Magdalena Village Board of Trustees meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays each month at 5 p.m. at Village Hall, 108 N. Main Street, Magdalena, New Mexico

The Magdalena Village Board of Trustees at its Jan. 11 meeting voted to submit an application for a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant for a new ambulance.

“FEMA has money for firefighting equipment and we’re applying for funding for a new ambulance for Magdalena,” Mayor Richard Rumpf said. “We’re asking for $150,000. That will buy a basic ambulance.”

The primary purpose of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of rural fire departments and non-affiliated emergency medical service organizations. The grant money is available for helping firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

“Magdalena’s current ambulance was purchased used and is 23 years old,” Rumpf said.

In other business:

  • Trustees voted to change village board meeting times from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m. starting with the next meeting on Jan. 25. Rumpf said he believed the earlier time will be more convenient for the Village staff. For the present, the meetings are held on Zoom and the public can attend by using a link on the villageofmagdalena.com website.
  • The Magdalena Village Board of Trustees voted to publish Ordinance No. 2020-03 which would renew its franchise agreement with Socorro Electric Cooperative. Once in place, the ordinance gives the co-op the right “to construct, maintain, and operate in the present and future roads, streets, alleys and public areas of the Village of Magdalena … an electric distribution system consisting of poles and lines, with all necessary and desirable appurtenances, including underground conduits, for the purpose of supplying electrical current or internet service within and in the vicinity of the Village.”

In return, SEC would pay the village three percent of the gross receipts coming from customers of the co-op. The franchise agreement also includes a codicil that would allow the village to install fiber optic or internet cables on the cooperative’s power poles within the village limits. The franchise agreement would be in effect for 10 years.
Magdalena Airport Hangars

Hangar space is available at Magdalena Municipal Airport (Guin Field). John Larson | El Defensor Chieftain

  • The mayor told the Trustees that the Village was closing out a grant the Magdalena Municipal Airport received from the Federal Aviation Authority and the Aviation Division of the New Mexico Department of Transportation on a $244,000 project “to improve safety zones at the airport,” which included cleaning debris and seeding 35 feet on each end of the runway. “We’re looking at funding from the Aviation Division for a tractor and a mower,” Rumpf said. “We’re also working on funding to provide more hangar space. That would encourage more people to bring their planes here.” He said he’s been in contact with the New Mexico Pilot’s Association to re-scheduling the Fly-In which was canceled last fall. “[The airport] is an asset to the Village,” he said. “It gets people to check out our wonderful town.”
  • Rumpf updated the Trustees on the project for a new water well east of town. “We’re anticipating having a drill rig on the site the first part of April,” he said. “It’s moving ahead.” Bohannon Huston of Albuquerque is doing the work.
John Larson, El Defensor Chieftain