McKinley jail to house inmates from San
Juan
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — After months of contract negotiations and eight days
of operation, the new management at the McKinley County Adult Detention
Center remains a hot topic at county commission meetings.
Commissioners reviewed a joint powers agreement Wednesday with San
Juan County to house its inmates at the McKinley jail. The new administrators,
Management and Training Corp., have already consented to the agreement.
The public's safety is at issue, Commissioner Ben Shelly said several
times Wednesday. However, John Yearly, director of services for the
McKinley County Sheriff's Department, said these inmates are not a
threat.
"The demographics of San Juan County inmates mirrors the make-up
of McKinley County inmates," Yearly said.
Worst of the worst
Correctional Service Corp., which had run the McKinley jail until
Jan. 5, "had brought in the worst of the worst from Bernalillo
County," Yearly said.
Yearly added that the sheriff's department has the opportunity to
review the types of out-of-county inmates permitted at the prison.
This control was afforded through the contract with CSC also but was
not practiced, he said.
The prison can hold 250 inmates. Currently there are 156 inmates at
the jail, of which 119 are from McKinley County.
The county pays MTC $35 per day per county inmate. Other counties
wishing to transport inmates to McKinley would pay MTC also, and any
revenue generated from out-of-county inmates would be shared between
MTC and McKinley County.
Without sufficient inmates, however, the jail's operation costs cannot
be covered. The detention center must admit more than 200 prisoners
before MTC begins profit-sharing with the county, said County Manager
Irvin Harrison.
Yearly said, "The operators here, they cannot sustain their operations
based on the number of inmates the county has alone."
Liability question
Shelly said he is concerned the county might be taking on too much
liability by accepting responsibility for out-of-county prisoners.
He added the contract appears to put more control in the county's
hands than in MTC's.
"We (the county) might as well run it (the prison)," Shelly
said. "I'd be curious to know if they're going to last that long
with us. I opposed the resolution for MTC's contract and I stand on
that ground.
"It sounds like county's running it and MTC is just working for
us. It sounds like the county has a lot of control. It's good in a
way, as long as we're not responsible for any incident that happens
at the detention center."
Doug Decker, counsel for the county, explained that MTC will provide
transportation, medical and other expenses to acquire and hold out-of-county
prisoners. While housing any out-of-county inmates requires the commissioners'
approval, it does not require the county to assume liability.
After this discussion, the commissioners unanimously passed the joint
powers agreement to house San Juan County inmates. Shelly said he
is not as concerned about out-of-county inmates as he is out-of-state
inmates, and he will continue to oppose any proposals to accept the
out-of-staters.
Shelly, Mendoza argue
Following the discussion, Shelly again suggested the county should
run the prison.
However, if Shelly had paid attention to the public's needs initially,
Commissioner Harry Mendoza said, the county would have built and maintained
the prison in conjunction with the city of Gallup and would not have
placed it so close to the community.
The McKinley County jail is located on Boardman Drive in east Gallup,
near two schools and Mossman subdivision.
Mendoza said those mistakes cost the taxpayers a lot of money.
"I don't know what you lost with CSC that you're protecting it
so much," he said.
Shelly retorted that Mendoza's grand jury investigation
this summer into the contract between CSC and the county unnecessarily
burdened taxpayers.
Bill Kellog, the director of the juvenile center at
the time, drew up the petition for the grand jury, Mendoza said. The
grand jury did not indict anyone, but advised another investigation
into the contract, he added.
Thoreau water lines
Also approved at the meeting was a subsidy of $45,000 to Thoreau Water
and Sanitation District to install water, gas and sewer lines through
to the Thoreau Recreation Center.
Shelly commented that the county was taking a long time to complete
the development of those utilities and that the time expended was
unprofessional.
For two years, the county worked to properly plan the lines, but procedural
tasks and a lack of funds slowed the work, not a lack of commitment,
said Tom Trujillo, director of the county support services.
At the commissioners meeting, Harrison, the county manager, set a
date for a meeting with the road department in which commissioners
will decide which roads in the county will be improved with this year's
road development budget. The meeting will be held on Jan. 25 at 1:30
p.m., and the public is invited to give suggestions.
| Top |
Council postpones vote on impact fees
Tanya Brazil
Staff Writer
GALLUP — After receiving more criticism from developers Tuesday,
city council members voted to postpone a decision on the impact fees
ordinance and to instead begin planning for a bond election.
