Tularosa Board of Trustees Revisits Cell Tower Fight, Clears Budget and Personnel Items

Tularosa, N.M. — July 15, 2026 Special Meeting Report by Anthony Lucero and Chris Edwards - KALHRadio.org and Alamogordo Town News -

The Village of Tularosa Board of Trustees worked through a packed agenda this week, reopening a contentious cell tower dispute, closing out the fiscal year’s budget paperwork, promoting a police officer, and approving a new veterans memorial — all while residents pressed the board on speeding, wireless infrastructure and public notice practices.

Cell tower dispute reopened

The evening’s most heated exchange centered on a special use permit the board had previously approved for a nearly 200-foot self-supported wireless communications tower proposed by applicants Sean Mikes and Nancy Carr, with carriers T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless attached and AT&T reportedly interested. During public comment, several residents — including Terry Hollis, Eva Gonzalez, Billy Hobson, Joan Price and John Gonzalez — argued the tower site sits too close to nearby homes, citing figures suggesting some houses fall within roughly 450 to 600 feet of the tower versus a recommended setback near 1,600 feet. Speakers raised concerns about property values, radiofrequency health effects, fire risk from backup generators, noise, and copper theft, and several said they only learned of the project after the fact.

A separate speaker, Cynthia Prelow, argued the underlying problem was inadequate public notice, saying nearby property owners should have been consulted directly before the permit was granted. Trustees acknowledged the village currently has no wireless communications ordinance governing tower siting, though board members and a village-hired consultant discussed borrowing language from Otero County’s wireless ordinance as a template going forward.

After hearing public comment and board discussion, trustees voted to grant reconsideration of the special use permit’s issuance, sending the matter back for further review rather than upholding or immediately revoking the original approval. Board members were reminded that under state statute the governing body cannot deny a permit or ordinance-compliant application without a documented legal basis, and that Planning and Zoning had forwarded the original application without a formal recommendation.

Budget and administrative resolutions

The board worked through a series of year-end budget items tied to the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026, including a budget cleanup resolution and adoption of the final FY 2026–27 operating budget, both of which passed following the village’s earlier interim budget approval by the state Department of Finance and Administration. Village Clerk Rebecca Garcia presented several of the resolutions for adoption. Trustees also approved a custodian appointment and other routine personnel and administrative resolutions.

Police promotion

Police Chief Geraldine Martinez asked the board to approve promoting officer Latham Garnsey, hired as a patrol officer in December 2024, to the rank of sergeant at a pay rate of $27. The board approved the promotion. Discussion also touched on the village’s ongoing search for a new police chief and on pay-raise requests for department staff that trustees said would be addressed once the finalized budget is available.

New veterans memorial

Trustee Mark Garwood won approval to dedicate a section of the community center grounds as Stephen Orozco Park, with a memorial placard honoring Tularosa-area combat veterans. Garwood said the tribute was inspired by Orozco, a young Tularosa native killed in Vietnam after shielding fellow Marines from an explosive device, and said the placard would also recognize other local combat-related deaths, including residents lost in World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Garwood said he would personally cover construction costs, with the village responsible only for the memorial plaques.

Other business

• The board approved use of Veterans Park for the annual Downwinders Consortium candlelight vigil, set for July 25.

• A resident, Ralph Otero, requested paving of Otero Lane; the board opened discussion on the request.

• Engineering consultant Matt Thompson of Bohannan Huston briefed the board on a roughly year-long effort to develop an alternate groundwater source using the village’s Montezuma well and a reverse-osmosis treatment system, intended as a backup or supplement to the village’s surface-water supply from the Rio Tularosa.

• Staff reported progress on village hall renovations, including electrical upgrades and roof repairs funded through capital outlay, and said the village had applied for a $100,000 state tourism grant for the adjacent museum building.

• A board member said he planned to represent Tularosa at a statewide highway-safety meeting in Albuquerque, noting New Mexico’s high per-capita traffic fatality rate, and said he would push for a school-zone crosswalk waiver, rumble strips and a lower speed limit at the village’s main highway junction.

Trustees also acknowledged volunteers and village departments for a successful Fourth of July celebration before adjourning the meeting.

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