Commission approves $32,000 DWI grant amendment to fund VR prevention scenario, trailer repairs and breathalyzers

The Grant County Board of Commissioners voted 3–2 to approve Amendment No. 1 to Agreement 8‑25‑23, a Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) grant modification that allocates $32,000 to several program elements. Mr. Graves, appearing for the county program, said the funds break down as roughly $17,000 to develop a virtual‑reality (VR) scenario (produced with Aldo Leopold students and staged locally) that will be added to a statewide database for use by other counties; $7,000 to replace electronics and purchase portable safety equipment for the New Mexico State Police DWI trailer; about $2,000 to buy breathalyzer units for probation sanctions; and approximately $1,500 for training and updated curriculum. Commissioner Flores and others questioned the $17,000 VR line item’s cost‑effectiveness and whether the target audience (young adults who supply alcohol to minors, not the usual offender cohort) would be reached. "$17,000 seems a lot for me to spend on a scenario that is not even targeted to the people that are offending," Commissioner Flores said. Mr. Graves responded that the VR content will be shared statewide and that last year’s funds purchased headsets; he offered to gather utilization data from Otero County’s existing VR scenarios and to track local usage metrics. The board passed the amendment by voice vote with recorded opposition; the agreement will be reported to DFA (Department of Finance and Administration) as required. The motion and the vote were taken at the Dec. 11 meeting.