Blankenhorn Report & More Local Politics

Local Politics: Taos Friction has been checking in with El Mitote. Could it be the year of the woman? Judge Betty is running hard against the homeboys and  we hear Candyce O’Donnell’s campaign is building momentum. According to term-limited Commissioner Joe Mike Duran, Candyce made a good impression in a Penasco meeting. She could garner big numbers in the Weimer area and benefit from a vote split.

Flavio tells us Judi Cantu’s campaign canvasser, operative David Cortez is now helping Candyce. She still needs to raise money but with Tafoya’s campaign slowing, Silva suffering from years of association with corrupt town politicos, and voter fatigue affecting Manny Pacheco, Candyce could be narrowing the gap. She has been to more county commission meetings in the last 27 years than anybody else except Flavio himself, the local custodian.

Hey we just had the first “blood moon” in two thousand years. Consider it:  Judge Betty, Candyce, and Sarah could sweep! The primary just got interesting.

(Blankenhorn Report Below)

Joint Town and County Meeting
April 10, 2014

The meeting was very constructive and produced agreements on the following issues that seemed so intractable prior to the recent Town elections.

E-911

The Town and County, by unanimous vote of each body, directed their respective attorneys to work together to prepare a Joint Powers Agreement for the operation of an E-911 Dispatch Center under the following terms: Creation of a Board of Directors to oversee operations, transfer of fiscal agency to Taos County, Taos County’s investment of 1.4 million dollars to establish a dispatch center above the Detention Center at the County Complex, and an approximate 50-50 split of operating expenses for the first two years until sufficient data has been collected to divide those expenses in proportion to the number of calls for each entity. Hopefully, the attorneys will produce the agreement for execution within the next 30 days.
Airport/Annexation

The Town and County agreed in principle to the following terms: The Town will drop the annexation appeal, and the County will make a payment of $375,000 towards the final grant match for the construction of the new runway at the airport. The County will derive the funds from the GRT collected on the 24 million dollar airport construction project, which could be completed within the next two years. Hopefully, the attorneys will bring final settlement agreements for execution within the next 30 days.
County Complex Water Rights Payment

The County Complex is located with the Town of Taos, and therefore, requires a purchase of water rights from the Town for the water used at the Complex. The Town and County have been unable to agree on an appropriate payment for those water rights since the County opened its doors at the new complex on May 16, 2011. The governments instructed staff to calculate a fair payment based upon the actual water usage since 2011, and to bring those figures back to the next Joint Meeting so that the County can finally make payment to the Town.
Detention Center Contract

The Town pays the County under contract to house its inmates at the County Detention Center. Under current contract, the rate is $100 per day, excluding weekends. The result of the current contract is that the County loses money on weekends, and the Town transports its inmates to San Miguel County on Mondays, because San Miguel only charges them $75 per day. The Town and County unanimously approved the amendment of those terms to $75 per day, including weekends. This agreement will enable the Town to keep its inmates in the community where they receive better support from family and friends, and it will improve the finances of both governments.

Before adjournment, the Town and County agreed to schedule additional meetings as required to finalize the above agreements and to consider other areas where we may cooperate to further the interests of the community.

Regular Meeting
April 15, 2014

Public Works Department

Taos County has a number of public roads which are not County Maintained. Under State Law, citizens can petition the County to adopt certain public roads for maintenance. Once a petition is received, the County is required to send Road Viewers, who are appointed by the Board of County Commissioners, to view the road and make a recommendation as to whether or not it should be adopted. In the past year, the County has received 7 such petitions of which 3 roads have been recommended for adoption by the Road Viewers. The Board has taken the Road Viewers recommendation and adopted 3 roads.

Several of the roads, which were not adopted, were placed on the agenda for reconsideration. The matters were discussed at great lengths, and the Board recommended to staff that they contact the individuals who own property in the vicinity of the roads to see if they could raise sufficient private funds to cover all or a portion of the initial costs of adoption. Those costs include providing a survey of the road, and making sufficient improvements to the road so that it will properly drain and not form large puddles after a rain. If the initial costs are met then the County would implement them and assume the responsibility for future maintenance. A further reconsideration of the roads that were not adopted will be brought back on a future agenda, once the required information is gathered.

Regular Meeting
April 1, 2014

Forest Service Cattle Grazing Permits on the Rio Fernando

The Board heard a presentation from the Forest Service regarding cattle grazing in the area of the upper Rio Fernando. In recognition of the fact that the Rio Fernando is impaired due to high levels of e-coli, and that cattle grazing within the riparian zone contributes to that impairment, the Forest Service entered into an agreement with the New Mexico Environmental Department to make certain improvements which would mitigate those effects. However, there has not been sufficient funding to complete those improvements and representatives from the Forest Service indicated that it might take up to 20 years. The Board requested a copy of the agreement to see if there was any way that we could collaborate so that the improvements could be completed sooner.