The Raton City Commission met in regular session on Tuesday, April 14 at Raton City Hall.
The meeting began with Deputy City Manager Jason Phillips giving an update on the Schwachheim Fire near Lake Dorothey in the City’s watershed above Lake Maloya. Phillips said as of midnight on Monday, it was transitioning to a Type II Incident Team which is expected to start assembling personnel soon. As of noon Tuesday the fire had burned some 800 acres and there were six aircraft dropping water taken from Lake Maloya. It was also noted that Sugarite Canyon State Park is turning traffic around at Lake Alice because of the safety concerns with both the aircraft and road traffic.
Items from Citizens present had three individuals using their alotted time to speak against a proposed Data Center and another speaking on the shortcomings of the Raton Dog Park and asked the Commission to at least take the information down from the internet until it can be improved.
Bryan Cotter CEO of MCMC gave a short update and the hospital has rolled out a Telemedicine program as of a couple of weeks ago and while it is still in its infancy, they are looking to expand it and also looking to expand a Chronic Care Management and have already met with local behavioral providers including Pinwheel and Krossroads and putting on a Mental Health First Aid Training and other aspects of improving health options in Raton.
El Raton Media works, and Ann Theis addressed the commission saying ERMW is in the fifth year with Film Prize Jr and that this is the second year the students won the People’s Choice Award. Theis invited the public to a screening of the Film Prize Jr two films and several other locally produced short films at the Shuler Theater on Friday, May 8.
Jason Phillips brought to the Commission a negotiated agreement with the Raton Police Officers Association, which was unanimously approved by the Commission.
The Commission also had a Public Hearing and discussion for the FY27 City’s Interim Budget and City Treasurer Michael Anne Antonucci said 75 to 80 % of the City’s Budget will be used for salaries.
Two Ordinances were introduced amending Raton’s Code of ordinances. City Code Enforcement officer Richard McGarry explained the major changes on Chapter 94 Nuisance and the Chapter 97 Vacant Building Registration. The Chapter 94 was passed in 1978 and the biggest change would appoint a Hearing Examiner as opposed to sending a violator to court before a judge. Another big change would make the keeping of honeybees and hives legal, but the other changes were deemed minor.
Chapter 97 was adopted in 2021 and the biggest change again is the appointing of a Hearing Officer and would be another option other than filing a criminal complaint in court. It was also noted that the Hearing Officer would also speed up the process and keep the costs lower while raising the probability of compliance.
Both introductions of Ordinances were passed unanimously.
In other Commission action, they unanimously approved the final plat and Planning and Zoning recommendation for the subdivision for a 4.6167-Acre Parcel owned by Cameron W. Rountree and Jessica J. Rountree Subdivided from 55 acres +/- Parent Parcel for the Proposed Site of a Fiber Optic Regeneration Station.
Pacheco Trucking and Construction was awarded a contract for a Second Street Improvement Project on the recommendation of Engineering Analytics.
The City will apply for a grant for a Digital Billboard to be placed on the southbound side of I-25 near exit 451 for a total of $250,000 total with the City match of $12,500.
Accepted an estimate for TLC Construction for a paving project at Roundhouse Park for trail paving.
Ok’d an application for transportation project funding for Phase II of a Raton Infrastructure Project.
Ok’d Blue Sky Upfitting LLC quote for the upfitting of three Raton Police Dept. vehicles and a ConvergeOne quote for the Raton Police Department temporary command post configuration/setup during the City Hall Foundation Repair Project.
Deputy City Manager Phillips in his report said The North First Street underpass upgrade/repair project is beginning soon and there will be some stress as traffic will have to be stopped for as much as two weeks while repairs are made and concrete is cured. The Railroad Avenue Bridge construction project will begin soon and Raton has one of the “most robust” construction seasons ahead including Romero Park construction for new playground structure which will begin shortly.
The next Commission meeting is set for April 28, 2026 @ 6 pm.
