Grants council dishes out cash for projects

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Helen Davis
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — The Grants City Council wound up the fiscal year making a lot of people happy. In its regular monthly meeting, the council approved all proposed expenditures on the agenda and tabled one non-fiscal item.

In a vote that may keep the Santa Fe Avenue improvement momentum moving, the city approved a proposal to award a downtown Master Plan development contract to Wilson and Company. Having a plan for the old business district that lies along Route 66 will allow the city and The Grants MainStreet Project to apply for improvement funds that are unavailable to cities that do not have an official downtown Master Plan.

Wilson and Company, who are the current contract engineering firm for the city, was chosen from a field of six firms vying for the master plan contract. Mario Juarez-Infante said the team will work with economic development and most of the team members have experience in Colorado.

The $79,000 planning contract will be covered by a grant obtained by MainStreet specifically for a downtown plan. The city approved $85,000 total for master plan development expenses.

Councilors approved a $13,808 environment services contract to SWCA Environmental Consultants to provide research services required to move the Nimitz Drive bridge and road improvement project forward.

Juarez-Infante said the service has environment clearance including wetlands, endangered species, archaeological sites and historic properties that might be affected by the project.

The city also approved a letter of agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers that will get research into drainage paths and flooding solutions for runoff from Black Mesa at the west end of Grants.

The City of Grants Drainage Management Plant will be a joint effort including the city, Cibola County and the corps, with Grants as the lead agency in the partnership. The council approved a resolution to apply for $50,000 in Community Development Block Grant money to cover Grants’ contribution to the drainage management plan. The matching grant will require $5,000 from the city.

Also approved were $212,400 for the purchase of a new fire truck for Grants Fire and Rescue, $16,000 to equip the new truck, which should arrive in about eight months; fireworks money of $15,000 toward the 4th of July display at Coyote del Malpais Golf Course and a wage scale revision giving animal shelter staff a higher employee status and providing a sergeant in the Grants Fire and Rescue force.

The council discussed possible solutions to transmission problems encountered with Cibola Regional Communications Center, often referred to as Central Dispatch. Grants Police Chief Steven Sena said that the repeaters that relay messages will be checked and the department will track down the problem and fix it.

Councilor Modey Hicks again voted “no” on the quarterly payment to Cibola Regional Communications Center , but said he will change his vote when the system works.

Councilor Ron Ortiz said, “Chief, are you going to get it fixed? If we don’t, I’m going to have to go with Modey.”

All annual Lodgers Tax agreements were approved, with the Mining Museum getting $77,100, the Grants Cibola County Chamber of Commerce getting $140,000 in spite of still being in an inactive corporation status due to expiration, the Grants Rodeo Association getting $18,000 and the Fire and Ice Bike Rally getting $46,000.

Council confirmation of a conditional use permit request was tabled pending more input from neighbor near the proposed day care facility on Del Norte Boulevard. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the request in its June 9 meeting. Code enforcer Marty McBride said there may have been errors in notification to possibly affected neighbors and other questions have arisen since the Planning and Zoning meeting.