Key Hires, Lingering Water Questions and More at Cloudcroft's March Council Meeting
New hires, contracts, grant reports, and approvals from Thursday night's council meeting. Plus: what arguments to expect at the upcoming water workshop, date still TBD.
Last night’s delayed Thursday, March 27th, council meeting held new hires, pay adjustments, and stifled conversation about water. Some of the most interesting questions from the crowded council meeting were shut down with a gavel tap.
What else happened?
Key Hires and Adjustments
M.B.A. Jolyn McTeigue began her duties as the new Village Clerk immediately after she was officially hired and after offering a heartfelt prayer for the village. McTeigue brings experience from federal and state government roles, most recently as a legislative assistant for Representative Harlan Vincent.
Notably, the new hires for the police department and library director positions that were listed in previous iterations were either absent or removed from the Thursday night agenda.
The council raised Interim Police Chief Chris Swanson’s current pay rate by 10%, closing the gap between this year and his previous year's higher wages. “When Mayor Turner made that pay rate, he gave me a nearly $5,000 a year pay cut,” Swanson said.
The council renewed Attorney Zack Cook’s contract at an hourly rate of $200 with expanded duties to support the village’s ongoing legal and administrative needs. Cook grew up in Clovis, attended the University of New Mexico for both undergraduate and law school, served as general counsel for the Villages of Ruidoso and Capitan, and was a state representative for 14 years.
“It’s a serious business, dealing with public money,” Cook says of his work with the village.
Upon Attorney Cook’s advice, the council voted to deny installing traffic control devices at the former warming hut site on Burro Avenue, clarifying that the property owner must manage access independently.
Additionally, Judi Starkovich, the Village of Ruidoso's current finance director, was approved to assist with addressing audit deficiencies in Cloudcroft. According to Starkovich, she plans to retire from Ruidoso next year.
Karen Gutierrez of High Water Mark LLC praised Starkovich and also Judge Mark Tatum for his assistance in the village office with data entry, acknowledging his ongoing support.
Grants and Water Updates
Grant writer Lauren Groesbeck presented updates on several grants at the meeting. The village must spend a $15,000 New Mexico Clean and Beautiful grant for roll-off dumpsters by this June. Discussion arose about whether these dumpsters could be used for slash and FireWise cleanup. Trustee Maynard noted the need for a woodchipper, to which Groesbeck chuckled that she had already “asked for one” through the Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan equipment wish list.
Additional grants include $25,000 from Trails Plus for recreation improvements. The village secured $35,000 from the US Bureau of Reclamation for water hauling in emergency situations over the next 365 days— recently the village approved to truck in water to the tune of roughly $3,000 a day through Oasis Enterprises in the January 28th special meeting.
According to Public Works Supervisor Joe John (JJ) Carrizal, the village has spent $31,625 hauling water since January 30th, with the most recent truck arriving on February 21st.
On Monday, March 24th, Carrizal says the public works crew found and repaired a significant leak in the village: a “4-inch main line, cracked all the way around.” He and Water Operator Aaron Foster are collecting data, even in the middle of the night, to verify if this leak was “the big one.” The Reader will interview the Public Works team soon.
Carrizal estimated that the village's East Reservoir is filled to “around 95%” and that he is “hopeful, but the village is still one main break away from being back in the same situation. People still need to conserve water as much as possible.”
At the Thursday night meeting, Groesbeck updated the council, “We’ve got another year to work on the wastewater treatment plant updates,” after Debi Lee from the Southeastern New Mexico Development District assisted with the village’s grant reauthorizations.
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H2…Oh.
As Cloudcroft grapples with water infrastructure challenges, the village council touts an unscheduled water workshop, apparently to explore solutions for our crumbling water infrastructure, drought, and lack of resources.
At Thursday night’s meeting, the council approved using the gross receipts tax fund as a match for a Water Trust Board grant to refurbish the Hilltop Tank—a million-dollar project.
Groesbeck later told the Reader that “the Hilltop Tank project will cover the refurbishment of 4 tanks for $1.1 million.”
Thursday night, Trustee Maynard told the Reader, “We haven't made any more water yet. We're just trying to fix a leak in one tank for a million (dollars) more. These numbers are nuts because it's government money.”
