Grants’ new government performs housecleaning and cemetery rule changes
GRANTS, N.M. – The City of Grants is back to having a full government. When he was elected to mayor, Erik Garcia still had two years left on his term as a city councilor, because he became mayor the seat was left vacant and he could appoint someone to fill the seat. Garcia nominated Zachary Gutierrez, principal at Los Alamitos Middle School, to the position. Gutierrez was sworn in and the council began its regular work with a fully staffed government. The nearly two-and-a-half hour long meeting included a restructuring of government posts, a change to cemetery rules, and a new plan to help fix the library roof which has been in significant disrepair for years.
When the meeting opened all members of the government were present: Councilor Beverly Michael, Councilor George Garcia, and Councilor Fred Rodarte joined Mayor Garcia for the first full meeting of the new government.
After a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance, councilors jumped right into their work.
A Full Government
Because a new government recently took the reigns of the city, they had some housecleaning responsibilities to do. These are efforts that ensure all people in the City of Grants have representation in their government, and that no person loses their representation in government.
Swearing in a Councilor
Unanimously, the Grants City Council voted to confirm Mayor Garcia’s pick, Zachary Gutierrez to the City Council. He was sworn in by City Clerk Frances Salas, and took his seat on the council.
Councilor Beverly
Michael said that she had the opportunity to meet with Councilor Gutierrez and found him to be positive, saying, “I think he can be a good part of the team.” Councilors Garcia and Rodarte also had the opportunity to meet with Gutierrez and both voted to confirm him to the post.
By swearing Councilor Gutierrez in, the people who live in District 1 once again have full representation to their city government.
Mayor Pro Tem
After the government became fully staffed again, it became time to strengthen the government and ensure that, in the event of an absence of the mayor, the government can still function.
Mayor Garcia selected Councilor George Garcia to be his Mayor Pro Tem. As Pro Tem (meaning Pro Tempore, a Latin word loosely translated into ‘for the time being’) Councilor Garcia will serve as mayor of the city when Mayor Garcia is unavailable. The council unanimously voted to approve the decision.
Mayor Garcia explained that he wants to give each councilor the opportunity to serve as Pro Tem because they were all elected by the people of the city.
This decision ensures that even when the mayor is not available, the City of Grants government will not faulter.
“Mr. Garcia is a man of honor,” Mayor Garcia said of the councilor, “Good things are coming.”
Executive Board Appointments
Apart from their day jobs and basic responsibilities as government leaders, city councilors must also fulfill other duties. Serving as executive members of the city, councilors are called upon by the mayor to represent the city in positions of importance. Because the old government is gone, many positions needed to be filled.
One appointment to the Northwest New Mexico Regional Solid Waste Authority was required. Mayor Garcia appointed Councilor Garcia to this position, hoping to use the city’s power on the board to leverage waste management in a way that would start generating revenue and making money for the city.
Mayor Garcia nominated Councilor Michael to the Cibola Communities Economic Development Foundation Board, with City Manager Donald Jaramillo as the alternative if Councilor Michael cannot make it.
To the Transit Authority, who manage the Carrot Express, Mayor Garcia nominated Councilor Rodarte and Councilor Gutierrez, and maintained the former government’s appointment of Michelle Maes to the post.
To the Northwestern New Mexico Council of Governments, Mayor Garcia appointed himself and Manager Jaramillo.
The council voted unanimously to accept Mayor Garcia’s appointments. With these important positions filled, the people of the City of Grants once again have full representation in their government.
Cemetery Rule Change
The Grants Cemetery Board recently changed their rules after running into an issue concerning the sale of burial plots. After purchasing a burial plot, the purchaser becomes the owner of that section of land; the city recently refunded a person for their purchase of the plot, which is not common practice.
The transfer of burial plots can cause a legal issue for the city. To prevent this, the board changed the rules so that no person can be refunded for the purchase of their plot. The City of Council agreed with this rule change after learning that this is a common policy across the state and country.
Unanimously, the councilors voted in favor of changing the rules and barring future refunds.
Library Roof
The Grants Public Library has had a serious issue since moving from the Mother Whiteside Memorial building to the old Alcoe building: The roof. The roof has historically leaked, the Cibola Citizen has ran several stories in the past about the failing roof but was met with apathy from the former government.
After complaints from local citizens, the board unanimously voted to approve a measure which would coat the top of the roof to prevent leaks and fix the damages. The measure came after a secondary review of the roof found that putting additional weight on the ceiling or roof might cause more damage.
The council approved the measure to coat the roof after Manager Jaramillo said items or lighting could be placed on the roof after a “case-by-case” review.
Change of Pace
The April 21 meeting was the first of the new government, and was a change of pace from the previous government.
The previous government was full of infighting and political strife. This first regular meeting of Mayor Garcia’s government provided a relief from the chaos of the past, prompting many members of the public to congratulate the mayor and councilors for their work.
In a display of unity, Councilor Fred Rodarte offered Mayor Garcia a candy when his throat became dry. The new government is looking to change the way things were ran in the past to advance the interests of every person in Grants.