View the full transcript from Tuesday night’s council meeting in your browser.
The newly formed Village Council nears its one-year anniversary with mounting pressures in the rear-view mirror—and the road ahead.
Amidst revelations from the former administration, such as the village’s unpaid taxes and the need for a forensic audit, a noticeable new power dynamic is emerging in the current Council.
Recent marathon-length meetings have occurred over the Skywater Replat revocation and subsequent denials by Trustees Foster, King, and McCoy, who all called for Trustee Maynard to resign. The same trio recently stopped an expensive holiday lighting plan for The Trestle led by the mayor dead in its tracks.
Tuesday’s meeting saw a similar dynamic emerge.
Tuesday Night’s Meeting Breakdown
Tuesday night’s council meeting held the standard village department reports, 16 “Discussion/Action” items on the agenda, and a few surprises. Here’s a quick breakdown:
After Mayor Turner read a prepared statement in favor of changing the Village staff and Public Work’s office hours to a 4-day, 10-hour work schedule, Trustee King challenged the first three items on the agenda covering the mayor’s recommendation with a motion to postpone the vote until an executive session to “go over a personnel issue.” Seemingly catching the mayor by surprise, the four Trustees approved King’s motion, quickly sidelining discussion of comp time in lieu of overtime and postponing approval to hire a full-time financial clerk with no further discussion.
A special meeting to discuss the tabled items is scheduled for Tuesday, December 3rd, at 6:00 p.m.
No Trustee was willing to motion approval of the Financial Reports & Budget Adjustments, an action that had been routinely approved in prior meetings. Trustee Tabitha Foster told the Cloudcroft Reader, “The trustees need more time and clarification. Our packet contained all the checks and credit card statements since January, but without their assigned line item.” Clearly the Trustees are not in rubber-stamp mode.
Joining Council meetings starting in January 2025: new village attorney, Zack Cook of Ruidoso. Check out his Wikipedia entry here.
As his name was mentioned in passing as the new Village Attorney, at least one Trustee was surprised to learn he was hired. Trustee Gail McCoy asked, “We have a new attorney?” She later told the Reader she had not been briefed on the hire and was not involved in the hiring process.
We are unaware of any official announcement of his hiring.
Questions & Answers MVPs
There’s another notable dynamic at play in the Village Chambers. When questions arise in Village Council meetings, all heads turn to three particular audience members: Deputy Clerk Suzanne Peralta, Grants Writer Lauren Groesbeck, and Public Works Supervisor J.J. Carrizal. Here’s what they had to say at Tuesday’s meeting.
“We use 97% of what water we produce, ” Carrizal impressed upon the chamber during the Wells & Springs and Water Usage & Production Reports.
“Our pumps are constantly running. I mean, do we have water? Yes. Do we have an abundance of water? No. Can we waste water? No. That's just my opinion. And not just the water, but also the wastewater plant,” Carrizal continued.
He said that creating more water storage was, at best, a one-week solution, and that if the Village had to fight a fire, the water supply could be fully taxed.
Carrizal shared the good news that the Village acquired 96 new red, white, and blue fire hydrants. Public Works will start installation soon, beginning with older, failing hydrants.
Carrizal then foreshadowed issues with new permitting for the wastewater treatment plant, which will result in fines if, during power outages, the Village has to let untreated wastewater run down the adjacent canyon, as has happened in the past.
Lauren Groesbeck briefed the Council on a new Colonias Infrastructure Project loan and grant agreement. The Village began the grant process in 2017 to address the antiquated water and wastewater system serving the Mountaintop area near the Lodge.
The $2.8 million award now will only cover a portion of the originally scoped work because costs have risen since 2017. Now estimated to cost roughly $4.3 million, the project lacks full funding. While it’s not unusual for project costs to increase from orignial estimates, unprecedented rises in construction costs occurred during and since the pandemic.
Additionally, Groesbeck cautioned that the Village is awaiting to learn after submitting its 2023 budget to the state if the grant will require a ‘fiscal administrator’ to be attached to the project. As a result of the fiscal reporting mismanagement of prior years, it appears the Village’s ability to secure the funds may require assurances that the Village can responsibly manage money.
The grant should include a packaged low-interest loan to match the grant, nearing $260,000, with the village producing the remaining funds of the same amount.
It appears that this funding has been approved in the previous village budget. The Reader will provide updates once the grant is awarded.
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More Village Reports and Updates
The Village is still hiring: The Michael Nivison Public Library has one part-time position available, and Chief Schoolcraft is still seeking two police officers to round out the department.
In his report, Schoolcraft stressed that villagers and businesses maintain camera systems, citing video footage as helpful in apprehending a suspect in recent theft at the King’s Treasure donation station.
Schoolcraft said the school needs $6,000 for their solar-powered speed limit flashing signs that dot James Canyon Highway.
