VILLAGE OF MILAN, N.M. – The Village of Milan Board of Trustees met at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 13 for a workshop meeting. Trustee Chris Archuleta was absent from the workshop. Following the prayer and pledge of allegiance, the board passed the floor over to Village Clerk Denise Baca, who provided updates and information on upcoming agenda items that would appear on the next regular Board of Trustees meeting. According to Baca, that meeting’s agenda will be rather lengthy, so discussing these items in the workshop helps the trustees to be able to go into the meeting informed and prepared to make decisions.
First, Baca stated that the board would need to take action on a resolution that would allow the new village manager, Linda Cooke, to sign contracts and other documents on behalf of the village. Baca also mentioned two grant agreements needing to be approved, one for the soccer field and one for Airport Road. Next, Baca said the Milan Police Department would be requesting for two policies to be added to their policy manual, one regarding a Drug Recognition Expert and one regarding a Chaplain program they would like to start.
Baca also said there would be two resolutions regarding budget adjustments in the upcoming agenda, which Finance Director Candi Williams explained to the board. Next, Clerk Baca asked the board whether or not they felt that a closed executive session would be necessary to discuss Manager Cooke’s contract. The board decided that they would like to discuss the contract in a closed session to make sure everything is as it should be. Baca then provided updates on the Village of Milan Annual Pumpkin Patch/Show and Shine Car Show, which will be held on Saturday, October 23 at Mirabal Park from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event will include a free pumpkin for kids 12 and under, free goodie bags for the first 500 kids, a car show, a fire fighter obstacle course, vendors, games, and more. Baca said that the money raised from the event will be used for the village Christmas party and presents for the kids. Baca added that there will not be a hayride, the pumpkins and goodie bags have already been ordered, Homestake Mining Company is providing the jumpers, parents have to sign waivers for children to play in the jumpers, vendors coming have to provide their own electricity and supplies, and the event has 20 vendors already, as of Oct. 13.
Finally, Baca discussed the cannabis ordinance and Manager Cooke discussed new village COVID-19 protocols. Clerk Baca said that the village’s proposed ordinance is very similar to the county and city’s ordinances, specifying that cannabis could not be sold within 300 feet of schools or residencies. Manager Pro Tem Vivian Brumbelow expressed an interest in adding parks to the cannabis regulations for the village, which Baca said would be possible. The official ordinance will be presented at the next regular meeting, where the board will approve it to be advertised. Next, Manager Linda Cooke recognized the village’s financial team for doing a good job at cleaning up the audit and village
During the board’s closing comments, each of the trustees, along with the mayor, expressed unified gratitude for all those who participated in the Trek for Trash cleanup that the village recently facilitated. Each board member said they all received great feedback regarding the cleanup. The trustees also recognized the success of the recent Milan Elementary School Color Fun Run, and said they were all looking forward to the pumpkin patch event.
The next Village of Milan Board of Trustees regular meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 20 at 5:30 p.m. at the Village of Milan offices, located at 623 Uranium Avenue.