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At its upcoming meeting on Feb. 13, the Village of Corrales Town Council, and interested citizens, will hear from its bond counsel about how the Village may go about handling the three bonds that were approved by voters in the November election.
The bond counsel will help the Governing Body decide when they want to purchase bonds for land preservation, a firehouse and for roads and flooding mitigation, as well as for what duration of time the bonds would be paid off.
Last November Corrales voters comfortably approved three bond sales: $2 million for farmland and open space preservation, and $1 million each for Fire Station No. 3 and efforts to improve roads and drainage.
Jill Sweeney and Matt Hogan with Albuquerque’s Sherman & Howard law firm have been working with the Village on its bonding and will be at the next Council meeting to answer questions.
The Council talked a little about the subject during its Jan. 23 meeting, with most of the discussion centering around the farmland and open space bond. The funding will allow the Village to purchase easements that will ensure no buildings are constructed there and help maintain the semi-rural environment.
A note to the Council from Farmland Preservation and Agriculture Commission co-chairs Lisa Brown and Sam Thompson said several properties have already been identified. “These properties likely will equal or possibly exceed the voter approved bond for farmland preservation purposes,†they wrote while recommending that the Council issue the bonds in their full amount right away.
Mayor Jim Fahey said the bond counsel had already advised that the sale could take place in May or June. The Council has a choice to either release some or all of the funds right away and whether the bonds should be paid off over either two- or four-year periods.
Councilor Zach Burkett, who sits in with the Commission, said he was inclined to issue bonds for the entire two million as soon as possible. “We should fund that as quick as we can so we can start having conversations,†he said.
The closing on easements from property owners who will retain ownership of the land has to take place at the same time as the bond sales.
Councilor Stuart Murray said he’d like to see the list of properties not included in the meeting packet. If there were enough that purchasing easements on all of them would exceed the $2 million, he wondered if they were to be prioritized. Councilor John Alsobrook said the properties should all be inspected with the criteria for suitable candidates kept in mind.
Burkett said the list was of only “viable†properties for easements.
Fire Chief Anthony Martinez said there was still $300,000 left over from a previous allocation to complete the design work at Fire Station No. 3 that had to be spent before the end of the fiscal year, June 30. “Then we can look at construction,†he said.
Martinez said the building will include a small office and storage room, as well as three bays for trucks. He said the building would primarily be used to store equipment. It would look like a fire substation, but would not be staffed.
The chief said there was a lot of thought being put into aesthetics. He said the site plan is being amended and that he would be checking in with Planning & Zoning to see what variances might be required.
Mayor Fahey said the project was budgeted for $1.3 million, so the $1 million approved by voters should get it close to being fully funded.
There was less talk about roads and flood mitigation. Fahey said that one of the problems Public Works Director Michael Chavez encounters is arranging for contractors to do the work.
Separate from the discussion of bonds but related to roads, Councilor Bill Woldman asked whether Sagebrush Road would be repaved now that the work has been completed on Cabezon Road. He also asked whether there was any word from the state Department of Transportation about replacing signage along the road.
Chavez said that it generally takes about three weeks for the signs to show up and that he would check with them again. He said he would “push†the contractor about starting on Sagebrush.