By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
It’s Tuesday February 11, 2025, and despite the cold and frosty foggy evening the Raton City Commission met to deliberate on agreements and approved a quitclaim deed from the city to the Picuris Pueblo for property in south Raton.
Commissioners witnessed the promotion of Apryll Lopez from Dispatch Supervisor to Dispatch Lieutenant bringing clarity to rankings within the dispatch center and within the public safety realm. Dennie Gum presented Stephen Baker as a new employee to the library.
Commissioners heard from City Manager Rick Mestas about the agreement with Children’s Youth and Families Department that runs through June 30, 2025. The program helps at risk students in the Raton School District and has expanded over the years. The city is the fiscal agent for the program therefore all agreements and funding are funneled through the city. Danielle Vanderpool presented history for the program which began in 2013 and explained what the service currently does with the schools and community.
Commissioners then heard about a subcontract with New Hope Family Counseling LLC for counselling services for youth in the community. Angie Ortega presented an overview of the new learning lab concept which will be used to help students. Ortega noted there have been as many as 50 students in Raton that are home schooled with several students doing online learning as well. The Learning Lab is designed to help support regular students and online learning students as well. Jo Salazar spoke about her experience as an alternative student at RHS who now works for Team Builders.
Commissioners discussed a quitclaim deed for the property in south Raton that will be used for the Picuris Pueblo Casino. The deed will be presented to the tribe for their consideration. There will likely be some back and forth between the city and the tribe before the final version of the deed is fully accepted.
Commissioners reappointed Mark Morris to the Water Board and then deliberated on the credit card implementation policy that the city will use for employees’ use of credit cards. The policy explains what can and can’t be done and who will be responsible for approvals and use. The purpose of implementing the policy is to better facilitate the purchase of items as it is getting increasingly difficult to make purchases as companies are no longer accepting POs for city purchases.
The city will utilize the state pricing agreement to purchase a new Ford F-250 regular cab 4×4 pickup for the animal control officer. The cost of the new pickup is $50,915 and the utility bed will add another $24,995 for a total of $73,391.
The city received one bid from TNT Pest Control Service for $6390.70 including GRT for a pest abatement project at the Aquatic Center. The project will be centered on the roof of the building and will include trapping and removal of nuisance birds and bird waste. The project will also include 2700 square feet of UV resistant bird netting for pest exclusion.
Commissioners heard from City Treasurer Antonucci with details on Budget Adjustment #8 which included transfers within the lodger’s tax contingency and annual events funds. There was discussion on the funding for the lodger’s tax funding and where the monies come from. There is a limited amount of money coming in and unless there is some improvement in the lodger’s tax income some projects may not receive as much funding as they would like. As Mayor Neil Segotta mentioned some of these events need to find other funding streams as the city may not be able to be the only funding source available to them. Commissioners approved the transfer of some funds from the economic development funds to help fill in the needed $50,000 funding for this year’s events.
Mestas noted in his report that there will be a planning session for the commission next Tuesday February 18, 2025, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. to discuss commission priorities as the city commits limited funds to several expensive projects around the city. The city is working on the details for the $500k grant to modernize Romero Park. A presentation was made to NM Minority Business Development Agency to attract businesses to bid on contracts and for possible relocation to the city.
City Hall will be closed on Monday February 17, 2025, in observance of President’s Day. The next Regular City Commission meeting will be on February 25, 2025, at 6:00 p.m.
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