Mountainair Changes Sunflower Fest Rules and Hires New Treasurer

Summary

In a regular meeting of the Mountainair Town Council on June 3, 2025, the mayor and town council honored treasurer Phyllis Noyce upon her retirement. The town council met in executive session before publicly deciding who would fill the treasurer vacancy. Finally, members of the public addressed their concerns regarding the prohibition of sales booths on sidewalks during the 2025 Sunflower Festival.

Actions

• Action on the hiring of a treasurer: Mayor Peter Nieto sought town council approval for the hiring of Roy Hubbard, former deputy clerk for the town of Estancia, as treasurer. Unanimously approved;
• Action on approval of road closures for the Sunflower Festival: Mayor Nieto sought approval to close roads for the 2025 Sunflower Festival. Unanimously approved;
• Action on approval to purchase annual maintenance programs (extended warranty) for the mobile transceiver and software: Mayor Nieto sought approval to purchase the annual maintenance programs (extended warranty) for the mobile transceiver and software from the Mueller company. This extended warranty is designed to address issues with the transceiver used to collect water meter data from residents. Unanimously approved; and,
• Action on approval to install a vehicle gate between the Mountainair Cemetery and the Roman Catholic Cemetery: Mayor Nieto sought approval to install a vehicle gate to provide access between the Mountainair Cemetery and the Roman Catholic Cemetery. Unanimously approved.

Discussion

The council chamber was filled as the town council convened on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, to discuss hiring a new treasurer and clerk. The meeting began with Mayor Nieto praising Phyllis Noyce for her years of service to the municipal government, a sentiment shared by the members of the Mountainair Town Council and Mountainair Clerk Cheryl Allen. Following a brief executive session, the town council unanimously approved Nieto's proposal to hire Roy Hubbard for the role.

Following the hiring of Hubbard, the mayor shared a map of the proposed road closures for the 2025 Sunflower Festival; then, he discussed the more contentious issue, which was the elimination of sales booths from the sidewalks during the festival. One unidentified member of the audience stated she was concerned she would have sufficient sales if moved from her usual spot on the sidewalk on Broadway/US-60. Mayor Pro Tem Gayle Jones noted that ensuring the sidewalks were passable ensured the festival would be in compliance with federal law, referring to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991 (ADA). Others recounted personal stories regarding family members who vowed not to attend the festival in the future because they could not freely move due to sales booths blocking the sidewalks.

Mayor Nieto's request for approval of a maintenance contract with Mueller for the town's transceiver used to read water meters arises from repeated problems Mountainair has experienced with water meters since contracting with New Mexico Meters in 2023. The roughly $250,000 contract with New Mexico Meters has led to issues with cracked water meters and problems with the town's current transceiver. Nieto described the current receiver as taking two to three days to read residents' water meters, but a similar transceiver used by the town of Vaughn was able to read the residents' water meters in less than a day. Nieto indicated that the maintenance contract would cost $3,383.85 per year and would lead to the repair or replacement of the town's transceiver.

During the discussion of the installation of the gate between the Mountainair Cemetery and the St. Alice Roman Catholic Cemetery to the north, Albert Stephens (a member of the town's cemetery board) questioned whether the town would have a single gate or two points of access between the two cemeteries. Mayor Nieto and the town council indicated they would be willing to have two gates between the cemeteries to ease traffic between the two. Nieto said he believed this would require approval of the Board of Directors of the St. Alice Church and Missions Parish. No representative of the parish was present to provide insight into their position.