Cibola County commissioners approve multiple contracts and direct staff on Quartz Hill settlement; magistrate court relocation fails
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Summary
At the March 23 Cibola County Board of Commissioners meeting, commissioners approved an amendment to an opioid remediation JPA, multiple procurement requisitions and infrastructure actions, directed staff on a Quartz Hill settlement after closed session, and rejected a motion to temporarily relocate the magistrate court by a 1-3 vote.
The Cibola County Board of County Commissioners met March 23 in Grants and approved a slate of routine contracts, procurement requisitions and intergovernmental actions while directing staff after a closed session on a pending Quartz Hill settlement.
Chairman Daniel Torrez called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. and the board moved through a consent-style agenda. Commissioners unanimously approved an amendment to the Opioid Remediation Collaborative Joint Powers Agreement and named Commissioner Christine Lowery as delegate and County Manager Kate Fletcher as alternate to the Collaborative.
Why it matters: the opioid remediation collaborative pools local authority and resources for remediation and grant activity across jurisdictions; the board’s approval keeps Cibola County in the regional remediation partnership and designates local representation for ongoing coordination.
In other actions, the board approved Resolution 2023-22 authorizing a second extension request for the NMDOT Local Government Transportation Project Fund grant (Contract D18387, Control LP60001) for CR-18b, and adopted Resolution 2023-23 establishing a master key policy for the Roosevelt Avenue complex.
The commission also approved a Change Order to the CR-5 ACROW bridge to increase the span from 70 to 80 feet, adding $30,000 to the purchase order, and accepted an agreement for Valencia County to serve as fiscal agent for the Highland Meadows Fire District on behalf of the Pueblo of Laguna. Commissioners authorized staff travel to attend the EagleView Pictometry annual event in San Antonio and granted a right-of-way easement for electric and fiber to Continental Divide Electric and the Energy and Telecommunication Cooperative to relocate service and upgrade the transformer at the new Public Safety Building.
Procurement approvals included five requisitions over $20,000: Artesia Fire Equipment — $20,894.33 for Laguna Fire Department protective gear; Atmosphere Commercial Interiors — $173,603.69 for Public Safety Building furnishings; Chalmers Ford — $112,593 for three Ford Ranger pickup trucks for roads; Collier’s International — $23,810 for CR-5 survey work; and Summit Fire and Security — $42,014.17 for an audio/video upgrade in data processing.
The board entered executive session at 5:46 p.m. under N.M. Stat. §10-15-1 to discuss pending litigation (listed as the Quartz Hill matter with Reineke Construction, LLC), real property and personnel matters, and returned to open session at 6:30 p.m. The commissioners stated that no final action was taken during the closed session. After returning to open session, the board voted 4-0 to direct staff on the Quartz Hill settlement matter.
A separately recorded roll-call considered a motion to temporarily relocate the Magistrate Court to the District Court location. The minutes record Chairman Daniel Torrez voting no, Commissioner Ralph Lucero voting yes, and Commissioners Martha Garcia and Christine Lowery voting no. The motion failed on a 1-3 vote.
County offices will be closed April 7 in observance of the Easter holiday; the next regular meeting is scheduled for April 27, 2023. Chairman Torrez adjourned the meeting at 6:34 p.m.