presentation to the Mayor and Councilors following every film production. Comments by Public on Non-Agenda Items None. Comments by Mayor and City Councilors Councilor Palochak said there have been discussions at her Neighborhood District Meetings about motorists failing to stop at the posted stops signs at intersections. She asked all motorists to observe all posted stop signs while driving. Councilor Palochak also wished everyone a Happy Easter. Councilor Landavazo commented on the recent premier of Finding Nemo which was produced in the Navajo language. A couple of years ago, Stat Wars: Episode IV A — New Hope, was also produced in the Navajo language. The Navajo recordings for both films were done in Gallup, which involved representatives from Pixar and Walt Disney. Finding Nemo in the Navajo language is currently being shown, free of charge, at the Red Rock 10. Councilor Landavazo also said there was an article in the Albuquerque Journal concerning the State Auditor’s audit of seven New Mexico cities’ expenditure of 2014 lodger’s tax funds. Gallup was included in the audit. The article reported on the flexibility of the use of lodger’s tax funds and as a result of the audit, all seven cities were in compliance with state law. Councilor Landavazo commended Ms. Holland for properly overseeing the City’s use of its lodger’s tax funds. Councilor Landavazo encouraged everyone to keep believing and to keep building Gallup. Councilor Kumar asked if the neighborhood patrols are being continued. Franklin Boyd, Acting Chief of Police, said the neighborhood patrols may have not been done over a year due to manpower issues. Previously, the patrol tasks were conducted by Community Service Aides (CSAs). Councilor Kumar said certain decisions were made during budget time last year to continue the neighborhood patrols. He asked Acting Chief Boyd to look into the mailer. Discussion followed concerning the staffing levels MINUTES Regular City Council Meeting — 3/22/2016 Page 5 of Sworn Police Officers and CSA’s at the Police Department. Councilor Landavazo said in District 2, he is out exercising every morning at 5:00 a.m. and observes Police Officers patrolling the neighborhoods, rather than CSAs. Councilor Garcia said she will hold a District Neighborhood meeting tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. at the Northside Senior Center. Her guest will be a representative from Metro Dispatch. Councilor Garcia also said she receives complaints at her neighborhood meetings about motorists running stop signs, which prompts local residents to ask for speed bumps in their neighborhoods. Councilor Garcia provided an overview of the Miss Gallup New Mexico Teen Latina Pageant that was held at El Morro Theater this past weekend. Jenelle Garciduenas was crowned as Miss Gallup New Mexico Teen Latina. Councilor Garcia commended Mayor McKinney for participating as a judge at the pageant. Mayor McKinney also provided a summary of the Miss Gallup New Mexico Teen Latina Pageant, which was a successful event. Mayor McKinney asked to be informed if complaints surface about CSAs being funded by liquor excise tax funds. Mayor McKinney commended the City’s Police Officers and CSAs for the work they do. Although he knows Police Officers are extremely busy; he encouraged them to increase their traffic enforcement by focusing on drivers who run stop signs. Comments by City Manager Ms. Ustick said the job descriptions have been prepared for staff support for the Recycling Centers at the Larry Brian Mitchel Recreation Center and the Gallup Cultural Center. The Recycling Centers should be staffed within the next 60 days. The City’s Strategic Planning Sessions will be conducted next week as City staff will begin their session next Monday, March 28, 2016. The Mayor and Councilors Session will begin on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. and will continue on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. A City Council Work Session will be held on Tuesday, April 19, 2016 to discuss the City’s Capital Improvement Plan and Budget Proposal for FY 2017. 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. ]kie McKinney, Mor N Alfre/Ab ita II, Ci IrR Approved 4/12/2016