Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Los Lunas trades truck for animal control fees

Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer; jdendinger@news-bulletin.com

The county commission did a little horse-trading last week in order to secure a much-needed truck for its animal control department. Coming before the commissioners with a truck and an offer from the Village of Los Lunas, Code Enforcement Director Ruben Chavez pleaded his case.

The current animal control truck isn't in good shape. "The front end is out, the engine is shot and it's blown its third transmission," Chavez said. "Right now, it's just sitting there. We've been trying for the past two months to replace it, but we just don't have the money to do that."

The offer from the village was a truck and equipment worth $24,875. And the offer wasn't made out of generosity. The village was asking the county to accept the truck and equipment in lieu of monthly impound fees it was supposed to be paying since the beginning of this fiscal year.

Chavez said last June the county sent out contracts for impound services to Belen, Bosque Farms, Peralta, Isleta and Los Lunas. "We got those agreements back from everyone except the village," he said. "There was a raise in fees; we were never able to straighten out the discrepancies with Los Lunas."

According to a letter signed by Art Mondragon, the village's director of its community development department, in late January the county discontinued animal shelter services, the village returned all shelter keys to the county and ceased utilizing the shelter.

Mondragon's letter offered the truck and equipment to the county in exchange for forgiving the village's current amount due of $14,807 plus the fees for May and June for $5,769, a total of $20,576 owed by the village.

The county has sent out new contracts to all the municipalities and the pueblo, and Chavez assured the commissioners that the village would be paying its fees to the animal shelter as of July 1.

Commissioner Georgia Otero-Kirkham asked if the village was "going out of the animal control business" since it was giving the county its truck. Chavez said it was not. "They will probably purchase a new truck and are retaining one officer," he said.

Commissioner Ron Gentry asked how many miles the 2004 three-quarter ton truck offered by the village had. Chavez responded that it had 50,000 miles and the kennel that was included in the offer was brand new.

Gentry then asked about the condition of the kennel the county already had on the non-working truck. "It stays on with bungee cords and baling wire," Chavez said. "It's not adequate, but it's what we have."

The commissioner questioned the business sense of the county taking a five-year-old truck with no warranty when the difference between the value of the used vehicle and that of a new truck and kennel was only $17,000.

According to figures provided by Chavez a new truck would cost the county $30,000 on state contract and a new kennel would run $12,000, for a total of $42,000. And while the difference of $17,000 wasn't that vast, Chavez pointed out that his department had been unable to find the $15,000 necessary to get a used truck at auction.

"We would obviously prefer a new truck if we had the $42,000 in the budget," he said. "If we had the funds, I wouldn't be here. But a new truck is not going to happen under the current budget."

Agreeing with Gentry that a new truck would be the better option if it were possible, Commissioner Don Holliday commented that, "Nowadays, 50,000 miles isn't anything. How many miles do your other trucks have on them?"

Chavez said the remaining trucks in the animal control fleet had between 150,000 and 180,000 miles, with nothing under the 150,000-mile mark.

Commissioner David Medina asked if the village was indeed going to buy a new truck, as Chavez had indicated earlier. Chavez said the truck Los Lunas was offering was "too much truck for them. It's a three-quarter ton with a six-passenger kennel. They are looking at an S10 with a two-or-three-capacity kennel. Frankly, we wouldn't take an S10 if it were offered; it can't do the job for us."

Medina asked if the county turned down the offer of the truck and kennel, would the village pay the $20,000 it owed. "No," Chavez replied.

Would the truck help animal control do its job and serve the county, Holliday asked. Chavez said it would.

"It's a brand new kennel and we're down a truck," he said. "And the 50,000 miles doesn't scare us."

The commission voted 5-0 in favor of accepting the truck and kennel in lieu of the monies owed by the village.

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