GRANTS - The City of Grants took one more step toward rejoining county economic development efforts Monday night by appointing three members to the Cibola Communities Economic Development Foundation (CCEDF).

Bob Peets, Lawrence Sanchez and Grants City Manager Robert Horacek were chosen to represent Grants on the board.

Horacek explained that all three men had served on the CCEDF board before, but Sanchez said the board recently had been disbanded and recreated with new bylaws. Therefore, Horacek said, all three needed to be reappointed.

County commissioners Jane Pitts and Elmer Chavez have been appointed to represent Cibola County, Sanchez said, and Cibola Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization that also handles economic development, has also been given one spot on the board. Tony Esparza may be appointed to that position, he added.

Sanchez said the new board had not yet decided on how to choose an executive director for CCEDF. "We could go with a consulting group and hire a local [government] employee," he said, or we could hire another director from outside." Sanchez noted that the city's contract with CCEDF ends in June, so the city could ask for more changes before agreeing to a new contract with the organization.

He said that one of the changes that CCEDF has already made is to tie the number of board members from each participating organization to the amount of money it contributes to economic development in the area. Because Grants has always contributed the lion's share of money, Sanchez continued, the city will have more board members than other entities.

Since Milan started its own economic development foundation several months ago, Sanchez said, there are currently no spots on the board for the village. However, he added, "We will enter into talks with Milan to see if we can get them back.

Councilor Robert Ulibarri asked that city councilors be provided with a copy of the new CCEDF bylaws, and Sanchez promised to make and distribute copies after the new board has officially been put in place. "Then we can get them [the bylaws] signed and approved," he said.

City councilors then approved the three Grants CCEDF board members unanimously.

By Marian Hamilton