Socorro city council meeting, Monday October 5th, 2009

The most recent Socorro city council meeting heard testimony from Jim Burleson about how Socorro might promote the town as a venue for film makers. If Mr. Burleson's name sounds familiar, you may recognize him as the "King of the Cage" fight promoter who was recently acquitted of manslaughter charges stemming from a shooting of a Tucumcari man. Mr. Burleson told Socorro's city council members that the movie business in New Mexico is booming; the state has become one of the favorite filming destinations of Hollywood. Burleson noted that Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Carrizozo, and other communities throughout the state have benefited from an influx of outside spending, as film crews, support staff, and actors work on films "on location" in New Mexico. Burleson suggested that Socorro consider having a "liason" for outreach to the film industry or at least that the Socorro Chamber of Commerce have a promotional packet which can be readily distributed to interested parties seeking filming venues. The council members suggested that Burleson work with the Chamber of Commerce, as a first step.

Roswell: don't look back, something might be gaining on you

Other council business heard testimony about the Socorro UFO incident from 1964 (the "Zamora incident" so-named because of retired Socorro policeman Lonnie Zamora's eyewitness account of the encounter); a request was made for a plaque to be erected commemorating the site. It was suggested that a plaque would not only serve to designate the location of the encounter, but could also be leveraged for tourism. While none of the council members suggested that Socorro could ever rival Roswell's alien-themed culture, it was agreed that it could help tourism. It was noted that the council had pondered the question of a commemorative plaque before and was ready to move on it, provided that Mr. Zamora has no objections. Out of deference for Mr. Zamora, the retired police officer involved in the incident in 1964, the council suggested that without his consent the plaque will not be erected. Presumably, this is to ensure that Mr. Zamora's right to a peaceful retirement is not infringed by the erection of the plaque. Council members also noted that the exact wording of the plaque may become an issue of contention; one can imagine that skeptics might want a different emphasis in the text than those who believe that the 1964 incident was an alien craft. The council concluded that Mr. Zamora will be contacted in the coming weeks to ascertain his feelings on the plaque, after which further action may be taken.

Other council business

In other council business, the landfill reported that it was recently cited by the New Mexico Environment Department for a "violation" which occurred in June. While not a deal-breaker, such a citation does not help Socorro in its pending case for a landfill expansion, which is in process.

The next city council meeting will be held Monday, October, 19th at Socorro's city hall.