County planning and zoning meeting

Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission, 6 p.m. on May 22, Commission Chambers at the Sandoval County building in Bernalillo.

County commission meeting The Sandoval County commissioners regular meeting, 3 p.m. on June 5 (summer schedule), Commission Chambers at the Sandoval County building in Bernalillo.

Sandoval County non-essential offices and City of Rio Rancho offices will be closed in observance of the Memorial Day holiday on May 26.

COUNTY BRIEFS

Senior program

food grant increase

Sandoval County commissioners elected to ask for a $5,849 increase in their yearly grant for money to buy food for senior programs. This is a North Central New Mexico Economic Development District grant. It will take the grant request to $74,906 for the next year.

Three Rio Rancho road

paving projects approved

Commissioners approved three bids for road paving work in Rio Rancho on Rainbow ($139,314.16) and Chihuahua ($90,470) roads and Camino de La Huertas ($203,392.53). Albuquerque Asphalt won the approval.

Shining Stars Preschool

Rio Rancho preschool, Shining Stars, received a $40,000 grant approval from commissioners to plan, design and construct a Sensory Garden at the school, as well as $35,000 for a new playground area from the county.

Rainbow Park

will get restrooms

County commissioners are contributing $40,000 to construct restroom facilities at Rainbow Park in Rio Rancho.

Mealsite at Meadowlark representative installed

Shirley Andrade will replace Betty Chinappi, who recently passed away, as the representative for the Sandoval County Mealsite at Meadowlark Senior Center in Rio Rancho.

County P & Z reappointments

County Manager Debbie Hays recommended reappointments of Todd Hathorne and Ellen Smith for another two-year appointment as planning and zoning commissioners.

Senior Affairs

Council appointment

Rae Siporin was recommended to replace Irene Tafoya as a commissioner on the Senior Affairs Council.

RIO RANCHO CITY BRIEFS

Rainbow Park to get

two new restrooms

Sandoval County gave $40,000 and District 1 city councilor Mike Williams gave $5,000 from his discretionary fund account to the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department to complete ADA restroom facilities at Rainbow Park. Two handicap accessible unisex restrooms will be added to the park and integrated into the existing pool building to take advantage of the existing plumbing infrastructure.

The project includes design development, construction documents, bidding, permitting and construction costs. John Finley is managing the project.

Gross receipts low

The city’s gross receipts taxes continue to lag behind the proposed budget. Results for the third quarter of the Fiscal Year, which ended March 31, show that gross receipts tax revenue is 10.1 percent below the projected budget. The city collected $6,469,878 in the quarter, brining the total amount collected this fiscal year to $20,426,684. The budget, which was approved last May, projected that the city would have $22,717,347 at the end of the third quarter. Property taxes lag behind by .2 percent and franchise fees trail projections by 1.5 percent. At the end of three quarters, the city has collected $36,226,023. Because revenues are down, expenditures have been kept under budget.

The city had budgeted $44,326,407 to be spent by the end of three quarters. The city has spent 6.26 percent less than the budget at $41,551,184.

Grant decreased

The city had to reduce its previously awarded Traffic Records Improvement and Development Statewide Rollout Grant by $42,500. The initial grant was for $91,500 but the final award excludes $42,500 because hand held devices were excluded. The city received the grant because the Rio Rancho police participated in the initial New Mexico Statewide Traffic Records Systems TraCS Evaluation Pilot Project and will be a participant in Phase II of the program. The exclusion, however, will have no impact on the city’s general fund.

Grant accepted

The city received a $30,000 grant from the state’s Department of Transportation, Traffic Safety Bureau. The grant will pay for officer overtime during the “100 Days and Nights of Summer.” The program aims to reduce traffic related injuries and fatalities. The program lasts from June 1 to Sept. 30.

Grant enlarged

The New Mexico Department of Finance increased the existing Enhanced 9-1-1 Grant to the city by $80,000 to be used for consulting services. The city has participated in the Enhanced 9-1-1 Grant Program, which started in July 1, 2005 and ends June 30, 2009.

The program supports the regional dispatch and provides support for system equipment, equipment maintenance, the E-9-1-1 network, consulting services, training, wireless cost recovery and ATM mapping.

New ambulance

Sandoval County is giving the city $120,000 to assist in buying an ambulance for the Fire and Rescue Department. The department provides medical first response and ambulance services for county residents. This will not impact the city’s general fund.

Budget adjustment

for HUD grant

The HUD Community Development Block Grant has $7,142 in unallocated funds in EFB. The money is there because Storehouse West did not use its $15,352 grant, which expired on Dec. 31, 2007. The selection committee recommended reallocating the funds to Code Enforcement Overtime to allow them to continue assisting the elderly and disabled in maintaining their properties.

Joint Utility Bonds

The city will issue New Mexico Joint Utility Revenue Bonds for $13,390,000 and the average interest rate is five percent. The bonds will provide for project costs, debt service reserve funds, costs of issuance, underwriters discount and bond insurance. The bonds finance water and wastewater projects. The majority of the money will be used to buy water rights. In an agreement with the State Engineer, the city is required to acquire 278 acres of water every five to 55 years. The bonds will mature on May 15, 2034, and will be issued in $5,000 denominations. The net revenues of the Water and Wastewater Utility fund will pay for the debt service.

Impact fees down

Impact fees are not meeting budget projections so the city must adjust revenue and expenditure budgets. The Financial Services Department is working with the Development Services Department to determine the factors that are slowing the revenues. One of the reasons is that many of the current home permits are in development areas that do not require impact fees. Road impact fees trail by $1.2 million. Parks impact fee is down by $318,000, Public Safety impact fee lags by $130,000 and Bikeways/Trails impact fees trail by $14,000.

Street sweeper financing

The city accepted a loan from the New Mexico Finance Authority to buy a street sweeper. The loan is $231,639 with a 2.72 percent interest rate. The term is three years and will be paid using the city’s gas tax revenue.

Gross receipt tax refund

OMI refunded $274,696.63 to the city for gross receipts taxes. The city paid the tax from 2000 to 2004 to OMI for operating the city’s water and wastewater systems.

OMI worked with the state to eliminate the need for the city to pay the tax.

The city will use the funds to repair and maintain its wells.

New lift station

The city agreed to a contract with AUI for $2,628,153.74 for the company to construct lift station 14.2. The existing 14.1 lift station at wastewater treatment plant 2 is at capacity and 14.2 will replace it. AUI was the lowest bidder. The new lift station will increase the pumping capacity to the plant.

Waste Management permit

The city supported Waste Management of New Mexico in its approval request for a Solid Waste Facility Permit for the Rio Rancho Landfill. The permit must be approved by the New Mexico Environmental Department. The permit is for 10 years and will allow Waste Management to increase the maximum height of the landfill to 50 feet.

Community meeting results

The data collected from Mayor Tom Swisstack’s community conversation meetings is now available on the city’s Web site at www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us/mayorswisstack. All verbal comments made by residents at each meeting as well as every challenge or solution comment that was submitted in writing are posted. Swisstack conducted 12 public meetings from April 2 to May 8. The meetings were spread over each city council district. Two meetings took place at locations within the boundaries of each district. “My intent behind these meetings was to find out what residents view as the challenges our growing community faces along with the solutions to these challenges. With the feedback I have received, myself and the city council will begin to establish our collective policies and priorities,” said Swisstack. A report detailing what Swisstack will be specifically focusing on based on the input he received will be posted to the city’s Web site in the near future.