2008 - City Manager Jaime Aguilera's Memos to Mayor, City Comm. & Attorney

Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 1/11/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 01/07 to 01/11 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Returned a call from Tony MacRobert regarding the CDBG grant, left a message. Later I spoke with him and he just needed an answer to a question posed by the State about our application. He said the application was received and it was found to be eligible for consideration. Later he sent another e-mail and said the state wanted more information. I spoke with Gil and asked him to run some numbers so that we could answer the questions for the state. Received a call from Senator Bingamans office. Dara Parker said they had received a response to the Citys resolution asking for assistance from NRCS related to the flood hazard map change. I told her I had not received a copy. She said she would e-mail it to me so that I could call her back and let her know what I thought about it. Later I received it in the e-mail. I will make a copy for the Commission and call her back. Returned a call from Doris Miller regarding the property next to the piece we are trading to Marchbanks, I left a message explaining the process. Received a call from Patty Lester. She is applying for a grant and wanted to know if the project was on the ICIP. Received and e-mail from Earl. He said his client refused our counter offer and instructed him to continue to market the property to the public. Met with Andy regarding the work he had finished at the golf course. His

crew re-plumbed the piping from the effluent pond and the river water so that the new pumps that were installed as part of the effluent project can also pump the river water. The old river water pumps will act as backup. Later I asked Mike Gurnsey to find out why the electrical bill had doubled. I wanted to make sure it was not a meter problem. He said he would get together with Berna and Gil on the issue. Met with Mr. Wilkinson (represents the Farmers Market) regarding a community garden grant he is applying for. He wanted to know if the City will or could provide assistance in the form of free water and or use of City land for community gardens. I told him I thought it was an excellent idea and that the City would support his efforts in some manner. Spoke with Berna regarding Mr. Marthellers complaint (I reported this to the Commission before x-mas). I set up a meeting with him for next week to explain why it is that we require an ID and a signature card as part of the process of turning on the utilities. Met with Jay to review the City Commission agenda. Met with Joe Torres about the lack of quorum at the P and Z. He said people from out of Oregon were here to speak on behalf his zone change proposal. He was of course upset that the P and Z did not have the hearing. I told him they were volunteers and apologized for the City. I also told him I had scheduled a special meeting to hear his case again and that I was sure it would not happen again. Met with Linda regarding supervisors wages. We have been told by our self insurers fund people that our Supervisors/Department Heads cannot receive overtime pay and that we must amend the City Personnel Policy that allows for that. We are in the process of preparing the new policy and a report on how this will affect the Department Heads. The report will be a closed session item since it will deal with specific personnel. We also spoke about the recommendation from the Civic Center Manager (John Westra) to amend our Civic Center Use Application form. I gave her the work I had done already on revising the form and told her to work with John and Gina on a new form. Since we have several Boards and Commissions that have vacancies, and we seem to be lacking volunteers, I decided to write a press release in the hopes that we may get more participation from the public. Attended the Tourism Board meeting. The Board discussed the presentation they will give to the Commission at their next meeting asking that the Commission consider funding the Tourism Director from the general fund. I did not comment on the issue. Met with Norm, Linda, and Jim Coy to discuss the Pest Control Contract. After the discussion, Jim said he would reduce the cost of his proposal by

25%. Met with Linda regarding John Westra. She said he had turned in his resignation, again. This is the 3rd time he has resigned. In the other 2 occasions, I asked him to stay. This time I told Linda I would not do that since he seems to think that this is a way to get what he wants. This time he wants a new Civic Center Building or enough money to completely rebuild the existing one. Later I met with Norm and told him he would be in charge of the Civic Center until we could hire a replacement. Although John is very good at his job, his demands have just gotten out of control. It is too bad, because we receive many, many compliments about his work. Met with Bill Buehler about the 3 acre property he owns next to Randys proposed subdivision. I told him he would be better off if he decided to ask for the same zoning as Randy was seeking since it would make his property more valuable. The Citys interest would be served because we could control the development via the SUP process. He agreed and gave me a letter requesting the change. Attended the Hospital Governing Board special meeting that Sandy Jones had asked for. Apparently Sandy wanted the Board to recommend that the property purchase be delayed for 6 months. After much heated discussion, the Board voted his motion down and moved instead to recommend that the property purchase move ahead as scheduled. Met with Berna Garcia. She complained that Pat Wood spoke to her in a demeaning manner recently over an issue related to the postage machine. She said that this was not the first time and that she was ready to knock her on her butt or quit. After she calmed down, I asked her to explain the issue that Pat had with the postage. After hearing her explanation I agreed that there was nothing wrong with the way she was handling the postage and told her that I would speak with Pat about her demeanor and internal customer service as well as the postage issue. Later, Linda told me that Helen had called the auditors and that they did not want Berna to handle the issue in her manner, I then spoke with Berna and told her she needed to order the postage for the whole year instead of ordering it in phases. She agreed to do it that way. I will write Pat a memo about how she deals with other employees. This will be the third or fourth time I write her up on the same issue concerning complaints from other employees. I met with Pat Wood regarding the pest control contract. She did not agree that the contract should be given to Turtleback. She said Southwestern has had the contract for 10 years and there is no need to change especially since they are cheaper. I explained that services are not based on price, they are based on best value and competence, and that the department Director had had experience with both pest control companies and he considered TB the best one. Also, TB proposed to do

less spraying inside the building and more on the outside so that it would expose employees and the public to less chemicals. She was adamant and threatened that Southwest would sue us for not giving them the contract based on price. It was no longer beneficial to keep explaining so I told her that was the end of the conversation and that Jay and the Commission would look at the entire process anyway and they would have their own opinions as to who should get the contract. Held the biweekly Department Head Staff meeting. We discussed the next budget cycle, the need to conserve fuel, safety issues, the clothing allowance process and I reminded them to remind their staff of the fact that politics cannot be discussed on City time or on City property. Wrote the Pest Control Contract and staff report. Normally I would not write a report on such a minor contract, but given Pat Woods comments I thought it best. Met with Mike Lopez inspector for the Booster station. The building was given a coat of stucco by the contractor and our inspector advised me that he had told the contractor that he would not sign off on the stucco because it was poorly done and the color had turned out to be pink instead of beige. I told him I agreed and thanked him for his vigilance. He said the contractor was going to do it all over again next week. Met with Sam Senn. He is putting together a proposal for engineering services to Greg Neil. In doing his investigation, he met with the state engineer (OSE) who told him that the City of EB had not gotten approval for the discharge into the Cuchillo from them (no one knew the OSE had to be involved). In any case he said the OSE will require EB to pump the effluent upstream to a place before the Compact Gate. All this does not affect us but what may affect us is that the OSE said that they are about to hire a geologist to begin the process of adjudicating water rights in our area. And that people on the Cuchillo Creek were going to have their water rights moved from the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) to the Lower Rio Grande (LRG) basin. This means a lot of people will lose money because MRG water rights are worth more that LRG water rights. Insults of all insults, we just got noticed that Mrs. Belnap is suing the City for wrongful termination of Kerry Belnap. This is after our employee gave up their sick leave and the City also carried him until he had to terminate his employment because Social Security will not help him if he was still employed!!! Go figure.

