Village councilors in Corrales this evening will revisit a potential loan request for improving the water system.
The council last month discussed seeking $2 million from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) to pay for the improvements, then voted to move toward a proposed ordinance formally requesting the loan.
However, councilors reached that decision only after lamenting a lack of concrete plans stating what form the improvements would take.
Village officials previously said the present system is insufficient and inadequate to meet the village’s needs.
Up for consideration is a request for money that will be loaned only if the village is able to secure water rights. The terms would require Corrales to pay back the loan over 20 years at a 1% interest rate.
Councilor Stuart Murray said last month he found the proposed ordinance vague concerning exactly what the village would do with the money.
He also asked about whether the village would have to pay interest if it took the loan but didn’t end up spending the money.
Mayor Jim Fahey said if the money isn’t spent, it would revert to the NMED, with no penalty to Corrales.
“It’s a real bargain if you borrow the money,” he said. “But we don’t borrow the money unless we do the water rights.”
Councilor John Alsobrook II also expressed concern about the lack of specificity in the proposed resolution, including the absence of a reference to water rights.
The agenda for the meeting also includes a closed-door executive session for “discussion of the purchase, acquisition or disposal of real property or water rights by the public body.”
Fahey told the Corrales Comment in August that his goals include looking into how the village can obtain water rights. Corrales is also in the process of putting together a 40-year water plan, part of which includes an inventory of the water rights the village now has.
That inventory will identify the locations of current wells and of possible future wells.
Councilors will also hear a presentation from Bill Bidal, executive director of Greater Albuquerque Habitat for Humanity.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14
WHERE: Village of Corrales Council Chambers, 4324 Corrales Road VIRTUAL: via Zoom; Meeting ID: 859 5431 6335 Passcode: 181501.