Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Sheriff proposes plan for Peralta protection

Sandy Battin News-Bulletin Staff Writer; sbattin@news-bulletin.com

Peralta An alternative means of providing law enforcement to the new Town of Peralta was presented by Sheriff Rene Rivera Wednesday.

Rivera and Undersheriff Rick Garcia provided a draft memorandum of understanding with the county to provide around-the-clock coverage on weekdays with two officers working 12-hour shifts. On the weekends, Peralta would be protected through regular department patrols along with the rest of the county.

The cost would be $15 an hour or $43,680 for each officer per year, Garcia said. With equipment and clothing needed the first year, the total cost to Peralta would be $93,141. Rivera said that figure would drop in subsequent years since the equipment would have been purchased.

Patrol cars would be provided by the sheriff's department at no cost to Peralta.

"They would be stationed in Peralta; they would not be roaming around outside Peralta," Garcia said.

Rivera added that "the only time they'd be leaving the area would be for extreme emergencies."

The proposal came a few weeks after the Bosque Farms Police Department presented its own plan, which would involve adding one officer to the force to be used to patrol the newly incorporated town.

Bosque Farms Police Chief Joe Stidham estimated the cost at $85,000 per year.

The sheriff says he has 32 officers, including sergeants and lieutenants, with one vacancy to be filled.

Noting that Peralta has problems with speeders on N.M. 47 and on residential streets, Councilor Joseph Romero noted that "historically, the sheriff's department doesn't really enforce traffic violations except for major accidents."

Rivera replied that, "if we had the manpower, I guarantee we would be doing it. As it is, we're going from one call to another. These officers will enforce traffic ordinances." He said they would be equipped with radar.

Some residents in the audience wondered who the two deputies would answer to and how Peralta citizens would be able to contact them.

Rivera said the mayor and councilors would be able to reach the officers through their cell phones and others would call 911 dispatch as they're already doing.

He said that "we will be able to patrol two miles. Two square miles ain't nothing." That's the amount of land within the Peralta town limits.

Romero noted that "the lines of communication should we choose to go with the county needs to be well defined."

After the meeting, Mayor Bryan Olguin said that the council plans to consider the two proposals at its May 28 meeting.

In other action, the council approved by a vote of 4 to 1 the naming of Benerito Martinez, Eddie Gonzales, Claudio Moya Jr., Randy Smith and Leroy Pacheco to the town's planning and zoning commission.

The dissenting vote came from Burge, who said she would have liked to have seem "more effort made to get a female in there."

Olguin said he spoke with three women whose names had come up from the council for possible membership on the committee, but they all declined.

"It needs to be balanced," Burge said. "Having five men (on the committee) is not appropriate."

Olguin said he appreciated her perspective and agreed that he'd like to have seen women on the commission, but "I feel we have to move on."

Councilor Romero agreed that "diversity is definitely good ... but there's been no interest from any female parties" and with the number of planning and zoning issues arising, the town needs to go forward, at the same time seeking female members for the commission in the future.

"I agree (about the issues arising), but I think you need a commission that is diverse," Burge said. "I think it's the wrong message to the community. To be in such a big hurry and not to make as big an effort is wrong. ... We seem more in a hurry to get it done than to get it done right."

Olguin said demands are not going to wait. He said he had 23 applicants for the commission and he spoke to all three women who'd been put on the list.

Burge asked if any of the women in the audience might be willing to serve. "Most of you are people who have been here on more than one occasion," she said, referring to the large group of regulars who attend council meetings.

No one volunteered.

Two and four-year terms will be drawn by lot by the commission members.

In other action, the council: