Alamogordo Commission Declares Emergency at Bonita Lake

ALAMOGORDO — The Alamogordo City Commission on Tuesday unanimously declared an emergency at Bonita Lake Reservoir, one of the city's drinking water sources, after five storm events this year repeatedly refilled the sediment ponds that protect the lake.

The 7-0 vote on Resolution 2026-36 covers continued flooding, runoff, sedimentation, debris and erosion in the Bonita Lake watershed. City officials said the declaration lets the city apply for outside funding it could not get otherwise.

"This year we've had five different events," Utilities Director Dave Nunley told commissioners. Each storm, he said, "undoes everything that we continue to dig out."

The city has a contractor excavating the sedimentation ponds above the lake. The plan was to clear one pond and then move to the other, but the contractor "keeps having to go back," Nunley said.

So far no significant debris has reached the lake, and the city is still drawing drinking water from it. But Nunley said the city is "exhausting all of our funds that we have in place."

Lincoln County has already made its own declaration. "I think it's the fiscal and responsible thing for us to do as well," Nunley said.

The city is working with King Industries, which helped it recover from the Little Bear Fire and a later wildfire in the watershed. Nunley said the firm recommended the declaration, which opens the door to funding and to permanent restoration work through the Department of Homeland Security.

If funding comes through, the city would keep excavating after storms and would also build a more permanent sedimentation system. The goal, Nunley said, is a plan to clear the ponds on a schedule "instead of always being reactive."

Commissioner Al Hernandez made the motion, and Commissioner Warren Robinson seconded it.

Former Boys and Girls Club now The Base Otero

The meeting opened with a presentation from Angel Chapman McDavid, CEO of The Base Otero Community Youth Center, formerly the Boys and Girls Club of Otero County.

McDavid said the board voted last November to leave Boys and Girls Clubs of America and become an independent nonprofit. Because the center is funded mainly by the state of New Mexico, she said, the change leaves it "only one entity to answer to" and lets it focus on local children.

The center has served the community since 1967 and will mark 60 years next year. It serves children ages 5 to 17, though most are 5 to 13 because the state child care subsidy ends at 13. It is open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offers before- and after-school care, summer programs and field trips.

McDavid, who started in May, listed recent changes:

• A new website, mission, vision and core values
• Its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit status
• Two new vans for taking children to and from school
• Building repairs, painting and new supplies

The center runs on a budget of about $900,000 a year. It plans to renovate its back offices to add a multipurpose room and a staff break and training area, ideally by year's end. A new "Base Scholars" program will focus on reading and math.

Its main fundraiser, Winter Wonderland, is a Christmas tree auction with First American Bank at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 3, at the bank. The center remains at 201 Dale Scott Ave. and has a new phone number, 575-488-BASE. Its website is baseotero.org.

Resident asks for speed bump on Azalea Street

Though no public comments were scheduled, Azalea Street resident Alexander H. Wilson, a retired Army veteran, asked the commission for a speed bump on his street.

Wilson said he first asked about five or six years ago, when neighborhood children were 7 or 8. The city put up a 20 mph sign instead. Now those children are 11 or 12, he said, and "they're jumping behind cars."

He said a child was recently almost hit, that a daycare also sits on the street, and that drivers are "flying up and down the street now."

"I'm putting an alarm out here right now," Wilson said. "Can't blow it off no more."

Wilson thanked the city for earlier requests it granted, including an alley light, a street light and the speed sign. He said he has picked up the paperwork to formally request the speed bump. City officials took his contact information.

Faster street repairs, aquatic center bids due Dec. 15

In his report, the city manager Robert Stockwell said utility crews will now finish street repairs themselves after work on water and sewer lines.

Before, utility crews filled and packed the trench and then left the final asphalt to the street department, which already had a backlog of potholes. Now utility crews will lay the asphalt and concrete before they leave. Stockwell said residents should see torn-up streets repaved much sooner, and the street department can focus on failing roads.

He pointed to a recent project on North Scenic Drive. Crews installed 750 feet of 6-inch pipe to loop several dead-end water lines, which keeps water from sitting stagnant. They also repaired the asphalt and concrete, with little disruption to the area.

On the planned aquatic center, also called the natatorium, at least five general contractors are reviewing the bid. They have sent 79 questions, which the city will answer before bids are due. Bid opening is still set for Dec. 15.

Stockwell also plans to ask the commission on Nov. 17 to meet only once in December, on the second Tuesday. Special meetings could be called if urgent items come up. He said November and December are routinely slow months.

Golf course, lodgers' tax updates

Commissioner Baxter Patillo said the city golf course "is looking the best it has in a long time." Staff said the agreement with the incoming golf course contractor has had legal review and will be signed soon. The handover will start either Dec. 1 or Jan. 1.

Patillo also asked about a lodgers' tax. The city manager said staff are still working out the finances and when the tax could be charged and collected. He expects to bring a complete proposal at the December meeting.

Asked about the We Grow Alamo survey, staff said it has about 250 responses and will stay open into early next year. The city's planning consultant, Bohannan Huston, presented housing survey results at a recent check-in and will meet with the city again later this month.

Another commissioner noted that November is Epilepsy Awareness Month.

A third commissioner said the public housing on First Street, which recently lost water for about two days after a major leak, no longer belongs to the city. It is privately owned, so the owners hired their own contractor.

The meeting adjourned after a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Josh Riordan, seconded by Commissioner Mark Tapley

All votes during the meeting were 7-0.

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