Monday, December 14, 2009

Minutes from the Budget Hearing

November 12, 2009

The Board of Trustees of the Town of La Jara convened at 6:05 pm on November 12, 2009 for the purpose of conducting the public hearing on the proposed 2010 budget for the Town. Present were: Earl Haslett, Paula Medina, Tiffanie Polkowske, Henry Schimpf, Larry Zaragoza and Mayor Austin Valdez. Absent: Patrick Montoya. Also present were: Chief of Police Dan Martinez, Town Clerk Priscilla Schimpf, Town Attorney Ray Valdez and Town Manager Bill Yohey. Residents of the Town present were: James DeGolyer, Kenny Garmaker & Wife and David Valdez.

Larry Zaragoza – He wanted to know if after trimming the budget as much as they can, can they increase funding for the Senior Center to $1,500.00. It was discussed and decided to increase to that amount. It was also decided that there would be no pay raises or bonuses for employees for the 2010 Budget Year.

Paula Medina – She asked Ray’s advice to Town Manager administering the staff. She asked if there could be more support from the Board of Trustees for Bill to administer the employees. Ray stated that the staff needs to understand that the Town Manager is their supervisor. Ray went on to further state that with all the issues with the lagoons the town needs someone to handle this especially with new Board of Trustees and Mayor coming on board in April.

Austin Valdez – He states that no one person on the Board has the time to do what Bill does. We need someone if not full-time at least part-time.

Tiffanie Polkowske – She mentioned that she felt it should go down to part-time. She has talked to several people and none of them see a need for a Town Manager. They have not seen any improvement in the town since Bill has been here.

Earl Haslett – He said that Bill did not do all the work with the lawsuit (Sewer Project). He took pictures and brought up the situation to the rest of the Board. Larry Zaragoza & Austin Valdez – They agree that the Town does need a Town Manager. Larry stated that we can not blame the Town Manager position for our financial downfall. We had a 3 year grant which paid 75%, 50% and then 25% so this is the first year we would be paying the full amount for this position. Bill Yohey – He mentioned that he took a $5,000.00 pay cut last year. At final discussion it was agreed that the Town Manager position would continue to be budgeted for 2010 Proposed Budget. They stated that if the Board all worked together, attends meetings and other required situations then certain things could get accomplished. It was mentioned that Budget HearingNovember 12, 2009 they can’t put all the blame on one person, the Board should be a team. Earl brought up not needing a fourth officer. Everyone stated that there is a need for many reasons.

A motion to adjourn the Budget Hearing was made by Paula.Budget Hearing adjourned at 7:00 pm.

November Minutes 2009

November 12, 2009

The regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of La Jara was called to order by Mayor Austin Valdez at 7:00 pm. The roll was called. Present: Earl Haslett, Paula Medina, Tiffanie Polkowske, Henry Schimpf, Larry Zaragoza and Mayor Austin Valdez. Absent: Patrick Montoya. Also present: Chief of Police Dan Martinez, Maintenance Supervisor Keith Martinez, Town Clerk Priscilla Schimpf, Building Inspector Joseph Trottner, Town Attorney Ray Valdez and Town Manager Bill Yohey. Guests: Kenny Garmaker & Daughters, Larry Sisneros & Son. Those present recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Guests: None.

Reports:
Town Manager: Bill reported that Danny Gallegos opened up a shop at 221 Spruce and wanted to store metal there. The Board stated that it was okay for him to store it but not to crush. Bill informed the Board that Cort Nickle sent a draft of the Planning Grant for the lagoons; a copy was passed out to each board member for their review. He also stated that there is a surplus of used equipment for sale but that it needs to be picked up by November 30th. Bill also mentioned that the Army Engineers could work on the construction of the lagoons. He had Dan explain the process. The Town would need to send a request to the General. Dan stated that the Army Engineers would then go to the state to see what needs to be done. Then they would draw up the plans. Tiffany asked Bill to explain the gas station situation – he stated that it has to do with the old stations that did not dispose of the gas/chemicals properly. It was okayed for the maintenance department to go ahead and pave the roads now that we have the money to do so – 1st Stop, 3rd, etc. Earl asked what was meant by Priscilla & Keith working on water bill list. Bill explained the situation of people not being charged a minimum fee when they turn their services off when leaving town for the winter etc. Bill informed the Board he would be gone November 19th through December 2nd. The report was accepted upon a motion by Earl and a second by Larry. Motion Carried.