A final decision concerning the fees will be delayed until the first
city council meeting in June. In the meantime, council members will
prepare a general bond issue to go before voters in a special election.
City Manager David Ruiz said if council members begin working on the
bond issue Wednesday, it could be ready to go before voters in 60
to 75 days.
Discussion about the impact fees began with a summary from Rick Counts,
the city's consultant who oversees the impact fees studies, land development
standards and assumptions for growth.
Counts reviewed the process and findings of the impact fees committee
and stated the city's position regarding needed improvements to water,
wastewater, streets and public safety.
Mayor John Pena said the city's infrastructure was at "crisis
proportions" and that he hoped to get help from the state legislature
and Congress.
Betty Armstrong, president of the Gallup Board of Realtors, passed
out letter from the board asking the council to table any further
discussion regarding impact fees.
Included in the letter was research on the negative effect the fees
would have on a community not experiencing growth and the resulting
inability of the city to generate revenues from impact fees.
"Impact fees are only needed in major growth areas," the
letter reads. "Gallup has little or no growth as evidenced by
the city information provided."
The board acknowledged the need for improvements to the city's wastewater
treatment plant and listed alternatives to the impact fees. Other
options for raising funds included the state gross receipts tax, bonds
and flowage fees, as well as aid from the state and federal governments.
Jerry Garcia, owner of Garcia Jerry & Dale Construction Inc.,
expressed concern about the added expense he would incur when building
a house and said it was wrong to assess the same impact fee no matter
what the cost of a house.
Councilman Charlie Chavez agreed, describing the standard as "taxing
the poor." But Counts said New Mexico cities cannot adjust impact
fees according to the cost of a home. He said the fees are assessed
according to the homes impact on streets and water and sewer systems
and that a larger home does not necessarily have a greater impact.
During the council discussion, Chavez said that the $160,000 per year
collected from impact fees will not be anywhere near the $17 million
needed to renovate the wastewater treatment plant.
"This is a very deceptive method of raising funds,"
Councilman Louie Bonaguidi said. "It will effect every household
in Gallup. We will need the support of the community because it is
evident that we will need a bond issue."
Councilwoman Rose Marie Sandoval agreed, but was unsure
about whether residents would support a bond issue. She said the council
should table the vote until they first seek funding from the state
and federal governments.
"We've been waiting until after the legislature and for the feds
for 15 years," said Councilman Pat Butler, adding that past bonds
were voted down by residents.
Ruiz said a special election will cost between $40,000 and $50,000
equivalent to about one year's worth of impact fees.
| Top |
Gallup woman hits jackpot
Staff Report
SKY CITY CASINO — Viola Montoya is Gallup's newest millionaire
thanks to Sky City Casino! On Sunday, Montoya hit the progressive
Wheel of Fortune slot machine for $2,785,233.05.
Montoya placed the maximum bet, $3, to win the huge jackpot.
Montoya is a regular slot player at Sky City Casino
and says she has been going there since the casino opened. She has
always been lucky, she said. She's hit smaller jackpots but nothing
like this.
Montoya is retired and plays for entertainment. That night she put
$200 in the Wheel of Fortune machine and didn't win, so she moved
to another slot machine and hit $800. She then went back to the same
Wheel of Fortune machine and hit $1,000.
At that time her son wanted to go home, but she was feeling lucky
so she convinced him to stay. Soon after, Montoya lined up the winning
symbols on the machine, but didn't immediately realize what she had
won until her son verified and told her
"You're rich!"
What is Montoya going to do with her winnings?
Go back to Sky City Casino and gamble some more, she said.
| Top |
Area in brief
Country dance
CROWNPOINT — There will be a country/western dance from 9 p.m.
to 1 a.m. Saturday at the Crownpoint Chapter House. Information: (505)
786-2130.
Council meeting
CRYSTAL — The Fort Defiance Agency Council meeting will be held
at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Crystal Chapter House. Information: (520)
871-3118.
