The Artesia City Council appointed a new councilor for District 4 and elected its mayor pro tem during Tuesday’s meeting at City Hall.
Michael Bundt was appointed to fill the District 4 council seat recently vacated by Sam Hagelstein. No candidates ran for the seat during March’s municipal election. Bundt is a former economic development director for the Artesia Chamber of Commerce.
District 3 Councilor Jeff Youtsey was reelected as mayor pro tem.
During the Infrastructure Committee report, Youtsey reported the committee has reviewed proposed utility rate increases. A town hall meeting to discuss the rate changes will begin at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, April 11, in Council Chambers at City Hall.
“When you look at the cost increases compared to utility rate adjustments, it becomes obvious we are going to have to do something to maintain the level of service the city provides,” said Youtsey. “Costs are outrunning our revenue. The City of Artesia will still remain one of the very lowest-cost utilities in the state.
“As a reminder to the public, all of our City utilities are considered enterprise accounts totally funded by their users and by law must retain a healthy balance for emergency use. The City is obligated by law to keep these accounts healthy. We want to keep our utility rates reasonable, but we have to keep our utilities healthy.”
The council approved a resolution prohibiting outside food and drinks at the Artesia Aquatic Center. The resolution includes:
Prohibition of outside food and beverages:
- No outside food or beverages are allowed within the Artesia Aquatic Center premises.
- Exceptions to this rule include:
- Coolers of 16 quarts or smaller to hold water and or baby food
- sealed water bottles
- baby food and baby formula.
Food policy in the party room:
- Outside food is permitted in the party room only when the room is reserved for an event
- All food and beverages must remain within the confines of the party room area and are not allowed in the general facility
Approval of food vendors:
- Any food vendors wishing to provide catering services at the Artesia Aquatic Center must be approved by the city
- Approved food vendors must comply with all health and safety regulations and standards set forth by the city and the Artesia Aquatic Center
The council also discussed changes to the hours of operation at the Artesia Aquatic Center. Both the food prohibition and hours of operation changes are efforts to help close the gap at the aquatic center.
“There is an anticipated $750,000 to $850,000 loss this year at the aquatic center,” said Community Development/Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair.
“We are also looking at fee changes,” said Summer Valverde, city clerk/treasurer.
“I don’t think we are ever going to close the gap enough to break even, but everything we’re going to do, we are going to give that a shot,” said Mayor Jon Henry.
The Artesia Aquatic Center will host a free open house event from 4-7 p.m. Friday, April 12, through Sunday, April 14. The public is invited to tour the facility, explore sponsorship opportunities, obtain discounted season passes, sign up for summer swim lessons, and enjoy food trucks. For more information, call 575-746-8525.
Landfair reported construction on the Splash Pad at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex has incurred some delays. There is a new requirement to include a shower in the building which is being explored. Construction on the Splash Pad will start in the middle of May.
Landfair also reported construction on the bathrooms at the youth soccer and football fields at Jaycee Park will begin by the end of April.
The council also approved its Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 audit report after a presentation by Juan Garcia from Beasley, Mitchell and Associates of Las Cruces.
Garcia shared the City of Artesia is worth about $140 million with a healthy working capital of 19.55, which means the city can cover their bases about 19.5 times in the current year with current assets and current liabilities. He reported a $52-million fund balance.
“I think you all stand very well,” said Garcia. “I think you have the benefit of the value of your assets being high. So in the short term your cash flows might not be the highest of any other municipalities but you do have a solid base with the value of your city.”
In other business, the council approved an over-hire in the Artesia Police Department for an Evidence Tech I with an internal posting at this time.
The council approved the following requests for the use of city facilities: - Joe and Laura Tufano to use the Guadalupe Park gazebo for a birthday party from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, April 13
- Artesia Chamber of Commerce and Artesia MainStreet to hold the Permian Basin Celebration – 100 Years of Oil & Gas June 14-15 in the downtown district.
- Artesia MainStreet to hold an Oilfield Equipment Parade from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Saturday, June 15. The parade will gather in the Bulldog Bowl parking lot, head east down Main Street, and turn right at Second Street, contingent upon New Mexico Department of Transportation approval of the parade permit and proof of insurance and fees.
- CYFD to hold a Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Walk from 10 a.m. – noon Friday, April 19. The walk will move from the CASA Office at 605 W. Main St. to City Hall.
The council granted permission to set a public hearing for May 28 to hear an ordinance for a proposed zone change from R1-B, single family district, to C, commercial use, for 601 S. 23rd St., a property owned by Beverly Still and Brad Knowlton. The intended use is RV storage, but anything slated for commercial use is an option. Residents living within 300 feet of the property will be notified.
The council approved the following Appointive Officers, submitted by Henry, in accordance with Section 3-11-5 of NMSA 1978: - Byron Landfair – Infrastructure Director
- Kevin Hope – Fire Chief
- Kirk Roberts – Police Chief
- Summer Valverde – City Clerk/Treasurer
- Jerry Conde – Human Resources Director
The council then approved and confirmed all current full- and part-time regular employees as well as all probationary and as-needed employees of the City of Artesia as of April 9.
As part of its consent agenda, the council granted permission for: - the hiring of Allison Sanchez, Infrastructure Department senior administrator, at a pay rate of $3,282.44 per month; and Luke Burns, communication coordinator, $5,150.08 per month.
- the temporary hiring of school program positions at a pay rate of $12 per hour.
- the resignations of June Fisk, Solid Waste Department Equipment Operator II, effective April 5; Amy Gallegos, police officer, effective April 11; and James Minter, police sergeant, effective April 12.
- the retirements of Manuel Melendez, Solid Waste Equipment Operator II, effective April 1; and Myra Barnum, police Evidence Technician II, effective Sept. 13.
- one solid waste employee to attend a Transfer Station Operator Certification Class in Santa Fe.
- one police employee to attend Advanced Supervisor Liability training online.
- two police employees to attend the Heroes Hiring Heroes Job Fair in Albuquerque.
- two police employees to attend the Southern New Mexico Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in Ruidoso.
- one fire employee to attend the FDIC International Fire Conference in Indianapolis, Ind.