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Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 1/18/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 01/14 to 01/18 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Returned a call from Senator John Arthur Smith. He wanted to advise us that an old grant for well exploration will expire on June of 2008. I told him I was aware of it and that we were already putting together a list of contractors to do some more well exploration in and around the airport. Returned a call from Matt Thompson from Bohanan/Huston regarding the EB sewer plant. He just wanted to clarify some

issues regarding who has responsibility to report to NMED. I told him we did. Returned a call from Barry Ragsdale he wanted to bring me up to date on the Cuchillo Creek work, nothing really new. Returned a call from Mayor Montgomery regarding a complaint from a Caballo resident who was told the City had raised fees and therefore she could not get aerial reception of channel 7 any longer. I explained it had nothing to do with fees. The issue is that channel 7 will not pay for the maintenance of equipment and it had gone off the air about 6 months ago. Also, all channels will probably go off the air in one year when the nation switches to digital airways instead of analog. Unless the local repeaters are updated, they will no longer function. Returned a call from Addie at the State National Bank who had questions about the Golf Pro and his ability to cash checks made out to the golf course. I explained that his contract gives him all the revenue from the golf course and I added that I would speak with him to make sure customers make out the checks correctly to him to avoid confusion. Also, I instructed Linda (at her suggestion) to tell him that all checks made out to the City should come to us and we would then reimburse him. Returned a call from Bill Lovato from the State Clean and Beautiful Program, he left a message asking for my correct email. It seems he did not get notified that we had changed out domain address to .org. I left him a message with the correct e-mail. Returned a call from Sara from Capital Outlay Office she had said left a massage saying that she had a question, but when I called her back she said she had figured it out and said never mind. Returned a call from David Pacheco from NRCS left message 1/16/08 @ 9:25. Received a call from Donna Sanchez regarding water tank security and maintenance. She informed me that the County is about to locate a new generator on top of tank hill (behind museum) and that the roof is leaking in the shed where the dispatch equipment is located. I told her I would have our facility maintenance crew go out and fix it. Received an e-mail from Gina. She said that the people to people sports ambassadors wanted to do a fundraiser to send some high schoolers to Holland but that the idea just came up and that they did not meet the deadline for free use of the Civic Center. I asked for more information on the dates and if they

were truly a 501 c3. Im waiting for her reply. Later Gina said that they were a 501c3 and that the date was set for 2/14/08. Received a call from William Kelly from the Forest Service. He wanted permission to use the old racetrack for training their personnel on 4 wheel motorcycles. I told him it was ok since it is an officially sanctioned training session. Received a call from Bill Humphries (Motorplex). He said the deadline for the property purchase is in 3 weeks and so far no one else has submitted a bid. If all goes well for them they will be the owners by the 1st week of February, and then they will do a big plash in the media. Met with Ray Chavez. He asked me to sign a release without prejudice for the property owner at Foch and 4th (Kents old property). The reason is that the Judge Hawkins will not proceed against the property until the probate is done, so we dismissed the charges without prejudice so that we could go back once the City is able to file again against the property owner. I will meet with Jay in the next few days to see if we can do something else to remove this eyesore. Met with the Citys engineer (Chris from ASCG), Don Armijo, the NMDOT representative and the contractor for the 3rd St. Sidewalk Project preconstruction conference. They will get started next week. Met with our Airport Engineer (Mark Huntzinger from ASCG) and Dan (airport manager) to review the Airport Layout Plan and to discuss next years funding issues for the airport. Met with Linda to discuss the status of the well exploration issue. We also discussed some personnel issue related to Wastewater and Electric. She also mentioned that Howie would like to have the City get a beer and wine license for the golf course. He had explained to me that municipalities fall under different rules and that we dont have to serve food because we provide municipal recreation services. I told her to let him know that he needs to take the lead and get us the information that we can then take to the City Commission for review. Spoke with Russ about Lt. Apodaca. He said the Lt. had made a great lifesaving act, when he talked a guy out of committing suicide. I asked him to write a letter to that effect for the Commissions information. Spoke with Berna. She has been doing research on the increases in electricity that we can expect in March per our agreement with Sierra CoOp Tri State has served us with a notice that their wheeling charge is going up a very small percent, Tri State/Sierra CoOp rates will go up 12% in March and WAPA will go up 14% in October. I asked Berna to put that in dollars so that when she reports to the Utility Board, the public can get a better idea of how much and who is responsible for the rate

increase. I also told her to change the bills so that where it now says Pass Through we will say Pass Through from Tri State Wholesaler and Pass Through from WAPA Wholesaler, or something similar. Spoke with Sid Bryan. He wanted to know why he could not pay to put some large boulders in the medians. I explained that it was NMDOT who did not allow them for safety reasons. I suggested that he think of something else like we did with the coyotes and cactus. Met with Howie, Linda, Gary W., we discussed the idea of leasing carts instead of buying them so that we would end up with more new carts. The problem is that it would require more funding from the City per year. I told them to get me more information and I would then present it to the Commission. After Gary left, we talked about the possibility of selling beer and wine at the golf course. I told Howie that we did not know how to proceed and he said he did not know either, but that he would give us the name of the visitors and convention center director in Tucumcari so that we could ask him about the process. I told Linda to follow up. Met with James Macullock regarding a 9000 gallon water leak. He said the leak did not happen until after our crew went out and replaced the water meter. He said the leak was right next to the meter. I told him that he did not know that for certain because his plumber had not dug up the line yet. I said that when the line is exposed to call the water crew out and if the leak is near the meter I would give him the benefit of the doubt and not charge him for the extra water that was used due to the leak. He said that was fair and he would call and let us know when the line was exposed. Met with Mr. Martheller about his prior questions regarding turning on of utilities for people that are part-time residents. I explained how it worked. He was not too happy but he understood that we have to deal with dishonest people as well as honest people and we have to be careful about turning on utilities without getting a proper ID. Met with Denise Wickert. She is the lady that goes around town cleaning other peoples property at no charge simply because she doe not like dirt or unsightly property. She requested that the City put a bench by the skate arena and a trash can. She also asked that we fine people that let their gravel from their front yard get on the sidewalk. I told her I would work to get a bench and trashcan in front of the Youth Center. I also told her there was no law against gravel on the sidewalk. She was very nice, thanked me for the information and left. Spoke with Berna, apparently Howie was under the impression that the City was responsible for all utilities at the golf course and he wanted to turn on the electricity at the golf house in the Citys name. I told her I did not think that was the agreement but that I would check. After reviewing

the contract, I found it was very specific about the fact that the electricity and utilities for the house was his responsibility. I told Berna Linda would call him and let him know. Met with Pat Wood, and Linda. I placed Pat on a one year probation due to the many complaints I get about the way she treats fellow employees. I had already spoken to her about it on several occasions and have written her up in her last 2 evaluations and she does not seem to get the message. Received Decembers GRT report from the State. The GRT for December was lower than last years by $28,170. The good news is that we are still averaging $71,000 more per month than last year. Met with Chris regarding the location of the wells that we want to test for quantity and quality in and around the airport including the well we have in the Cuchillo Creek. Met with Jay to review the Commission Agenda. Spoke with Hazel about P and Z Commissioner Polley. She said she has not been able to locate him and that she was informed by P and Z Commissioner Joey Perry that Mr. Polley had told her that he would no longer attend meetings of the P and Z. I asked her to continue to try and contact him and to try his local workplace. Hazel said she had been told that he was now working in Deming, but that she would call his local job anyway. There are four application for the P and Z that have been submitted for the Commissions consideration. Appointments will be on the Agenda for review.


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Interoffice Memo

Date: To: C: From:

1/25/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager

RE: Friday Memo week from 01/22 to 01/25 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Received a call form Mindy regarding Gina Deter and the free office space we are providing. She said she was reminded that SCEDO cannot provide free office space to a contractor. I agreed and said that it was not SCEDO but the City that was providing the office space. I said the City would enter into a contract with Gina to have her pay rent and that in lieu of rent she would provide the City the service of maintaining the schedule for the Civic Center. Received a call from Bill Humphries, he said that the end of the road was in sight. The State will end the bidding process on the first week in February. Once they know they are the successful owners of the property, they will have a grand announcement. They hope to do it in T or C. Spoke with Sam Senn regarding water rights. He said he would like some historical information and needed to look at our 40 year plan before he sets up meeting with the Las Cruces Office of the State Engineer. As the Commission will recall, he is working to get water information for the Motorplex in hopes of becoming their representative locally. I left a message for George Bolling regarding negotiating for a contractor for the Veterans Museum. I told him I found the State law that allows us to negotiate with a contractor if we have been unsuccessful in bidding the project 2 times. Spoke Viola Bonner regarding an alley light that the Electric Department had turned off due to a complaint by a neighbor. Viola said she was willing to pay for the light, so I told her it would be turned on again as long as she was paying for it. Spoke with Randy A. He wanted to know the status of the Commission action on the signalization agreement. I told him it was approved and that I had already e-mailed NMDOT to let

