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Residents question transparency and cost of proposed county membership in regional coalition
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Summary
Multiple speakers during public comment opposed Luna County joining a regional "coalition for Arizona, New Mexico counties," raising concerns about wildlife policy influence, a possible $262,900 cost, and a lack of transparency about the coalition's board and recent activity.
Three residents used public comment to press the county on a proposed or considered membership in a regional coalition described in the meeting as the "coalition for Arizona, New Mexico counties." Carol Felcy told commissioners she is "in protest of us continuing to look at that as an organization the county should belong to," saying she believes the coalition seeks to remove wildlife protections to favor grazing and that such actions would harm the county's tourism and natural environment.
Sandra Bradshaw identified herself as a constituent of Chair Chandler, described the coalition as a private lobbying group and said she did not want the county to pay to participate. "What is it? $262,900 dollars of my money," Bradshaw said, characterizing the planned expenditure as unacceptable and raising a conflict-of-interest concern because cattle graze on her land.
Another commenter, Jecca, said she logged into the previous commission meeting and was concerned that the coalition presenter could not name the group's board members. She noted the group's website shows its last meeting as March 2025 and called that lack of up-to-date information "a huge red flag." An unidentified county speaker responded during the session by asking for clarification and noting the coalition addresses multiple issues including grazing, water rights and BLM concerns.
The public commenters asked the board to reconsider or seek more information before approving any county expenditure or formal membership. The transcript records no formal motion or vote on coalition membership during the public comment period; commissioners did not take a recorded vote in this session.