Building Inspector: The Board reviewed his written report. It was asked if #141-Jim Quirco was caught up to date. Priscilla stated that he came into pay for an extension permit. Bill will check on the amount charged for #170-1st Stop. The report was accepted upon a motion by Earl and a second by Paula with the exception of Bill checking on #170. Motion Carried.

Court: The Board reviewed the Municipal Judge report. The report was accepted as presented upon a motion by Paula and a second by Tiffanie. Motion Carried.

Police: Everyone complimented Dan on his report – very easy to read. He explained portions of the report to the Board. Ray asked Dan to explain how the door checks and wand works. Dan stated they had a police department meeting on the 15th and he went over the policies with the officers and stated to them that there will be stricter regulations. He will do evaluations every quarter. He brought up the break time issue – they will work 2 hours before taking a 15 minute break in the morning, have lunch, work 2 hours before taking a 15 minute break in the afternoon. They also are not allowed to combine their breaks. He is going to start an award procedure to compliment/thank his employees for their good deeds. He will regulate and be strict on comp. time. Dan also explained to them that they will follow the chain of command and he asks the Board to direct the employees to the right chain of command if they happened to go to one of them. The Board discussed the issue of Lucas moving up in salary due to giving him more responsibility now with only 3 officers.
A motion was made by Henry and a second by Earl to move Lucas’s salary up by $1,000.00. A roll call vote was taken: Earl-yes, Paula-yes, Tiffanie-yes, Henry-yes, Larry-yes and Austin-yes. Motion Carried.
The Board agreed to give Jerry his 2 days of vacation from his previous anniversary date that Richard previously gave him but there will no longer be any of this. Dan would like to see a mental health day implemented in the policies, the Board agreed. The police report was accepted upon a motion by Earl and a second by Paula. Motion Carried.

Maintenance: Keith stated that the Waste Water Permit was a headache and barely got it out by the line. He is still waiting to hear from the State on the status. He reported that the maintenance department workload has been steady. He informed the Board that the snow plow blade is very big and is very hard to plow the snow on these small roads. He asked the Boards permission to get a foot chopped off of it and re-weld which will cost around $200.00. The Board discussed and decided to wait on doing that, it might mess up the whole blade. He brought to the Boards attention that he became a member of the Utility Notification Center for locates. Keith explained their comp. time. A lot of people have asked for gravel for alleys & potholes – Okayed to go ahead and do, need to get 200 tons. Larry asked how come the sign has not been put up by the Polkowske’s. Keith mentioned that Dan has to show them were to put it. Dan will get together with them to do that. Larry also asked about getting reflectors to put on each side of the ditch at the Richfield Road. Bill will check on that issue. The maintenance report was accepted upon a motion by Earl and a second by Larry. Motion Carried.

Trustees:
Larry – Had nothing to report.
Earl – Had nothing to report.
Henry – Mentioned that he has a bill at Ann’s Café for ice cream cones that were ordered when the kids went and cleaned the Fire House. He wants to know where to send the bill? It was said to send the bill to the Town. He also wanted the rest of the Boards opinion on having only 2 people in the front office instead of 3. Right now there is Priscilla, Karol and Irene. It was discussed and decided that 3 is okay so that there is enough coverage. Henry stated that he would like to see a report on comp. time in Bill’s report like everyone else’s. The rest of the Board agreed. Bill is working on it. Earl then stated he would also like to see a report on gas and mileage on the Town car along with his report.
Tiffanie – She just wanted to give a big Thank You to Larry Zaragoza for the apology letter sent to Jan.
Paula – Stated that she and Bill met with Rick Ivers and Brian Crowther from the Elementary School to address the Town’s role with the park. They were told that the Town just needs to water and mow the grass and be the pass-thru for the GOCO Grant. If we were to want to hold an event or other we need to clear up with the school first. Rick and Brian said they are more than happy to come to a Board meeting to discuss with the rest of the Board if it is needed.
Austin – Had nothing to report.

Attorney: Ray stated that now that the lawsuit is settled he will be able to devote more time to Town business. He also reminded the Board that the Christine Chick issue was dropped.

