4-28-2026 5:37am

Commentary Public Must Hold Commission Accountable Contract and Roads

Chris Edwards Editor

6:30 PM · Donald E. Carroll City Commission Chambers, 1376 E. Ninth Street

Tonight's Alamogordo City Commission regular meeting is one residents cannot afford to miss — and more importantly, one they cannot afford to stay silent! Its time to get the city manager contract done and quit discussing a settlement and use money for roads verses payouts to protect egos. The agenda is brief, but what it contains is anything but small. From a six-figure grant decision to an executive session on hiring the next City Manager, the choices made in these chambers will ripple across the community for years to come.

WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA TONIGHT

1–2

Consent agenda: approving minutes from April 14 regular meeting and April 21 special and closed sessions.

$108,900 state grant — acceptance of a State of NM Department of Transportation grant to plan, design, renovate, and construct the White Sands Regional Airport electrical systems.

Golf Course RFP discussion — Commissioner Stephen Burnett leads the discussion on the Request for Proposals for the city golf course.

5–7

Executive closed session — Discussion of limited personnel matters (City Manager hiring) and attorney-client privileged litigation matters. Roll call votes required to enter and reconvene.

YOUR MOMENT: PUBLIC COMMENT

Public comment comes before any votes tonight. This is your constitutionally protected opportunity to address the commission directly. Standard time is 3 minutes per speaker — sign up with City Clerk Rachel Hughs. Speak clearly, stay on topic, and be heard.

Why Dr. Stephanie Hernandez's votes matter

Dr. Stephanie Hernandez serves tonight, as Acting City Manager — a role she has stepped into during a critical leadership vacuum for over 29 months. Her position means she sits at the intersection of administrative execution and commission direction. Every vote tonight is one she will be responsible for carrying out.

The consent agenda items — including the minutes from the April 21 special and closed sessions — establish the official record of decisions already made behind closed doors that need to be taken off the consent agenda and made public.

When the commission votes to approve those minutes, they are endorsing whatever occurred in that room and from the consent aagenda without public visibilityY

Residents deserve to know what was discussed and decided.

Most critically: the executive session on City Manager hiring means tonight's commission may be moving toward finalizing who permanently fills the role Dr. Hernandez is currently performing in an acting capacity. That is a significant, potentially self-referential decision that the public has every right to monitor closely and comment on publicly before the doors close. But former sources in government say that is not the case that the commission is playing games with the public and will renege on their prior 7 to 0 vote led in a sham by Burnett, Rardin, Potillo and Al Hernandez. A betrayal to the public in accountability.

What to say at public comment

Call for transparency on what was discussed in the April 21 closed session.
Ask the commission to clearly articulate the criteria for the permanent City Manager selection.
Demand a public process for the City Manager hire — not a decision made exclusively behind closed doors and to honor the prior 7 to 0 vote.

City Hall is at 1376 E. Ninth Street, Alamogordo. Doors open before 6:30 PM. The chambers are wheelchair accessible. For special accommodations, contact the City Clerk's Office at 575-439-4100 at least 48 hours in advance. Tell the commissioner get the contract done then get on with the city's business to fix the roads.