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Mayor’s Report

May, 2004

Capitan Mayor Insane; Needs to be Removed – would’ve been the bold, front page headline of the Lincoln County News had the Capitan Board of Trustee’s not moved in the direction they did during their April meeting.  Instead, the Trustee’s action was a non-event, and since it didn’t fall in line with the little paper’s political views, they simply chose not to report it, but I will. 

 

From the April’s Mayor’s Report you know I find it all but impossible to deal with the Lincoln County Solid Waste Authority (LCSWA).  This is nothing new, I objected to the “good ol’ boy” politics the first day my Wranglers hit the chair at their board meeting and it’s been a fight ever since.  This fight is not about service or the way our trash is being picked up.  It’s about the money and aggravation to this Village, it’s about not going back to the old way of doing business; it’s about what we as a Village will not be a part of or stand for.

 

The Village does the billing for LCSWA and for that privilege it costs money in postage, man hours, productive and in the past it has cost the Village cash to make up the difference in what we collected and what they billed us.  If the girls in the Village office got tied up and unable to send LCSWA a count “Ms. I” fired off certified letters followed up with phone calls that shut the office down for hours.  At one point the Village Clerk sent me a memo threatening to quit if the “harassment” didn’t stop.  Dealing with LCSWA became a daily problem consuming the entire day; it was like dealing with the Sopranos.  The Village office was in a constant uproar.  Even paying the state tax to the state instead of sending it to them sparked a fight with “Ms. I”.  Why?

 

The News threw up the smoke screen saying I didn’t like the operational supervisor because she was a woman.  I wonder if the News remembered how I fought for two years to appoint Trustee Shearer as Mayor Pro Tem.   News flash:  Trustee Shearer is a woman and does a great job.  The News said I was fighting LCSWA because I wanted the operational supervisor’s job.  If I am not mistaken that’s how she landed in that position, by going after Mr. Simpson.   To cut to the chase, I just do not like political corruption and am too vocal about it for News’ taste.    

 

At one time LCSWA owed the Village of Capitan over $11,000 and simply stopped making their payments.  To get out of making those payments LCSWA claimed the Village owed them $27,000 for the closing of the landfill and that started the landfill war.  It’s these actions I cannot abide.  I presented my concerns to the governing board of this Village and thought it was a good idea for someone else to be put on the LCSWA board.  To my surprise Trustee Shearer who had been attending meetings lately reported the same problems and she also wanted off their board.   Trustee Shearer told the other Trustee’s “I thought Steve just couldn’t get along with them, but the same thing is happening to me.”  She reported the fight with LCSWA over the landfill cost Capitan a great deal of time and money in legal fees.  She said she spent the day in Santa Fe researching EPA records to discover LCSWA had knowingly allowed illegal dumping at the Capitan landfill.  When this came to light the trash authority chose to settle the case and Capitan did not pay any of the $27,000 that LCSWA was demanding.  Capitan Trustees insisted we stay involved in the ground water monitoring the EPA had required.  Capitan wanted to ensure the illegally dumping would not endanger or poison our ground water.  It seems like the fight never ends but this is serious business, and worth getting bloody over.    

 

At the April Trustee meeting Bill Martin made some good points in that we are a part of the authority and shouldn’t have to fight over every issue; Trustee Davis felt the same.  Bill Martin said he was tired of receiving certified letters in his personal mailbox from LCSWA and wanted to move away from them if possible.  He made a motion to seek other alternatives to LCSWA and if need be divorce ourselves from them.  Trustee Shearer seconded the motion and the vote drew a unanimously, “yes”.    It should be noted; we’re not pulling out of LCSWA, but are looking into other alternatives.  It should also be noted that we are not going to allow LCSWA to take over the billing if they are going to raise your rates and we are not going to go to the large dumpsters scattered throughout the village as “Ms I” reported in the little paper.  On April 22, “Ms I” told a crowded room at a Meet the Candidate Form that she took the company from $350,000 in the red to having over ½ million in the bank.  With ½ million in the bank you’d think the Sopranos could handle their own billing like a real company without raising your rates.    

 

This new board of Trustees wants to move forward and build something positive for Capitan.  One example of building something positive is the baseball field.        

 

At the April meeting I had the pleasure of presenting Zach and Wade Shearer with a “Certificate of Achievement” from Governor Bill Richardson.  The certificate was for the boy’s efforts in taking the project of the new baseball field to the Capitol and coming home with money to make it happen.  We thought it was great the Governor took the time to send the boys an award.  However, Trustee’s Davis, Martin, Tippin and I remembered what it is to be boy and had to explain to their mom that a certificate from the Governor is great but the Village of Capitan was “cool”.  We presented the boys with personalized Louisville Sluggers.  The bats had their name on them and a “thank you” from all the people of Capitan.  I was told by the school principle the boys took the Governor’s award and the bats you gave them to school with them to show their pals.  Which do you think the other kids were impressed with?  The people of Capitan out “cooled” the Governor, and that’s hard to do.

 

By the time you read this the Village Trustees and the School Board have already come together in a joint meeting to begin work on the ball field.  I’ve received a lot of comments about the ball field, and all have been positive.  Yesterday, I was invited to the school to eat pizza with the 4^th and 5^th graders, and they are excited about the ball field.  (One of the best parts of this job is getting invited to the school.  The kids are always fun, the teachers and staff always upbeat but those little chairs they have are a pain.)   We’re blessed to have the school we do and I’m glad our Trustees feel the same and are working with them on projects that affect our community.   

 

May 7^th – 9^th, is Smokey’s 60^th.  This town will shut down and have a good clean family party.  The night of the 7^th is a street dance, now I don’t know about you but I have not seen a street dance since I was a kid and I have to go.  The dance is free, making it cheap at twice the price.  Highway 101 will be playing on the 8^th and the prices of the tickets are $25.  There’ll be horseshoe throwing, chainsaw cutting, dancing, singing, and a general good time.  I’ve written a proclamation (really about the only power the Mayor has but I performed it with a flair) declaring May 7^th-9^th as Smokey’s Birthday Celebration.   Come wish the bear happy birthday!