Tuesday's Village Council Agenda: What to Know
Get caught up with the docket. Plus: what you missed at the Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan workshop.
The upcoming Village Council Regular Meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at 6:00 PM at the village chambers, will address several key operational items for Cloudcroft.
A significant area of focus: staffing within the village office and the library, which currently face near-vacancies. Recently-hired Jolyn McTiegue is the sole Village Clerk, and the Michael Nivison Public Library has been closed since November 2024.
The agenda includes discussions and potential actions on proposed hires for:
a Utility Clerk,
a Financial Director,
a Library Director/Planning & Zoning Clerk/Court Clerk,
and a part-time Maintenance Worker.
The council is also set to approve the new Lodger’s Tax Funding Application, which Lodger’s Tax Advisory Board member Bri Jonnes drafted. Preview it here:
Top Five Capital Funding Projects
Following the Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) workshop held on June 12, the council is preparing to finalize its strategic funding requests. The ICIP is a five-year plan (from 2027 to 2031) designed to outline what the village aims to accomplish, focusing on "shovel-ready" projects likely to attract state funding.
Grant writer Lauren Groesbeck and the village council emphasized that state funding is generally provided for projects where the village has "skin in the game," by pursuing or having already secured funding from other sources.
The council, Groesbeck, and Public Works Supervisor J.J. Carrizal aim to break projects into realistic, "bite-sized" phases, ideally under $750,000 per phase, operational after each phase.
Reflecting these strategic considerations, the proposed top five ICIP priorities that emerged from the workshop:
Water and Sewer Line Replacement: This remains a strong contender, building on the partially funded Mountaintop project. A Colonias grant provided $2.6 million for Phase 1. While this amount was initially expected to cover all three phases, cost increases mean it now primarily covers only the first phase. The total project cost is estimated to be closer to $6 million, according to Groesbeck. The project is considered shovel-ready due to completed surveys and designs.
Emergency Warning System: EMS and VFD Chief Erich Wuersching aims to replace our "World War II vintage" sirens. The ICIP funding focus is on hardwired, tangible infrastructure systems, as digital components alone are not considered infrastructure. Seven new sirens with battery backups are needed, considered a high safety priority.
Heavy Equipment: Capital outlay is our primary funding mechanism for essential heavy equipment, such as a large wood chipper. The council floated multiple community benefits, including reduced labor and disposal complications for removing slash and fire fuels. A snow melter is also part of the village’s ask.
Water Meters: These projects are considered "shovel-ready" and contribute directly to water conservation efforts, which is an ongoing village priority. The village has already invested money in new meters, demonstrating this importance.
Cloudcroft Street Improvements: With $253,000 already secured for planning and design through the Transportation Project Fund (TPF), these projects are well-positioned for further investment. Road improvements often require underlying sewer and water work to be completed first to avoid tearing up new roads, creating additional funding challenges.
According to Groesbeck, the longer an item remains on the ICIP list, the higher its likelihood of being funded.
This article continues after a brief message. Thank you to our sponsor, Blushing Yucca Esthetics:
It’s essential to differentiate between the village's broader priorities and its strategic ICIP funding asks. While vital needs like water well sourcing and land acquisition are acknowledged as high priorities for the village as a whole,they may not be at the very top of the ICIP funding list.
This is because of their variable costs and numerous unknowns, such as land cost, precise location, and extensive piping expenses, estimated at $1 million per mile, according to Trustee Jim Maynard. Additionally, land acquisition itself is not considered "infrastructure" by the state, though the piping for water sources would be.
Past Funding Fumbles and Recent Hold-Ups
The ICIP prioritizes projects that are more feasible for immediate funding and deployment, demonstrating responsible use of funds and building a strong track record for future, larger endeavors, particularly given that billions of capital outlay dollars statewide remain unspent, according to Groesbeck.
Cloudcroft’s dependence on our audit—and its current incompletion— may affect our ability to garner funding. Groesbeck and the council estimated the audit would be completed in August or September at best.
Currently, three years' worth of previously funded Capital Outlay projects are being held up due to the village's financial situation, specifically the requirement for improved audits and fiscal administrators. These include projects like the fan press, a public bathroom, and a backhoe, for which the money has been "funded" but not yet received or utilized.
The completion of the audit is a direct requirement for receiving funding from the Water Trust Board. For instance, recommended funding of approximately $1.2 million for storage and conveyance related to Hilltop tanks is contingent on the audit.
The Water Trust Board has significant funds available, potentially up to $18.5 million in a single shot, according to Groesbeck, which could be used for a new wastewater treatment plant or other water and sewer systems. However, the village needs to repair its lending reputation and demonstrate its ability to deploy funds quickly and responsibly.
The open workshopping and transparent efforts in preparing this strategic plan signal a more organized approach to securing essential funding for the village's future, ensuring projects can progress through phases without being dropped due to a lack of a clear plan.
It’s a step in the right direction—on a trail, with a map.
Recent Poll Results and Top Comment
Recently, the Reader conducted two Facebook polls. Here are the results.
179 Readers addressed: “DOT should do more to manage rock slide risks below the tunnel on Highway 82.”
93% said “Yes,” 5% said “No,” and 2% said “I don’t know.”
The top comment from George Thoma:
“I'm sure that NMDOT is reluctant to shut the road for that long, or most likely longer.Merchants in Cloudcroft would be impacted and residents would be diverted down to La Luz via Fresnal Canyon. Fresnal road is not suitable for that amount of traffic. There is a lot of pedestrian and bicycle traffic in High Rolls and Fresnal canyon.
The alternate routes through High Rolls are 25MPH residential streets, not highways. The highway was built in the 1940s and the cliffs immediately adjacent to the roadway are dangerous as they were fractured by dynamiting during construction.
The can will be kicked down the road until a number of people are killed in a rock fall. Proactive or reactive?”
127 Readers weighed in on: “Bears! What do you know? Tell us, below.”
“Bears are not a public safety issue in the village,” according to 42% of voters. 15% disagree. 39% of voters said they “know how to prevent a nuisance bear,” while 4% don’t.
Check out our reel for resources on becoming bear aware: Watch it here.
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