them know they could proceed. Later I received an e-mail from NMDOT stating that the permit had been issued to the contractor to start work on the Freeway reconstruction. Legislative report. The meeting with all the Legislators went very well, also in attendance were 4 Cabinet Secretaries from DFA, Tourism, Agriculture, and Child and Family. I and the EB folks met with Lt. Governor Denish and she promised support for the hospital. The T or C and County delegation met with Senator Smith. He asked that we get our act together on the property purchase and that the hospital needs to get into the black in order for him and others to support more funding. We also met with Rep. Hamilton, she promised more than half of her allocation (between $400,000 and $600,000) to the hospital and the pool cover. Met with Ray Chavez. Regarding the NG Armory. He said the NG has taken out most of their records and equipment. What they left behind, they will either give away or leave it for the City to dispose of. I still have not received any correspondence from them giving us control over the building although they have told Ray it is ours for all intents and purposes. Spoke with Berna regarding a customer that has had his utilities shut down for lack of payment on 2 prior occasions and now was shut down again. Apparently, the State is working with him to control his money because he has enough income, he just does not know (literally) where it goes. They said the State would make sure he paid us if we turned his utilities back on, so I authorized it based on their promise and the fact that he is on a respirator. Met with Jim Coy regarding the TB Pest Control Contract. Apparently he had not received a copy of the proposed contractor. Met with Linda, she said she attended a special meeting of the Hospital Governing Board and that they plan to ask the City for $100,000 as a one time gift in order to bring them up to par with their bills. The Hospital is as much as 90 days late on paying some of their bills. They will also ask the other entities for money. She told them she did not think the City was not in a position to give away so much money. Ed Ragsdale had asked if the fish pond had regulations regarding who and when people can fish there. Linda did some research and gave Ed a copy of the City Ordinance that regulates the use of the fish pond. Ed is in the process of having some signs made that will be posted in the near future. The Commissioners may hear complaints once we start enforcing the City Ordinance. Spoke with Chris Nobes regarding the Marchbanks and Miller property sale/swap land survey. He told me the survey was done and ready for

Jay to execute the swap with Marchbanks and the sale to Miller (30 easement). I contacted Mrs. Miller and she said she would be in town next week. I also sent Jay the survey information with a note to prepare the necessary documents to perform the sale and the swap. Attended the SCEDO board meeting. Chairman Whitehead gave the briefing on the spaceport election process that has been set up. Essentially, a PAC has been created with Gary and Commissioner Stagner as cochairs and Patsy B. as treasurer, with the idea of raising $50,000 for the campaign. $20,000 will be donated from the Dona Ana County PAC and the rest will have to be raised locally. Met with Joe Torres, he just wanted to know what process will follow the P and Z Commissions approval of his zone change request. I told him the City Commission will hear his request at a public hearing and either approve or deny the request at that time and that will be the final action. Spoke with Gina regarding the contract for the office space we are providing. She said she was fine with the idea of renting her the space in return for services to the City. Spoke with Ed Ragsdale regarding solar sprinkler controls. I had given him direction to install automatic controllers on all City parks and areas that we irrigate. He had said that the problem was that there was no electricity to those areas. I told him to look for solar powered controllers. He reported to me that he had found some on the internet. He then called the Las Cruces Parks Department and they told him that they are very satisfied with their performance. I told him that he should prepare an estimate. It is important to convert to automatic controllers because it costs the City in man-hours, water waste, and electricity. I estimate the total equipment cost will be about $10,000, but well see what the final number comes in at. I estimate we should realize a savings of $10,000 in less than 2 years. I spoke with Norm regarding roof leak at the Senior Center. He said he was not able to get a 3rd bid and Pat Wood would not let him award the bid without 3 bidders. I contacted State Purchasing and spoke with our representative, Kathy Sanchez. I explained that we had contacted 6 contractors but could only get 2 to submit a bid. She said just document who you contacted and award the bid to the lowest bidder. I instructed Norm to document the names of the contractors. He later gave me a memo and I approved it. Hopefully we can get the roofer to work by next week. Met with Sentinel reporter Kelly Koughman who was doing a story on the Citys clean-up efforts. We talked for about an hour. I hope he writes a positive story instead of a negative one but, well see next Friday.


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Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 02/01/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 01/28 to 02/01 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Called Mr. and Mrs. Miller to let them know Jay would be calling them to make the final arrangements for the sale of the easement to them. 894-8333 1/28/08 @ 4:00 I spoke with Angies daughter who told me Angie was in the Mt. View hospital with pneumonia. Spoke with Tony MacRobert regarding the upcoming CDBG meeting in Ruidoso, I asked him if we were on the agenda and he said he would check and call me back. I also mentioned that Mayor Segura from Sunland Park would no longer be on the CDBG Board since he did not seek re-election and we were counting on his vote. I wanted Tony to find out who would replace him. Later he called me back and said we were on the

agenda for the 19th of March and that the appointment was to be made by the Governor. Called Norm to ask about the status of the roofing contractor, he said the PO was in Pats box. I told him she was out ill and that I would have Helen process the PO so that the contractor could start ASAP. Returned a call from Jane Green, she wanted to know the status of the legislative appropriation for the pool cover. I told her the Mayor had been successful in getting a soft commitment from Rep. Hamilton and that the idea of a writing campaign would help to keep our legislators on track. She said they would follow up with the letters. Received a call from Sam Senn, he wanted to set up a meeting to discuss the Citys 40 year water plan. We set up a meeting for 2/29/08 @ 3:00. We discussed the water issues related to the middle and lower Rio Grande and how they might affect the Motorplex since their water might come from the middle Rio Grande aquifer. I received an e-mail from Chris Ehrsom (our engineer) advising me that our sidewalk contractor was now in the City setting up their equipment. Later Don Armijo confirmed that the contractor had been moving equipment onto their staging area all morning. Later Don called me again and said the contractor was working on 3rd St. in front of Dukats building. Later I went out to see for myself and the crews were already forming the sidewalk. Friday morning I saw them pouring the first section. They will work Monday thru Thursday every week until done. Received a call (through Mary) stating that a Mr. Robbins had set up an appointment to meet with me and Ray about a code enforcement complaint. He did not show. I received an E-mail from Mayor Montgomery about a complaint she received regarding one of our officers. The complainant stated that the City should not let a non-certified officer patrol the City with a weapon. I called Captain Mullins and asked to come to my office regarding the complaint. This is an issue that Russ and I had already discussed. The officer passed all requirements except for 3 points in the shooting exam. Instead of firing her, I agreed that we should keep her on desk duty until we could get her back into the academy for a new shooting test. Captain Mullins confirmed that the officer has not been on duty with a weapon, but she does travel to and from work with the gun so that she can go to the range to practice. Therefore the complaint was not valid. Capt. Mullins did state that to make

sure this is not an issue in the future; the officer will not carry a gun while she is in a police vehicle. Last week I spoke with Bill Humphries (Motorplex) about the pending property sale, I also mentioned to him that we should write a letter to the FAA and NMDOTAV, letting them know that the City and the Motorplex have given up on the idea of creating a partnership for operating the Airport. He agreed and said he would write a draft and send it to me. I received the draft, cleaned it up a bit and created a hard copy for the Mayors signature with copies to the Commissioners. Received a complaint about politicians campaigning on City property. Apparently they have been speaking to City employees during working hours and on City property. I asked Jay to speak with the particular person involved in the complaint. Later I found out that our City does not have a regulation on employees being involved in politics during working hours. We also do not, like most other cities, have a rule against campaigning on City property. So I called Jay and told him to drop the issue. This is something the Commission might want to look into after this election. Met with Jay, Chris and Linda regarding Marchbanks, we went over the issues involved and he was then clear on what he needed to do. I also asked him to create a release from Randy A. regarding the Citys obligation to build a dirt road for him. Jay asked for the original agreement and the conditions of approval on his new subdivision that the Commission just approved. I asked Hazel for the information and then forwarded them to Jay. We also talked about the Personnel issues that were discussed in closed session. Linda gave Jay some background information and some literature on the issue. She also mentioned that Jaime Sullivan would be in town by the end of the week and Jay asked her to let him know when he arrived so that he could meet with him on the issue. Visited the Golf Course, and spoke with Howie. The Facility Maintenance Crew has repainted the interior of the Club House and installed new carpet, it looks great. Also Howies crew has done a real nice job in putting in gravel and tree mulch (from our sanitation crew) in areas around the outdoor covered patio. Howie said he had spoken with Jesus about putting an aerator in the effluent pond to keep the algae down. He said the cost would be about $1600. I told him I would follow up with Jesus. He also mentioned that he would like no parking signs posted along Marie St. to keep people off of the dirt areas. He also requested that the Electric Department place some pole on the ground to act as wheel stops in front of the clubhouse because people park right over the sidewalk, I told him I would follow up with Gil. Later Gil said he could get to it in about 2 weeks. Visited the City welding and fabrication shop, Jim McAfoos keeps the place very tidy and everything in order, unfortunately he will be retiring in

