The Regular Meeting of the Taos Town Council was called to order by the Honorable Mayor Daniel R. Barrone at 1:05 p.m. 

Ms. Francella Garcia, Deputy Clerk, called roll and a quorum was present.  

Those present were:      
Mayor, Daniel R. Barrone      
Mayor Pro Tem, George “Fritz” Hahn
Councilmember, Judith Y. Cantu       
Councilmember, Andrew T. Gonzales
Councilmember, Frederick A. Peralta         

Also present were:      
Town Manager, Richard Bellis

Town Attorney, Floyd Lopez

Deputy Clerk, Francella Garcia

Absent/Excused was:
Town Clerk, Renee Lucero

Richard Bellis, Town Manager, requested to add under Town Manager's Report Baseball Fields for the Little League at Kit Carson Park.

Mr. Bellis requested Sharon Voigt, Procurement Officer and members of the review committee who are present to meet with the Mayor and Council in Executive Session. 

Councilmember Peralta made a motion to go into Executive Session.  Councilmember Hahn seconded the motion. The motion was Passed.  The Councilmembers voted as follows: Ayes: Cantu, Gonzales, Hahn, Peralta.

At 2:35 p.m., Councilmember Peralta made a motion to come out of Executive Session. Councilmember Gonzales seconded the motion. The motion was Passed.  The Councilmembers voted as follows: Ayes: Cantu, Gonzales and Peralta.  Councilmember Hahn was absent at the time.
 
Floyd Lopez, Town Attorney, stated discussion in the Executive Session was limited to the items as they were called for and no action was taken. Councilmember Gonzales made a motion to accept Mr. Lopez's report.  Councilmember Cantu seconded the motion. The motion was Passed.  The Councilmembers voted as follows: Ayes: Cantu, Gonzales, Hahn, Peralta.

On behalf of Atlas Marketing Ben Wright, CEO and Guillermo Mazier, Director of Strategic Accounts, thanked the Mayor, Council and the general public.  They provided a brief summary of their proposal. Mr. Wright informed the Mayor and Council their company specializes in marketing communities in which they have done in forty-six states and six countries.  In addition, members of their team have lived in Taos and believe this has provided knowledge in this process.  Furthermore, they also have a very strong commitment of using local talent when they can and one of the goals set forth in their RFP proposal is to increase tourism by 2%. 

Mayor Barrone thanked them for their briefing and requested a detailed presentation after negotiations are completed.

Mr. Bellis requested that Council direct staff to proceed with the contracting process and present for Council approval at a later date. 

Councilmember Gonzales made a motion to allow staff to enter negotiations with Atlas Marketing for marketing efforts with items set forth in executive session.  Councilmember Hahn seconded the motion.  The motion was Passed.  The Councilmembers voted a follows:  Ayes:  Gonzales, Hahn, Peralta.  NAYS:  Cantu

Mayor Barrone thanked staff and volunteers for their time and assistance in this process.

Mr. Bellis thanked the Finance Department and all applicants who applied.  

Tamara Chavez, Acting Human Resources Director, stated Mr. Avelar ensures that all tasks are done completely and to the best of his ability.  Mr. Avelar goes above and beyond to ensure the Recycling Center, various areas and side streets are clean and fee of litter.  His positive attitude and his customer service skills are a perfect example of his dedication to excellent public service to the Taos community.

·Deborah Villalobos-Whaley, Taos Plaza merchant, expressed her concerns of the Taos Farmers Market being held at the Taos Plaza.

·Paul Figueroa, Vice President of Taos Arts Council, provided upcoming events and dates.

·Nina (last name inaudible), a local business owner, recommended merchant quarterly meetings to be held in the evenings and thanked the Mayor and Council for improvements at the Plaza.

·Mayor Barrone invited everyone to join his team known as the “Pothole Warriors” who will be participating in the 5^th annual For the Health of It to raise awareness and help fight cancer in the Taos Community.

·William Smith stated he was organizing an event; however, he is unable to work with Taos Mesa Brewing and would like to have a music festival in Taos on August 28th through August 30^th.    He further stated he has national sponsors who will pay for all his advertisement and does not need advertising dollars from the Town.  He requested the use of Kit Carson Park for this event.  In addition, he stated he would like to donate at least $25,000 to go towards improvements of the amphitheater and the dog park at Kit Carson Park.  He anticipates approximately three to four thousand people will attend this event.  Mr. Bellis stated he believes those days are open and the use of public resources needs to come before the council for approval.  Mr. Bellis stated it will be placed on agenda for the next regular council meeting.    

