The county commission will hold their monthly meeting on Tuesday July 19 in their chambers at 1712 N. Date Street in Truth or Consequences. The public can attend the meeting in person or listen on the radio at 101.9 FM or observe either live or later on facebook. The regular meeting, at 10 a.m., will be preceded by a hearing at 9:45 to discuss updating the lodgers tax ordinance.
The agenda and its accompanying packet are online. Items that might be of interest and their corresponding pages in the packet are described.
Public Hearing: The lodgers tax ordinance (ordinance number 22-003) that will be discussed during the 9:45 hearing can be found on page 233 of the packet. This ordinance, if passed, will repeal the current ordinance (87-001) which has been in effect since Aug 6, 1986. The new ordinance will increase the county tax on lodging from 3% to 5%.
Presentations: In addition to regular department reports, the commission will hear two presentations. One will be by Rush Behnke who will present information on a ministerial alliance and the other by Kim Atman who will discuss the availability of art classes to the public.
New Business: The commission will appoint members to the Sierra Vista Hospital board. There are 4 applicants for the position. They are: Shawnee Renfro-Williams, a registered nurse and manager Sierra Home Care and Hospice; Andrea West, human resources director at Sierra Health Care, Inc; Serina Bartoo, former Sierra County employee, most recently interim county manager; and Greg D’Amour a health care provider who has worked at the hospital. The résumés of these individuals can be found beginning on page 125 of the packet.
The commission will publish ordinance 22-004 regarding county subdivision regulations. No details were given in the packet.
Contracts-Agreement-Procurement: The county will enter into contracts with the USDA and with Olive Tree and Sierra Vista Hospital.
The contract with USDA (page 149 ) will be to continue for another year the Integrated Wildlife Damage Management program at a cost to the county not to exceed $41,750.
The contracts with Olive Tree and Sierra Vista Hospital (page 154) all deal with mental health issues in the county. Olive Tree will administer grants that Virginia Lee, the detention administrator, has obtained for the county. The grants are LEAD (Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Pre-Arrest Diversion), RISE (Reach, Intervene, Support, Engage) and BHIZ (Behavioral Health Investment Zone). The total annual cost to the county for Olive Tree to administer these grants is $42,000.
Sierra Vista Hospital will develop tele-health services and the county will submit requests for reimbursements from the hospital to the state.
Resolutions: Resolution 110-095 (p.220) outlines the requirements for a citizen or group to place a presentation on the agenda. The topic must fall within the scope of the commission’s authority, the presentation must not exceed 15 minutes, and the presenter must fill out a form that details the subject of discussion and provides name, address and contact information
Resolution 110-097, the commission will prioritize then adopt an infrastructure capital improvement plan for fiscal years 2024-2029 to submit to the state. This year’s list (page 226) contains these 18 items that have been submitted to the commission:
Emergency Operations Center
Roof repair road/sheriff complex
Arrey Baseball complex
Purchase/equip sheriff’s vehicles
Hillsboro community center HVAC
Parking lot road/sheriff complex
Animal shelter kennel building
Purchase county fleet vehicles
Hillsboro community center kitchen renovation
Hillsboro road and drainage
Arrey road improvements
Water truck and dumpster for road department
Repair bridge 6680
Ladder road renovation
Divide well road project
Hot springs landing drainage proposal
Banquet hall and restrooms
Extension office/Ag youth science center
I wonder how well equipped the small, faith based Olive Tree – Apple Tree Educational Center is to administer this grant.