October of 2008. Met with Ed Ragsdale and Gary Whitehead regarding the cemetery, Ed asked me to set up the meeting with Gary to discuss an idea he had. He told Gary that several of the water spigots and pipes had burst due to the weather and bad installation by others. Ed proposed to replace all (40) spigots and risers if Gary would pay for the materials (about $700). Gary agreed and gave Ed the go ahead. Met with Ed R. regarding the flags at the Veterans Park, he said he had some on order and would replace the existing ones as soon as the new ones came in. Spoke with Frank Torres regarding a complaint I received regarding a homeowner who was dumping grass clippings and dog excrement into the alley by throwing them over his fence. Frank said he would talk to the man and if he was not cooperative, he would send Ray after him. Later I went out and the grass clippings were gone and I found out that Ray had already visited the homeowner and warned them about throwing their debris in the alley. Met with Andy A. regarding a valve he needed to buy for a main line near the Cook Street water Tank. He said the valve would cost about $15,000, but that it was necessary because the existing valves were no longer shutting off the water entirely. Spoke with Captain Mullins, she said they are getting to the point of not having enough room to keep all of the recovered bicycles. She said that no one claims them and they just sit there until we can auction them off. I told her I would write press release. Later I wrote the press release and sent it to both newspapers. Spoke with Frank Torres about the fabrication of a cover for a water valve for the Water Dept. I had asked Frank to have his men create the cover that Andy needed for a water valve at the middle school. He told me his fabricator Adam had created the cover (made from 2 old trash containers) and that the Facility Maint. Crew had picked it up last week and that they were about to pour a foundation for it. Later I went out to look at the site and the Facility Maint. Crew had already poured the foundation. It looks like the cover should be installed by Wed. Spoke with Ray and asked to get with Chris about the dilapidated buildings on the old turkey farm next to Wal-Mart. I told him they are an attractive nuisance and dangerous if kids get in there and the roof or wall collapses. I went to the cemetery to see what our Parks Crew (4 people) do for a burial. The burial was supposed to happen at 10:00. I was there for 45 minutes and all they could do was wait around for the funeral to be over so they could cover the grave. Then they had to open another grave for the

afternoon. They spent all day at the cemetery on 2 burials. Fortunately in the winter they dont have all the other work they have to do in the parks. They also talked to me about the fact that the existing part of the cemetery is about full and they will have to start to open the new section to the west. We also talked about the need for a shelter for the attendees to keep out of the hot sun or rain. Met with Chris regarding an Excavation Permit. I had asked Chris to contact other cities and get from them copies and procedures on what I called street cut permits. The City does not currently have an actual permit process even though the City Code requires a permit anytime someone wants to cut our streets to install some kind of utility. Chris put together a permit application and process that requires all permitees to replace the street in its original condition (or as close as reasonable). As the commission may recall, the Franchise Ordinance with Baja allows for a Public Education and Government (PEG) channel. I have been working with Jay Hopkins to put together an agreement for the Sierra Community Council to operate the PEG channel. I had written the agreement and sent it to him 2 months ago and he finally brought it back with some changes. I reviewed it made some more changes and asked him for a meeting to review the final draft before I submit it to Jay for review and eventually the City Commission. Met with George Bolling to discuss the Veterans Museum. I told him that State Code 13-1-131 allows us to negotiate with a single vendor after we have been twice unsuccessful in bidding a project. We agreed to call in the only bidder and negotiate with him first. If that is not successful then we will try another contractor. Met with Ed R. to discuss the irrigation system that I had spoken about in my last report. He found a battery powered product that is much cheaper that the solar powered controller by about $9000. I told him to go ahead and buy it for the parks that we irrigate the most. If we have more money this year perhaps we will buy some more controllers for the other parks. (See attached memo from Ed.) Attended the River Trail meeting Wednesday night. It was not very well attended but there were about 10 people there and it was a good workshop. Unfortunately, I had to remind Bobby Allen to keep politics out of the meeting since he gave a campaign speech for him and Steve Green. Also unfortunately, after the meeting I came out to find that some vandals had shot the window out of my City car and Steve Greens car also. When officer Huff arrived he said there had been 5 other incidents that night. The next day Officer Apodaca told me there were 2 more similar incidents. Met with Linda regarding the meeting she had with Jay, a Municipal League

attorney and Jaime Sullivan regarding the personnel issues we had discussed in closed session last week. They advised Jay that we needed to change our personnel rules to remove the overtime for the 3 supervisors and to compensate them for the lost wages. Jay will give us full report at the next Commission meeting. Spoke with Ray about the J & J towing company. I told him I went by their storage yard and they have not cleaned up the junk vehicles like some of the other towing companies. He told me that he received a court order to tow the vehicle off the property but it happened when the owner was put in jail for assaulting on of our police officers and he was waiting for things to cool down. I told him we had waited long enough and to give him the court order as a warning to have to cars moved or we would tow them. Met with Mr. McCullough who had come to see me 2 weeks ago about a water bill he thought was not his responsibility. He had said that we had caused the leak when we replaced the meter. Ed Williams has reviewed the case and agreed that we should not charge the man for the water leak, so I instructed the Utility Office to charge him only for his historical usage. Berna told me it was only about a $30 dollar difference. Mr. McCullough also said he now wanted us to pay for his plumber, so I told him he needed to submit a claim to the City through the Risk Manager in writing (Ed Williams). Attended a preconstruction meeting at the NMDOT offices in Williamsburg for the freeway off-ramp reconstruction project. Everything is in order and the contractor will star shortly. The drug testing company shows up without notice and they came in Friday morning to do their usual random testing. Attachment: Memo from Ed. R.


Page


Note: this also means that our water well pumping does not have to occur during daylight (more costly electricity) hours.

Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 02/08/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 02/04 to 02/08 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Called Howie Tucker to relay a message to him that Eddie McKay @ 888-563-0076 would like to speak with him about signs at the golf course. Received a call from Greg Neil regarding the Motroplex land. As the Commission already knows, the bids closed on Tuesday and the deal is pretty much done. Called Commissioners Jimmy Rainey, Evelyn Renfro, and Freddie Torres regarding the call from Greg Neil. Greg and I split the calling duties, he said he would call Lori and Jerry. Received a call from Mrs. Marchbanks, she wanted to ask if the City would remove our electrical connection to an old meter that was on her property so that they could take the meter box off and use it somewhere else. I told her that was not a problem. Later I called Gil about the issue. He said it would be done the next day. She also mentioned that she would be in town Friday and that she would sign the Deed documents with Jay on that day. Met with Gary Whitehead regarding the golf cart lease. He has been working with Howie to get a lease package for 20 golf carts. The issue is on the next agenda for award of a lease contract. Met with Linda regarding the bucket truck for the Electric Department. I asked Linda to conduct all the research needed to find a supplier for the bucket truck. She found that HGAC can save us about $7000 on the

truck if we buy it from them and then get it outfitted by Altec, the bucket manufacturer. This item will be presented to the Commission as soon as it is ready for consideration. Received the monthly report from Chris regarding building activity (see attached) it shows a good start for the year with one new home permit and $480,000 in total valuation. Spoke with Gil, he said they did not have a single callout this weekend despite the wind. Met with Well Driller Dave Mauldin and Linda. Linda set up the meeting because she is in charge of getting some testing done on the Cuchillo and MotorPlex water wells. We talked for about an hour about the different wells in the area and their quality and quantity. Finally we decided on which wells to get tested as part of the Legislative grant that we need to spend before the end of the fiscal year. Later I asked Linda to set up another meeting and to include Mike Gurnsey from Wastewater. The reason for the 2nd meeting is that I came to the realization that what we need to do is drill one single test well as deep as the money will let us (about 1000 feet). We talked about it again and we all agreed it was a better idea. Linda will now proceed to get some quotes. Met with Berna about a utility customer complaint. She explained that the lady was from Williamsburg and that she had been charged for refuse service by error. Berna said she had refunded 6 months worth of charges because she had been told that that was the maximum refund she could give. She said that the Lady was upset because she wanted all her money refunded. I told her to refund all the ladys money because it was our error not hers. The amount of the refund totaled less than $60.00. Met with Andy Alvarez regarding a problem he became aware of related to sewer service at EB. We had recommended that the City of EB enact an ordinance that would require cleanouts be placed at the property line anytime new sewers were installed. Andy told me he spoke with a plumber and was told that EB was not enforcing it. I told him I would check with the City Manager. The purpose of the cleanout is to make it easier for our crew to inspect for problems such as stoppages. Later, I called Alan and spoke with him about the Ordinance. He said it was into effect and being enforced. Spoke with Mayor Montgomery regarding the sidewalk on 3rd St. I suggested that we should do a ribbon cutting for the 1st section of the sidewalk. I recommend we do a bigger splash with all the Commission when the end of the project is at hand. Spoke with Jack Baker regarding right of way for Smith St. He said he was

