A new commission, a new website, and a discussion of rising costs. Aztec’s Feb. 10 meeting delivered all three, as the city’s electric director warned of potential financial strain while commissioners navigated issues ranging from historical archives to a public works budget that prompted debate.
Laura Harper, president of the San Juan Historical Society, proudly announced the society’s new website, sanjuanhistoricalsociety.com, and thanked the mayor, commission members and Steven Mirabal of Zia Media for the website work.
“We’ll start with, how about money,” she said to a chuckling room.
Assets stand at $52,000, with a checking account balance of $14,000. The organization operates on about an $11,000 budget, rising to about $14,000 over the past two years because of website development and archival technology upgrades.
“The Mission of the San Juan County Historical Society is to collect and preserve historical documents pertaining to San Juan County; preserve these documents for future generations and create a computerized database from these documents legitimate research and scholarly endeavors,” it states.
Harper pointed to images including the Los Martinez school kids, circa 1947; Rex Smith with his horses; and the Robert Hughes Woods home, the predecessor of Woods Insurance, dating to about 1909, which appear on the website’s homepage.
She also pointed to a photo of Mary Jo Walters, 1947, which led Harper to say, “isn’t she a doll … happens to be my mother.”
Sheriff Shane Ferrari provided a collection featuring a photo of every San Juan County sheriff from 1887 to 2026.
To open its business agenda, the Aztec City Commission considered a pair of finance‑related items on Tuesday, including a routine water‑fund resolution and a follow‑up question from the mayor about previously reduced funding for the Riverview project.
Jeric Jaramillo, acting public works director, said the project includes two sections, the water line and the storm drainage project.
“We have the funding in the budget for the water line, but not for the storm. This is for the storm budget,” Jaramillo said. “So we’re getting to work on the water line first.”
Padilla said their previous discussion led to the $25,000 approval, but now Jaramillo was returning with the same amount of money as requested before.
“So what it’s telling me is what the elected body that represents the taxpayers money for the city of Aztec, whatever it has come out and said, it doesn’t matter,” Padilla said.
“It’s my understanding that we cannot do this project for $25,000,” Jaramillo replied.
Padilla asked him what his job title was, and said if the property owner says he can do the work for $25,000, which the commission approved 5–0, and now they’re asking again for $146,000, “I’m confused,” Padilla said.
Commissioner Brett Lanier questioned whether the work required special permitting or certifications.
“Yes, so the city cannot perform the city’s crews cannot perform that work,” Jaramillo said, adding they do not have the certifications. They can only do maintenance and repairs.
“It is my understanding the materials alone are far more than $25,000 … and that’s not including labor,” said Jaramillo.
After further discussion, the item was unanimously approved.
The commission then moved through several additional financial actions, unanimously approving a mid‑year budget adjustment, selecting an audit firm for fiscal 2026, and authorizing two funding requests tied to improvements and programming at the Aztec Museum.
Commissioners and department leaders offered a series of updates ranging from research resources and community events to public safety concerns, library use and upcoming energy‑sector changes.
Wheeler said current costs will drop about $288,000 a year, but similar or greater expenses may emerge as details from the Southwest Power Pool become clearer.
He added that Guzman will require additional capacity – 16% in winter and 32% in summer – resulting in more than $400,000 a year in added costs. He said those increases will likely be passed on to customers at about $6 a month.
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