Cannabis ordinance and awards presented to commission

CIBOLA COUNTY N.M. – The Cibola County Board of Commissioners held a regular commission meeting on Thursday, August 26 at 5 p.m. With an agenda brimful of items, the commissioners approved the agenda as presented and turned their attention to a public comment from a community member, requesting that the four highest priorities of the Wildfire Protection Plan, adopted by the commission last year, be addressed, and that a wildland urban specialist position would be advertised for Cibola County. County Manager Kate Fletcher told the commenter that she would like to meet with them and Cibola County Emergency Manager Dustin Middleton to discuss the issue further.

The commission then moved onto a workshop item to discuss a cannabis ordinance. With the State of New Mexico recently passing legislation regarding the legalization of marijuana, counties across the state now have some decisions to make about the regulations they are permitted to set in their areas. According to County Attorney Dave Pato, the only regulations that the state has permitted the counties to have control over are time, place, and manner restrictions – meaning restrictions can be made “to regulate the hours during which cannabis products may be sold and the areas in which cannabis products may be consumed…” as stated on the proposed Cibola County Recreational and Medical Cannabis Regulations Ordinance. Some examples Pato provided included prohibiting cannabis facilities being established within 300 feet or so near schools, churches, or certain neighborhoods.

This ordinance has not been finalized or adopted, but simply needed approval for publishing so that the commission can have a public hearing in a few weeks in order to receive feedback from the public on the ordinance, make adjustments, and then adopt the ordinance at that time. Commissioner Robert Windhorst was not happy with the predicament, commenting, “We can’t fight it, it’s here to stay. Going to Colorado, it’s completely ruined that state as far as I’m concerned…. I will tell you honestly, I just have a real issue with all of this. Our state needs more motivation to get things done, not more drugs to hold us back.” Commissioner Ralph Lucero added another perspective, saying that he believed it was not much different than alcohol and that restrictions are in place for alcohol use and distribution as well. Regardless of the differing opinions, the staff was later directed to move forward with the process of publishing the ordinance. The board moved on to

The board moved on to approve meeting minutes for the July 22 regular commission meeting. Finance Director Paul Ludi then presented the budget and finance report, stating that the NM Department of Finance and Administration approved their final budget. Ludi played a video for the board, showing an official from the Government Finance Officers Association congratulating the Cibola County Commission for winning GFOA’s “distinguished budget presentation award.” This is the first time Cibola County has won this award. County Planning Coordinator Anna Larson then provided an update on an initiative to promote the area via a GSLI marketing campaign and lead generation process. Thousands of emails have been sent out as a part of this initiative, and according to Larson, the county is in need of bigger buildings to meet the standards that some of the bigger companies and projects are looking for when deciding whether or not to come to Cibola County.

Next, Jeff Kiely from the Northwestern New Mexico Council of Governments presented Commissioner Martha Garcia with the Regional Champion Award, through Zoom. Kiely was asked to present Garcia with the award at the Thursday meeting due to the fact that Garcia had to leave the 2021 NWNMCOG Luncheon, held in Cibola County, because of a family emergency and therefore did not receive a proper presentation. Kiely has known Garcia for over 45 years and was honored to present the award to her, saying, “I’ve known Martha all that time, and during that time, she’s held just about every leadership position you can create for that [Ramah Navajo] community… For over four decades, Martha has been a strong, a wise, and dedicated leader on behalf of the people of the Ramah Navajo community, of Cibola County, and of the State of New Mexico. I have found her too always be thoughtful and well-informed. I think she’s been a steadfast champion of her community’s struggle for self-determination and development.”

Following that award presentation, the commission moved on to new business items and approved the following: a consideration of MOU between the Office of Secretary of State and Cibola County; a consideration of resolution 21- 42, authorizing the auction of 40 county vehicles; a direction to the staff regarding the publication of the title and general subject matter of the cannabis ordinance to proceed with publishing; a consideration of resolution 21-43, adopting an Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP); a consideration of resolution 21-44, resolution 21- 45, and resolution 21-46, for the LGRF CO-OP agreement; a consideration of NWNMCOG’s FY22 contract and updated twoyear work program, compensating the COG for their assistance; and, finally, a consideration to approve requisitions over $20,000, including new vehicle and equipment purchases.

Manager Fletcher referred to resolution 21-42 as an event that keeps a “revolving door” going for the county, so that they have money coming in as well, without wasting it on continual vehicle maintenance. In regard to the approved ICIP, Cibola County Projects Coordinator Judy Horacek reported that the ICIP is big this year, not necessarily big compared other government entities, but big for Cibola County. Horacek said that the NWNMCOG recommended a number of projects, but also that there is simply a lot of funding being supplied right now and Horacek wants to ensure that Cibola County is on the receiving end of that. Manager Fletcher said that Horacek often refers to the ICIP as a wish list, but Fletcher said that it is also a tool that can be used to help Cibola County and all of its encompassed communities.

Lastly, the board of commissioners went into executive session to discuss matters relating to BOCC v. Mallinckrodt, and City of Albuquerque et al. v. TRD. Upon coming out of executive session and entering open session, the board agreed to direct the staff to delegate authority to the county manager regarding these issues and signing off on settlement packages at the appropriate time.

A special commission meeting will be held on Thursday, September 9 at 5 p.m. The next regular commission meeting will be Thursday, September 23 at 5 p.m. Cibola County Offices are going to be closed Monday, September 6 in observation of the Labor Day Holiday.