Clerk: Priscilla stated Jerry was on Life Insurance through American General. It is only payroll deductions on his own not an offer through the Town. The figures for sales tax if the rate was to be increased was on the clerks report – Ray stated that a tax increase would require being on an election ballot. Also on the clerks report was a suggestion to charge a late fee on the W/S bills if paid after the due date – the Board will think about it and decide at the December meeting what to do with that suggestion. Priscilla mentioned that there has been a lot of discussion about W/S rates going through the clerk’s list serve. Lots of other Towns charge a turn-off and turn-on fee when services are turned off for delinquency; we only charge a turn-on fee. The report was accepted as presented upon a motion by Tiffanie and a second by Larry. Motion Carried.

Approval of Minutes:
Regular Meeting October 8, 2009 – Motion by Paula, 2nd by Tiffanie with the exception of including in the minutes about Jerry Lujan being on 1 year probation. Motion Carried.
Special Meeting October 24, 2009 – Motion by Larry, 2nd by Earl. Motion Carried.

Follow-Up of Minutes: None.

Approval of Bills:The bills were approved for payment upon a motion by Tiffanie and a second by Paula. Motion Carried.

Other Business:
Discuss Policies/Procedures Committee – The target date to complete was set for March 2010. It was decided to include all Board members therefore will setup as a work session. Bill will set a date and call everyone to inform.
Committee Meetings – Discussed meetings for committees but was agreed that Policies and Procedures is priority.

Retreat/Retreat for Employees – Bill would like to see a retreat setup for the employees. He went through a few ground rules for meetings discussed at the Board Retreat. 1) One person speaking at a time, 2) Stick with topic don’t get personal, 3) Take breaks when needed, 4) Establish ground rules, 5) Respect the language – profanity – no name calling, 6) Utilize /Control speaking point – set cell phones on vibrate – no texting during meeting, 7) 5 minute time limit on agenda items, 8) If not an agenda item 5 minute max for the public to speak at the end of the meeting, 9) Follow chain of command – Town Manager needs to be the hub of communication. Goals – Department authority & Clarity of Policy & Procedure. Bill went on to discuss other items that were addressed at the Retreat.

Retirement Party-Richard & Incoming Chief-Dan – They set a date of December 5, 2009 from 2pm-4pm at the Senior Center. The new Chief will get sworn in at this time. Paula will talk to the Valley Courier to come to report on the event. Priscilla will make a flyer to post at the Post Office, Town Hall, Video Store, Ann’s Café and Pharmacy. She will also include a flyer in each of the W/S bills.

Larry Sisneros addressed the Board in regards to the minimum fee for W/S services – he couldn’t find in the ordinance – he was told to come into the office and Priscilla will show him where it is at.

There being no further business a motion to adjourn was made by Paula. Meeting adjourned at 9:30 pm.

Special Meeting Oct. 24, 2009

October 24, 2009

The Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Town of La Jara was called to order at 4:38 pm by Mayor Austin Valdez. The roll was called and those present were: Paula Medina, Tiffanie Polkowske, Henry Schimpf, Earl Haslett and Mayor Austin Valdez. Absent: Patrick Montoya and Larry Zaragoza. Also present were Town Clerk Priscilla Schimpf, Town Attorney Ray Valdez and Town Manager Bill Yohey. Guests: Pete Cordova, Zack Cordova, Steward Anderson and Larry Sisneros. A quorum was declared.

Larry Sisneros asked to approach the board. He stated that he was unaware of the special meeting until the day before the meeting was to be held. He had seen the notice at the Post Office. Austin stated that we are required to give a 24 hour notice to the public for special meetings. Posting the notice the day before the meeting is adequate time.

Discussion of the Sewer System: A motion to go into executive session to discuss pending litigation of the sewer system was made by Paula and a second by Henry. A roll call vote was taken: Paula-yes; Tiffanie-yes; Henry-yes; Earl-yes and Austin-yes. Motion Carried. The Board adjourned to the executive session at 4:40 pm.

At 5:25 pm the meeting was reconvened by Mayor Austin Valdez. No action was taken. A motion to authorize Pete Cordova, Zack Cordova and Steward Anderson to accept the offer of settlement as propounded was made by Earl and a second by Paula. A roll call vote was taken: Paula–yes; Tiffanie–yes; Henry–yes; Earl-yes and Austin–yes. Motion Carried.

There being no further business a motion to adjourn was made by Paula. Meeting adjourned at 5:35 pm.