Red River council approves $2M park grant, radio upgrades, ambulance purchase and personnel policy changes

The Red River Town Council on its first 2025 meeting approved a series of budget and equipment measures that councilors said will support public safety and a major park renovation. Council members voted to add multiple grants to the fiscal year budget, authorized purchase of digital radio equipment and consoles and approved buying an ambulance for the town’s wildland firefighting/EMS program.

The actions began when the council approved a budget adjustment resolution that brings several grant awards into the town’s books, including about $68,000 from the State Fire Marshal for radios, roughly $55,000 from an Assistance to Firefighters grant for bunker gear and an extractor, and local Volunteer Fire Assistance funds of about $20,000 for engine equipment. The package also incorporated a New Mexico Main Street grant for park renovation described in the meeting as just over $2 million for Brandenburg Park design and construction.

“Those funds are going to let us redo the municipal parking lot, relocate the pavilion and do infrastructure that will support events and economic activity,” the chair said during the presentation. The council approved the adjustment by roll call.

Councilors also authorized a capital transfer from the town’s internal service (606) fund to purchase digital radio repeaters, radios and a new radio console after staff reported that a competing vendor offered a substantially lower, more cost‑effective bid than the higher Motorola estimate. Council approved the transfer by roll call to complete the dispatch upgrade.

On emergency services the council voted to approve the purchase of an ambulance to expand the wildland fire/EMS program. Fire/EMS leadership told the council a used, late‑model ambulance is available for roughly $190,000 and that program deployments (reimbursement for vehicle and fuel during sustained assignments) would help cover the cost without drawing on the general fund.

The council ratified Reniel Sanchez Cordova as assistant EMS supervisor, effective the coming week.

Separately, the council reallocated $10,000 in special event funding previously set aside for a film festival to support a new Red River Jamboree Music Festival planned for July. Organizers described a multi‑day event with food trucks, a people’s‑choice cooking competition and family activities; the council approved the funding transfer.

The meeting also included a public hearing and substantive debate over proposed changes to the town’s personnel policy governing on‑call pay and maximum response times. Councilors voted to allow personnel changes to be made by resolution rather than ordinance, to set on‑call pay parity across departments (a 1:3 on‑call ratio was adopted in the motion) and to remove the explicit 30–60 minute maximum language, instead directing department heads to establish and report reasonable maximum response times.

The public hearing produced strong remarks about safety and coverage. One committee member said, “60 minutes is too long for emergency response,” and multiple speakers urged tighter limits and clearer on‑call expectations for law enforcement, fire and EMS. Councilors asked staff to report back with departmental maximums and to revisit language where necessary.

The council also approved destruction of a set of economic development records, and authorized advertising a set of RFPs for on‑call engineering, attorney services, technical consulting and a landscape architect to design the park renovation.

The council convened the first meeting of 2025 after an opening prayer and completed the agenda with motions carried by roll call votes where recorded. No ordinance adoptions were recorded during the meeting; most actions were passed by motion and vote.