still investigating the issue and that in his opinion there was not enough flat area to allow for the installation of 3 lanes and the utilities. I told him the right of way was wide enough and the utility and pavement installation were King Peaks problem. Met with Helen Belis regarding Law Enforcement Protection Fund and the Village Contract. She told me our PD could not spend the Villages LEPF money due to the funds regulations. Later I called a meeting with Helen, Linda and Russ to discuss the issue. I told Russ that he has to ask the Village to buy his equipment because only they can spend their LEPF money. Helen said that would work and Russ agreed to work with the Village on the issue. Helen passed out the budget forms for staff to fill out. I sent a memo out to staff and outside agencies regarding the budget review schedule. After the contractor had finished with the sidewalk in front of Dukatts building, the contractor witnessed Dukatt writing in the fresh concrete. He told Dukatt to stop doing it because it was going to cost him money to repair it. Dukatt stopped only after the contractor insisted. The next day I went out to look at the sidewalk and found Dukatts name in several placed along the whole block. I told Ray that I wanted vandalism charges filed against Dukatt and to call the newspapers to show them the vandalism. Spoke with Ray regarding the new Brush Hog for the Street Dept. I had instructed Ray to buy the Brush Hog out of his budget because the last time I saw the Street Department go onto private property to clear weeds (by court order) they had to do it by hand because their equipment is too big to fit on a small lot. Spoke with Ray about the NMDOT median island beautification work permit. He said they finally approved it and that means the work in the islands can now get underway. Met with homeowner McPike, Linda, and Berna. Mr. McPike has not paid his utility bills and is about to receive a Red Tag. He has refused to pay his bill because he doesnt think we should charge late fees and disconnection fees. I explained the reason for the fees. I told him that if he does not get current with his bill, that he will face a Red Tag and subsequent disconnection soon. I told him Berna has offered to put him on a payment plan and he has refused. Linda tried to get him to seek social service assistance and he has not applied on his own, so there is not much more we can do for him. Met with Jesus, on an update of the EB sewer plant. He said it is working fine but that there is too little flow to the plant and that EB is going to have to buy dog food to keep the plant operating. The microbes need sewage (food) to digest or they will die and it takes a special effort to

get them going again. We seeded the plant the first time with microbes from our plant. Later I spoke with Alan Briley and he said they had authorized the purchase of the dog food, he just wondered what the auditors would think about so much dog food. I receive a draft of a letter from Don Armijo. The purpose of the letter was to apply for Local Government Road Funds. I finished up the letter and placed in the Commission agenda for approval. The proposed projects are those that were previously approved by the Commission as a master plan from the Street Dept. I spoke with Don regarding the pot-hole machine he told me it has been delivered to the dealer in Albuquerque and that we should get it by Friday or next week at the latest. Spoke with Berna regarding an assignment I had given her 2 weeks ago. I had asked her to look into the bill averaging idea. She said she had contacted our computer software providers and they said their program is not set up to do bill averaging but they told her it could be done. Apparently it will take some labor intensive work on the Utility Offices part, and there are some down-sides to the idea besides the labor (under-billing). I told her to start a pilot program with about 20 people to see if we can make it work without a lot of effort and without some of the pitfalls (severe underpayment which might lead to utility red tags). One of the Utility Board members gave me some grant information related to the electric utility. After reviewing it, I concluded that our City did not qualify because we do not meet the definition of an extremely high energy cost community. I sent the board a note to that effect. Spoke with Don about the sidewalk in front of the Shell gas station on 3rd St. He said the way the engineer had designed it was going to cause a problem for access to the gas station. He said he had worked out a solution with the contractor but the contractor needed an ok from the engineer. I called the engineer and left a message. She e-mailed me later in the day and said she would work on it. Received and reviewed the release of our obligation to build a road for Randy Ashbaugh that I had asked Jay to prepare. I approved it and sent it back to Jay and asked him to contact Randy for his signature. Attended the Veterans meeting that I had scheduled in order to discuss the idea of forming a Veterans Advisory Board to the City Commission. Most of the Veterans organizations were represented except Bobby Allens organization (he was invited but did not show). The whole group was very much in favor of asking the City Commission to create the Board. I received a letter from Deborah Toomey, stating that the City should enforce our Sign ordinance against April Smidlapp because the City Sign Ordinance does not allow signs on the right of way. After reviewing the

State regulations, I concluded that the Smidlapp sign is allowed. However, after reviewing the City Ordinance, it was clear to me that the sign is not allowed. I called Jay for his opinion. He called me back and said that we should enforce the Ordiance. Met with Mindy and Gina regarding the upcoming Rural Economic Development Conference. They are having trouble raising $1000 for the Citys booth because people are now concentrated on raising money for the Spaceport effort. I told Mindy to write me a letter and I would take it to the Commission to see if we could pay for it from un-allocated Lodgers Tax monies.

Attached: Permit Report

City and County Truth or Consequences Sierra Description (1)Res. Single Family Dwellings (2)Res. Additions/Alterat ions (3)Res. Storage (4) Res. Garages & Carports (5)Res. Restucco/Siding/ Decks (7)Res. Swimming Pools (8) Res. Roof Repair (9)Res. Fence/Retaining Wall (10) Res. Foundations (12)Res. Barns (13)Res. Re-roof (20)New Com. Building (21 )Com. Additions/Alterat ions (32)Com. Storage Sheds (33)Com. Carport (34)New Apartments (35) Apt. Alterations (36) Hotels/Motels (37)Com. Restucco, Decks (39) Com. SWimminq Pool (40)Com. Roof repair (41)Com. Retaining Wall

Mailing Address 505 Sims, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901 #of Permits

Telephone Number (505) 894-6673 Valuatio n Jan-08 $208,000.00 $49,300.00 $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $6,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $11,000.00 $0.00 $125,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $10,000.00 $5,500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $11,000.00 # of Permits Valuatio ns Year to date 2008 1 $208,000.00 $493,000.00 $0.00 $500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $6,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $11,000.00 $0.00 $125,000.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $3,500.00 $10,000.00 $5,500.00 $0.00 $0.00 $11,000.00

1

60 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 0

60 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 3 0 0

a0 1 2 0 0 1

a1 1 2

a0 1

1(42)Com. Foundations 1(44) Com. Barn (45)Com. Reroof (46)Com. Excavation/Grad ing (60)Demolition (90)Other VALUATION SUBTOTAL Total Fees Bldg. Permits Fees: MH Zoning Approval Total Fees

1

$4,200.00 $0.00 $51,200.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $481,700.00 $988.30 $300.00 $1,288.30

