Get the holiday calendar done
McKinley County Commissioners decided to table some of the issues on the Nov. 16 agenda because they felt like they were lacking some information.
One of those issues was the approval of the proposed district maps.
McKinley County Bureau of Elections Manager Marlene Custer presented the commissioners with three possible options for district boundaries. But ultimately, the commissioners decided they weren’t ready to approve the district maps.
Part of the reason they didn’t make a final decision was because Commissioner Genevieve Jackson, Dist. 2, was not present. The commissioners also said the districts’ boundaries were not clear enough and asked Custer to draw more defined boundary lines.
In an interview with the Sun, Commissioner Robert Baca, Dist. 3, said he and Commissioner Billy Moore, Dist. 1 found the maps confusing.
“The boundaries really aren’t clear based on the maps that they showed us,” Baca explained. “So we really couldn’t tell where the cut off points were for everywhere, at least for my area, District 3,” he said.
A special meeting will be held Nov. 29, allowing commissioners to discuss the district boundaries in more detail.
Another issue on the agenda concerned the wireless tower ordinance and its related resolutions. The commissioners were supposed to review and possibly adopt the ordinance and resolutions, but ultimately felt that they needed more information before they could.
The county’s current service provider is Wireless Tower Solutions. The county has been working with the company since 2018. Wireless Tower Solutions handles small tower applications.
In a previous interview with the Sun, County Attorney Doug Decker said that the application fees for the wireless towers would be changing. Baca wanted to see the previous fee numbers before making a decision on the ordinance and resolutions.
Decker and Wireless Tower Solutions Chief Training and Technology Officer Dean Williamson, were unable to provide the information.
Depending upon how many towers they want, a new small wireless facility would cost a company as much as $750. A new traditional tower now costs $17,500.
Decker will be providing the former numbers at the Nov. 30 Commissioners meeting, where the issue will then be voted on.
Finally, the commissioners approved the McKinley County 2022 Holiday Calendar.
County offices will be closed on the following days during 2022:
Jan. 3 for New Year’s Day (observed)
Jan. 17 for Martin Luther King’s Day
Feb. 21 for President’s Day
April 15 for Spring Break
May 30 for Memorial Day
July 4 for Independence Day
Sept. 5 for Labor Day
Oct. 10 for Indigenous Peoples Day
Nov. 11 for Veterans Day
Nov. 24 and 25 for Thanksgiving
Dec. 23 and Dec. 26 for Christmas Eve/Day
Dec. 30 for New Year’s Eve (Observed)
By Molly Ann Howell
Sun Correspondent
