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Residents press Alamogordo commissioners to prioritize infrastructure and demand transparency on hiring
Summary
Public commenters at Alamogordo’s June 4 meeting urged the commission to address understaffing in public works and wastewater operations, criticized perceived focus on the golf course, and demanded a transparent process and disclosure regarding the city manager recruitment and any related settlement.
Several residents used the public comment period at the June 4 Alamogordo City Commission meeting to spotlight city staffing shortfalls, public-safety concerns about local streets, and demand transparency in the city manager recruitment process.
Tamara Hanson, president of AFSCME Local 3818, commended fire inspector Michael Lucas for identifying a fire hazard but told the commission she was disappointed staffing and infrastructure issues have not been scrutinized. Hanson said, "There are only nine people when fully staffed in facility maintenance to maintain 31 buildings, 220 street lights, over 821 sports complex lights ..." and argued the city should prioritize infrastructure needs rather than focusing disproportionally on the golf course.
KD Owens raised separate street-safety concerns, telling commissioners that First Street is dangerous and warning, "That road is going to kill somebody." Chris Benitez provided a written comment asking the commission to address high-speed conditions on Arizona Avenue.
Sherry Atkinson urged the commission not to hire a permanent city manager until a "complete public process" is held and called for "mandatory public disclosure of the full settlement agreement." Atkinson praised acting city manager Chris Edwards for keeping residents informed and criticized what she called an "old boy network" among some commissioners.
Michael Bradley, the city’s golf course superintendent, described ongoing staffing and equipment requests for the golf course, said soil remediation will "take roughly 2 years" to produce workable turf, and asked the commission to give staff four years to implement a recovery plan before turning the course management over to an outside contractor.
The commission did not respond directly during public comment; staff later addressed procurement and budget questions during the RFP discussion.
