City of Belen Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Gallegos last night appointed Max Cordova to the City of Belen Planning and Zoning Commission.

Cordova manages construction projects for Belen Consolidated Schools.

He was confirmed by a 3-0 vote of the city council. Councilor Jerah R. Cordova abstained from voting because the new planning and zoning commissioner is a distant relative.

Mayor Rudy Jaramillo was unable to attend the meeting to make the appointment.

Filed under Infrastructure | Email Me

The Belen City Council last night began discussing the possibility of terminating two agreements and two ordinances related to Rancho Cielo, the proposed development west of Los Chavez.

In June, the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) ran out of money for the project after the developer, Coast Range Investments, also known as New Mexico Development Partners, refused to fund the remaining cost of the project.

The agreements under consideration for termination are related to the North Belen interchange improvements.

The first is a two-party agreement between the City of Belen and NMDOT. Should the council take no action on that agreement it’ll expire under its own terms in 2012.

The second agreement is between the City of Belen, NMDOT and New Mexico Development Partners.

That agreement was an issue of contention in February when it was revealed that the agreement required New Mexico Development Partners to place its portion of the interchange project’s funding in escrow prior to construction, which the developer never did. NMDOT moved forward with the project.

Under that agreement, NMDOT was responsible for putting $4 million into the project, and New Mexico Development Partners was responsible for $4 million to complete the project.

The project ceased construction in June, without the $4 million from the developer. NMDOT has said it was terminating its construction contract with AS Horner.

Should the council terminate the second agreement, it wouldn’t keep the developer from signing a new agreement with the City of Belen and NMDOT.

The council is also considering repealing two ordinances related to a $3-million state appropriation for economic development. The ordinances bind the use of the money directly to Signet Solar, a solar technology manufacturer.

Signet Solar, which intended to build in Rancho Cielo, pulled out of the development earlier this year after it was unable to secure a loan guarantee from the United States Department of Energy.

The $3-million appropriation is earmarked for “a solar project” in Belen, and the city has been actively pursuing solar companies with the help of the state in an attempt to use the money to benefit economic development in Belen.

Repealing the ordinances frees up the $3 million for use by a company other than Signet Solar.

If New Mexico Development Partners found another solar company willing to build, the city could recommit the money to the developer through the same process used for Signet Solar.

The issue was discussed at last night’s council meeting at the request of Councilor Jerah R. Cordova.

Because there wasn’t a representative of New Mexico Development Partners present at the meeting, all action was tabled for a later meeting.

Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Gallegos, who ran the meeting in the absence of the mayor, allowed the public to speak about the issue.

Former City Councilor David Lopez said the city should avoid terminating any agreements or repealing the ordinances because it would “kill the project.”

Cordova explained that all other plans, studies and agreements related to Rancho Cielo would remain in place for the development, including the annexation agreement for the entire 6,000-acre development.

Nino Trujillo, who has worked closely with the developer on the project, also said the project would be harmed by any termination or repeal. He said Cordova was “trying to kill everything.”

Filed under Contracts, Rancho Cielo | Email Me

The Belen City Council meeting packet distributed to the city councilors for tomorrow’s meeting includes the agenda, meeting minutes, a Manuel Lujan Insurance invoice, four agreements related to Rancho Cielo and Signet Solar, a memorandum of agreement for vehicle storage for Rio Metro, and a list of financial records recommended for destruction.

The meeting is at 6:00pm at Belen City Hall, located at 100 South Main Street in Belen.

Filed under Archive | Email Me

The Office of New Mexico’s Attorney General this week determined the City of Belen violated the New Mexico Open Meetings Act (OMA) when the Belen City Council met behind closed doors and directed former Mayor Ronnie Torres to negotiate to purchase $619,000 worth of land.

“The Council in essence gave its approval to purchase the property without voting on the matter in the public meeting,” the letter from the attorney general’s office reads, noting the approval occurred during a closed executive session.

After at least two closed-door discussions, the city ended up purchasing 14 acres along Christopher Road, never discussing the matter during a public meeting.

At the time, city officials argued that publicly discussing the matter could have jeopardized the deal.

The letter explains, “While we are cognizant of the fact that the Council might not have wished to announce its intent to purchase a particular parcel for property for fear that the deal may fall through, at a minimum the Council should have voted in public session to delegate to the Mayor its authority to negotiate the purchase terms without identifying the subject property until closing.”

The city council later “ratified” the purchase publicly, but the attorney general’s office notes that wasn’t sufficient to correct the violation because there’s no record of how the councilors voted, other than to say “the motion carried.”

“To remedy the violations discussed above,” the letter reads, “at its next public meeting, the Council should revisit the matter of the purchase of the Camino [del] Llano property and vote to authorize and ratify the purchase.”

