News and Articles

Below is a summary of the actions taken by the Santa Fe Board of County Commissioners at yesterday’s meeting:

[Commission Chairman Mike Anaya was not present]

• Proclamation in concert with the United Nations declaring 2009-2019, the Decade for Sustainability passed by unanimous [4-0] vote. With an emphasis on education, Earth Care International will provide learning opportunities in recognition of Sustainability Education Week November 9-13: Kick off event is scheduled at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market “Earth Care Celebration” on November 6.
• Bureau of Land Management is in the process of identifying properties throughout the southwest for large-scale solar energy development. Three sites have been identified in southern part of the state.
• LANL has received $200 million for environmental cleanup: new jobs will be created and a job fair is scheduled in the next few weeks at the Ohkay Owingeh.
• Accolades were extended to the legislators for their hard work during this special legislative budget session.
• Nambe Town Hall meeting - 10/29 at 6 p.m. to continue discussions regarding the community center.
• Resolution for a Countywide policy on Transparency and Public Access to Information passed by unanimous [4-0] vote.  This resolution solidifies the County’s commitment to government transparency. The County is working to provide Spanish translations for all documents.

Appointment/Reappointments/Resignations:The Board acted unanimously on the following:

• Road Advisory Committee - Gail West appointed as the Alternate Member to Area 15
• Joint City and County of Santa Fe Policy Council On Food - Renee Villarreal appointed as the County Manager’s Designee.
• Maternal and Child Health Planning Council - Kristi Readyhough, Kim Straus, Lara Yoder, Magi Gerety, Jill Reichman, and Janet Aboytes were reappointed and Cindy Bernard and Tanya Montoya resigned.
• Health Policy and Planning Commission - Dan Burke and Tanya Montoya resigned.

Community Funds: By unanimous voice vote, the Commission approved the following expenditures:

• $1,000 in Support of the Pojoaque Baseball Athletics
• $2,500 for the Chimayo Boys and Girls Club in Support of Their After School/ Summer Recreational Programming
• $500 to Big Brothers Big Sisters to Support Screening and Follow Up for Matching Children with a Big Brother or Sister
• $500 to Warehouse 21 for the Production of Anti- Graffiti Outreach Materials
• $5,000 for the Vista Grande Public Library
• $5,000 for the Turquoise Trail Charter School
• $3,000 for the Santa Fe Mountain Center

Budget Adjustmentswere approved [4-0] in the form of resolution:

• Increase budget to grant awarded by the New Mexico Historical Records Advisory Board through the Commission of Public Records for the 2010 Indexing Records Project
• Memorandum of Understanding between Santa Fe County and the Village of Pecos for E-911 Rural Addressing/$8,379
• Lodger’s Tax Advertising Fund to Budget Prior Fiscal Year Cash Carryover for Advertising Requests for Fiscal Year 2010/$37,000
• An operating transfer from the General Fund to the Water Enterprise Fund for a Water Rights Purchase Agreement for 133.6 Acre Feet of Pre-1907 Consumptive Use Water Rights As Offsets in the Buckman Well Field/$2,404,800
• An increase to the State Special Appropriations Fund to budget a grant awarded Through the New Mexico State Library for the Vista Grande Library/$17,627.957
• A budget decrease to the Road Projects Fund - various road projects to realign the Fiscal Year 2010 budget with the available grant balances awarded through the New Mexico DOT/$321,542.
• An increase to the Economic Development Fund to budget funds awarded through the U.S. Department of Energy Efficiency ($264,000) and funds awarded through the New Mexico DOT for the Santa Fe Rail Trail $ (100,000) pursuant to the American Recovery Investment Act of 2009.
• An increase to the Emergency Medical Services Fund to include the actual allotment of the Fiscal Year 2010 EMS Fund Act distribution and available Fiscal Year 2009 cash balance for expenditure in FY 2010/$71,159.
• An increase to the Law Enforcement Operations Fund to budget a grant extension for the Domestic Highway Enforcement Funds for the Region III HIDTA Program/$8,896.83.
• An increase to the Law Enforcement Operations Fund to budget funds awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice FY 09 American Recovery Act Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program for radio communication equipment/ $318,119.
• An increase to the Law Enforcement Operations Fund to budget a grant awarded through the U.S. Department of Justice FY 09 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program to purchase tasers/ $75,581.
• Nambe Park and Community Center Fund in the amount $50,000 per receipt of State of N.M. Department of Finance and Administration 2009 General Fund Grant Agreement.

