Los Lunas Council approves joining Opioid board

LOS LUNAS  — The Los Lunas Village Council voted to join the Opioid Remediation Collaborative of New Mexico last month, making the village the first municipality in the state to join the group.

The ORCNM is a regional board aimed at pooling resources to combat the opioid crisis in rural New Mexico counties. Los Lunas joins Valencia, Sierra, Cibola, Hidalgo, Guadalupe, Socorro and Catron counties, as well as recent additions Grant and Luna counties, in the group.

With the approval, Los Lunas will transfer the current and future opioid settlement funds, totaling about $1.6 million, to the ORCNM. Valencia County currently serves as the group’s fiscal agent.

After the unanimous 4-0 vote to join, Los Lunas Deputy Administrator Nancy Jo Gonzales was designated the village’s representative to the ORCNM board of directors.

In presenting the item to the council, Village Administrator Gregory L. Martin said the primary motivation for joining the ORCNM is to create a larger, more impactful pool of money for opioid treatment and prevention services. He pointed out that the village has found it difficult to spend the remediation money effectively on its own due to the funds’ restrictive criteria.

“We’ve been trying to answer that question for about three years now, as to what we can do with the cash, and it is fairly restricted,” Martin explained, when questioned by Councilor James Runyon about the benefit of joining .

“Even though it sounds like a big dollar amount, in terms of making a measurable difference in this area, in terms of the treatment, the variance of opioid addiction, and opioid issues,” Martin said. “We felt like it was worth looking at. I think we’re looking at is the opportunity to not just let the funds sit stagnant, and not have any real meaningful impact.”

In July 2025, ORCNM Executive Director Shauna Hartley presented to the council and informed the village of the possibility of joining the collaborative.

On its website, the group’s mission statement states it is “committed to reducing opioid-related harm by investing in prevention, expanding access to treatment, and building recovery-ready communities.

“Rooted in equity and collaboration, we serve seven rural counties with one unified goal: a healthier, more resilient New Mexico.”

“We were informed of the opportunity to collaborate and join our funds with other counties in order to both have effective use of the funds,” Martin told the council, “as well as to have a better opportunity to use them on purposes that are allowed.”

Martin said the group recently voted to accept the village as a member, and the council needed to approve the membership. Members of the council voiced concerns about oversight of funds and functions.

Before the unanimous approval, Mayor Charles Griego spoke on those issues.

“We need to make sure that our board members are aware that we need just to create our need for this also,” Griego said. “And (that) we get our share. That’s basically what we’re doing. So, hopefully that will work that way.

“The expenditures that they have made so far have not been large, and I think it’s kind of interesting … I think it’s to benefit our residents and people who are addicted or prevent addiction, and I think that’s the important part, but I understand where you came from. That’s one of those changes,” he concluded.

In other action, the council:

• Unanimously approved a resolution on Dec. 18 to approve the newly-appointed members and previously appointed voting board members of the DWI Planning Council with a 3-0 vote.

• Approved a resolution authorizing the village of Los Lunas/Valencia County DWI Program to apply for Local DWI distribution and grant funding for fiscal year 2027.