Gavel Tap for Tap: Water Questions Shut Off
At Thursday’s meeting, several community members voiced concerns about a proposed rainwater capture ordinance in direct response to statements made by Trustee Maynard during the February 18th council meeting, where he outlined possible regulations.
During the February meeting, Maynard said,
“I believe in innovation before we have regulation.”
"I would like to see us do some ordinances in the village where if we have a remodel of an existing structure of 100 square feet or more, then we require a rainwater harvesting system to be part of that remodel.”
“If we do any new builds that are permitted in the future. We should have them look at dedicating 1000 square feet of roof or more to rainwater harvesting and having 5000 gallons of storage capacity."
"How far would we want our ordinance to go?”
Thursday night, concerned citizens Lewis Hornbuckle and John Snook both spoke against the idea of requiring rainwater capture, highlighting skepticism about its practicality and fairness.
Later, Snook began to ask about water production for the current year before Mayor King tapped his gavel three times, ending the inquiry.
Snook later told the Reader:
"There's no dialogue between the trustees and the citizens.”
“The water meeting that they keep talking about—it's not on the books. It's cryptic. There appears to be no transparency. When they vote on stuff, and they have the public there, they don't give the public any information other than This is what we're gonna vote on; it's very superficial. There are no details.”
King later said that if people want to speak at the council meetings, “they should sign up to speak.”
What Arguments to Expect at the Water Workshop, TBD
The Reader checked in with Snook, a retired engineer who worked for 32 years as the “details guy” for off-shore rigs in the oil field, which necessitates self-sufficiency regarding water, electricity, and other infrastructure—much like the village of Cloudcroft.
"I think they're pushing the cost off on homeowners instead of the city doing their job and actually meeting the requirements for supply. You're probably looking at $15,000 to be able to treat it to make it potable,” Snook said.
He continued, “We've had what, 10 inches of snow this year? Which is less than an inch of water, and we probably got a tenth of an inch of rain yesterday. I think Mr. Maynard was quoting one inch of rain on a 1,000-square-foot roof as roughly 600 gallons. That would be less than one month’s usage (for me.) If I can’t harvest 24,000 to 30,000 gallons a year, I am not gonna be able to have water."
After the March Thursday night meeting, the Reader asked Trustee Maynard about rainwater capture and proposed ordinances requiring it.
What would constitute a remodel? Like if you're redoing your bathroom, do you have to [put in a rainwater harvest system]?
"Okay, the state and CID have requirements for when you have to get a permit. So, you can always say if it (requires) permits, or if the law requires a permit, then we have to look at it if it's 100 square feet. I just picked a number. People could say, no, it's got to be 500. I don't know. That's what the workshops are for. How would you work that? Because the idea is not to hurt everybody. That is, let's heighten everybody's awareness here."
“New builds are where you have all the options; it’s where you have all the space,” Maynard elaborated.
Addressing concerns over the cost of implementation, Maynard argues that the investment is ultimately worthwhile. “What’s another five or eight thousand [dollars] for rainwater harvesters compared to no water in your home?” he asked.
Maynard is the majority owner of Cloudcroft Brewing Company, which is outfitted for potable rainwater harvesting. According to Cloudcroft Brewing Company co-owner Matt Willett, the brewery has produced its in-house beer with 100% rainwater to date, the average of which is approximately 4,000 gallons per month, and the brewery is equipped with 15,000 gallons of rainwater storage.
Take Five
Cloudcroft will host the low-budget, local film project The Chronicles of the Chosen Few this May 19th through the 24th. Benjamin Curnutt of Thistlewood Studios and Jan Wafful from the Otero County Film Liaison presented the project to the crowded village chambers. Curnutt’s cast of more-than-a-chosen-few, 10 major roles, consists of other Southeast New Mexico actors, directors, and writers.
Curnutt described his passion project fantasy film as drawing inspiration from epics like The Lord of the Rings. Curnutt and Wafful hope the project will boost local business and tourism.
Their big ask is for financial or material support—lend enough, and you can have an executive producer credit.
To be continued…
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The village doesn't need tanks that will collect more dust than water. The village needs fewer people sucking off the system. But God forbid we limit "progress."