The city of Española extended its lease and professional service agreements with the Española Valley Chamber of Commerce for another five years, giving the Chamber a sense of permanence as it continues to operate out of suites F and G at the Misión y Convento.
The Chamber originally asked for a 10-year extension but city attorney Frank Coppler advised the Española City Council not to commit to a lease longer than five years.
“We do need that consistency in the way we operate,” Chamber President Kelly Duran said at the Nov. 13 Council meeting.
“The Española Valley Chamber of Commerce was seeking a long-term lease within its current location of the Convento; reason being, in order to implement a strategic plan for the future,” Duran said Nov. 16. “It starts by the Chamber knowing that they have a place they can operate from, to set the direction for not only tomorrow but for years to come.”
Terms of the lease, which will run until September 2017, include: the Chamber will maintain the Visitors Center and administrative offices, advertise city-sponsored events within Española’s city limits, share staff and provide volunteer workers at the Misión Museum, sell tickets for city events and continue to participate in collaborative community efforts with the city.
“Economic development can mean different things for many people,” Duran said. “The Chamber’s direction is to help our local economy by means of encouraging people from the Valley, or visitors to the Valley to live, work, and spend money locally. This is what we do every day at the Chamber.”
City as realtor?
The Council also approved the Chamber’s request to sublease property the Chamber previously used as its center of operation. The property is located at 710 Paseo de Oñate.
The Chamber intends to rent the space to the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center for the next five weeks. The Arts Center will operate a Friends of the Arts Center thrift and vintage store and sell estate items the Arts Center has acquired. Proceeds from sales will help the Center sustain and grow their mission, Duran said.
Arts Center Director Beth Worrell said a neighbor of a board member moved away recently and she donated some of her mother’s items, including clothing, tools and various home sundries that were rarely used.
Sales at the thrift store will go toward covering the Arts Center’s administrative operations, Worrell said.
“We’re going to be there Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, from 10 until 2, from now until the last weekend before Christmas,” Worrell said.
In a letter written by Duran to the Council dated Oct. 15, Duran states, “(The Arts Center) will provide local jobs as well as contribute to the tax base of Española and Rio Arriba County. In addition, they will also support the Valley’s needs and provide educational classes of their arts and crafts at this premise.”
Worrell said one person will be employed at the store as a manager, working the register and providing customer service.
Councilor Robert Seeds said he was not in favor of allowing the Paseo de Oñate property, which the city owns, to be leased out by the Chamber.
“I don’t think it’s right,” Seeds said.
The Chamber pays $100 per month to the city for the Paseo de Oñate property. In turn, the Chamber will charge the Arts Center $500 per month to lease it.
For some comparison, the city of Taos maintains around 70 properties, valued at $43.8 million, that are used for various functions, including Town Hall, municipal complex, civic plaza and a pediatric clinic.
Taos town clerk Renee Lucero said, “The town rents property on a case by case (basis).”
Rental considerations often include community needs and any benefits to the town’s economy, she said.
Mayor Alice Lucero said property rental requests are usually initiated by one or more of the city’s elected officials and not based on a formal, written policy.