Taos County Board of Commissioners Regular Meeting Summary April 2, 2013

Memo from Commissioner Blankenhorn

Presentations

The Board presented Certificates of Achievement to the Taos High School Lady Tigers Basketball team, who were the champions of their district this year. Each of the players and their coaches were presented certificates and individually greeted and congratulated by each Commissioner. This was one of the most pleasant duties of being a Commissioner so far.

Adult Detention Center

The Board unanimously passed a resolution adopting Policies and Procedures for our Adult Detention Center. The procedures are based on standards approved by the New Mexico Association of Counties and they pave the way for an accreditation certificate that will eventually lower our insurance rates, and improve our operations. These policies have been in the works for years and it is encouraging to finally have them in place.

The Detention Center Director also informed the Board of a plan to utilize selected inmates to help clean up graffiti and litter within the community. This plan was well received by the Board.

Planning Department

Deputy Manager Rick Bellis presented a preliminary discussion for the possible merger of Town and County Planning Departments. The purpose of the proposed merger is to save money for both entities and to streamline the permitting process for contractors and developers. The Board expressed concerns that a merged Planning Department could not function well if it had to answer to two sets of elected officials, and Mr. Bellis was advised to come up with a structure that would concentrate the authority within the County.

The Board also adopted a timeline for passage of the Taos County Land Use Regulations, which have been in the development stage for approximately 6 years. The Planning and Legal Departments are currently considering a set of proposed amendments to the document and will present their response to those proposals at a series of work studies open to the public. Consideration of passage of the Ordinance is tentatively scheduled to take place during Regular Meetings in June or July. Once the Ordinance is passed, Neighborhood Associations will be encouraged to bring forth their Zoning Overlays for adoption.

Public Works Department

The Board adopted its annual accounting of Inventory of Maintained Roads. The Inventory is then filed with the State Department of Transportation, which provides minimal funding based on total mileage. The Inventory is available to the public upon request.

Taos County has a total of 326 miles of roads of which approximately 80 miles are paved. Much of the pavement is in need of repair, and all of the dirt roads could use more fill. We spend approximately two million dollars per year maintaining what we have, but much of that money is wasted because you can’t properly maintain dirt roads without sufficient material. The only way to properly fix our dirt roads is to purchase a portable crusher which would supply the base coarse needed to crown all of our roads, and then spray them with a coating to keep down the dust and maintain the surface. Currently, there is no source of funding to complete this task.

Executive Session

The legal department briefed the Board on the ongoing dispute between the County and AECOM, the architects of the Judicial Complex, concerning a series of malfunctions within the Complex, most notably the heating and cooling systems. The amounts in dispute are relatively small, approximately one half of one percent of the total cost of construction. We are hopeful that these issues can be resolved without litigation, the costs of which would exceed the amounts in dispute.

The Board also considered entering into an agreement with the Acequia Madre Del Prado Del Rio Lucero to represent the Acequia in their opposition to the Town’s annexation plans. In open session, the Board voted unanimously to enter into said agreement.