Upon the Planning and Zoning (P+Z) Committee's recommendation, Village Trustees unanimously voted to deny Allsup’s signage variance request without discussion. Before entertaining a motion, Mayor Turner said, “I understand that for signage, the variance has to be for a hardship.”
At the November P+Z meeting, representatives from Allsup’s cited visibility issues and loss of business as reasons for their request to build a 25-foot, lighted sign along the highway, where the well-lit, strategically located business resides. At the P+Z meeting, local Burro business owners Alex Carilli and Matt Willett spoke against the variance.
No Allsup’s representatives presented at Tuesday night’s council meeting.
Mr. Lee finally got a forward motion and was granted a variance, but he still needs a replat approval for his 802 Chautauqua cesspool issue.
The Parks and Recreation Committee also came away with a win for the “ballfield,” now officially named Elevation Park.
Trustee Tim King suggested using Otter A.I. to make writing Village meeting official minutes faster and more complete. Look for the Reader’s interview of Trustee King, coming soon.
Congratulations are in order: Cloudcroft Volunteer Fire Department Secretary and EMT Penny Hall received the New Mexico Fire and EMS Expo “EMS Provider of the Year” award.
Checking in with Cloudcroft Schools
Cloudcroft Municipal Schools held its monthly board meeting on November 19th. Reader contributing editor Drew Gaines found out about the new Yondr Bag performance, a new school bus, facility use fees, improved test scores, and the recently implemented Structured Literacy program administered by the state.
“The Yondr bags seem to be going very well,” says school board President Lance Wright. “I can't tell you how many people have come up to me and talked about; finally, we have these things [phones] out of their hands because that’s all they do.”
Yondr Bags require students to place their phones in a locked pouch throughout the school day. They were introduced at the beginning of this school year at both the high and middle schools.
“I had a teacher, she’s down in one of the far hallways, and she says this is the first time she’s been able to hear the kids from her room at lunch...Getting them to interact with people and talk, cause when you’re doing that phone you’re not getting any interaction back,” says Wright.
“We’re anxious to see what we will see this spring when we get the next set of scores…but all the data that we have talking with the Yondr folks and the other schools that have it, they’ve all seen increases in test scores,” says Wright.
Guest speaker Sarah Lee, Structured Literacy Coach with the Southwest Regional Education Cooperative, presented the science of reading as Cloudcroft Schools continue to implement the Structured Literacy New Mexico initiative.
According to the state Public Education Department, “this initiative is focused on identifying struggling readers before they fail and supporting teachers through the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy.” The program uses a “multi-sensory” approach to reading through phonics, sound, and mouth movements rather than focusing on memorization.
“I am super excited because after COVID, this is one of the main things we missed. I spent thousands of dollars paying someone to help my kids get caught up, and now we are doing it for our [Cloudcroft school] kids,” says school board Vice President Daniel Hughes. “One-hundred percent, this is where we need to be.”
Cloudcroft High School Principal Cody Skinner released new test scores, showing that the junior and senior classes outperformed state and national averages on the SAT over the last year.
“These kids are going to go out and be productive members of society…We are really proud to see the scores and how well they’ve done. It’s because of the kindergarten teachers all the way to the senior teachers that they’ve done so well,” says Skinner.
The board proposes new facility use fees for use of the football field by outside groups like the semi-pro football league.
“What has happened in our district by not charging these fees and then we allow individuals to utilize our facilities, things get damaged all the time, we are missing items, in our press box things get broken…utilizing our facilities for outside communities and not charging enough or asking for a deposit…we’ve had to spend thousands of dollars to fix items and we’ve spent thousands of dollars with our custodians,” says Superintendent Jocelyne Gillespie.
The board tabled discussion on facility use fees until next month’s meeting while the districts’ lawyer reviews current facility contracts.
Cloudcroft schools will purchase a new activity bus. The board unanimously approved the Thomas Built brand bus and opted for the extended warranty. It will find its home in the district’s recently completed new bus barn.
December 3rd marks the first home basketball game for Cloudcroft High and their first basketball pep rally of the season. Football, volleyball, and cross-country seasons have ended, with the high school cross-country and volleyball teams making appearances at state-level competitions.
The high school Technology Students Association (TSA) is fundraising for Luv Michael, a granola bakery dedicated to bringing awareness to adult autism and “providing resources, opportunities, and support for these individuals to thrive,” according to student Ayla Yarbrough. Half of the donations fund TSA, and half benefit Luv Michael.
‘Tis the Season
Vintage Christmas will be held at the Sacramento Mountains Museum & Pioneer Village on December 14th and 21st. Structures like train cars, rustic cabins, and a chapel will be available for “adoption” to be decorated according to the theme.
Ullr Fest returns to Cloudcroft Ice Rink on December 14th from 7-11. At the free event, folks can jam to live music, snack on local concessions, and usher in winter by the warm bonfire.
For more winter events, check our list of favorites here.
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