New Mexico House District 41 Rep. Susan Herrera, D-Embudo, said she foresees a “Rio Arriba Renaissance” following the 2019 legislative session, which saw a $1 billion budget surplus and a Democratic-controlled House of Representatives that made it relatively easy for her to achieve her goals.
While Herrera was happy with the large amount of things she was able to get done in the 60-day session, she said there were still challenges in the relatively conservative Senate, she said.
“Any progressive piece of legislation, we really had to go back and fight for in the Senate,” she said.
Capital Outlay
Herrera said she was able to distribute about $2.1 million in Capital Outlay funding to Chama, Española, Rio Arriba County and the town of Taos, along with nearly $500,000 for other projects.
“We had $22 million in capital outlay, is coming into the County, with huge projects laying in wait for many years,” she said. “I think at this legislative session, I want to say we created close to 240 long-term, sustainable jobs.”
She gave credit to Rep. Joseph Sanchez, Rep. Andrea Romero, Rep. Christine Chandler, Sen. Richard Martinez and Sen. Carlos Cisneros for bringing new programs and funding to the North.
“You don’t go to the Capitol and work alone,” Herrera said. “All those people worked really hard to make sure that good things happen in Rio Arriba.”
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham allocated $1 million from her own pot of Capital Outlay funding to renovate the former Española Valley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center into a residential drug treatment and detox facility, Herrera said.
“That’s the delegation working hard, saying, ‘We really need this,’” she said.
Rio Arriba County officials will join with a private entity to create a nursing home at the County Health Commons on Industrial Park Road in Española, she said. That is possible because of a $1 million Capital Outlay allocation she secured, she said.
Herrera introduced a bill that would require nursing homes in the state to, before closing, ensure that displaced patients and families are transported to a different place. It did not pass.
“They would have had to have a plan for transfer of residents in a nursing home going to a quality place, to know where they’re going,” Herrera said. “They wouldn’t just close down in 2 weeks, like what happened in Española.”
Preferred Care Partners Management Group announced the closure of the Española Valley Nursing and Rehab facility on Nov. 1, 2018. The facility officially closed on Dec. 31, 2018.
In the future, Herrera said she wants her process for giving out Capital Outlay funding to be open and transparent.
“Next year, we’ll have a committee to talk about it,” she said. “It’s good to have citizens decide what would be the best use for Capital Outlay. We will rank them.”
Land and water
Many acequia associations and mutual domestic water associations came to Herrera, each asking for $300,000 in Capital Outlay.
Instead of funding them all, she allocated $250,000 to allow the New Mexico Rural Water Association to go throughout District 41 to help water associations gather their legal documents, professional licenses and engineering plans.
Those meetings will begin within the year, Herrera said. This summer, there will be a conference in El Rito where there will be more information about the program, she said.
Herrera and Sanchez carried the sister proposal to a bill in the Senate that will reopen the El Rito campus at Northern New Mexico College. She sees the reopening of the campus as central to allowing Rio Arribans the opportunity to get high-paying jobs with benefits.
Free training on the El Rito campus will open up the door for jobs that pay $60,000 per year with benefits and retirement, she said.
“The Lab is waiting,” she said. “They need a skilled labor force, and there’s gonna be 1,000 jobs up there.”
The Legislature abolished the PARCC test and put $500 million into the education budget for the next year, to cover a backlog of needed supplies and teachers’ programs, Herrera said.
Lawmakers also raised starting teacher salaries to $40,000 per year.
“I was able to get money for instruments for the band at Española Middle School,” she said.
Herrera said she secured $300,000 in Capital Outlay funding for the city of Española to make improvements to Valdez Park including new playground equipment and trees.
She said she was also able to get the Los Luceros historic property designated as a historic site under the authority of the New Mexico Museum Foundation.
“We got $50,000 to build a trail along the river, with picnic tables, for people to go there on weekends,” she said. “We also made them eligible to be a (United Nations) World Heritage site. That will bring in a whole new source of national and international funding.”
According to a tracking document for Herrera, she was able to give out $2,142,000 in Capital Outlay funding:
$300,000 to the city of Española for improvements to Valdez Park$250,000 to Hoy Recovery Program, Inc. for residential recovery facility improvements$132,565 to Northern New Mexico College to fix corroded galvanized piping$100,000 to Rio Arriba County for information technology$100,000 to Rio Arriba County Sheriff’s Office for information technology$80,000 to Santa Clara Pueblo for housing$80,000 to Village of Chama for a water supply pipeline$79,435 to Upper Arroyo Hondo Mutual Domestic Water Users Association$70,000 to Embudo Valley Library for a mobile stage$50,000 to Rio Arriba County for the Cariños Community Hub$50,000 to Rio Arriba County for the Lowrider Museum$50,000 to Rio de Chama Acequia Association$50,000 to Amigos de Rancho de Los Luceros$50,000 to Española School District music program$50,000 to Española School District roof repairs$50,000 to North Central Regional Transit District$50,000 to Abiquiú Volunteer Fire Department$50,000 to Agua Sana Water Users Association$50,000 to Pilar Acequia Association$40,000 to Community Association of Arroyo Hondo for a sewer system$25,000 to Acequia de Los Vigiles$25,000 to El Rito Regional Water and Wastewater Association$25,000 to Abiquiú Mutual Water and Wastewater Association$25,000 to Ojo Caliente MDWCA$25,000 to Acequia de Santa Cruz$25,000 to La Acequia del Llano Dixon$25,000 to Acequia Molino for dam and equipment$25,000 to Canjilon MDUCA$25,000 to MB Community Ditch Association$25,000 to Acequia Sancochada$25,000 to Ancones MDWWCA$25,000 to Cebolla MDWCA$25,000 to La Acequia de los Garcias/Durans$25,000 to Plaza Blanca Democratic Water Users Association for water system improvements$25,000 to Acequia de los Duranes$25,000 to La Mesilla Community Ditch$10,000 to Rio Arriba County for Fire Marshal search and rescue equipment
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