GRANTS, N.M. – On Wednesday, December 14, the Grants City Council held a Special City Council Meeting. The only councilor missing from the meeting was Zachery Gutierrez. Although the meeting was short, several items were discussed which wrapped up 2022 and looked toward the new year.
The first item covered was the Approval of Resolution No. 22-1792, the first quarter budget of 2023. Funds for a new fire truck at $59,000 were moved to appropriate the new vehicle and appropriations for the purchase of the aerial fire truck that has already been paid for.
Grants Police Department is needing new cruisers and $50,000 was appropriated towards this cost. Funding for the roof repair for the golf course, the library coffee shop lease agreement, and the design, plan, and construction of the airport hangar and terminal was also reviewed for funding A motion for approval was made by Councilor Rodarte and seconded by Councilor Garcia. The motion was approved by all present.
Councilors also spoke about the sewer work on Santa Fe Ave and the traffic light on US 53 at Santa Fe Ave. Although the USDA project begins early this coming new year, the sewer water overflowing into Fire and Ice Park next to the US Post Office posed a health risk to the public and demanded immediate attention.
The motion was approved by all present.
A lengthy talk concerned the upcoming construction at the rodeo fairgrounds. Delivery of materials for the arena will arrive December 19-22 and will consist of 24-27 truckloads. Deliveries will stop for the holidays and resume January 2nd. $45,000 is needed for staging and chain link fencing. The major concern of Councilor Beverly Michael involves security of the materials left at the arena. It was assured additional security measures and the fencing would keep the materials safe.
The motion was approved by all councilors.
Councilor Beverly Michael discussed lighting for the Future Foundation’s parking lot. As a safety issue, the poor lighting outside of the building will be addressed.
Mayor Erik Garcia recused himself from the agenda discussing marijuana dispensaries in the City of Grants. A major concern involved not having enough boundaries and if there could be a set number allowed. The biggest obstacle involves state laws and guidelines.
It was mentioned different municipalities have restrictions going above and beyond state laws, but due to the language of state laws regarding marijuana dispensaries, these restrictions may cause costly lawsuits challenging their legality.
For restrictions to be enforced, municipalities need to amend their land use laws to enforce the constraints on how and where they operate. Currently, dispensaries are prohibited from opening on Santa Fe Avenue. House Bill 2 (HB 2) states municipalities cannot restrict licenses and the locations cannot be within 300ft of school and daycares. City Attorney Jessica Nixon warned the more restrictions encountered, the more likely a lawsuit will challenge the restrictions.
One idea was to increase the fee for dispensary licenses. It was mentioned more outsiders are looking to come to Grants to open businesses because the restrictions in Grants are relaxed compared to other municipalities. The concern is Grants will become flooded with dispensaries.
It was stated lobbying New Mexico State Legislatures to change the language of the law giving cities more authority in how marijuana dispensaries are regulated by local authorities. The first though will be to amend the land use code.
All Grants City Council meeting agendas and minutes with full budget analysis and other city business can be found on the city webpage cityofgrants.net