In addition to not voting on the matter in public, the city had multiple OMA violations related to having failed to follow the appropriate process for entering into and out of closed executive sessions, as well as failing to record the purposes of the closed-door meetings in meeting minutes.

The attorney general’s office recommends publicly discussing the purposes of those executive sessions and identifying any direction given behind closed doors during the city council’s next meeting.

That may be problematic, however, because only two of the five public officials who met behind closed doors to discuss the land purchase are still serving.

The attorney general’s office became involved in the issue after a complaint was filed by the Valencia County News-Bulletin.

Filed under Reform | Email Me

Buildings once used as classrooms for Belen Middle School students will soon be demolished.

The Belen Consolidated Schools Board of Education this week approved a $115,220 bid to have the former classrooms at the current site of Belen Middle School knocked down.

The buildings, located at the southeast corner of the school’s grounds, hadn’t been used by students for years, instead housing for a short time the district’s warehouse and maintenance offices.

The work was awarded to Coronado Wrecking.

Filed under Infrastructure, Schools | Email Me

A new bridge in the Los Lunas area could actually mean a new interchange for the City of Belen.

As the Mid-Region Council of Government continues its Los Lunas corridor study, two primary routes for a new interchange and bridge are being evaluated. Those routes are near Miller Road just north of Los Chavez and Morris Road just south of Los Lunas.

Despite all of the proposed routes being so far north, the interchange options under consideration near Miller Road are actually within Belen city limits.

Los Lunas is in red and Belen is in green.

The study has a long way to go, and it’s unclear which interchange option will ultimately be recommended for the construction of a new interchange.

A new interchange in Belen, however, could have the benefit of providing opportunities for economic development, boosting gross receipts tax revenue.

Up until this week, it had been unclear exactly how far north Belen’s city limits go, after the city annexed the area west of Interstate 25 in 2006, because the study hadn’t clearly shown the various county and municipal jurisdictional boundaries.

Councilor Jerah R. Cordova requested the information to get a better understanding of the effect the issue could have on Belen.

Filed under Economy, Infrastructure, Rancho Cielo | Email Me

The Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce is seeking participants for the Valencia County Fair Parade, which is scheduled for Saturday, August 28.

The parade is a great venue to “celebrate our unique and diverse community and businesses,” said Rhona Baca Espinoza, the chamber’s executive director.

This year’s theme is “The Spirit of the Wild West.”

For more information call 864-8091.

Filed under Economy | Email Me

Belen Mayor Rudy Jaramillo and the Belen City Council launched the the Adopt-a-City Park Program over the weekend, intended to both help the city maintain local parks under the current budget woes while also giving citizens more opportunity to beautify their community.

Since the launch of the program on Saturday, the city has received two application requesting to adopt parks. The city has also received interest and requests for applications from eight other individuals or groups.

The city maintains 11 parks from as small as 9/11 Park on Main Street to as large as Eagle Park near Belen High School.

The program was written and created by Councilor Jerah R. Cordova, with help from Jaramillo and the city council.

To participate in the program, whether as a volunteer or an adopting individual or organization, call Audrey Torres at 966-2740.

Filed under Infrastructure, Services | Email Me

Valencia County Commissioner Ron Gentry questioned the lack of response from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Department after citizens called police to complain about the bright lights and loud music coming from a rave last weekend in Tierra Grande.

“We’ve got an ordinance that prohibits that, unless it’s licensed and permitted and so forth,” he said.

The rave, held the night of July 3, was not permitted, according to Gentry.

In October, the county commission approved an anti-rave ordinance in an effort to stop the high-intensity dance parties from occurring in Valencia County.

Gentry said at least seven residents called law enforcement about the rave but no one from the sheriff’s department responded.

“It flies in the face of this commission, which passed an ordinance,” Gentry said of the lack of response.

Gentry wanted the sheriff’s department to explain exactly what occurred, whether dispatch never contacted the sheriff’s department or if the sheriff’s department simply didn’t respond.

During Wednesday’s commission meeting, Captain Don Donges said he would get answers.

“I am shocked at what you’ve just said, Commissioner Gentry,” Donges said. “This is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

Filed under Police | Email Me

United States Rep. Harry Teague will host and moderate a town hall meeting on Sunday to discuss the recently released Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) flood maps and their impact on Valencia County.

The town hall starts at 3:30pm at the Los Lunas Transportation Center.

In addition to Teague, a panel of floodplain engineers and representatives from FEMA, Valencia County and Los Lunas will be in attendance to discuss issues and answer questions.

Teague organized the meeting to address confusion that has arisen as a result of updated flood maps released by FEMA that may affect insurance rates and requirements for some area residents. The panel will help to answer residents’ concerns.

The county commission has until August 19 to adopt the new flood map and study.

The updated FEMA flood hazard area maps are available in the code enforcement office on the first floor of the county administration building at 444 Luna Avenue in Los Lunas.

Filed under Economy | Email Me