Village of Milan Officials Sworn In to Office

VILLAGE OF MILAN, N.M

Three Village of Milan elected officials were officially sworn into office on Friday, April 1, at 9 a.m. Mayor Felix Gonzales, Trustee Chris Archuleta, and Trustee James Mercer each read aloud their oath to office and made it official with signatures and handshakes. Gonzales and Archuleta are both returning board members, re-elected to serve their second terms, while Mercer is a fresh face, stepping into government for the first time. After being sworn in, Gonza

After being sworn in, Gonzales, Archuleta, and Mercer went straight to business with their fellow board members to conduct an organizational meeting. The meeting was called to order at 9:07 a.m., followed by a prayer led by Archuleta and the pledge of allegiance led by Mercer. All board members were present, with Trustee Roseanne Lopez present virtually via a phone call. The board approved the agenda as presented. The first action item was to

The first action item was to sign a proclamation recognizing April as Autism Awareness Month. The Milan mayor read the proclamation aloud, which provided statistics on autism in America and commended the families, professionals, and advocates “working to promote a greater understanding of autism in order to improve the quality of life for those affected by autism,” read Gonzales, who then signed the proclamation.

The rest of the agenda items consisted of making the necessary appointments/re-appointments. The following appointments/re-appointments were approved first: Vivian Brumbelow re-appointed as Mayor Pro Tem, Linda Cooke reappointed as Village Manager, Denise Baca re-appointed as Village Clerk, Carl Ustupski reappointed as Police Chief, Daniel Urioste re-appointed as Fire Chief, and all Village of Milan employees re-appointed to their respective positions. Next, the board approved appointments of the Milan governing body members to various other boards. First, Trustee Archuleta and Trustee Mercer were appointed to the Northwest Regional Solid Waste Authority Board, which meets every other month on the third Thursday at 8:30 a.m. and will hold its next meeting on May 19. Next, Mayor Gonzales appointed himself and Manager Cooke to the Rockin’ 66 Transit Board, which meets quarterly on the third Monday at 11 a.m., with the next meeting being on July 18. Then, Trustee Lopez and Mayor Pro Tem Brumbelow were appointed to the Council of Governments, which holds its board meetings quarterly as well on the 20th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., with the next meeting in July. Finally, Trustee Lopez and Mayor Pro Tem Brumbelow were appointed to the Cibola Communities Economic Development Board, which meets six times a year during Feb., Apr., Jun., Aug., Oct., and Dec. on the fourth Thursday at 9:30 a.m.

The trustees then moved on to board comments, during which board members expressed similar sentiments. Mayor Pro Tem Brumbelow and Trustee Lopez both congratulated Mayor Gonzales and Trustee Archuleta on their re-election, as well as welcomed Trustee Mercer to the board. Considering the significant crowd at Friday’s swearing-in and organizational meeting, Brumbelow made it a point to asked the public to visit the board more often and attend the meetings whenever they could, to observe, ask questions, offer input, etc. Lopez, currently facing medical hurdles, said that she hopes she can start attending the meetings in person again soon, and thanked the employees for their hard work. Trustee Archuleta did the same, adding that the employees are the “heartbeat” that keeps the village going. Archuleta also thanked the public for bringing him back to represent them. Archuleta said the job was harder than he originally thought but that it was rewarding to be a part of it. Archuleta also asked the public to get in volved in the meetings more, and he congratulated Gonzales and Mercer for stepping up to the plate. Trustee Mercer also thanked the public for giving him the opportunity to serve them, as well the village employees for their hard work. Finally, Mayor Gonzales welcomed Mercer to the “village family,” said he was eager to get to work and work with each other for another four years, and that he hoped they could continue doing some good in the village. Gonzales made a similar comparison about the village’s employees, calling them the “backbone” of the village. Gonzales also asked of continued prayers for Trustee Lopez and her current medical situation.