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The Socorro City meeting on November 19 attracted more public attendance than usual, with people reportedly sitting on the floor and spilling out into the hallway.
In an email, Donald Monette, the city manager, said that almost everyone in attendance was there to discuss the animal shelter.
Leah Tevis, representing a group of citizens, addressed the Council during public comment. She expressed appreciation for their leadership and hope to begin a conversation about working together on animal control.
“As you may already know, almost all of the dogs at the Socorro shelter were suddenly euthanized about a month ago. This decision has sent a clear signal that not all is well at the shelter,” Leah said “We are not here to antagonize or to be adversarial, but to express a desire to support a well-staffed, well-trained, and well-resourced shelter that reflects and fully supports the needs of the community and the values of care and responsibility we all share,”
Tevis said they want the City to see them as partners and to prioritize the shelter as an essential resource.
After Ms. Tevis spoke, Lupe Tarango, the animal control director, was given an opportunity to speak about the management of the shelter.
“The Council cannot take action on items under public forum, but they did request the formation of a committee to meet with our Director, Guadalupe (Lupe) Tarango, which I am working on. Representing the City on the Committee will be Mayor Pro Tem Mary Ann Chavez-Lopez, Councilor Michael Olguin Jr., and Lupe Tarango. We may add one more Councilor at a later date,” Monette wrote in the email.
During the meeting, the Council discussed the possibility of advertising a proposed ordinance aimed at strengthening code enforcement. This initiative seeks to hold owners of abandoned properties accountable by imposing fines on those who fail to maintain their properties.
Code Enforcement Officer Chris Carillo spoke on the thorough process behind the ordinance and said that he was having problems enforcing the current ordinance, primarily with property owners that reside in places other than Socorro, wrote Monette.
A property owner and Socorro resident, Ron Lopez, spoke about his objection to the ordinance.
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“I understand about trying to clean it up, making sure your building is well kept, etc. And my only concern at the time is, you know, due process requires that people should have the opportunity to object to it, an ordinance just not shove down their throat,” Lopez said.
He told the Council he was concerned about the list of property owners the City had compiled.
“Once you put a list, then it starts to look like you’re targeting people, especially when you leave out certain people that you know have buildings that are vacant,” Lopez said.
Councilor Salome also said he opposed the ordinance and that he believes the City should find ways to incentivize businesses rather than penalize them.
Councilor Michael Olguin Jr. moved to postpone the ordinance until 2025 to give the city time to form a committee and meet with property owners for feedback. It was approved unanimously.
In other business, Councilor Dean requested the Zoning Code Committee and possibly set up a work session for the Councilors, and Councilor Olguin requested Police Chief Angel Garcia to meet with residents who were concerned about gunshots in their neighborhood.
Mayor Pro Tem Mary Ann Chavez-Lopez ran the meeting in Mayor Ravi Bhasker’s absence, Councilor Deborah Dean, Councilor Damien Ocampo, Councilor Michael Olguin, Jr., Councilor Anton Salome, and Councilor Joel Partridge were in attendance, with Councilor Nick Fleming and Councilor Peter Romero absent.
