Currently, the Town of Mesilla and Verizon are locked in a legal dispute over the construction of a cell tower. According to court documents, the U.S. Magistrate Court ruled that the town must find a spot for Verizon’s tower to be built to stay in compliance with federal law. The latest proposition is for the tower to be built in Town Hall Park, but is still under litigation.
Not everyone in Mesilla is against having the cell tower. However, residents say that they are concerned about the lack of transparency from the mayor and other officials in Mesilla.
Renee Beltran is a Resident of Mesilla and lives across the street from Town Hall Park. She said that residents felt blindsided when they received fliers notifying them of the proposed location.
“I hate to see us make financial obligations and arrangements with for-profit companies, which are going to be bandaid solutions for what is a really big problem. I understand these town officials may just see it as the only option they have, but I strongly feel that we need to keep looking,” she said. “I think that once you start using a sacred public outdoor space like a park, that it is a slippery slope. As we see our world developing and changing, letting go of that sacred space seems like a really poor choice.”
Kathy Telgard also lives right next to Town Hall Park. She said the lack of updates from town officials have left many residents feeling unheard.
“The transparency of this is not there. Everything feels like it’s being kept secret. The initial meeting that we were all invited to was a flyer stuck in our doors just for the neighbors that surround the park here. It looked like it was all planned and all set to go, and ‘this is all set to happen folks.’ And that’s all we’ve heard,” she said.
Mesilla’s Town Code prohibits towers and other communication structures “within 660 feet of the boundary of an historic resource or district or view corridor,” which means that the proposed tower would be in violation of that code. However, there is a clause that states, “Public property owned or otherwise controlled by the town of Mesilla may be exempt from the requirements of this chapter,” which opens up the possibility for a cell tower to be built in the park, or any other public space.
Nora Barraza is the Mayor of Mesilla. She said that regarding litigation between the town and Verizon, the town is waiting to hear from representatives of the company.
“At this point, nothing has been resolved, Verizon has not come back with any other options at this time, and there’s really nothing else to report, other than Verizon is very much aware of it. I did meet with them and told them ‘you probably need to look in the [Rural Farm] Zone,’ and at this point, we haven’t heard [from them.]”
Barraza said that she understands the concerns of the citizens, and despite accusations from residents, the town has been as open and transparent as possible.
“I think we have been very transparent in what’s happened. We can only share so much also, just because it is in [the midst of] a lawsuit right now. And so there’s only so much we can share, and what I’m sharing with you today is something I’ve already shared with the public. There’s nothing more to that,” she said. “There’s no way we’re going to please 100% of our residents no matter what. And that’s ok, we just need to find a place to put this cell tower that is going to address the need.”
Jerry Nevarez is a resident of Mesilla, and was on the Planning and Zoning Commission from 2016 to January of this year. He said he wasn’t aware of the current proposed location of the tower until disgruntled residents showed up to a Planning and Zoning meeting in Autumn of last year.
“That’s when I sent an email to the mayor telling her that I was being approached by people with questions that I have no idea what’s going on. And that’s when she told me, ‘it’s not really within your purview,’ and that it’s in litigation,” he said.
Nevarez said that there was a lack of communication overall about the cell tower between town officials.
“I don’t think there has been transparency. I think there could have been more information coming forward without divulging litigation details, or anything that would be sensitive to any litigation. The town has an attorney that they could formulate something. And also, I don’t know, I feel sometimes the residents’ concerns that they were bringing forward, it was very dismissive, like it didn’t matter,” he said.
With the legal dispute between the Town of Mesilla and Verizon, it remains uncertain where the new 65 foot cell tower will be built, leaving many residents anxious about the transparency of the local government, and when they may hear next from officials about the project.
