Bluewater Assn. did nothing wrong

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

BLUEWATER ACRES — In a recently released finding, Assistant Attorney General Lesley J. Lowe found that the Bluewater Acres Water Association board of directors board did not violate the state’s Open Meeting Act (OMA) as alleged by former board member Jesse Gomez.

In a letter dated April 29, 2007, Gomez alleged that meetings held by the board in October 2006 and again in February 2007 violated the Open Meetings Act because of illegal posting of the agenda and a lack of quorum.

Gomez was ousted by the board in late 2006 and not allowed to run for re-election because the board secretary and president said they did not receive his letter indicating he wanted to run for re-election. The board did, however, receive a payment for his water bill. Both letters were mailed the same day to the same address.

Lowe stated in her “Determination of the Open Meetings Act Complaint” that the two meetings held by the board, the one in October 2006 and a second one in February 2007, had problems but those problems were “not sufficient to constitute a violation of the OMA.“

Gomez alleged that because the board did not send an agenda to its members 10 days before a meeting that violated the OMA and the board’s bylaws.

Board President Ophelia Gonzales said state agencies, “Told me all we have to do is post the agenda 24 hours prior to the meeting,” which is all that is required under state law.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.