GRANTS, N.M. – At a special Grants City Council on May 6, the city decided to fund six local agencies. The agencies funded were the Cibola Arts Council, Cibola Communities Economic Development Foundation, Grants Pantry, Grants MainStreet Project Inc., Northwestern New Mexico Council of Governments, and Rockin’ 66 Express. The city put special attention on transparency with these funding decisions, making it a point that all funding is contingent on quarterly reporting from the agencies funded. This means that the agencies which received funding will only receive the funds voted on by the council, if they follow the city’s rules on reporting how every single dollar is spent.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, City Manager Donald Jaramillo said that there will be a new group coming to Grants and Cibola County. This group existed in the area before, it is the Cibola Health Council. The council is just getting started, and the community should expect to hear more from this group in the future. The definition of health in the council’s view is “broad” and can include physical and mental health.
Cibola Arts Council
The Cibola Arts Council, which manages the Double Six Art Gallery on Santa Fe Avenue, request $45,000 from the Grants City Council to continue their operations. Manager Jaramillo and Mayor Erik Garcia both expressed a desire to see the art gallery support itself financially.
Last year, the City of Grants awarded the arts council with $45,000, this year, they awarded the council $40,000.
Cibola Communities Economic Development Foundation
CCEDF is a group in Cibola County that sources funding from all three major governments in Cibola, from the county, to the Village of Milan, and the City of Grants. CCEDF requests funding of $40,000 annually, but they have not received this full amount from the City of Grants in several years. Last year, the city funded CCEDF with $30,000.
This year, the request remained the same, but the city only funded the group $25,000, down $15,000 from last year. Mayor Garcia said this was because the organization should have a healthy bank account that will fund the operations they currently have ongoing. Grants Councilor Fred Rodarte asked how the city was sure CCEDF was being accountable with the funds, to which Manager Jaramillo said that CCEDF will be accountable with quarterly reports to the city, and that the county government already has a similar agreement with CCEDF, and he expects the village to do the same next year.
Grants Pantry
In past years, the Grants Pantry has not requested funding from the City of Grants because it was being supported by local donations and the Gallup Pantry. The Gallup Pantry is helping to loosen the reigns on the Grants Pantry so that it can be self-sustaining and support the Cibola Community.
This year, the Grants Pantry requested $50,000, but was awarded $10,000. “It’s a start,” Councilor Beverly Michael said, “It’s a good start.”
Grants MainStreet Project Inc.
The Grants MainStreet Project is working to rebuild after a few years of stagnation were compounded by COVID-19. The group is working diligently to rebuild and be accredited by the state MainStreet organization which is part of the New Mexico State Economic Development Department. Being part of the state EDD opens additional grant funding opportunities for the City of Grants.
Last year, Grants Main-Street Project received no funding from the City of Grants, and went to Cibola County where they received funding. This year, several of the city councilors said that they spoke with MainStreet Executive Director William Yarborough who explained the organization, its importance, and its plans for the future. Councilor Beverly Michael talked about the importance of MainStreet, and how strong the organization can be.
The organization requested $30,000 for the year. The city council awarded Grants Main-Street Project $10,000. Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments NWNMCOG is an entity which helps Grants to find funding opportunities, they assist the city with projects and a whole host of other government issues. The city council called the COG an asset for the City of Grants and agreed to increase their funding to this entity. With additional funding, the City of Grants will receive additional resources from COG, including a full-time liaison to help the city find resources and work on projects.
Last year, the city funded COG $38,200. This year, the city increased the funding to $40,000 after all members of the government applauded and thanked the COG for their work.
Rockin’ 66 Express
Rockin’ 66 Express is commonly known as the Carrot Express, its previous name, and provides a cheap, comfortable, and easily accessible transportation service to the people of Cibola County. It is funded by the City of Grants, Cibola County, and its principal entity, the Village of Milan.
The service offers free rides to patients going to dialysis and for veterans. They requested $52,000, last year the entity received $38,000. This year, the Grants City Council awarded the entity $35,150 in funding.
All entities funded by the city will have their funding contingent on quarterly reporting.