The City of Elephant Butte wants the City of Truth or Consequences to support its efforts to change their city boundaries by about 20 acres so its wastewater treatment plant is within Elephant Butte city limits and not within T or C’s.
The T or C city commission entertained a resolution at its Dec. 17 meeting that essentially stated the city would not oppose such an effort.
It wasn’t discussed for long. City Manager Gary Whitehead framed the issue as being one of intergovernmental cooperation, which could benefit T or C when it comes time to replace the city’s nearby Riverside Drive vacuum sewer system, which has overflowed and had repeated pressure and pump problems.
T or C might want to route those sewer lines in five to ten years to the Elephant Butte wastewater treatment plant, Whitehead told the Citizen in a phone interview. Currently T or C is fixing the vac system, which should hold it for five or 10 years, but then it needs to be replaced. If a traditional system is chosen, a lift station would have to be put in to power the sewage to the city’s plant. If the sewage went to the Elephant Butte plant, it could obviate the need for a lift station, being gravity-fed instead, saving money.
Whitehead didn’t know how or when the Elephant Butte wastewater treatment plant was built in T or C, but he said it made sense, since the land “is the lowest in the city,” and this probably saved Elephant Butte money.
The T or C city commissioners approved the resolution, agreeing not to stand in the way of Elephant Butte seeking a path to changing the cities’ boundaries.
Whitehead said the Elephant Butte plant land is owned by the City of Elephant Butte, and there are about 20 privately owned surrounding acres that would also be pulled into Elephant Butte’s city limits. One of the owners, Whitehead said, is Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resort company.
There is only one residence within the 20 acres, and all the sewage the plant receives are Elephant Butte residences and businesses, Whitehead said.
Whitehead pointed out that there is no state law for de-annexation. He said a joint powers agreement between the cities might be an alternative, but it was up to Elephant Butte to figure it out.
About 10 years ago, Hot Springs Land Development wanted to have its seven-square-miles of land around the T or C airport de-annexed from T or C boundaries and then annexed by the City of Elephant Butte. HSLD went to the state legislature to request they enact a law allowing de-annexation, but were not successful.
The Sentinel had a legal ad in the December 18 issue related to the T or C resolution. It stated a public hearing will be held by the Elephant Butte City Council at the regular 2 p.m. meeting, Wednesday, Jan. 7 on Ordinance 226, “Regarding Integrated Environmental Services, QOZB, LLC and Two Cities, LLC Petitioning for Annexation.”
Turtleback Mountain Golf & Resorts is owned by Integrated Environmental Services. The other owner making up the surrounding 20 acres must be Two Cities, LLC. Evidently the two owners are seeking to be annexed by Elephant Butte before they are de-annexed from T or C.
I looked up Elephant Butte’s NPDES permit (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination) to see when the plant was built and if T or C was listed as the location. The earliest reference to an NPDES permit was 2013, and the physical address given was 1001 Sunset Ridge Rd. in Sierra County. The mailing address was an Elephant Butte post office box.
I looked up the City of Elephant Butte’s 5.8-acre parcel on which the plant is sited on the county assessor’s website. It states the land improvements are worth about $1.9 million and the land itself was assessed at nearly $700,000.
I looked at the book and page to see title changes. It gave no date, but it stated that the grantor, Turtleback Mountain Partners, gave the land to the City of Elephant Butte, which made no sense to me at all. Had Elephant Butte not purchased the land on which the plant was built? I checked with the assessor, Mike Huston. He said that the UPC or parcel number is 3020077496050, for those of you who would like to recheck my work, which I would welcome.
I asked Elephant Butte on Dec. 19 for a copy of Ordinance 226 and was told it would be sent to me when it was in a form to be emailed. I haven’t received it yet.
The citizen will follow up on this story after the Jan. 7 ordinance hearing.
Once again, the do what feels right t or c govt making a decision on a resolution with no plan to research the issue:
“Yeah..it should be okay! I vote yes!”
«The T or C city commissioners approved the resolution, agreeing not to stand in the way of Elephant Butte seeking a path to changing the cities’ boundaries. ”
My gut tells me prereal is at the heart of this, and the $$$ benefits to them will be grand!