Amerika Rougemont, Reporter
GRANTS, NM - On July 16th, a city meeting lasting about three hours discussed the Verkada Security System, Police Department updates, Animal Care Center, Fire and Rescue updates, and the appointing and re-appointing of people onto boards.
Verkada Facial Recognition Security System Verkada, a security system that features face recognition and tracking, was approved to be installed in three locations throughout the City of Grants. These locations will include the recreation center, followed two weeks later by City Hall, and then Fire Station 1 two weeks after.
“These three locations were selected because they serve as critical hubs for city operations and public access, making them priorities for enhanced security access control.” Kallie Rochlitz explained.
The access control system features instant access management, customized permissions, and rapid lockdown capabilities and is expected to stay in place for a minimum of ten years.
“This investment represents a long term commitment to infrastructure and safety.” Rochlitz stated.
The total cost for this system will be $136,226.73, which will be paid $35,178.96 annually for approximately five years.
Notably, this system has been installed in the Cibola County school district.
Notably, Grants Cibola County Schools approved the installation and implemented it into the district’s schools.
At the July 16th City Council Meeting, Grants Police Chief Maxine Monte and Fire & Rescue Chief Mike Maes gave their monthly reports.
Police Department
“I’m already looking at almost three years in this position and I’m thankful for it. I still enjoy it, but there’s still a lot of work to do.’ Chief Monte stated before she gave the report.
In those thirty days, they dealt with 84 arrests, 1 which was a traffic citation that counts as an arrest since they’re summoned to court, 1 criminal damage to property that resulted in injury to a tree, 1 domestic violence arrest, 1 trespassing arrest, 1 child abuse arrest, 5 DWI arrests, 6 individuals charged with shoplifting, 8 individuals charged with disturbing the peace, 18 individuals charged with various warrants, and 42 individuals charged with drunk and disorderly.
There were 1,146 calls for service, 118 offense reporters, 90 issued citations, and 6 auto accidents.
“I’ve said this before… that we deal with 10% of our population 90% of the time.” Monte said.
The department, as of July 16th, had 16 staff members, 1 applicant, and is hoped to be fully staffed in August.
Lieutenants went out in the side by side to drive around the city and look for homeless encampments, in which they identified three. The department is working with the property owners to get those areas cleaned up and plan to continue doing so.
They received a list of properties and are working to identify which ones are a nuisance. The department received a list from the housing authority because Monte was curious about how many were occupied. The patrol division visited each property and were able to identify four properties that are an issue, one of which may have a squatter, and ten that are vacant Plan on making the places secure so no one will squat in it.
Working with the code enforcer and the housing authority, the department is letting them know which places they need to take care of, a few of which are “somewhat livable” The four identified nuisance houses are on Third Street, Austin Avenue, El Nido Court, and El Capitan Loop, areas that they have been called to before.
Animal Care Center Overcrowding
The Animal Care Center has been overcrowded since the pandemic ended, as many people who adopted didn’t have time for their animals and the shelter is given animals from not just Grants, but Milan and the County as well.
The amount of animals in the shelter fluctuate each month, as Grants reportedly bring in about 51 dogs per month, 10-15 are brought in from Milan, and the county brings in anywhere from 35 to 50 dogs each month, with only about 10% leaving every month. The shelter does not reject intakes unless “it’s just too much.”
“Its inevitable that there’s always going to be overcrowding… but the reality is if we euthanized every dog today we would be overcrowded by the end of the month.” Elisa Vedra stated “If we start euthanizing for space we will lose 90% of the rest of the organizations we work with. They will not work with us. And we’ll probably lose 100% of our volunteers.”
Though she had previously said she would volunteer no matter what, she admitted that she would not be able to bring in an animal knowing that it would be euthanized for no reason other than the lack of space.
The Animal Care Center was built for 45 kennels, which would not be an issue, if it was just Grants bringing in the animals. “However, when we are trying to house two other entities, that is an issue.” She emphasized how the animals did not commit a crime, they were let down by humans.
Even when fully staffed, the workers aren’t able to do all that needs to be done because “they’re getting paid to clean one house when they’re actually cleaning three.”
Vedra admitted the quality of life isn’t great for the animals at the shelter, but they do get to interact with other animals and humans, as well as not needing to worry about searching for food or water. She mentioned that some dogs have escaped the center, but returned on their own because that is where they have food, water, and safety.
A new ordinance was under review at the time to have all the animals chipped and tagged. This would allow for a quicker finding of the animal if it got lost or the owner could be held responsible.
The center is exploring grants, seeking assistance with capital outlay, and working on a 501c3. Volunteers are actively promoting adoptable dogs and advocating for a non-kill policy. Councilor George Garcia stated “We’re one of the only municipalities that 100% fully funds our animal care center.” Others are with non-profits and joint powers agreements where they equally share it with the county.
JPA current intake numbers would generate additional revenue for the animal care center. According to Verda, Kate Fletcher has expressed her willingness to pay the county’s fair share, simply awaiting a meeting with the city manager to discuss it.
“We’ve all asked for a chance in life and I’m asking that we give these animals a chance.” Vedra urged the council to “consider alternative solutions to address the overcrowding issues other than euthanasia… I believe together we can find a way to protect the lives of these animals while ensuring that our community remains compassionate and responsible.”
Vedra stated “I would like to close with this. Genesis 1:28: ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, subdue it and have dominion over the fish and the sea and over the birds of the heaven and over every living thing that moves on earth, we are the stuarts of His creations’.”
Fire Department
The Police and Fire departments had to work together to search for someone who was having a medical episode behind north hills up on the mesasomewhere between the gulleys and the top of the mesa. For this, the Fire & Rescue team was able to utilize their new side-byside in the search that took about thirty minutes.
Councilor Zach Gutierrez asked if they have or plan on having drones, in which Chief Mike Maes explained that IT is working on a drone program for the fire department, law enforcement, and public works.
“We are working on it though, it’s going to get accomplished.” Maes stated, hoping they’ll be as accepting when he gives them a quote.
Additionally, Chief Maes and his lieteneants spent a day in Santa Fe with the State Fire Marshals Office to determine how to continue moving the department forward.
“We’re not gonna stop, we’re not stale right now… we’re gonna keep moving.” Maes said They gave us some great ideas for us to make this a safe town for our citizens and our travelers.”
Appointing and Re-appointing to Boards
Cecilia Murrietta was re-appointed to the cemetery board for a two year term. A lifelong resident for 74 years, the council was grateful that she wanted to continue being on the board, saying “Thank you… for being on [the] board and wanting to stay on it.”
Delores Meador was appointed to the cemetery board for a two year term, stating “I feel like the cemetery needs a lot, [because] I’m out there trying to clean graves and trying to find people who are looking for their [family or friend’s] graves and I feel like we do have a few problems that I’d like to address.”
Councilor Fred Rodarte thanked her, saying “Thank you very much for willing to serve and all that you bring to the service. It’s greatly appreciated here on the council that we have people who are enthusiastic about serving on the boards.”
Bernadette Hiles was appointed to the Senior Center board for a two year term. “I hope to build connectivity and synergy with the seniors. I’m considering their culture and camaraderie… I go there quite a bit, not as much as I’d like… What I’d like to do is keep in mind the culture and camaraderie to strengthen the relationships and help to lead for what’s good and perfect for the seniors. They’ve contributed so much to our community and state, it’s amazing when I get to talk to those people. All that they’ve done… the veterans, former teachers… I think we gotta take care of them.”