By Laura Nesbitt
Mountain View Telegraph
Sometimes history repeats itself, according to the mayor pro tem of Estancia.
"I finished off (Mayor Martin Hibbs') (trustee) term of two years, and I am finishing off almost two years of Marty's (mayoral) term," said Ted Barela after a special Estancia Board of Trustees meeting Monday.
Barela quickly corrected his mistake — "or I would be."
Although Barela received unanimous approval from the trustees who were present at the meeting, the election of a new mayor will not be approved until the next trustee meeting on Sept. 4.
Hibbs resigned his office effective Monday at an Aug. 21 trustee meeting. Hibbs was elected as a trustee only several months before taking over as mayor after James Farrington resigned.
Hibbs appointed Ted Barela to fill his empty seat as trustee.
"If I come in and sit down, it's probably not because I have anything to complain about. It's probably because I feel lost," Hibbs said when he resigned.
Mayor Vel Gilley drove up from Mountainair to show her support for the "exceptional job (Hibbs) has done for this community."
At Monday's meeting, Trustees Sylvia Chavez and Josie Chavez Richards both said their vote was for Barela.
Trustee Beckey Bailey was not present at the meeting.
"I've done a lot of thinking about it. We have to take care of our community. I think that Ted would be best to step in as mayor. With 10 years' experience, he's well-seasoned," Richards said.
Barela said he appreciated the support.
"If that is the recommendation, then I'm willing to finish this term," Barela said.
"I think we've got our work cut out for us," he added.
After the meeting, Barela explained that the town is grappling with tight budgetary restraints.
"There's a lot of things that have impacted us. It is the $70,000. It is the shortfall on our (gross receipts tax) this month. We got hit hard and it continues to pile on us. These are significant challenges. You can't do anything without money. You can't even work hard without money," Barela said.
Barela referred to a $70,000 reduction from last year in Small Cities Assistance money, and gross receipts tax revenues that are distributed to municipalities on a monthly basis from taxation and revenue.
But when asked if the difficulties faced by the town were too much to tackle as mayor, Barela stood firm because he loves the town and the people.
"Anybody can build a house. What makes it tough is to maintain it. Now it's time to maintain. Now it's time to get back to the basics and see where we're at and keep what we've got," Barela said.
Barela does have limits.
"Nothing comes without a cost. I'm not going to risk my family or my job. But as a team we can do it," Barela said.
Because Hibbs' resignation is effective Monday, the trustees can hold a meeting anytime before or after that date to appoint another mayor, said Town Attorney Diane Donaghy.
"It simply takes a nomination and a second of the board members serving" to appoint a replacement for Hibbs, Donaghy said.
There have been no phone calls expressing interest in the position, said Town Clerk Tammy Meyer.
Barela, if appointed as mayor, would need to appoint another trustee to fill his vacant position — just as Hibbs did 10 years ago when he appointed Barela to fill his then-vacant trustee seat.
In some of their first town business after Hibbs' resignation, three proposals for town attorney were opened. After ranking all three, the current town attorney, Donaghy, scored "significantly higher," Meyer said.
Donaghy stepped out of the room while Barela, Chavez and Richards discussed several positives in her proposal.
Trustees used a 100-point scoring sheet that could have included interviews.
"Even if we had gone through the interview process, which is 10 points, (Donaghy) still would have been higher," Meyer said.
Formal approval will not be until the next meeting.
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