Approval relates to Islamic Center
The Gallup City Council unanimously approved the vacation of an easement for the Islamic Center at its April 11 regular meeting. The action was introduced by city water and sanitation director Dennis Romero and was not met with much discussion.
“The Islamic Center is in the process of building an addition to their facility,” Romero told council members. “An abandoned sewer line runs through their property which has a 25-foot public utility easement associated with it. There are no current or future plans to replace this line or place it into service.”
Romero said easement vacations must be approved by the full council. He said the vacation of the easement won’t cost the city anything because the easement was provided by a sub-division at the time it filed the plat, so the city never originally had to pay for it, he said.
“This was a public utility easement for a sewer line,” Romero commented. “That is why it falls under the water and sanitation department and not the public works department.”
Romero said in order for the proposed addition to meet city code requirements, they cannot build the addition within this easement. “Utility staff located the sewer line and verified that it is abandoned,” romero said just before the council vote. He said the easement measures approximately 0.12 acres.
The Islamic Center is located at 3100 E. Historic Highway 66 in the Indian Hills neighborhood. Councilor Linda Garcia motioned to pass the matter. “I see nothing wrong with this,” Garcia said.
By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent
