CITY OF GRANTS, N.M. – Two local government managers and community members recently gathered for the first ‘Coffee with the Managers’ since the last one a few months ago. The holiday season, and then the uptick of COVID-19 locally, put a pause on the Coffee with the Managers meetings for a while. Despite meeting at 8 a.m. on a chilly Thursday morning, manager and citizen faces alike were all smiles to be meeting once again at the Coyote Del Malpais Golf Course clubhouse.
Cibola County Manager Kate Fletcher spoke before Grants City Manager Donald Jaramillo, welcoming a room full of commu nity members, introducing Jaramillo, and stating that she was excited to be working with him. Fletcher started off by giving the floor to County Road Superintendent Edward Salazar, who worked for the City of Grants for 34 years before moving over to the county.
Salazar talked about the numerous upcoming road projects that the county would be working on soon, totaling 8.1 miles of chip seal. Salazar also mentioned a GIS mapping software that the county will begin working with soon as well, which Fletcher gave some background on. The county reportedly received an audit finding from the last fiscal year having to do with a lack of proper infrastructure inventory. Fletcher said the GIS software would resolve that finding by developing a proper inventory for the county’s infrastructure and roads
Before moving on, Fletcher touched on one more subject having to do with the roads. Due to situations that Fletcher comes across often, she wanted to emphasize the fact that the county cannot do anything about driveways, private roads, or private land because those are “civil matters,” and therefore are qualified as anti-donation and must go to court to be handled. “We can only do things on our roads, the roads that are maintained by the county,” said Fletcher. Cibola County Sheriff’s Office Lieu tenant and Sheriff candidate Maxine Monte was present and confirmed all that Fletcher talked about.
Community member and local real estate agent Heather Porter then asked Fletcher if it was possible for citizens to request for a road to become a county road, to which Fletcher responded that it is possible, but the process is a long one. According to Fletcher, a citizen would have to approach the county, request the proper forms, fill them out, and then certain steps would need to be completed. A road up for consideration to become a county road must meet certain standards and qualifications, such as how many people live on the road and the conditions of the road, and then the request must be reviewed by the county’s road board.
Porter then asked if work could be done to a road, if everyone agreed, to bring it up to code for county consideration, and Fletcher said she’s seen it happen once and that it is hard, but not impossible. The specific road Porter mentioned is in Milan, and she said that it is in such bad condition that it is hard for her to sell houses in that area. Lieutenant Monte chimed in, adding that law enforcement has a terrible time trying to make it through that road. Fletcher said that a petition would need to be started, and that every single tenant on the road must agree or it can’t happen. Fletcher told Salazar to reach out to Porter after the meeting to see what they can do.
Fletcher then discussed the county’s finances and how their general fund is “very healthy.” With that said, Fletcher said that the county is “not a bank,” and that she feels they should not be holding onto money, but rather planning out projects, taking care of their employees, and finishing what they started. As for finishing what was started and planning projects, Fletcher said that she would love for the county to finish the County Complex Building parking lot. Fletcher also threw out the idea of creating an exercise and rest area for the public in the empty lots between the County Complex Building and the Cibola General Hospital. The feedback from the crowd was good – “Anything that increases the quality of life is good for Grants, right?” said a citizen. Fletcher said other priorities are public safety, EMS, and roads.
Before concluding for the county, another citizen mentioned wildfire procedures and questioned if the county was doing as much as they could on that front. Fletcher stated that not as much as she would like has been done, but that she has looked into possibly implement ing programs such as Fire Wise, a community program that would help inform communities on how to do their part to limit fires. Fletcher said the local departments meet and collaborate often, but the county can only do so much to manage them, such as making adjustments along the way, like burn bans, which are currently in place across the county.
Next, Grants City Manager Donald Jaramillo introduced himself, spoke a little on his background with the city, gave updates on projects, and explained his plans for the future. Jaramillo said he was “honored and privileged” to be able to serve as city manager. Jaramillo was appointed as interim manager in January and was made permanent manager in February. Before that, Jaramillo served as Proj ects Coordinator for four years.
Jaramillo went through some of his priorities and things he sees as important, those being cleanup, economic development, fostering outdoor recreation, and infrastructure. Jaramillo’s background in projects helps him to give guidance in what is feasible and what is not. Jaramillo then gave updates on a few different projects.
Community member Heather Porter asked Jaramillo about holding property owners accountable, to which Jaramillo stated that ordinances have not always been followed properly on that front, but that the city is going to start doing more to work with property owners, as well as collaborate with organizations such as MainStreet to put more pressure on property owners. Finally, Jaramillo said that his plan for the next six months is to observe, learn, and ask a lot of questions.
Manager Fletcher asked the public to give Jaramillo event more time than that and to be patient with him while he navigates the ins-and-outs of government management. Village Manager Linda Cooke could not attend because she went with newly elected officials to Santa Fe for a training. To conclude the meeting, a recycling petition was discussed and passed around, and a community member asked if the managers would be opposed to moving the Coffee with the Managers meetings to later in the day, to which the managers replied that that was fine with that. Coffee with the Managers are held the first Thursday of every month.