An Española mental health facility that lost its state contract last week is in negotiations with the Española Valley Chamber of Commerce to help it stay in business.
Ayudantes, a mental health clinic that also has locations in Santa Fe and Las Vegas, was working on a deal Tuesday to lease the former Chamber of Commerce building on Paseo de Oñate, Ayudantes Executive Director Violanda Nunez said. The Española City Council voted unanimously Monday night to pass an ordinance allowing the Chamber of Commerce to sublease the building, which is on city-owned land, to the non-profit.
Ayudantes has operated in Española for 26 years, and Monday was its last day at its North Riverside Drive location. The clinic announced plans to close in October citing financial problems. At the time, it was the area’s sole state-funded community mental health facility.
Nunez said she was optimistic about the deal to move the struggling clinic into the vacant building on .217 acres of city-owned property, which the Chamber has been trying to sell. The building has been vacant since the Chamber moved into the Española Convento in Fall 2007.
“That’s why we went through this whole thing, because they were willing to rent to us,” Nunez said.
She said no rent amount had been settled on, but it would certainly be cheaper to rent the old Chamber of Commerce building than the clinic’s current location on North Riverside Drive, which is about twice as large. Nunez said she was hoping the Chamber of Commerce would give Ayudantes a break on the rent because of the service it offers the community.
Chamber Board Vice President Jessica Rodarte told the City Council Monday that the Board had discussed renting the space to Ayudantes, but no decision had been made. She asked the Council to include an amendment to its resolution saying the building could be rented to any non-profit, not just Ayudantes.
“We are not against subleasing to Ayudantes, but we would like it to be any not-for-profit,” she said.
The amendment was not included in the motion later approved by the Council. Nevertheless, the agreement makes the Chamber the only city tenant allowed to sublease.
When the sublease possibility was discussed at a City Council workshop Nov. 16, Councilor Danielle Duran said the Community Development Committee, of which she is the chairwoman, has twice recommended the city sell the land the building is on.
Duran also said she was worried about the Chamber making a profit from the deal. In response, Mayor Pro Tem Alice Lucero said the Chamber was not “in this to make money.” Lucero is also the Executive Director of the Chamber, and she recused herself from the vote Monday night.
To date, the Chamber of Commerce owes $900 of rent from 2008 on the Paseo de Oñate property. Lucero said she sent the city a check for that money in the spring that has never cleared.
City Manager Veronica Albin said the city never received that check, but if what Lucero said is true, the payment was still at least three months late. Albin said Lucero did make the second rent payment of the year. The terms the Chamber set with the city is that the city is paid half of the Chamber’s $1,800 rent on the first of January and on the first of July every year.
Ayudantes no longer receives funding from the state’s Behavioral Health Collaborative to run an Española location since its contract ran out Monday. Presbyterian Medical Services was awarded the contract last week to replace Ayudantes and run a mental health facility in Española. Presbyterian Regional Director Larry Martinez said Tuesday that Presbyterian was still working on a deal to rent Ayudantes’ former location on North Riverside Drive.
Still, Nunez said there are some patients Ayudantes could continue to serve if it stayed in Española. There are some patients whose services are covered by Medicaid, meaning the clinic could still get that federal money for performing their services.
Although Nunez said it’s likely Presbyterian will be able to offer those same services, she said keeping Ayudantes around would give patients a choice. She said Ayudantes is in the process of mailing letters to all potential patients in the area.
“It’s up to the consumer where they want their services to be provided,” she said.