The town may pay about $15,000 because of a delay in work for RMCI Inc., the contractor hired by the town to do some of the work on the sewer. The cause of the delay was a rebid on the project to use up a nearly $1 million Environmental Protection Agency grant.

According to Edgewood Planning and Development Administrator Karen Mahalick, the town expected nearly all of the grant money to be spent on the sewer's disposal pond, which came in under cost at around $650,000. To use the remaining funds, the town rebid the equipment costs to fall under EPA guidelines so it could use the grant money.

"We didn't expect to put money into another bid," she said.

While the rebidding was going on, RMCI said it had racked up costs in time, materials and equipment at the site and asked the town for $30,000 for the delay, Mahalick said. The town's counteroffer was about half that amount.

The town also lost about $50,000 from its investment fund, according to Clerk/Treasurer Estefanie Muller, which she said was due to the collapse of Lehman Bros.

"That's a share of the billions that the state took a hit on," Councilor Brad Hill said.

Muller also mentioned that, for the past three months, the town has had a decrease in gross receipts taxes. She reported $237,932 this month.

The Edgewood Town Council was light a couple of members at its meeting on April 15.

Edgewood Mayor Robert Stearley is out of the country on vacation, and Councilor John Abrams was not in attendance. For that reason, several items scheduled for public hearings were continued to the next meeting.

There were also items having to do with the town budget that were postponed, such as a decision for funding on the Youth Events for Summer (YES) Program.

Santa Fe County Commissioner Mike Anaya had discussed expanding the program last year, but the state didn't come through with the same funding for the program, because of the state of the economy this year. Last year, Santa Fe County contributed $50,000 to the program, but may only provide $20,000 this year.

"We're not going to do away with it … this year we'd love to give them $50,000," Anaya said, adding that it doesn't seem possible. "It's important that we try to keep our kids busy during the summer."

Karen Harrison, who has run the program for about a decade, had planned an expanded program with an increased registration fee, up from $30 to $50 or $75 per child. The cost will most likely depend on which program is put in place.

She had worked up two options in her presentation. The program costing $50 would run for six weeks, Monday through Thursday, and would cost about $47,000 to implement. The $75 program would run for eight weeks, Monday through Friday and cost about $74,000 to implement.

Harrison said that she's already had a number of inquiries about the program and that, with the program's enrollment capped at 125 "campers," she won't be able to meet the demand.

"We're going to have to turn kids away this year," she said.

The council agreed to support the less expensive program, but said there is still a possibility of funding a longer program. Part of the reason the decision was postponed was so that the council could take a hard look at the budget before committing funding, according to Hill.

"We don't have the luxury of looking (at this) globally," he said.

The YES Program is expected to start in early June. The number of days or weeks could be increased if the town finds funding in its budget, according to the discussion.

Representatives from the Estancia Valley Economic Development Association were also looking for money. The council agreed to pay dues through roughly the end of the fiscal year and look at paying membership dues at budget time as well.

Hill announced that he is looking to form a veterans memorial association, which would work to build a memorial in Edgewood. Animal Control Officer Vicki Murphy also had an announcement.

"It's skunk season," Murphy said. She reported that Edgewood Animal Care and Control had caught and released a skunk. The town department also has an 87 percent adoption rate for dogs and cats.