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At its Oct. 10 regular meeting, the Doña Ana County Commission voted unanimously to accept a grant of almost $5.9 million that will allow the county to substantially increase the number of county firefighting personnel.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Staffing Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant will fund an additional 24 firefighter personnel, county Fire Chief Shannon Cherry told the commission at the meeting.
Cherry said the grant is the largest of its kind ever awarded in New Mexico.
“Great news,” Commission Chair Susana Chaparro. “This is a big deal for this county.”
“It’s exciting to finally get the good news that you were accepted,” Commissioner Manuel Sanchez said. “Chief, you’re doing an amazing job.”
The county fire department has 19 fire stations and will have 40 paid firefighters by next April. Including officers, the department will have 60 career firefighters, compared to 16 in 2019. The department also has more than 200 volunteers.
Visit www.donaanacounty.org/departments/law-safety/fire-rescue?locale=en.
District court expansion funding request
At the Oct. 10 meeting, the commission voted three-two to support a request for $5 million from the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) “to support construction of the Third Judicial District Court expansion,” according to the county.
Commissioners Chaparro, Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez and Diana Murillo voted in favor of the request. Sanchez and Shannon Reynolds voted against it.
The courthouse expansion is necessary because of a two-year backlog of cases “because we don’t have enough judges,” Chaparro said. “This may be the only opportunity for us to build this expansion. This gives every resident of this county access to justice.”
“I have serious concerns about this request,” Sanchez said. “There is a strong possibility we won’t receive $5 million in (AOC) funding.”
Without that funding, the county will spend more money on the courthouse project that could be devoted to other priorities, Sanchez said.
The expansion, which would cost $10 million, would include construction of two additional courtrooms, along with judges’ chambers and an expanded lobby area to be added to the northeast of the existing courthouse, expanding into the parking lot.
The commission has already approved funds for the project’s design, County Manager Fernando Macias said at the meeting.
“We’re ready to proceed,” Macias said. “We’re ready to use the money we’re asking for.”
County Director of Facilities and Parks Robert Herrera said the hope is to have a notice to proceed with construction issued by March 2024 and the project to be substantially completed by September 2025.
Third Judicial District Presiding Judge Conrad Perea said the expansion would create 10 total courtrooms that accommodate juries. There are currently nine judges who would utilize nine of the courtrooms, with the 10th courtroom available when a new judge is added to the district.
The two courtrooms “are extremely necessary,” Perea said. “We are busting at the seams.”
Other appropriations
The commission also approved these allocations at the Oct. 10 meeting:
