MILAN, NM – The Board of Trustees had their Regular Meeting on August 17. During this meeting the budget was discussed, a voting delegate was approved for the NMML annual conference, and updates were given regarding the different departments in the Village of Milan.
The meeting began with the approval of minutes for the Regular Meeting held on July 20, The Special Meeting held on August 8 and the Hearing held on July 20. All minutes were approved unanimously. Following this were the actions/ discussions regarding the budgets. The first action/discussion was regarding approval of the municipal court cash journal for July 2023. The municipal court cash journal for July 2023 was accepted.
The next action/discussion was approval of the finance report for July 2023. Everything is in balance for the budget for the new year. July of 2023, they received $272,482.69 in GRT’s, $8.96 in ITG’s and $2,145.31 in CMP’s. Which is about $30,000 dollars above what they predicted. Made a total of 65 payments in July for a total of 96 payables. The finance report for July 2023 was approved by the Board. Action/discussion 8C. Accepance of Final Budget Approval DFA was tabled for a special meeting due to the documents not being ready.
Following this was a resolution for BAR #2. They received grant approval from the state for the State Litter/Beautification Grant. Due to this they adjusted the revenue and expense for the grant to increase by $9,500. The adjusted budget for revenue is $12,447 and the adjusted budget for expenses is $22,054. Also in the bar was an adjustment for building maintenance health insurance for a vacant position. The adjustment was an increase of $17,400 and the adjusted budget is $17,500. BAR #2 was approved by the Board. The Board of Trustees approved for Village Manager Linda Cooke to be the Voting Delegate for the Village of Milan at the 2023 NMMLAnnual Conference, and the alternate will be Trustee James Mercer.
Following the action/discussions were the updates. The first update was by Cooke regarding all departments not including fire, police and projects. The first update was that a firetruck was hit by a semi and the damage was very minor, no one was injured. The animal shelter cannot take any more animals until the 15th. According to Cooke, animal control is doing the best he can, unfortunately his hands are tied. There was a new hire in HR, Sophenia Damron. They have acquired new vehicles, four for the utilities department and one for the finance office.
Fire Chief Daniel Urioste gave his report for the month of July. Urioste began his report speaking about the Firetruck hit on the highway by a semi. He said they need to be more careful, and the truck was stationary. He also mentioned that there was nothing else they could have done. In July the fire department responded to 99 calls, 24 fire calls, 54 EMS and rescue calls and 21 combinations of calls. The Fourth of July went well in Milan and there was only one reported brush fire off Pinon Dr. The Village wide burn ban has been lifted due to the extra moisture Cibola county has been receiving. The department is working on the station one phase two remodel the project was pushed back a week or two. Urioste applied for the Fire Protection Grant and his requested amount was $72,000. The money will be used to replace 30 SCBA cylinders, 5 air packs, and 5 new facepieces. The department will have to start looking for funding to replace their bunker gear which is nearing its lifespan. Urioste attended one day of the NM Fire & EMS EXPO and was nominated by members of the New Mexico EMT Association for a seat on the board of directors. The Milan Fire Department had also proposed to the Tri-State Board to host the 88th annual Tri-state Firemen’s Convention in 2026 and the proposal was accepted.
Police Chief Carl Ustupski then gave his report for the month of July. There were 281 calls for service, 218 offence reports, 14 arrests, 147 traffic stops, 10 auto accidents, 10 alarms, and 26 medical calls. There have been many complaints about the number of dogs running around. A student was attacked by a dog while riding his bike. Officer Kohn and Officer Porter are getting adjusted and doing well, with the additional manpower the department has been more active. Domestics, DWI arrests, and removal of person calls increased in July. Ustupski was able to get an additional $2,000 from a grant to assist in DWI and traffic enforcement efforts. Officer Melvin Torivio is returning to the Village and will fill the last vacancy. The department has several upcoming trainings in the next couple months, active shooter, sex assault training, ARIDE, shooting with ballistic shields, and a few others. Ustupski also reported that they have let go their Lieutenant and he is no longer working with MPD.
Project Manager and Village Clerk Denise Baca gave her report regarding projects. They had to make some insurance claims, one for the transit building, there was a water breaker and the heater. The other claim was regarding the village hall after someone drove into it. TLPA training is required in 2024 to receive federal grant funding. Next meeting, they want to do a punch list for what they are required to do as far as training. They also received a quote for Distinct Ink, for the sign in front of the village hall but they are asking the board to give directions on what they want the sign to look like.
The meeting ended with announcements; The Board of Trustees will hold a special/closed meeting on August 28. The Planning and Zoning Regular Meeting will be held on Thursday September 7 at 4:30 p.m. and the Board of Trustees will hold their Regular Meeting on Thursday September 21 at 5:30 p.m.