The Village of Capitan Board of Trustees met in special session on
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 at Village Hall in Capitan, NM at 5:00
PM.
Mayor Hammons opened the public hearing for the 2012 Community
Development Block Grant at 5:00 PM. Dora Batista,
Representative of Southeastern Council of Governments, opened the
public hearing and gave a little background on the SNMEDD and the
CDBG program. The federal government appropriated money for
these competitive grants beginning in 1974. The money comes
from Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C., down to the
State of New Mexico who spreads it out into competitive
grants. It is one of the few sources of “free money”; you
don’t have to pay it back. The maximum amount you can apply
for is $500,000. You can only apply once a year if you
do not have an open project. If you have an open project, you
have to have it closed by December 15th, and this year the new
application is due by January 13th. She stated the most recent
project that is completed is the new senior center. The
village will have to put in at least a 5% match in funding, but more
can be matched and the application gets extra points. She
named off several CDBG projects that Capitan has completed.
Dora stated in order to qualify for a grant; you have to meet one of
three objectives. The primary beneficiary has to be low to
moderate income (51% or more) or the project has to prevent slum and
blithe, or it has to fix immediate health and emergency
situations. Capitan as a whole is 46% low to moderate income
so it does not qualify that way. You can pick an area for a
project and if that area is low to moderate income, then it would
apply. Capitan qualified for the senior center under low to
moderate income because the center is considered what they call a
“limited clientele” meaning that the primary beneficiaries are those
of a group and senior citizens automatically qualify under low to
moderate income. She explained the conditions that have to be
met to qualify for slum and blithe. Emergency funding is
exempt from that one time of year “at this date” rule; but you have
to have state agencies say “yes, it is an emergency”. She
stated the funding has been cut and over the last few years, there
have been 30 to 40 applicants for CDBG funds. Projects can be
“phased” so that the full $500,000 is not needed in one year.
A lady from the audience asked if when we had the freeze in February
if this money would have been available to repair the busted pipes
and water lines. Dora said if something happened with the main
water lines they would probably qualify. A discussion followed on
the situation. Dora said this is the third hearing and in the
other hearings, it was talked about asking for money to complete the
other phase of the senior center. A discussion followed on
what else is needed for the center.
Mayor Hammons asked for a moment of silence and led the assembly in
the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mayor Hammons called the meeting to order at 5:28 PM.
Minutes
Special Meeting
September 21, 2011
Page 2 of 2
Mayor Hammons asked the Village Clerk, Kay Strickland, for a roll
call of the members. Mayor Hammons-here, Trustee LaMay-here,
Trustee Haskell-here, Trustee Bradley-here, Trustee
Riska-absent. Village Clerk, Kay Strickland also attended the
meeting. A list of others in attendance is attached.
Item #1 on the Agenda: Approval of the Agenda
Trustee Bradley moved to approve of the agenda. Trustee LaMay
seconded the motion and all were in favor.
Item #2 on the Agenda: Discussion/Action on Bid#2011-03
– Chip Seal and Fog Seal Various Roads in Capitan
Trustee Bradley moved to accept the bid from Blue Collar
Construction. Trustee Haskell seconded the motion. Roll
Call: Trustee Bradley-yes, Trustee Haskell-yes, Trustee
LaMay-yes.
Item #3 on the Agenda: Resolution 2011-17 – 2012
Community Development Block Grant for Extension on Senior Citizens
Building, Demolish old Building, Construct a Parking Area,
Landscaping, and Extend Sewer Line to Senior Citizens Building
Mayor Hammons stated we may not get all the funding we asked for the
Senior Center so we would have to prioritize what we want to do
first. He suggested doing the 1200 ft. addition first.
Trustee LaMay stated he thought we should demolish the old building
first. Mayor Hammons said we could put the two together.
Since we already have the architect and plans done on the extension,
it should make it a lot cheaper. Mayor Hammons stated he is
going to apply through the legislature for funding to do the sewer
line extension. A discussion followed on the purpose of
prioritizing the items and what order they would need to be listed
in on the application. Trustee LaMay moved to approve
Resolution 2011-17 the way it reads. Trustee Bradley seconded
the motion. Roll Call: Trustee LaMay-yes, Trustee
Bradley-yes, Trustee Haskell-yes.
ADJOURNMENT
Trustee Haskell moved to adjourn at 5:37 PM. Trustee Bradley
seconded the motion, and all were in favor.
_______________________________________
Mayor Sam
Hammons
ATTEST:
______________________________________
Kay Strickland, CMC
Village Clerk
