Torrance County Commissioners Raise Questions Regarding Valencia Shelter Services

The regular meeting of the Torrance County Board of Commissioners opened with pro forma matters before entering a brief public comment session. Tiffany Wong from Innovation Law Lab spoke during public comment against the Torrance County Detention Facility. She explained that a detainee complained that the food in the facility was bad and that there was not enough of it.

Applicants to Fill Vacancy on Planning and Zoning Board

The commissioners interviewed applicants for potential appointment to the Planning and Zoning Board. Jess Segura, an applicant who Commissioner Kevin McCall identified as his associate, was not available for the interview. After interviewing other applicants Chairman Ryan Schwebach moved to table the matter because Segura, McCall's associate, was not available for an interview.

The County Investment Committee

County Manager Jordan Barela introduced a resolution containing proposed amendments to the county investment policies, including removing term limits for investment committee members. Barela said his goal was to reestablish the investment committee. Commissioner McCall inquired regarding the process used to select committee members. Commissioner Schwebach inquired regarding the ultimate authority of the county treasurer over the committee, which Barela confirmed was a statutory authority. This was approved unanimously.

Manager Barela then presented Resolution 2025-06, regarding supporting provisions of the New Mexico Counties' 2025 Legislative Priorities. This was approved unanimously without discussion.

Planned Construction of the New County Administrative Building

Scott Neiss from Wilson & Co. spoke regarding the planned construction of a new county administration building. The total budget for this construction will be $14 million, he clarified. The total cost will be expected to be higher than that amount. The commissioners discussed cutting back on the site to save money, including possibly changing the roof of the new building. They also discussed that the site would not be on the Estancia city sewer system but instead served by a septic system. Chairman Schwebach jokingly asked Neiss whether he was nervous being up at the podium, then said he did not want to make Neiss nervous. Schwebach asked if building the administrative building in phases would be practical. Neiss said it would not be. Commissioner McCall said that the commissioners were "experiencing remorse a bit" because the initial budget was $10 million, and the budget had increased greatly since then. "I think the two of us have some hesitation ... we're going down a larger road than we thought we were going down," McCall said.

"N_Brockerman" (subject declined to provide her full name) in the Zoom chat, commented, "To clarify, Single toilet in multiple departments - absolute necessity for unplanned illness. Walking to 'group rest rooms' would be unhealthy for co-workers AND the employee." Pamala Maitreya commented in the Zoom chat, "Old buildings are often built better with less toxic materials...how do the costs of repairs compare to new construction or remodel? Knowing this comparison seems necessary." Maitreya was asked if she thought that this project was a good use of $14 million in taxpayer money by the county. She responded, "Like I said, the cost of repair figures should be publicly shown to be greater than new construction." Julie Gravel-Pickering stated in the chat, "In my opinion, when a large amount of staff is occupying an old building, safety concerns arise due to potential issues, like outdated wiring, poor ventilation, aging plumbing, and temperature issues, where we have people overloading circuits with portable heaters, etc., increasing fire hazards. That's just my two cents."

"I know there are roads we need to fix and all these other issues, but... this building is old," said Commissioner Linda Jaramillo. She went on to express that she was concerned that the county spends a lot of money repairing the current administrative building. Jaramillo said she would approach state legislators for funding for the new building.

Shelter Services Provided to Torrance County Victims of Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, and Sexual Assault

Catelyn Cole, Victim Services Coordinator for VSS (Valencia County Shelter Services), and VSS Director Stephanie Wood briefed the commissioners regarding the domestic violence, sexual assault, and child abuse services the organization provides for Torrance County. Cole said that VSS made available transitional housing, counseling, and victim advocacy resources to Torrance County residents. Cole said that VSS was doing forensic interviews and sexual assault nursing exams for the Torrance County Sheriff's Office (TCSO). Cole said that VSS served 58 people in Torrance County in FY 2024.

Chairman Schwebach asked the VSS director, Stephanie Wood, to clarify whether follow-up was done with victims. Wood stated they do not follow up with domestic violence victims. TCSO Deputy Eunice Cervantes said she had done training with VSS in response to a question from Commissioner McCall. Cervantes said training was not mandatory, but she "remembered everyone being there." Schwebach asked whether training was available to all TCSO deputies. Wood said she was not sure.

Schwebach asked Barela regarding the memorandum of understanding between the county and VSS. Barela explained that the county provided $60,000 to VSS to provide domestic violence services to this county. Wood said that victim advocates for Torrance County were available one day per week. Wood acknowledged problems with the services provided to the county after questioning by Schwebach during a "transitional period." When Schwebach asked how long that transitional period was, Wood said that it had been over the last six months. McCall said that he thought that Wood was saying that Torrance County should cut VSS slack because it was a non-profit. The Mountainair Dispatch asked how Torrance County residents would know to contact Valencia Shelter Services. Cole responded in the Zoom Chat, "We have multiple points of people contacting VSS. They often know to contact us from partners, including law enforcement, CYFD partners, court clerks, etc. We also do very consistent online posting and outreach." Cole addressed the question of why victims had been told that VSS does not have funding for Torrance County, saying, "As far of [sic] anyone that has been told VSS doesn't have Torrance funding, the few instances this has happened have been addressed and new training and restructure [sic] has been done to ensure anyone can be served if they would like." The Mountainair Dispatch asked how many people had been told that VSS does not have funding for Torrance County victims. Cole said, "We were made aware of only two calls of concern from the 24-hour hotline, and that is within the last year of us taking over DV services."

Wood described domestic violence offenders as "a little Loony Tunes." Wood said VSS offered classes as part of offender services for the county. Offenders are required to pay $365 for these offender service classes (which are provided via Zoom), except when indigent. Wood said that online meetings were used because VSS could not transport offenders.

The Mountainair Dispatch asked Cole when VSS was last subject to an audit and whether an audit report was prepared. Cole responded in the Zoom chat, "VSS is audited often and provides quarterly and or monthly reports for all funding sources. For Torrance Count [sic] specifically, we have just provided all the information requested for an audit to Jordan {Barela, County Manager}."

Sheriff David Frazee said that his deputies found VSS very helpful and that they would prefer to keep the VSS service. Frazee said before his deputies told him that they felt VSS was helpful, he did not believe the service was beneficial. Frazee recounted an occasion when he offered his own home to a domestic violence victim because VSS did not provide shelter to her. Deputy Joshua Long said, "If I didn't have VSS, I would feel like my hands were tied." He described VSS as an excellent resource that never let him down and provided a story regarding services provided to a domestic violence victim. Long expressed concerns that domestic violence victims could fall through the cracks without adequate services. Commissioner Jaramillo offered support to any victims of domestic violence, sharing that she had been a victim of domestic violence in the 1970s and that she did not have anything like VSS when she experienced it.

The meeting closed with the commissioners discussing how they had to take care when indicating to people, especially legislators, that an individual commissioner "represented" the Torrance County Commission as an organization.

Update 01/22/25 15:45 - Edited to add Deputy Eunice Cervantes' comments made regarding VSS training.