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Lundstrom brings focus to Gallup in her presentation to city council

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The latest city council meeting on March 23 provided New Mexico Representative Patricia Lundstrom, D-Gallup, a chance to talk about the bills that passed the House of Representatives during the 2021 legislation session that ended March 20. More than 800 bills were introduced during the session. Nearly 160 made it to the governor’s desk.

Lundstrom explained that Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has until April 9 to sign the bills, and if she doesn’t, they would be considered a “pocket issue.” A pocket issue occurs when a governor doesn’t sign a bill in time.

Lundstrom told the council that the state’s budget was $7.4 billion this year, which is a 4.5 percent increase over last year’s budget.

She also pointed out that more money went into public education to extend the school year, provide food and nutrition, and state and local transportation this year.

After explaining the budget, Lundstrom described some of the bills that she saw during the session.

House Joint Resolution 1 is a proposed amendment to the state constitution to increase the distribution from the land grant permanent fund to early childhood education programs and K-12.

House Bill 255 is the Liquor Reform and Delivery Bill. It allows home delivery to customers purchasing a meal from a restaurant. It also lifts the restriction on selling alcohol on Sundays.

Senate Bill 1 gives an additional income tax deduction for people earning less than $31,000 a year and for families earning less than $39,000.

Senate Bill 2 waives the 2020/2021 liquor license fees.

Senate Bill 3 amends and extends the small business recovery act that legislators passed last year. Four-hundred-million-dollars would be provided by the New Mexico Finance Authority. Lundstrom commented that she thought the rules were too strict for small businesses to access the funds, so now the process has been changed.

House Bill 2 is the General Appropriation Act. The Department of Finance and Administration would give $6 million for economic recovery efforts for communities impacted by mineral and energy development in coordination with any federal stimulus funding. This would be coordinated by the local government division and distributed by the community development council.

House Bill 270 and Senate Bill 133 deal with bringing self-driving vehicles to Gallup. The senate bill provides a grant to the New Mexico Department of Transportation to support locating airports in rural parts of the state.

House Bill 6 would eliminate the State Equalization Guarantee. In a phone interview with the Sun, Lundstrom explained how the guarantee had been put in place over 50 years ago and that it negatively impacted Gallup. The guarantee was a funding formula that gave the 81 public school districts in New Mexico Impact Aid funding. She said that this formula negatively affected Gallup because it gave funding intended for the GMCS school district to other schools.

Lundstrom also discussed road and building projects in Gallup, including Allison Road, the new public safety building, and a domestic violence shelter with a price tag of $1.5 million. She said the total amount for all the bills and upcoming projects was a little over $7.8 million.

She concluded her presentation by saying, “[Gallup is] my city. I care about what happens here.”

DEYOUNG TALKS ABOUT CITY’S STRATEGIC PLAN

Assistant City Manager Jon DeYoung, presented this year’s city strategic plan at the meeting. He explained that some bond restructuring would need to be done, but that would have to be delayed due to the budget issues caused by COVID-19. DeYoung said it wasn’t the right time to do the restructuring.

Along those same lines, the city’s 10-year financial plan that would predict future expenses and budgets have also been delayed.

The city is still debating extensions for the Navajo Gallup Water Supply project, DeYoung said.

During his presentation, he gave the county fire department a shout-out. He said the department’s emergency management plans have been helping with COVID-19 restrictions and that the department will continue to be in charge of the plans in the future.

He also brought up the idea of growing the local economy by investing in the Red Rock Park campgrounds. The project would cost $3.25 million, but DeYoung said lodgers tax or bond funds could be used.

PUBLIC AREAS SLOWLY REOPENING IN GALLUP

As more and more vaccines roll out, the people of Gallup have become eager to see the local pool, fitness center, and theatre reopen. During the city council meeting, city manager Maryann Ustick asked the council to restore funding for the furloughed employees of these indoor recreation centers.

Larry Brian Mitchell, the Cecil Garcia Fitness Center, the Gallup Aquatic Center, and the El Morro Theatre and Events Center are all looking to reopen in the near future, and Ustick explained that some of the furloughed employees would need to come back to work for that to happen.

Ustick said the fitness center plans to reopen April 1. In order to accomplish that, one supervisor, one maintenance person, and two recreational coordinators would be needed. Ustick recommended these employees return to work to prepare for the reopening.

She said that she has heard a lot of people say they wish the fitness center would reopen.

The Gallup Aquatic Center plans to reopen on April 12. Ustick recommended one supervisor, one head lifeguard, one maintenance person, and three part-time lifeguards return to work to get it ready.

Larry Brian Mitchell will reopen on April 12. Ustick recommended two recreational coordinators return to work to prepare.

The El Morro Theatre and Events Center plans to reopen before the end of the month, and Ustick said one theatre manager would be needed for that. The El Morro Theatre would also need four part-time assistants to return to work on April 23 so the facility could open the doors on April 30.

Some positions would remain on furlough until June 31, pending any changes from the governor. Ustick said that date was chosen because it is the end of the fiscal year.

The next city council meeting is on April 13.

By: Molly Adamson
Sun Correspondent

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