By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

The Hilltop House Hotel is one step closer to being flattened. Tuesday night, Los Alamos County Council unanimously approved a task order for one of its on-call contractors, All-Rite Construction, to demolish the building and remove the material.

The cost to do the demo work is $883,434 but council also approved a budget revision for the entire project in the amount of $1,325,000, this is partly due to the increased costs for the asbestos abatement.

Public Works Director Juan Rael said the work is expected to begin mid-July and will start with the gas pumps, convenience store and pool house. The entire building will be leveled, he said, adding that the asphalt will remain.

Councilor Sara Scott said she noticed the work does not include removing the underground fuel tanks at the gas station and questioned whether there were any safety concerns with leaving the tanks in place.

Rael said removing the fuel tanks would be addressed in the next phase of the work, which is utility relocation. He added there are no concerns with leaving the underground tanks.

“There’s nothing that could pose a safety hazard that we see,” Rael said. “We won’t leave a hazard after we’re done with this step.”

Council Chair Randall Ryti asked if there was still fuel in the tanks and County Manager Steven Lynne said that question would be investigated, and the County will report back to Council.

In an unrelated matter, the County Manager’s report touched on three topics: the painted rock in White Rock, the County’s COVID status and the process for vendor permits at the summer concerts.

Lynne addressed the situation regarding the painted rock in White Rock. He explained the rock is a community asset and it is not something that the County manages. It is completely up to individuals as far as who paints what on the rock. However, there are County assets surrounding the rock such as light fixtures, crosswalks, etc. If those assets get painted, it is considered graffiti and will be removed. In terms of the discussion about the rock being painted to celebrate Pride Week, Lynne noted a proclamation was presented by Council to declare the second week of June as LGBTQ+ Week. He emphasized the sentence of the proclamation, which reads: We urge our citizens to respect and honor our diverse community and celebrate and build a culture of inclusiveness and acceptance. “I think that is an appropriate message to share,” Lynne said.

Deputy County Manager Linda Matteson addressed the local COVID situation. Los Alamos has a bit of a surge in COVID cases. She reported as of June 13, the seven-day average of daily recorded COVID cases was 25. This was a drop from June 12 when the seven-day average was 28. Hopefully, this surge has peaked, Matteson said. To protect against COVID, Matteson recommended subscribing to the County’s COVID newsletters and reading the two press releases the County distributed on how to avoid contracting COVID and the differences between rapid COVID tests and laboratory tests. The County also is launching today a social media campaign for reminders on how to be protected against COVID, Matteson said. The first installment will be on reliable services. Additionally, she said a community briefing on the local COVID situation is scheduled for June 23. The briefing will feature a panel discussion with representatives from the medical community, social services, emergency management and an epidemiologist. Furthermore, Matteson said the County has distributed rapid COVID tests at the Farmers’ Market, senior centers and to local businesses.

Deputy County Manager Anne Laurent discussed the process for vendor permits at the summer concert series. This was in response to Sirphey, LLC’s criticisms on the process after the local restaurant was given a location at the June 3 concert that did not have access to electricity and therefore it could not sell hot food. Laurent said the permits for the concerts are coordinated through the Community Services Department. The application process is available online and operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Currently, 21 vendors have signed up for a booth at concerts. This year, the County has received the largest number of vending permit requests for a concert season, Laurent said.

Laurent said specific vending locations are not purchased nor are they guaranteed in the permit process. Power can be provided but in some areas extension cords are required along with wire coverings. She added the parking lot is given priority to food vendors while informational booths can be located on the lawn. Furthermore, Laurent said recreational staff have a process each week to assign a location based on vendors’ needs and staff support efforts for vendors to have a successful concert. Staff confirm on Wednesdays that vendors will be at the concert Friday. In response to points made by Sirphey, Laurent said its claim that the County favors larger, out-of-town vendors over smaller, local vendors by offering the larger vendors less expensive booth fees is untrue. All vendors are given 10X10 spaces. Trailers and food trucks pay the same fee for a 10X10 space even though they may take up more room. She noted the vendor, JPZ, wanted to increase its presence at the concerts and applied for a second permit. It plans to submit for a third one, too.

Laurent said vendors can change the dates they will appear at concerts as well as the number of spaces it takes up. Regarding Sirphey’s claim that the County ignored communication from a vendor, Laurent said it was true that a vendor, Yoga with Jacuzzi, was given a permit for the wrong date. It was a human error, and it was corrected. Additionally, Sirphey’s statement that vendors did not sign up but got on the map for a vending spot did occur twice – with Yoga with Jacuzzi and JPZ – but those were the only instances.

She emphasized the County will work with vendors to accommodate changes and noted that for the June 3 concert, Sirphey did not confirm that it would be at the concert. Laurent added Sirphey was absent from the previous two concerts.

“While power was available June 3 for Sirphey … more could have been done when the vendor location was changed,” Laurent said.

She noted Sirphey was given its preferred spot in subsequent concerts.

“The County values our relationships with our vendors and senior staff welcome conversations with Sirphey or any vendor on how to improve and better manage those relationships,” she said.

In other business, council:

• Unanimously approved to extend the proclamation imposing fire restrictions and limiting the use of fireworks for 30 days. The original proclamation expires today. The extension is due to the severe fire conditions throughout the state.
• Unanimously approved specific projects for the Los Alamos Public Schools capital allocation. These included reimbursement for work on the Pajarito Complex’s roof, which totaled $1 million as well as general improvements on the Pueblo Complex such as safety issues, energy efficiency, general maintenance and upkeep, which is budgeted for FY23.
• Unanimously approved the FY23 salary plan and job class order schedule for County employees. Compensation Analyst Valerie Park explained the majority of the changes are in the job class schedule. Some job descriptions are being archived and changes were made to the technical support job family, she said. Fire technology manager was added as well as new job descriptions for procurement contract manager, economic program manager and capital projects and facilities manager. Park added that pay grade changes were made to fire battalions, which received a two grade raise and the police commanders received one grade raise.
• Unanimously approved a 5 percent salary adjustment for the County Manager and County Attorney.