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The Village of Corrales could take legal action to recover additional costs incurred with the installation of the yet-to-be-opened animal shelter at the Village Administrative Complex.
At the Village Council meeting on Jan. 11, Village Administrator Ron Curry gave a detailed report on the situation involving the Village, a local contractor, the out-of-state builder on the shelter, and the state’s Regulation and Licensing Department’s Construction Industries Division.
Pennsylvania-based Horizon Structures LLC appears to be in the doghouse over the matter. Curry described a recent meeting between the parties he said became tense when a representative with CID asked Horizon what other structures they have in New Mexico.
“Horizon said, ‘We’re not going to tell you,’†Curry said, adding that the remark created tension. “Regulators don’t like to be pushed around the block.â€
As has been previously reported in the Comment, Sandoval County bought an identical model from Horizon that’s in use at the county complex. It was installed without issue in the spring of 2021 and was looked at by building inspectors with the City of Rio Rancho, according to the County.
Horizon didn’t win much favor with the Village either. Curry said it took the company two and a half months to respond to a request from Facility Build for design plans they needed not only to plan the work it had to do, but to prepare documents CID required before opening the building.
Curry said the shelter was essentially a manufactured home and had to meet state standards for those types of dwellings. He suggested that Horizon was to blame for not providing Corrales with a structure that would meet state regulations.
“Horizon, it’s our belief, perhaps did not do due diligence in New Mexico,†he said.
Curry went through the timeline of the project, beginning with the first quote the Village received from Horizon in June 2022. The agreement with Facility Build to prepare the site in February of last year. Work started the next month and the concrete slab foundation and wall were ready when the building arrived on Aug. 31. Pursuant to the terms of the contract, Horizon placed the structure on the slab.
Facility Build and its plumbing and heating contractors were making modifications to the building when on Sept. 29 a state building inspector red tagged the building and “everything stopped,†Curry said.
The state requires manufactured housing to meet certain requirements and state building codes. “None of those happened through Horizon,†Curry said. The Village anticipated the structure would meet the state regulations but, “They were not.â€
Curry said the Village was now working diligently with locally owned Facility Build, LLC to ensure the animal shelter meets state standards for building codes.
“We’ll work with them to be sure we get exactly what the state needs,†he said, adding that the target is a late March or early April opening.
“When it’s approved and everything is signed on the dotted line, we can move forward,†added Mayor Jim Fahey.
At a previous meeting, councilors expressed alarm that Facility Build had been paid $120,000 for its role in preparing the site – which included the construction of a concrete slab, block wall, fencing. At that meeting, Councilor Bill Woldman asked Curry to respond to a series of questions he would send via email. Curry’s report at the Jan. 9 meeting was in response to those inquiries.
The Village agreed to purchase the portable structure from Horizon in 2022 for $85,000. It budgeted $180,000 to prepare the site and the necessary plumbing and electric work to get the shelter operational.
Curry itemized what’s been paid to Facility Build so far: about $47,000 for the site work and concrete foundation; $32,000 for the new block wall, and $36,000 for plumbing work and to hook up to the Village’s water and wastewater systems. He said there is still $56,000 in the fund to cover remaining costs.
But what needs to be spent to get the shelter open is expected to exceed that amount. He indicated the Village would “seek relief†if the Village, in consultation with Village Attorney Randy Autio, determined it was not at fault for the additional costs. He noted the building had a five-year warranty and that the Village notified Horizon of issues within the required 60 days of installation.
“We’ll use every resource to make it happen,†he said of getting the facility open. “When and if we have to use the services of Randy Autio, we will do that as well to protect the interests of the Village.â€
At the end of the discussion, Councilor Woldman thanked Curry for looking into the matter that had raised councilor’s concerns last month.
“It’s an unfortunate situation but not surprising these requirements have to be met,†he said.