1 0 3 0 0 0

$4,200.00 $0.00 $51,200.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $481,700.00 $988.30 $300.00 $1,288.30

a3 0 0 0

2222

2222

527

5 27

Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 02/15/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 02/11 to 02/15 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Received a call from Jay to let me know that Marchbanks had gone to his office and signed the necessary documents to consummate the property exchange deal. Returned a call from Walt Williams (engineer on Booster Pump Project). He said the pumps should be operational by the end of the month. Returned a call from Jane Green she just wanted an update on the pool funding. Received a call from Tony from the Herald regarding Dukatts situation with the sidewalk graffiti. Later I read the story and Tony made it sound like it was not a serious issue. Spoke with Sam Senn, he set up a meeting with Greg Neil for Wed. Received a call from Randy A. complaining that the work on the sidewalk was hurting his business and that the contractor was not doing things right. I told him I and Don and the contractor were working with the engineer to resolve his issue. Later Randy showed up at the site and Don reported to me that he yelled and said he was going to sue and he was calling his attorney right now and that he was getting his backhoe to fill in the work by the contractor. This situation escalated to the point that NMDOT was called out and they are now telling Randy that they will reduce his driveway to only a small entrance. I later met with Randy and

told him it was his fault for getting NMDOT involved and that the City could not help him once they were in the picture. Received a call from citizen John Stickney regarding drainage on 3rd street (same area that Commissioner Renfro spoke about at the meeting). I told him I and the Street Superintendent would look at the issue and if we created a problem we would fix it but that if the problem was pre-existing we would not. The next day I met with Don at the site, and decided that we had changed the drainage and we came up with a solution. Received a call from citizen Pricilla Berna regarding a stolen bike that had been recovered by the PD. She said she could not get anybody at the PD to help her get the bike back. I called Capt. Mullins and asked her to take care of Ms. Bernas complaint. I called Ms. Berna the next day and she told me she was happy to get her sons bike back and thanked us for the Citys effort. Received a call from Mike Skidmore. He said he was concerned that the sidewalk would make things worse on a drainage problem in front of his church. I told him the engineer was coming out to meet with us at 8 am the next day. I asked him to be available to meet with us to discuss the issue. Received an e-mail from Gina about the Old Time Fiddlers parking their RVs on the street and parking lot. She wants to tell them that it is not allowed and I agreed with her. Received a call from Paula Green regarding her concern that the way the City Business License Ordinance reads, it would require even kids selling candy to have a business license. She wanted to know who she should talk to about changing it. I told her to speak with the P and Z Commission. Met with Greg Neil, Steve Rouke, Casey Luna and others to discuss the status on the land purchase. Apparently it was not as I thought. When l was told that they were the only bidders I assumed they had bid the minimum required by the State. They did not bid the minimum (appraised value) and so now it is up to the Commissioner to make a decision as to whether to accept the bid or re-bid it again. Later Greg told me that Commissioner Lyons had asked him to get a third appraisal. Later in the week I spoke with Vince Barrett and he told me he was the third appraiser. Spoke with Randy A., Monday morning he said he wanted to set up a meeting for Wed., he also said he was concerned about the sidewalk at his store on 3rd. St. I told him we had seen what the problem was and Don and the engineer were working on a solution. Met with Gil, he told me it was a none-eventful weekend for the Electric

Dept. Met with Linda and Marlyssa Neil to discuss her complaint that the sidewalk project is hurting her business. Later received a call from Marlyssa Neil regarding the status of the sidewalk. I told her the sidewalk in front of her business was now poured and that the contractor would be out of her hair by Thursday (she actually had use of her front parking by Wed.). She wanted to know how the City was going to compensate her. I told her we did not and could not do that. She said I should think about it for a few days and maybe I would come up with something. I told her the most we could do is publish (pay for) an article about the construction and the businesses that were affected and that the businesses were still open. She said that was not of any help because she had already done that. Received a letter from NMED advising the City that we had to perform a Closure Plan for the Landfill by August of this year according to a new law. I called Jan Carrejo and she said she just got a similar letter. I told her maybe we should work together to hire a consultant to do both. She liked the idea and said she would have her procurement officer contact me. Attended the Tourism Board meeting, I could not stay more than an hour due to another meeting I had to attend with Rebecca Dow, but there was nothing of any consequence to report. Met with Rebecca Dow regarding the Boys and Girls Club. She said the work to form a non-profit was underway and that once it is formed, we would receive approval to create the local organization including about $100,000 as seed money. We also talked about the fact that the City needs someone to run a recreation program and that perhaps we could contract with the Boys and Girls Club for the service. Met with Chris Nobes regarding research for the Industrial Property Flood Designation. I sent a memo to the Commissioners on this issue. Met with Randy A. regarding several issues: 1) Wal-Mart, he wanted to know if he could have a variance for the Center Identification sign. I read him the Sign Ordinance which states that he can propose any height as long as he can prove that the height is necessary for freeway visibility and it does not require a variance, just a special use permit. He said he would work on it. 2) Lighting costs, he wants to get credit for installing an extra conduit and some extra pull boxes. I told him I would meet with Gil and ask him for his opinion. 3) Road access, he said he is about to begin development of phase 3 and 4 and that the City required that he have secondary road access before he could get approval on the next 2 phases. He wanted to know if the City would allow the road next to Foxworth as secondary access. I told him yes, that was the original intention on the issue. He then wanted to know if he could build only

part of it now and the rest later because a power line has to be moved by Sierra Electric Coop. I told him probably but we would require a bond to make sure it gets done and that it had to be finished before an occupancy permit was issued. 4) Sign for fast food, he said he has a fast food restaurant that wants a pad behind the motel but they insist on a freeway sign I told him that if the pad is within 300 feet of the freeway right-of-way that the same regulations would apply as I had previously informed him. 5) Sidewalk, he complained about the sidewalk and the fact that he is losing business (I doubt his claim since we have not closed all of his driveways). I told him we would meet with the contractor and the engineer and NMDOT on Thursday to discuss the issue. During my meeting with Randy, Greg Neil and company showed up to another meeting I had set up with them and I asked them to wait a few minutes. A few minutes later a man came to my door, knocked heavily and demanded to speak with me right now. I explained I was in a meeting and had another meeting waiting to start. I asked him to come back later or I could call him later. He said well, I guess I will have to go to the newspapers and stormed out. I guess Ill find out what he wanted and who he was when I read it the papers. Met with Greg Neil, Steve Rouke and Sam Senn, I told Greg that he had created some negative PR by requesting the extension. He apologized and said that there was a misunderstanding on Bills part and he would call the Commissioners to explain. He also said there was no problem with paying the $2000. We also discussed the water issues. I explained that we are about to award a contract for a 1000 foot exploratory well at the existing Cuchillo well. We also agreed to set up a meeting with the State Engineer in Las Cruces to clear up some issues related to lower Rio Grande Water vs Middle Rio Grande water. Sam Senn said he would set up the meeting. Met with Norm who informed me that vandals had broken a large glass door at the Library. The cost to replace the glass was $200. Fortunately they did not get inside and do any other harm. Met the Engineer, Contractor, Don, NMDOT and Randy out at the 3 rd St. Project. We resolved Randys issues quite easily although there will have to be a change order for some more concrete work. We then discussed the drainage issue at Mike Skidmores church. We met with Mike and we were able to resolve his issues. We then moved up the street and met with the owner of the RV parts store and resolved some issues with him. Spoke with Ed Ragsdale. He showed me the new signs that he had made up for the fish pond. Spoke with Frank Torres regarding 2 trash bins that were left on the inside of

the new sidewalk. I asked him to go out and remove them with his boom truck. He said he would and would move them to the next street so that they would not interfere with the sidewalk work. He also said he would instruct his drivers to stay away from crossing the sidewalk until the concrete had cured. Spoke with Angies daughter. She said Angie was still not doing well and she was going to take her to Texas with her. The doctor said she could not return to work until after he saw her again on the 26th of February. I suspect she may not be able to return at all but well see. Wrote the letter to Greg Neil regarding the Commission Action. Spoke with Norm, he informed me that the contractor would start work on the Senior Center roof on the 28th of Feb. Received a letter from Jagger regarding the Chamber of Commerce move to the new HR building. He states that the Board has finally decided to take our offer for the space and that they are excited by the prospect. He also included a proposal (see attached). After reading the proposal, I think it is workable into an agreement that will be presented to the Commission at a later date. If Jay or the Commissioners have any comments on the proposal, let me know at your earliest convenience. Attached: Chamber Proposal - Interoffice Memo: City Manager Page PAGE 5of NUMPAGES 5

Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 02/22/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 02/19 to 02/22 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Received a call from Sandy Jones regarding Congressman Udalls visit on Saturday. I asked Mary to let the Commissioners know in case they wanted to stop by.

