The Edgewood Town Commission meeting on Dec.17 covered various topics, including holiday greetings, grant applications, administrative matters, future plans, advisory board appointments and the 2025 holiday calendar.
Mayor Kenneth Brennnan wished the Edgewood community well wishes during the holiday season and urged everyone to partake cautiously in the holiday celebrations. If needed, he stated the My BlueBus is an option for everyone.
“Let’s get through the end of the year so we can start off new, stay safe, stay healthy, and that way we can all see you after the new year,” he said.
“Please keep somebody’s phone number with you that you can call, you know, call a friend, or, you know, call anybody. If it’s during the day, don’t forget, My Blue will pick you up.”
The Clerk-Treasurer Michelle Jones submitted capital outlay requests online, including road maintenance, and recommended against applying for the governor’s capital outlay until all other funding avenues are exhausted and agrees to look further into the matter.
The Officer of the Year Award Banquet awarded Officer Pablo Arreola as the officer of the year, nominated by his peers for his proactiveness on the line of duty.
Chief Roger Jimenez also took a moment to share a recent operation at Walmart and other big box stores during Black Friday, highlighting the success in impeding crime and making several arrests with the help of both officers and detectives.
The town manager, Nina McCracken, discussed her participation at the New Mexico Municipal League City Manager Conference and explained the various topics discussed such as housing and wastewater management.
The condition of the wastewater treatment plant and the need for better equipment and manpower, as explained by McCracken, are important issues to be discussed in the coming year. She also mentioned the possibility of hiring high school students for on-the-job training to address the wastewater operator shortage.
“That’s something that he does want to get activated again … for like the seniors and stuff, where they have on the job training and they go, the plan is to be able to hire those individuals,” McCraken said.
The commissioners also reviewed the interview questions for the vacant commissioner position. Commissioner Murillo and Milligan presented a set of versions to consider. They examined the wording and content of the questions with some suggesting changes to ensure fairness and relevance.
They also discussed the revision and approval of advisory board appointments needed for 2025 to ensure the necessary representation and expertise.
The commission also discussed a need for filling various board vacancies in the areas of animal welfare, economic development, library and lodgers’ tax .
The plan is to increase public interest in these boards through social media posts which has been successful thanks to the work of Community Liaison Linda Burke.
Lastly, the introduction of the 2025 holiday calendar alerted commissioners on pay dates that need to be adjusted in order to avoid conflicts with holidays. This will ensure any processing delays to paydates of May and November are avoided.
“It has been kind of an interesting year for us. A lot of changes, a lot of things moving forward, and I’m anticipating a great next year, with a lot of things falling into place. So, thank you ,everybody,” Brennan said.
Future events include a Valentine’s day dance, Fourth of July activities and an Easter event among others. The next commission meeting dates are scheduled for January 7 and January 28.