We were disappointed to read the city of Española’s annual laundry list of wants from the state legislature in the upcoming long session in January.
City Manager Mark Trujillo has the right idea. Stop asking for pie in the sky, never going to happen projects, and get real. Go in with a plan, a budget and a time line. We suggest maybe show up with some money of your own and some committed resources. It shows you’re serious.
However, what the council settled on lacked that forethought. Since Prince Drive was annexed into the city 35 years ago mayors, councilors and city managers have been promising a sewer line. The cost has grown exponentially to a point where the cost per home is prohibitive. The city is going to ask for $500,000 for that project. That would be a good start for engineering, surveys and site plans. It won’t touch the actual project, property condemnation and right-of-ways.
The other sewer projects, which the city will request funding from the state, total a little over $2 million. Total cost of all the projects? $43 million. The state is about $1 billion, with a B, in the hole right now. The city will end up with the same hand-outs from Rep. Debbie Rodella and Sen. Richard Martinez as always. Rep. Nick Salazar might ante up but at best the city will get a couple hundred thousand total.
The upcoming session is going to be one of the stingiest ever. That makes it a terrible year for capital charity.
Former city manager Kelly Duran had the outrageous idea of the city actually putting part of its annual income into a capital account. That’s how adults do it.
Want to put a roof on a building? Have a roofer look at all your roofs. Which one is the worst? How much life is left in it? Start putting money into a capital account to pay for it and stop begging from your broke uncle, who drank up his inheritance.
The city of Española perennially does this. The state is not the answer. It can’t even take care of itself, much less small cities.
Trujillo rightfully and smartly shut down the request for $3 million for business park development. We’ve got a failed business park. We don’t need another. The city would never develop it, recruit tenants, nor charge reasonable rent.
Our business park is a junior high school, a National Guard Armory, the county complex, a gym, some ball parks and the city police. That’s not the way a business park works. It created no jobs, cost the city tons of money and has the police station in a metal warehouse.
We’re not in the loop when it comes to water projects but they seem to never end and always require more funding.
The city is in the throes of figuring out what to do about the heating and ventilation system on top of the Lucero Center. Regardless of the repair/replace choice by city leaders, it will be a huge expense. Our roads are in horrendous condition. The fire station(s) and the senior center receive piecemeal attention, depending on the next emergency or the loudest complainer.
What about coming up with a strategic plan instead of stomping out fires annually? And no, we don’t mean spend another $144,000 for a master plan that will collect dust on the planning department’s shelves just like the last six plans. What was wrong with the $86,000 plan we paid for in 2010? Short of some junk food joints we’re the same city.
The city of Española has wasted more money on unused (probably unread) master plans than is needed to repair the Lucero Center’s ventilation system.
We applaud Trujillo’s efforts in trying to bring the council along to reality. It couldn’t have been easy. Now if he could get them to participate in the budgeting process and work on future capital projects.