Received a fax from the State Auditor stating that the City Audit was ready for publication. Received a call from Jay Hopkins to set up meeting to discuss the PEG contract Received and email from Donna Monroe asking about why the sidewalk was build at grade and complaining that it would get flooded and covered with debris. I responded as follows: The sidewalk was engineered so that it would not interfere with the existing drainage. The area has a historical drainage problem that the sidewalk project could not fix. If we had built a normal sidewalk it would have acted as a dam and redirected the flood waters. That would have created a liability for the City and the State. Property owners in the area would claim that they did not used to get flooded before the sidewalks went in. As it is, we will probably get some of those anyway, but at least we can prove in court that we did not change the grades or the flows. We also know that the sidewalks will be flooded and will get silted up an that we will have go out to sweep them clean, but the end result is still a safer place to walk than what is there now. All sidewalk sections will meet American with Disabilities Act requirements for access and slope. Received a call from Sandy Jones about a Certificate of Convenience. Apparently the City has been issued a C of C by the PRC in the past. It is for the purpose of operating a shuttle or small bus system. It has never been put to beneficial use. He recommended that we take action to suspend it not to cancel it because it has value and it takes a long process to regain it. I thanked him for his call and advice. Received a call from Randy A. regarding a bad check writer that has not yet been arrested and he wanted to know why. I told him I had called Sgt. Huff and he was in the process of speaking with the Chief. I told him that once I had more information I would call him back. Met with Jay Hopkins to review the PEG contract. We agreed on the changes I proposed and I told him it will be on the next City Commission agenda for consideration. Attended the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new Human Resources Building. Those that attended will attest to the fact that the City Facility Maintenance Crew has done a superior job. Spoke with Ed Ragsdale regarding the rodeo this past weekend he estimated that more than 600 people participated in the event with most attending at the Sheriffs Posey Arena and some at the City Rodeo Complex.

Spoke with Linda regarding the Well Exploration Bids. She had one and was waiting to get 2 more before we can take it to the Commission for review. Spoke with Frank Torres regarding a request by TB Golf Course to have us pick up their cardboard waste. I later called Alan Briley and asked him if it was ok with EB City if we went into their town to pick up cardboard and he said it was ok. I later called Frank again and told him it was ok but that he should talk to TB and make sure they had enough to make it worth our time to go out to pick it up, otherwise we would discontinue the practice. Met with Andy Alvarez regarding training for a CDL for one of his crew. I told him I authorized it because we need as many people as possible to have their CDL. He also asked me about my decision to have Bo from the Electric Department be the new CDL training officer after Ken retires. I told him I made the decision based on Bos status in the Electric Department and because he came and asked for it. Spoke with Jimmy Schraner regarding an estimate to finish the rest of the HR building in case the Chamber did not want it or in case the Commission wanted our crew to do the work instead of the Chamber. He said he would have the information to me before the next Commission meeting. Attended RPO meeting at EB. The Board voted on their priorities for funding sidewalk and street projects. The list will be ratified at their next meeting. When I get a copy of the list I will copy the Commission. The other piece of information that came out of the meeting is that the State will allow us to use the money we spent on Riverside as a match for the Riverside/Morgan St. Paving Project that is funded in the GRIP II. All of a sudden this sounds like a possible project. I have asked Don to put together some figures on how much we spent on Riverside all together. Met with Mr. Beach, he said his utilities were turned off and that he was terminally ill and would like them turned on again but he did not have the entire amount needed. Berna was out that day so I approved the reconnection with the requirement that he contact Berna the next day and make arrangements for the balance. When he called Berna the next day he became verbally abusive because she required a deposit (as is our practice) and because she found that he owed about $140.00 from a prior address. We had not discovered this old debt before because his current bill is in his grandmothers name (he might have AIDS but it has not kept him from trying to cheat us). She finally had to tell him to stop his verbal abuse or she would hang up. He did not stop and so she hung up. I told her to write him a letter explaining that if he does not comply with our requirements, that he will again be turned off.

Attended the EB Big Flush Ceremony. Our crews tell me the plant is operating as well as can be expected given that there is not enough flow to help it work at optimum levels. Also in attendance were Mayor Montgomery, and Commissioners Stagner and Rainey. Attended the VFW enchilada dinner that I and the Commission were invited to. Also in attendance were Mayor Montgomery and Commissioner Stagner. Received the GRT report for January. The numbers look very good; it looks like we could end the fiscal year with about a $400,000 dollar surplus. Received a letter form the New Mexico office on aging (the Commission had been copied already), complaining about the 4th St. Computer lab. I wrote them back and copied the Commission. Met with Russ regarding the letter I spoke of above and asked him to investigate if anybody had complained about being threatened at the Senior Center. He told me he could not find anything in their records of a complaint from the SJOA staff regarding a threat. Also spoke to him about Officer Frost. He gave me a letter indicating that she had passed the shooting test and was now able to be re-certified as a T or C Officer. Met with Gil, Linda and the representative from ALTEC regarding the new bucket truck for the Electric Department. Went to the Street Department to look at the new backhoe/front end loader that was just delivered to the Department. I have scheduled a demonstration for the Commission for next Thursday at 5:30 pm. Received a check for $2000 from the Motorplex for the extension of the agreement. Spoke with Ray, he said the median work would start on Monday for several of the medians. Wrote the ordinance for fixing the problem we encountered with the way we have approved Zone Changes in the past. I dont believe I have mentioned this issue before, but when I did the research for the Hospital Zone Change, I wanted to make sure that we were doing it correctly. As a consequence I found out and Jay later verified it with Randy VanVleck, that we have been doing our zone changes wrong because they were approved without a public hearing at the City Commission level. Jay and I came up with the idea that we would fix the past error in one single action. I dont want to mention the whole issue in public, so I am using this memo as the way to let the Commission know why I am proposing the Zone Change Ordinance. Spoke with Linda who reported to me that Norm had spoken to her about firing one of his crew members. The person is still on probation and is

causing turmoil and discontent among the other crew members. His last day will be on Monday. Met with Denise Wicket, Ron Huff and Linda. I told her that we appreciated the volunteer work she was doing in cleaning up the town. I also asked her if she would consider being an official volunteer so that we would not have any issues with her working on City property. She said she would. I also asked her if there was anything that the City could do to help her and she gave me a list. I told her I would be glad to help her accomplish the things on the list. Received a letter from our Self Insures Fund Attorney regarding the Claim against the City by Mary Chavez. She claimed Mary Penner had fired her because she was Hispanic. Our Attorney wrote an excellent response to the EEOC citing the entire process that Ms. Chavez was subjected to in hiring, disciplining and firing her. I have to compliment Mary Penner for her documentation and handling of the termination, I also want to compliment Linda Bauer for the same reason. Our Attorneys work was made easy because she could easily document all the events, from the advertising of the position, to the interview process, to the termination. We dont have a decision from the EEOC yet but I cant see how they could possibly find in her favor. Met with Frank, he told me the landfill bulldozer would be delivered next week. Met with Sam Senn, he told me the old landfill closure is done and the State NMED people will be in town first week in March for a final inspection. Ill let the Commission know the time and date when I get it.


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Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 02/29/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 02/25 to 02/29 Jay, this memo will serve to inform you on my activities for the week. If you see anything that raises a red flag related to litigation or potential litigation please let me know as soon as possible. Phone/e-mail Contacts: Received a call from Patty Lester regarding value of rent for Senior Center. She needs the information for a grant she is requesting. Later I called her back and let her know that the square footage of the area they occupy is 11000 and the rent is at $.50 a sq. ft., therefore the rent is $5500 per month that the City contributes to the senior program. Received a call from Bobby Sanders who asked to set up a meeting. Received a call from Denise Wicket asking to contact Ed Ragsdale. I called Ed and asked him to call her. I called her back and asked her to call me if he did not call. Received an e-mail from Mayor Montgomery regarding how people get on the agenda. I explained that I use my best judgment, but that I also tell people that if they dont agree with me that they can show up at any Commission meeting and ask the Commission directly in the Comments from the Public. Received a call from Terry Allen requesting an appointment to discuss the alley the City vacated. I called him back and discussed the issue over the phone. I told him I would get back to him on the issue. Later I contacted Hazel and asked for a copy of the Commission meeting minutes. The minutes state that the City Attorney is to prepare an agreement and present it to the Utility Board for approval. I sent a memo to Jay asking him to follow up and to also call Mr. Allen and let him know the status. Called Ed Ragsdale about why he had not returned Mrs. Wickets call. He said Norm had told him she had called Norm on his

