VILLAGE OF MILAN N.M. – On Thursday, August 19 at 5:30 p.m., the Village of Milan Board of Trustees held a regular meeting. All board members were present, and before approving the agenda, the board removed items (g), (h), (i), and (j) of number ten, which all referred to a closed session in which the board had planned to discuss village manager applications. According to the board, consideration of these applications was rescheduled for a later date. The board then approved the meeting minutes for a July 7 Board of Trustees workshop, July 15 Board of Trustees regular meeting and July 26 Board of Trustees special meeting. The board also swiftly approved the budget report and the municipal court cash journal for July of 2021.
In place of a village manager, who would typically provide these updates, Village of Milan Mayor Felix Gonzales gave updates on village projects and finances. According to Gonzales, plans for the soccer field project that the village has been working on have been delayed. Gonzales also voiced his concern regarding pay for permanent employees in the village, stating that he would be assembling a five-person committee to consider a pay increase for these employees. Finally, the mayor then presented a plaque to Mary Lundstrom, Chairperson for the Milan Planning and Zoning Board, thanking her for her years of service to the village.
Milan Fire Chief Daniel Urioste then provided updates from the Milan Fire Department. For the month of July, MFD received 69 calls, making the number of calls for the year 538 so far. Urioste said the call volume has been very high this year. He also reported one fire caused by illegal trash burning by an individual, and there were 40 EMS and Rescue callouts for July as well. According to Urioste, the rest of the July calls were related to public service and assisting with COVID-19 Task Force events. MFD is helping the Cibola County Emergency Management team with vaccination events once a week, and the Department of Health (DOH) has ordered the departments to resume COVID-19 testing sites as well. MFD firefighters are also completing many trainings, and according to Urioste, there are a “lot of hazards in Milan”, so MFD is constantly going and trying to maintain these hazards while also assisting neighboring areas and departments. Finally, Urioste reported that the amount of water in Milan is really good, and he acknowledged some Grants city workers who helped Milan Police Chief Carl Ustupski to subdue someone in an incident.
Next, Milan Police Chief Carl Ustupski spoke, first thanking MFD Chief Urioste for providing the MPD officers with resources on mental health. Ustupski said this was especially needed after the week they have had. Ustupski said violence is increasing in the village, stating that within the last month and a half, there have been six shootings, the sixth not being reported. Ustupski said that he could not say much about the ongoing cases, but that three out of the six shootings were believed to be drug related. Ustuspki added that he did not want the public to be alarmed, and that MPD is doing everything they can do to brainstorm and come up with operation ideas that will help the problem.
“We need communication from our community,” said Ustupski, adding that if any community members have any tips, information, or see/hear anything suspicious, to report it. “Nine times out of ten, they’re fireworks, but you never know.”
Ustupski reported filling the two positions that were open in the department, correcting a taser issue in which an order of new tasers came without their plugs, saving money on good deals with new laptops, hearing a number of ‘thank yous’ from community members grateful that the MPD officers are patrolling, being involved in the community, and checking in on businesses more, and receiving a great deal of support from Cibola County Sheriff Department and Grants Police Department in the midst of the uptick of violent crimes.
Finally, Ustupski briefly touched on the incident that Chief Urioste referred to, saying that he and Urioste witnessed a driver run stop sign in Milan, so Ustupski decided to trail the driver, who was driving at high speeds, without turning his lights on to avoid a dangerous situation in which the driver would try to evade. By the time Chief Ustupski caught up with the driver, the driver had driven into Grants and collided into roadwork signs on Santa Fe Avenue. The driver tried to run, but some Grants city workers who had been nearby helped Chief Ustupski to subdue the individual. According to Ustupski, there was a Grants City Councilman who was supposedly going to complain to the Board of Trustees about that incident, Chief Ustupski, and one of the MPD officer’s treatment of the councilman, but Ustupski said body camera recordings will support MPD and that if the trustees ever hear any complaints about the chief, or have any themselves, to bring them to those directly and he will address them.
During the Action/Discussion portion of the agenda, the board approved Resolution 2021-021 Budget Adjustment, heard a Regional Transportation Planning Organization (RTPO) presentation from Northwestern New Mexico Council of Governments staff member Bob Kypers, adopted an organizational chart recommended by Financial Director Candi Williams and Financial Consultant Michael Steininger, approved Resolution 2021- 022 Capital Outlay Agreement with Mayor Gonzales being the designated authorized employee for the agreement, and approved Trustee Roseanne Lopez as the voting delegate for the NMML Annual Conference.
The board also reached somewhat of a resolution for the drainage issue on Sand Street, brought to their attention by property owner Scott Gray. After consulting with an expert on the phone who thoroughly reviewed the issue and said that underground pipe issues were identified, they decided the best thing to resolve the issue would be to remove the two stones located on the site. Gray was not entirely satisfied with that answer, still upset about the access points that were taken away by the bar ditch and culvert. The consultant tried to address Gray’s and the boards concerns, but Trustee Ellen Baca was not satisfied either, saying that if it were her property, she would tell the consultant where he could stick the culvert and the mud. The consultant said he was just explaining the way the situation is. Mayor Gonzales and the board decided to talk to the street crew to figure out what to do going forward.
Joe Ray Mirabal was selected as Employee of the Month, with the mayor saying, “Every time I called on him, he was there.” Candi Williams also gave an update on the Text My Gov program, stating that the program is currently operational but is not accessible to the public yet because they would like the trustees and other government officials to test run the system and send questions to the number that they think the citizens would ask or questions they themselves are asked a lot.
Finally, Village Clerk Denise Baca presented item number 14 on the agenda, ‘Direction on Sewer Lift Station Funding and Request for Proposal, and said that the 60-year-old station system is “on its last legs.” Clerk Baca said that the system has not failed yet, but that it is on its way, and they want to be proactive in order to not have another pool situation on their hands. Therefore, they would like to start seeking sources of funding for the project, which will cost about $750,000. They thought about possibly using the American Rescue Plan funding but would rather use those funds for something else. The board decided to go with the option of seeking funding through a loan. Financial Director Williams and Clerk Baca agreed and said they would move forward with that option.
The Village of Milan Board of Trustees will hold a closed meeting on Wednesday, August 25 at 9 a.m. to discuss village manager applications.