It takes hubris. Sierra Vista Hospital Governing Board members aren’t even elected by the people, yet they dare to speak in our name, giving the false impression that the community supports the Copper Flat Mine.
The Sierra Vista Hospital Governing Board held a special meeting on Oct. 12 to discuss “Copper Flat Mine” and “Candidate Debate Fallout,” according to the agenda available on the Sierra Vista Hospital website.
Both agenda items were discussed behind closed doors under executive session, the agenda citing the exemption allowed under the state law, the Open Meetings Act, 10-15-1(H) 9. That exemption reads:
“those portions of meetings of committees or boards of public hospitals where strategic and long-range business plans or trade secrets are discussed.”
Both agenda items listed alongside the agenda item hospital “CEO Shauna Cameron.” Evidently she was responsible for or was asked by a Governing Board member or members to call the special meeting and to put the items on a closed-session agenda.
According to the Sentinel’s coverage of the meeting in the Oct. 15 edition, Governing Board Member Edna Trager (T or C representative) made a motion “that the board support ‘the economic health of our community.’” when they came out of the closed session.
Bruce Swingle, Governing Board chair (Sierra County representative) was quoted by the Sentinel as stating that “. . . the board would support Copper Flat Mine ‘because it’s in the best interest of this community. It’ll provide revenue for the community, for the hospital, for the schools, for the community at large. We support all our businesses and this one is a real game changer for the community. It’s not about politics, it’s about what is in the best interest of the community.’”
I asked Google AI Overview to define politics. These are the resulting “Core Definitions”:
- Art and Science of Government: It involves creating, guiding, and enforcing the laws and policies that govern a society.
- “Who Gets What, When, and How”: A classic definition by political scientist Harold Lasswell that describes how power and scarce resources (such as money, land, or healthcare) are divided among citizens.
- Conflict Resolution: It uses negotiation, compromise, diplomacy, and debate to settle disagreements peacefully instead of through violence.
- Power Dynamics: At its base, politics is the study of how human beings exercise power over one another across governments, communities, workplaces, and families.
Obviously Swingle doesn’t know what politics is, despite using his political power—in our name–to make Copper Flat Mine happen. The Australian company’s mining permit application is before the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division.
The governing board passed the motion of support unanimously. It is unknown if the whole board attended, but members besides Trager and Swingle are: Serina Bartoo, vice-chair, Village of Williamsburg representative; Greg D’Amour, secretary, T or C representative; and Jesus Baray, member, Sierra County representative.
First, I find it revealing that these non-elected hospital board members feel entitled to summarily extend their remit to include “economic health” and economic development.
This is contrary to the board’s self-defined purpose, which heads every agenda:
MISSION STATEMENT: Provide high quality, highly reliable and medically proficient healthcare services to the citizens of Sierra County.
VISION STATEMENT: Become the trusted, respected, and desired destination for the highest quality of healthcare in the state of New Mexico; exceed compliance and quality expectations and improve the quality life for our patients and community.
VALUES: Stewardship. Honest. Accountable. Respect. Professional. Kindness. Integrity. Trust.
Second, I find it egotistical and autocratic of these non-elected representatives to conclude that Copper Flat is good for us without proof or evidence or reasoning given. They simply proclaim it, assuming they already have our “trust” and leaving the “accountable” part out of the equation, making them untrustworthy.
Third, they held the meeting in secret, which fosters distrust and makes them look like scofflaws of the Open Meetings Act. A motion to support the mine is not long range strategic planning. They simply wanted to avoid any contention from the community.
The Governing Board calling a special meeting on Oct. 15 was likely due to Copper Flat requesting they submit written support before Oct. 17, when the public comment period closed on the mining permit application.
The Copper Flat Mine probably canvassed all the local leaders to autocratically make it appear as if the community supports the mine to counterbalance the reality–a massively negative response from the community.
I attended the MMD public hearing on Sept. 17 and of the hundred or so public comments made at the mic only one or two favored the granting of the mining permit.
The written comments, last I checked, were also against granting the mining permit.
The community has said it will hurt the existing businesses and ranches and farms by pumping over 1,100 acre feet of water a year out of an aquifer already stretched and depleted by a mega-drought.
Copper Flat, if permitted, will use more water than the proposed mega AI data center, Project Jupiter in Dona Ana County.
It will also need massive upgrades to the electric grid to separate the metals from the ore, similar to Project Jupiter’s electricity demands, which may result in tripled electric bills for the people, as it has in other communities across the country.
The Dona Ana community is rightfully incensed their county officials went behind closed doors to wheel and deal away public resources for the promise of economic benefit to the local economy.
The AI bubble may burst and Copper Flat similarly is a boom-bust 12-year venture that will open-close with the rise and fall of copper’s market value.
What Copper Flat will leave behind will last hundreds of years; depleted ground water, 500 acres of polluted land (dry stack area) which will have at bottom a polluted lake with banks that may mud-slide toward the river. Or, in reverse, the drystack banks may dry out and decay, creating a constant source of polluted dust that blows down valley to T or C. Or both.
This is what our autocratic hospital Governing Board is supporting in our name, in contradiction to what their constituents have said, in contradiction to our health, and in contradiction to our economic health.
These board members support fat-cat business owners over the community. The majority of the Copper Flat Mine’s profits will go to the multimillionaire Australian Maloney family.
I am one of the original people in the suit against the reopening of Copper Flats. This litigation has been going on for over a decade. Thank you, Ms. Sloan for mentioning the public meeting in Sept. where I only heard ONE Silver City man agreeing that reopening the mine was a good idea as he has 2 kids and works at the Santa Rita Mine near Silver City. It was all for the economic benefits reopening would bring, NOTHING about the misuse of our diminishing water table when/IF it does reopen. Or the pollution it would certainly bring to our (and TorC’s) air quality as they plan to use dry stacking. Or the pollution of our ground water if a leak happens. AND the fact that they still do not have enough water rights to suffice for dry stacking. … So many spoke against the reopening of that mine and with substantial questions that were not properly answered by the mine representatives. A few of the hospital Board were in Hillsboro at one of our Common Table potluck lunches to tell us about their plans for the hospital going forward and we were so appreciative. This decision by at least one of the women who was here is crushing. TALK to the people who will be affected by the reopening of the mine. TALK about the illnesses that could come from polluted dust traveling to TorC and surrounds from the mine. THINK.