Enrollment drive
IYANBITO — Iyanbito Save the Children will hold its new enrollment
drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday at the Iyanbito Learning Center,
located by the Iyanbito Chapter. Children must be ages 5-13. Information:
(505) 786-7376 or (505) 488-6152...
| Top |
A site for news, holiness
Gossip Hill has a long, vivid history
S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer
TWIN LAKES — Long before newspapers, radio and television stations
and water-cooler gatherings were the purveyors of information in McKinley
County, Navajos gathered at a hilltop at Twin Lakes for news and conversation.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the hilltop known as Gossip Hill
was a center for yearly tribal planning sessions, gambling and scouting
for cavalry as well as daily briefings. Now the hill is just a part
of the picturesque landscape about 15 miles northeast of Gallup.
Clara John, 83, a lifelong resident of Twin Lakes and a Navajo medicine
woman, remembers the legends. She was the youngest of her father's
72 children...
| Top |
Citizens' board airs concerns about jail
Zarana Sanghani
Staff Writer
GALLUP — At the first meeting of the Community Advisory Board
for the McKinley County Adult Detention Center Wednesday night, board
members voiced concern over issues including jail security, cost and
out-of-county inmates.
Members repeatedly referred to the problems of notifying the public
of escapes.
"One night my eyes popped open and I heard a helicopter and I
thought, 'Oh, there's another escape,'" said Cynthia Kuhn, a
resident of the Mossman neighborhood across the street from the jail.
"It's very dismal that a helicopter's all the notification we
get..."
| Top |
Groups: Close mine on peaks
Bill Donovan
Diné Bureau
GALLUP — A mine company that has been operating within the sacred
San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff since 1958 is coming under attack
by Native American traditionalists from 13 Southwestern tribes who
want it shut down.
And the U.S. Forest Service seems to be listening.
Ken Jacobs, a forest service manager at Coconino National Park, said
Wednesday his office has received more than 5,000 comments opposing
continued operation of the White Vulcan Mine, which has been working
the northeastern slopes of the San Francisco Peaks on Forest Service
lands...
| Top |
4 nabbed in kidnap-beating
Staff and Wire Reports
GALLUP — Four Denver residents appeared in court today in connection
with the kidnap-beating of wealthy Gallup jeweler Jim Rashid who was
abducted from Acoma-Sky City Casino Tuesday night. More arrests are
expected, FBI agents said.
The FBI say the four assailants were driven by his $6.2 million casino
winnings.
"It's been widely publicized that he's been a winner at Sky City.
It's been in the media, and we believe that played in the motive of
the abduction," said Doug Beldon, an FBI supervisory special
agent.
| Top |
Tribe's travel bill big
Cost was $71,000 in October
Jim Maniaci
Diné Bureau
WINDOW ROCK — Navajo Nation Council committees spent considerably
more for meetings outside the reservation in October, the first month
of fiscal year 2000, than in September, the last month of fiscal year
1999.
During September, nine of the 13 committees shelled
out an estimated $41,090 for motels, mileage, registration fees, meals,
parking lot costs and cab fares. However, in October, spending by
10 of the 13 groups skyrocketed to an estimated $71,638 for the same
things.
In a typical fiscal year, the committes exhaust travel money near
the end of the year. In October, they are given a brand new pot of
money to use...
| Top |
Zuni's tutoring center opening
S.J. Ludescher
Staff Writer
ZUNI — After two years of dreaming, a tutoring
center for youth has finally opened here. A small grant provided by
the Colorado Community Foundation has made the center a reality
Two rooms will be set aside at the Zuni Recovery Center for the tutoring
program, a project of the Zuni Tenant Resident Organization. "We're
residents and volunteers who make it happen for the residents,"
June Shack, ZTRO secretary, said.
"Until we did this, the only service we had (in the Blackrock
neighborhood) was a bookmobile," Kay Reywa, a volunteer, said.
"We keep hearing about reading scores being low and parents not
being involved, so we decided to do something about it..."
| Top |
All contents property of the
Gallup Independent.
Any duplication or republication requires consent of the
Gallup
Independent.
Feel free to send any questions or comments to
gallpind@cia-g.com
E-mail the webmaster at
martyr_dom@hotmail.com
