It’s official: Golf pro job is axed

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Bill Donovan
Independent correspondent

GALLUP — The city manager is staying and the city’s golf pro is leaving.

The Gallup City Council meeting — which ran more than 3 1/2 hours — ended up with City Manager Gerald Herrera keeping his job and the council standing by its earlier decision to eliminate the golf pro position in next year’s budget. This means that Alex Alvarez’s last day with the city will be June 30.

The decision to keep Herrera came after the council members met behind closed doors for about 45 minutes with Herrera and City Attorney R. David Pederson.

Councilor E. Bryan Wall had asked at the last meeting that an item be on this week’s agenda removing Herrera as city manager. After leaving executive session, Pederson said that no vote had been taken but Herrera would remain as city manager and an “objective performance criteria” would be drawn up.

During a break, Pederson said that the criteria would be written up by the council members. Herrera said later none of the criteria had been developed as yet.

Wall had also put on the agenda the motion to keep the golf pro in the budget, pointing out that Alvarez has been working for the city for 25-26 years and he has “devoted his life to golf.”

He said he felt that Alvarez may be getting the blame for the bad condition the golf course is in but as golf pro, the condition of the course wasn’t his responsibility — that was the responsibility of the course’s greens superintendent.

Alvarez also shouldn’t be blamed for the fact that the city has had to provide subsidies to the program of more than $400,000 a year.

“You could have the best golf pro, and given the condition of this course, he couldn’t do any better,” Wall said. “It’s not Alex’s fault that he can’t bring enough people to the course,” he said.

Mayor Harry Mendoza, however, pointed out that the council had approved removing the position as part of next year’s budget and asked Wall to come up with what else could be eliminated from the budget to make up for Alvarez’s salary.

Wall later pointed out that the golf course budget was $1 million and the money could be taken from there.

Alvarez was at the meeting but did not speak. He said he would speak if someone on the council asked but no one did.

Mike Enfield seconded Wall’s motion but said he wasn’t getting into the question of whether Alvarez should stay or go. He just wanted to keep he golf pro position because he felt it was needed. As to Alvarez’s status, that should be left up to the city manager. “If he’s not doing a good job, he should be removed through the normal procedures,” Enfield said.

In the end, Wall’s motion to keep Alvarez failed when John J. Azua and Allan Landavazo joined Mendoza in voting no.

Landavazo said that the council had already approved a budget and he didn’t think it was proper for the city to be involved in hiring, firing or riffing employees, although by its action a month ago, he and others on the council agreed do away with the golf pro position.

Azua said he was also going to stand behind his previous vote.

Wall had also brought three other items back for reconsideration — taking out a clause in the contract for the Northwest New Mexico Council of Governments and reinstating the contract for a film liaison for the city and reinstatement of a municipal court clerk position.

Enfield made the motion to approve the film liaison position, which failed by a 3-2 vote. Wall was not able to get a second on the other two items, so they died without a vote being taken.

After the meeting, Wall said he wasn’t disappointed because he felt that bringing up the items brought forth some discussion and may have brought the council closer together. While he wasn’t able to get the city manager removed, the members did agree that something needed to be done and decided on creating a performance goal criteria.