Dominic Martinez, E-911 Director of Taos Central Dispatch, stated he is here to request approval of an expenditure of $32,586.06 to be paid from E-911 reserves to convert the Town of Taos Police Department data from Sleuth to Spillman.

Councilmember Gonzales asked if this was an original intent or whether it is an additional expense.  Chief Weaver stated the original setup was to allocate ten thousand dollars for the data transfer; however, the data transfer exceeds that amount.  Councilmember Gonzales stated when this upgrade to Spillman was first discussed the cost was always a concern with the new program verses Sleuth and he is baffled why another $22,586.00 is now needed.

Mr. Martinez stated the transfer of data is necessary and without the data we would have to start from scratch. 

A discussion ensued on whether the amount needed was $22,586.06 or $32,586.06 due to the $10,000.00 which was already allocated for this expense, when it would be necessary to replace the monies used from the reserves, E-911 operating expenses and proposed operating cuts.

Mayor Barrone asked Chief Weaver and Sheriff Hogrefe for their recommendation.  Chief Weaver stated we really don’t have a choice.  The data from the Town needs to be converted and is a requirement at this time.  Chief Weaver recommended that Council approve this request.

Taos County Sherriff Jerry Hogrefe stated he was not originally involved in the negotiations; however, it is imperative that the data conversion take place.  He explained why the transfer of historical data was necessary and the vital information that could be obtained with the implementation.

Mr. Martinez stated pursuant to the JPA, the Board of Directors does not have the authority to set or change the budget without the approval of the governing bodies of the JPA. He further added the only approval needed at this time is from the Town of Taos.

Councilmember Hahn made a motion to approve to fund the Spillman transfer in the amount of $32,586.00.

Mr. Bellis recommended including a condition that it be funded in reliance on the E-911 budget provided by the Taos County Finance Director's preliminary budget for 2016 Fiscal Year showing a balance of $219,015.25 remaining at the end of Fiscal Year 2016; therefore, it shall be approved with the condition that either the County or E-911 Board come back to the Town for replenishment of the $32,586.00.

Councilmember Hahn amended his motion to include Mr. Bellis’s recommendation.  Councilmember Gonzales second the motion.  The motion Passed.  The Councilmembers voted as follows:  Ayes:  Cantu, Gonzales, Hahn.  Nays:  Peralta

Sharon Voigt, Procurement Officer provided staff’s recommendation to award the 2015 Events Funding.  Mr. Bellis thanked Ms. Voigt for her stringent reporting which documents how funds are expended.

Discussion ensued on how the projects were ranked and concerns of conflict of interest among Town Employees.

Councilmember Hahn made a motion to approve staff recommendations for events funding from July 1, 2015 through July 31, 2015. 

Mr. Bellis recommended that the motion include $50,000 which was set-a-side in the Lodgers Tax Fund to be used towards the marketing expenses of these events.

Councilmember Hahn amended his motion to include Mr. Bellis's recommendation.

Motion died due to a lack of a second motion.

Councilmember Peralta recommended approving this agenda item at the next Council Meeting.  He requested further information on how the breakdown of funding was determined. 

Richard Archuleta, thanked the Mayor and Council for including the Taos Pueblo.  Mr. Archuleta stated he was disappointed after requesting $20,000 for the Taos Pueblo Pow Wow that only $5,405 was awarded.  He further added this event has a thirty year proven record. He expressed his concerns on how the RFP process was implemented. 

Councilmember Gonzales thanked Mr. Archuleta for sharing his concerns.  Discussion ensued on awarding funds to cultural events and releasing the names of the individuals who were in the evaluation committee.

Councilmember Gonzales made a motion to table the agenda item to the next Council Meeting.  Councilmember Cantu seconded the motion for discussion.

Discussion ensued on how events were selected and the RFP criteria.    

Mr. Bellis stated he believes this agenda item was at the request of Councilmember Cantu.  He further added due to the substantial number of records provided to Mr. Whaley and Councilmember Cantu the Public Works Department proposed a workshop for transparency and to address any concerns.  The workshop would include the Finance Department and the Public Works Department who would explain how various projects were procured.  He proposed scheduling a workshop on June 16^th or June 30^th at 9:00 a.m. 

Councilmember Cantu stated she would prefer having the workshop in July since there are several documents she would like to request in order for her to investigate.  Mr. Bellis stated it could be discussed again whenever she is prepared.

