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Deming council vacates 12th Street and approves sale to BW Gas amid contamination remediation plan
Summary
Councilors voted to vacate 12th Street between West Pine and Spruce and approved a purchase-and-sale agreement with BW Gas & Convenience Holdings LLC (Allsup's). Staff said BW Gas will pay remediation costs and the sale removes the Citys liability; public commenters questioned whether liability can be transferred without additional legal documents.
The City of Deming City Council on Oct. 21 approved an ordinance vacating the public right-of-way of 12th Street between West Pine Street and Spruce Street and separately approved a purchase-and-sale agreement with BW Gas & Convenience Holdings LLC (doing business as Allsup's) for the adjacent municipal property.
City Manager Aaron Sera told the council that the property and the right-of-way are contaminated and that the Environment Departments conditions require the city to relinquish ownership to remove municipal liability. Staff said BW Gas would fund remediation work. Councilor Joe "Butter" Milo moved to approve both ordinances; Councilor Julian Monjaras seconded and the motions passed on roll call votes with Councilors Monjaras, Rodriguez and Milo voting Aye.
During public comment Steve Fox asked whether contamination liability remains with the original owner after sale; Mr. Sera replied that the original owners are deceased and that the city would not be responsible after the sale under the Environment Departments sale conditions. City Attorney Spenser Baca cautioned during the discussion that liability typically "cannot be transferred" without additional legal protections and that hold-harmless or indemnity agreements and Environment Department requirements would be part of the transaction.
Councilors were not presented with a separate vote to accept remediation documents in the meeting; staff said the sale and remediation terms have been negotiated as part of the RFP and Environment Department process. Mr. Sera stated the sale price would be $700,000; the council did not vote on the dollar amount separately during the meeting.
The ordinances are recorded in the meeting minutes; staff said the Environment Department will continue to oversee remediation conditions and that legal instruments may be required to finalize responsibility for cleanup.
