Taos County and Town of Taos Issues Heat Up!
On Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012, the Taos County Commissioners will convene to discuss the LUDC, neighborhood overlay issues, and the conundrum regarding the possibility of translating the LUDC into Spanish. (See a facsimile of the county agenda posted below.) The challenges for the commissioners include both land use issues and issues affecting cultural practices from traditional livestock and agriculture to language and community relations.
The ghosts of Don Quixote, El Cid, Manby, and Reies Tijerina are expected to join in the conversation along with Nick, the Nitpicker Jaramillo and Andrew “Foot in Mouth” Chavez. County commission P&Z issues stimulate the rich multicultural character of the community. Commentary on the code itself, displayed on overhead screens, can be dull but the reactions of the crowd and commissioners will be colorful—I guarantee it.
You won’t have nearly as much fun on Thursday night, Feb. 2, at the TCA where The Taos News and other community organizations are sponsoring a sanitized forum for aspiring town council candidates. Much will be left unsaid about the issues unless they appoint the sign man as MC. The Mayor has called for a new era of harmony and apparently deplores the shock-jock type polemics of local critics.
The forum amounts to a referendum on the current administration. Most citizens support the investment in the public relations campaign and in the Eco-park soccer field as well as high altitude training concepts. However, the mayor and majority of the council have aligned themselves with the tarnished trustees and CEO at the Kit Carson Coop by offering an irrational subsidy to the coop’s ill-conceived command center. Similarly, the mayor’s support of a new police station is seen as an exorbitant expense. The Town owns a plethora of underused buildings on Civic Plaza Drive and Camino de la Placita. Why dislocate departments into nether parts of the community?
Other town issues include members of the town council, who routinely ignore alleged ethical violations. The mayor and his majority hired and overpaid an untried town manager, who ultimately resisted “business as usual” and then received a golden parachute to abandon ship. Similarly, the majority hired a police chief, who apparently resigned, due to micromanaging. A now understaffed department underscores low morale in the police department.
The absence of three spouses at the annual state of the town speech may not mean much, given political fatigue, but the symbolism is ripe for interpretation. The mayor’s desperate call for harmony and community support appears to be falling on deaf ears at home and abroad.
If the mayor could get rid of the darn sign man and the county could get rid of the darn Spanish speakers and we could get more darn snow all would be harmonious in Taos, darn it.
From Taos Friends United:
TAOS COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
SPECIAL MEETING
TUESDAY, JANUARY 31, 2012
9:00 A.M.
TAOS COUNTY COMMISSION CHAMBERS
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
Notice is hereby given that the governing body of Taos County, the Board of County Commissioners, will hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday, January 31, 2012, at 9:00 a.m. The meeting will take place at the Taos County Commission Chambers located at, 105 Albright Street, Room 106, Taos, New Mexico.
AGENDA
Call to Order
Roll Call
Pledge of Allegiance
Approval of Agenda
Amendments
Withdrawn Items
Neighborhood Zones- Discussion, consideration, and decisions regarding the following:
9:00 a.m. Stagecoach Neighborhood Zone Overlay
10:00 a.m. Upper Las Colonias Neighborhood Zone Overlay
1:00 p.m. Hondo Mesa Neighborhood Zone Overlay
VI. Other Land Use Regulation Matters- Discussion, consideration, and decisions regarding the following:
Translation Issue- Merits of translation of proposed Ordinance 2012-1, Taos County Land Use Regulations, into Spanish
Proposed Land Use Code Except for Article 5- Discussion, consideration, and decisions regarding all articles of the proposed Land Use Code except for Article 5.
Continuation of previously heard Article 5 Neighborhood Zone Overlays-
Canon Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Las Colonias West Mesa Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Latir/Versylvia Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Lower Des Montes Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Ranchos de Taos Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Taos Canyon Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Montosa Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Cerro de Guadalupe Neighborhood Zone Overlay
Adjournment
If you are an individual with a disability who is in need of a reader, amplifier, qualified sign language interpreter, or any other form of auxiliary aid or service to attend or participate in the meeting, contact the Taos County Administration Office located at 105 Albright Street, Suite G, Taos, New Mexico as soon as possible or call (575) 737-6300.