Mayor Barrone asked Councilmember Cantu if there was something specific she was looking for.  He stated we should not continue to badger staff because they make decisions based on direction from the Council and then they are scrutinized every moment when moving forward.   He further added a lot of concerns are from direction to staff from the prior administration.  Mayor Barrone stated he wants to create an environment in which everyone can work with each other and wants to move forward in the best open and transparent government as possible. He further stated it makes him sad when there is no trust in the staff to move forward on tasks assigned to them.

Councilmember Cantu stated the nice thing about democracy is that anyone can make public records requests when there are doubts and believes it is very important for transparency purposes to know exactly what is going on to avoid being blindsided.  She disagreed that employees are being scrutinized and further added the public has brought questions to their attention as well. 

Floyd Lopez, Town Attorney, stated since the last meeting it was determined the personnel policy should be adopted as an ordinance rather than a resolution. He further added an ordinance has been prepared and he is currently working on the red-lined version.  In addition, the ordinance and the collective bargaining agreement will be placed on the agenda at the next regular council meeting for approval and has been published as required by state statute.

Mr. Bellis announced tonight will be a tryout of movies at Kit Carson Park which will consist of a large screen; a concept Councilmember Gonzales brought forward, which he believes will become very popular.  He further added there will be other activities and attractions which will be great for families. 

Councilmember Gonzales stated he would like for the parks to have more exposure and proposed alternating the location to include the Fred Baca Park.  Mayor Barrone agreed with Councilmember Gonzales; however, is concerned of mosquitos due to the amount of water there.

Discussion ensued on the safety measures in place.

Councilmember Gonzales thanked the Council, Town staff and especially Mr. Bellis for making this a reality.

Mr. Bellis announced that RDC has been selected as the financial advisor and is currently in the contracting phase.  He further stated sixty thousand dollars has been allocated for this task and based on the structure of the contract there are no fees by RDC, unless there is a bond issue or refinancing.

Mr. Bellis stated the Little League is restructuring and they are not in the position to do the necessary activities on the fields as they have done in the past.  He further added Little League has the opportunity to bring the Regional Tournament to Taos; and, given that this can be considered refurbishing of the field he requested consideration that this be included as part of the upgrading of Kit Carson Park for this fiscal year. 

Discussion ensued in regards to establishing an MOU between the Town and the Little League, improvements requested by the Little League, anti-donation issues, purchase of safety nets and bases.

Steve Kennebeck, Facilities Director, briefed the Mayor and Council on the condition of the fields. 

Marietta Fambro, Finance Director, stated these expenses could be paid from the 2014/2015 fiscal year budget with the procurement card.

Councilmember Gonzales requested Mr. Kennebeck provide a budget for everything that is needed in order to the address the safety issues so that he may approach Taos County on sharing half the cost.

Mayor Barrone invited the Council to participate with the Walk for Life this weekend.  He announced the Employee Appreciation Day is scheduled for June 19^th and it will be at Council’s own discretion on whether to make a contribution for this event.

Councilmember Peralta stated adjustments were made to the original agreement to allow for the west side to remain open; however, he would like to know whether it can remain open for traffic during quiet periods at the Farmer’s Market and shut down the road as it gets busier. 

Chief Weaver cautioned that a large amount of collisions are preventable when traffic control is predictable. He believes unexpected changes may create an environment for potential collisions; however, it will be at the discretion of the Council.

Councilmember Peralta stated he reviewed the Taos Farmers Market contract and believes the Town is sponsoring the Farmers Market and the Farmers Market Corporation is managing it for us.  He stated he reformatted the contract and delineated the duties and responsibilities for both parties.  He further added the proposed contract specifies the Farmers Market Corporation is to observe the Town’s rules and regulations. In addition, he believes it also clarifies the responsibility for them to adhere to their by-laws as to who can or cannot participate in the Farmers Market. He proposed a one year contract and any renewals needs council approval.

 Councilmember Peralta made a motion to accept the revisions to the Farmers Market Operation contract with Taos Farmers Market Incorporated. 

Mr. Lopez stated this agenda item was a discussion item not an action item and respectfully requested that Council not make a motion.

Discussion ensued on whether the agenda item could be changed, the direction to staff when it was originally discussed to be placed on the agenda and Council approval of sponsorship.

Mr. Lopez stated he has concerns on violating the Open Meetings Act.  It was agreed to have the contract executed and to be brought back to Council for a formal vote at the next Council Meeting.

Councilmember Cantu requested this item be placed on an agenda as a presentation at a later date. 

The Council provided a recap of various events to take place for the upcoming weekend.

A motion was made by Councilmember Peralta and seconded by Councilmember Cantu to adjourn the meeting.  The motion carried unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 5:36 p.m.