phone and left messages for Ed, apparently she had the wrong number. He also told me they had spent all day fixing a burial problem. Apparently the husband of the newly deceased was buried in the wrong place as well as others. This caused our crew to have to move several caskets in order to make room for the new burial. Spoke with Sondra McCarthy (engineer for the sewer plant project) she wanted to set up a meeting to discuss the sewer plant plans. Later I called her back and set up a meeting for Wed. Received a call from a concerned citizen who said she could hear a terrible grinding noise at the Clancy sewer lift station. I thanked her for her call and called Jesus to let him know. He went out and found some debris was hung up on the grinder and it was causing the noise. He fixed the problem. Received a call from Debra Toomey, she asked for a meeting and I told her to come over. Later we met and she explained that she was unhappy that Chris told her he would not enforce the sign ordinance against Shmidlapp. I told her I would look into it and if there was a violation of City rules we would enforce it. Later I drove by Shmidlapps store but I did not see the sign in question. The next day I asked Chris what the complaint was about. He explained that Shmidlapp had put up a wall sign made out of coke cans and that it just said vote he did not see anything wrong with it because it is a political sign that is not regulated. I agreed. Received a call from Ms. Toomey the next day. She said that she had just received a call from NMDOT regarding a prior complaint of hers to the State about political signs on State right-of-way. The caller told her she was right and they would send a crew out to remove all signs in the State RofW. Received a call from Russ Peterson. He was in the hospital in Las Cruces and he told me that the doctors are fairly sure he has lung cancer. They will need to do more tests to come to a final conclusion. Received a call from Jane Green asking for an appointment. I called her back and set one up for the same day. Received a call from Sandy Jones. He called to update me on the issues he brought up at the Governing Board meeting regarding the late payments to the risk management fund by the hospital. He said he was going to introduce a resolution at the next meeting to make sure this amount is paid. Ray informed me that the work on the medians in front of the IGA Center has

started. Met with NMDOT, Mayor Mishler, and Chris Ehrson (ASCG engineer) regarding new rules for street and sidewalk projects. They explained our current project does not have to meet these more stringent rules. They explained that the proposed Williamsburgs sidewalk project will have to comply with the new rules as well as any other new project in the future. Met with our contractor and Chris Ehrson on 3rd St. to discuss some changes to the project on Magnolia and near Coleman. Met with Jay, Linda, and Mary to review the City Commission agenda. Met with Bobby Sanders regarding building improvements to the Court. She explained what she wanted. I told her we would need to meet at the court so that I could better understand what she wanted. We scheduled a meeting for Tuesday. I also invited Norm. The next day we met and we found out we could not easily do what she wanted due to handicapped access issues. I asked Norm to split the project into 2 phases and give me an estimate. I also asked Bobby to see if the State could pay for some of the cost since the renovation could be considered as being done for security purposes. Wrote a memo to Chris and Mary regarding new procedures to be used when processing a request for a zone change. Met with Berna regarding a recent inspection by the Feds. Apparently, because we are recipients of a federal loan for water and sewer, they inspect us for compliance with federal regulations every 3 years. This is year nine. We dont know the results of the inspection but preliminarily they told us we have to start collecting race and ethnicity information for utility customers, we may have to make changes to the front counter and public restrooms to accommodate the handicapped, we have to designate a compliance person, and they need race and ethnicity information for the last 3 years. Apparently this is the first time they have actually inspected us. Met with Gil regarding Randys request to get some credit for extra work he claims he did for the electric department. Gil said he would price out the work and also check the plans to see if indeed it was extra work. Later Gil reported that the extra conduit pipe that Randy was quoting as $6.00 a linear foot was really $1.40 plus installation. He said the installation cost was minimal because the trench work was done for the original conduit that Randy had to install. I told him I would contact Randy on the issue. Norm informed me that the work on the roof at the Senior Center started today (Tuesday).

Attended the Tourism Board meeting. Most of the meeting involved a presentation from Jackrabbit Software. They produce software that is like Expedia or Travelocity, but cheaper. If the Board contracts with them they will allow local hotels to be listed on local web sites and rebate to the Board about 25% of the fee they charge the hotels. Met with Jay regarding John Deere Lease for the bulldozer. He made the same comment regarding changes as he had made for the golf equipment. Met with Nola Kent regarding a new grant she will be applying for. She gave me a copy of the Citys responsibilities for me to review before she put it on the agenda for consideration. I told her the City would charge 8% for administrative costs to manage the fiscal part of the grant. Met with the owners of the proposed NAPA Auto Parts store soon to be located on the vacant lot north of Ekmar Title. They are enthusiastic about coming to town. They currently own another store in Ruidoso. Met with Patty Lester and Linda. Ms. Lester wanted to inform the City that her board does not want to expand the existing Senior Center but would rather build a new Senior Center with grant money. She said they think they will need 5 acres of land and 2.5 million dollars for the venture. She would like to get the land donated from the City. I told her we did not own that much land that was located in a favorable spot. She also complained about the 4th Street Lab. I told her I was hoping to move them to the Armory but that the National Guard has not yet leased the property to us. I also told her that the City is committed to providing social services for our Youth as well as our Seniors, and that the 4th St. Lab serves both Seniors and Young people. Went out to look at the Foch St. Park and the work Mrs. Wicket is doing. She is an incredible worker and the park looks like it has been manicured. She is also responsible for planting 2 trees and cactus (at her own cost) in front of the Youth Center. Went out to look at the median work our crews are doing and also at the freeway work. Wrote letter to Mayor Mishler regarding the expenditure of Law Enforcement Protection Funds and copied the Commission. Went to the Landfill to witness the arrival of the New Bulldozer. The press was also invited. Met with the engineers from Smith Engineering to discuss the progress in the sewer plant engineering design and report. Met with the John Deere people to sign the lease agreement with the amendments proposed by Jay.

Met with the Department Heads at our bi-weekly meeting. We discussed the upcoming budget process, the proposed personnel study and issues related to each department. Met with the contractors, engineers and NMDOT regarding the spaceport road. It was a review of the plans for the road and for the purpose of identifying issues that had not surfaced in the preparation of the plans. Met with Jay to discuss the proposed Ordinance for the Joe Torres Zone change. Met with the SCEDO Board. The majority of the discussion centered on the Spaceport vote and on whether or not to make the Tourism Director an employee of SCEDO for tax purposes (for the director). She has to pay GRT because she is considered a contractor, if she were an employee; she would not have to pay the GRT. The Board seemed to think it was a good idea as long as she continues to take direction from the Tourism Board and her duties do not become co-mingled with the SCEDO Director. Met with Jane Green. She wanted to complain that Patty Lester keeps talking about what a negative influence the 4th Street Lab is on the seniors program. She said she was going to make a statement to the City Commission to defend her program. Met with Helen Belis who complained to me that the department heads are not reviewing their budget before they submit requisitions. I told her I would put her on the agenda for the next Department Head Staff meeting so that she could explain to them what problems this causes. Met with Linda who informed me about the issues Sandy Jones brought up at the Governing Board meeting. Apparently he asked some pointed questions to the fiscal officer who did not seem to want to answer and when he did answer the news was terrible. Apparently the hospital has not been current on payments for risk management by more than 90 days. This could mean that employees would not be covered in case of an accident. If it was a catastrophic accident, the hospital could be on the hook for millions. Linda also told me that the hospital is up to 90 days late in their accounts receivable for Medi-care and Medic-aide and that there is no reason for the delay since it is all done electronically. The problem seems to be that the hospital is not entering the information in a timely manner. Received a call from the Wal-Mart contractor. He said Wal-Mart would like the Citys consideration to allow them to open if they posted a bond to finish the freeway work. I told them I had already told NMDOT that we would hold up the occupancy of the store until the work was finished or until they posted a bond, so I did not see a problem with the issue. He said that because of the late delivery of the signal lights, that it could

be another 7 months before they open and Wal-Mart stands to loose 15 million dollars in sales in those 7 months. I asked him to pave the street behind the Chevron station and make that their main temporary entrance. He said that is what they planned to do. I went out to the site with Chris and found that it is a plausible idea. This way they could open up in May. The contractor also said they would be willing to put in a temporary signal. I told him that was not a good idea because it would bring NMDOT into the picture again. The City does not need permission from NMDOT to issue a Certificate of Occupancy, but the temporary signal would require NMDOT approval. I asked him to get a traffic engineer to give us his recommendations on how the handle the intersection without the signal. He said he would. By my calculations the information he gave me means that they plan to make 25 million in sales per year at this store. That translates into 1.2 million paid in GRT to the state. I asked Helen to find out how much of that the city would get back. It looks like my projection of an extra million in GRT for us is going to be low. Interoffice Memo: City ManagerPAGE 6 of NUMPAGES 6

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Interoffice MemoDate: To: C: From: 03/07/2008 Jay Rubin, City Attorney Honorable Mayor and City Commissioners Linda Bauer, Asst. City Manager Jaime Raul Aguilera, City Manager RE: Friday Memo week from 03/03

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