Villagers will have to wait to belly up
Milan election result delayed until Dec. 29

"Wow" Diner owners Stephanie and Rich Rivard chat at the end of the diner's copper counter Tuesday afternoon. The Rivards initiated a special election for an ordinance to allow restaurants in the Village of Milan to serve beer and wine with meals. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

By Jim Maniaci
Cibola County Bureau

MILAN — While local restaurant owners won't get the present they wished in time for Christmas voters approval to serve beer and wine with meals they should have the decision on Wednesday's election in time for the New Year's Eve celebrations.

Because of a misunderstanding, the village government's administration thought it could act as the canvassing board. But it learned at the last minute it couldn't because a separate precinct counting committee has to be appointed by the Milan Village Board of Trustees.

So at Thursday night's trustees meeting, Village Manager-Chief Clerk Marcella Sandoval announced a special trustees meeting would begin at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 29 in the Village Hall Trustees Chamber for the special panel to be appointed and start counting the ballots a simple yes or no question.

Results are expected to be announced as soon as the canvass concludes.

Also at Thursday night's meeting, contract attorney Bruce Boynton advised Mayor Tom Ortega and Trustees Ellen Baca, Vivian Brumbelow and George Knotts (Mayor Pro Tem Manuel Molina could not attend) that since no action was listed on the agenda to follow an executive session, the formal action would have to be done later, which turned out to be the 29th.

The closed-door session was to discuss the price and terms proposed for the purchase of the south 40 acres of the 80-acre notch outside the Village Farm on Stanley and Card Road which is not yet within the municipal limits.

The trustees meeting is scheduled to begin only 90 minutes before the 10 a.m. Dec. 29 ceremony in the Cibola County Convention Center in the downtown Grants county complex for newly elected officials to take their oaths of office for the next four years.

In explaining the election snafu, Sandoval said before the meeting that she, Boynton and Deputy Clerk Teri Gallegos thought they could count the ballots. She indicated Boynton, with whom she and Gallegos met Thursday morning, discovered the Board of Trustees was supposed to have been asked to appoint the canvass board.

Because special meetings must be publicized a week in advance in a newspaper of general circulation, a week from today is the earliest the meeting could be called.

So that citizens will have an opportunity to know upon which matters their governing bodies will be voting, state law requires each board, commission and council to adopt each year a resolution stating the date, time and place of its regular meetings as well as the advance notice requirements for special meetings, along with provisions for public notification before and after emergency (disaster) meetings.

To contact reporter Jim Maniaci in Grants, telephone 285-6184 or (505) 870-7775 (cell).