By Rodd Cayton
The selection of Siegel Design Architects LLC to provide professional services to Corrales was approved by the Village Council, but only after discussion of whether the spirit of the rules was being followed. Councilors OK’d the one-year professional services agreement, under which Siegel Design is to be paid $49,999.99 — a penny below the threshold for requiring a competitive procurement process.
Councilor Zach Burkett raised concerns after learning that Mayor Fred Hashimoto had enlisted an informal advisory group of five local resident-architects to vet four candidate firms and recommend finalists. I want to vote ‘yes’ for you,” he told firm principal Jonathan Siegel. “I think you are the best fit. I just want to make sure that we are not going to be doing anything that we shouldn’t … and the biggest thing that concerns me now is this fact that we dropped a $50,000 budget by $1 to avoid legal ramifications. It’s like waving a flag in the air that we know that we’re breaking the rules, but look a different direction because we won’t be breaking the rules if we drop this $1. And I want to make this clean.”
Legal staff said the contract was capped at $49,999.99 and legally qualified as a small purchase exemption.
Hashimoto noted that for the last couple of years, the village has had $50,000 in the budget for an on-call professional architect, who would provide advice on different projects. “The $50,000 wasn’t used last year, but I really thought it was important, and I think others do too, to have one,” Hashimoto said.
Siegel, who served six years on Albuquerque’s Environmental Planning Commission, told councilors he will assist village leadership in shaping the landscape of Corrales, including both prioritizing work and evaluating the long-term effects of any proposals. “The village is a gem,” he said. “It is fragile, and any changes to the fabric need to be sensitive to the overall sense of the place. The village is still recognizable with respect to its rural roots and ties to the land. It is precious, and in my opinion, is extremely vulnerable.”
Although several councilors expressed mild discomfort with the informal vetting process, they acknowledged Siegel’s qualifications and unanimously passed the motion.
“If it makes you and the council more comfortable, drop that thing to $40,000, $45,000,” Siegel said. “I’m not doing it for the money. I’m doing it because it’s a fascinating possibility.”