Miscellaneous items unanimously approved:

• Resolution proclaiming October as Santa Fe County Fire Prevention Month.
• Resolution establishing the process and procedures for acquisition of real property under the County’s Open Space and Trails Program.
• Agreement between the County and the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority to lease storage space in Abiquiu Reservoir.
• Three resolutions supporting the County’s participation in the 2009/2010 New Mexico Department of Transportation Local Government Road Fund Cooperative Agreement for pavement rehabilitation and improvements of County Road 17 (Martin Road) in Santa Fe County under the School Bus Route Program Project.
• Approval of 2009 State of N.M General Fund grant agreement for $768,800 for reauthorized projects.
• Authorization to execute a Building Lease Agreement by and between the County and Esperanza Shelter for Battered Families, Inc. for the use of a County-owned modular building to be placed at 3130 Rufina Street in the City of Santa Fe and authorizing the Chair to execute and seek approval of the State Board of Finance.
• Action to increase the County Surveyor’s salary from current rate of $19,442 to $22,358, the maximum allowed by State Statute was tabled by unanimous vote.

Informational Updates:

• Finance Director Teresa Martinez reported that the Gross Receipts Tax revenues were 4% above the budget, although 6% to 10% down from previous years. All County cost-saving measures remain in place. She assured the Commission that the County is being very conservative.
• Ms. Martinez said the County follows DFA regulations in regards to travel and per diem rates. The majority of official County travel is reimbursed on actuals and she recommended continuing that practice. The new rate for mileage is 44 cents per mile. The Board unanimously approved the director’s recommendations.

New Judicial Courthouse Complex:

County consultants and NM Environment Department experts outlined the protective measures needed to remediate the contamination at the site of the new judicial complex construction site. The steps they recommend:

1. Construction of a thick injection-grout barrier around excavated area
2. Removal of contaminated soil
3. Replacement with clean fill
4. Placement of water/vapor liner
5. Construction of a “bathtub” to protect the building

Total cost to the County will be $3,174,683.

• Additionally, NMED will focus on the surrounding area using $2.9 million from the State Corrective Action Fund. There will be 22 wells to extract the LNAPL (light non-aqueous phase liquids) and monitor the results.
• The new complex will retain two levels of parking and additional design features will protect future users. Project completion is anticipated for early 2012.

Special Legislative Session Update- Rudy Garcia, Community Services, reviewed possible effects to the County. The Governor intends to freeze funding for all capital outlay projects and DFA is contemplating a freeze of capital grants. An update is scheduled for the next BCC meeting to determine which projects can be reauthorized.

Joint City-County Task Force on Alcohol Abuse- The Commission voted unanimously to accept the recommendation as proposed by the task force. The motion stipulated implementation was contingent on the measures being budget-neutral or having a source of funding identified.

The Board acted unanimously to approve:

• Ordinance 2009-10: Establishing regulations pertaining to unreasonable noise.
• Ordinance 2009-11: Establishing the Formation of the Santa Fe County Renewable Energy Financing District. The district currently encompasses only the areas of the county subject to property tax (i.e., not the tribal lands). The municipal areas, City of Santa Fe, Espanola, and Edgewood, will have to opt into the district. Work remains to be done on administrative and financial aspects and the earliest possible date for commencement would be mid-December.
• Height Variance for the Rancho Viejo Fire Station.

All BCC meetings are broadcast live at www.santafecountynm.gov. To view recorded video of this BCC meeting, go to http://santafecounty.org/video_on_demand/or check SFG-TV Comcast channel 28 listings. Transcripts of the meeting will be available within 10 working days at www.santafecountynm.gov.