City official questions Eldorado expense.
The recent decision by a joint city/county board to help pay for a senior center in Eldorado violates the purpose of the fund providing the money.
So says City Councilor Karen Heldmeyer regarding the June 29 allocation of $350,000 by the Regional Planning
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Authority.
"My problem is that the money is supposed to go to projects that will benefit both city
and county," Heldmeyer says.
The RPA distributes money from a fund created through gross receipts taxes. Seventy-five percent of the fund is for water issues; 15 percent for open space and trails; and 10 percent for roads and other projects. There was approximately $960,000 in the fund, prior to the senior center request.
County Commissioner Jack Sullivan, who requested the money, acknowledges the allocation clearly exceeds the designated amount for "other projects." But Sullivan categorizes the senior center situation as an emergency and says the money will be replenished by gross receipts revenue within a year.
According to Sullivan, the county initially received $1 million from county funds and the State Legislature more than a year ago to build the 3,000-square-foot senior center. As construction progressed, the original estimates fell short, and the county
needed an additional $350,000 for furnishings, a fire
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prevention system and to pave the parking lot.
"There was a lag between the time we got the funds and the construction," Sullivan, who represents the county on the RPA with fellow Commissioners Paul Campos, Harry Montoya and Virginia Vigil, says. "We needed to get the additional funds as soon as possible, as opposed to going back to the Legislature next year. That's why we went to the RPA."
Sullivan also says the RPA previously has recommended the city receive substantial money to build up Governor Miles Road and rehabilitate city water wells.
"The RPA has been generous to the city," Sullivan says.
And for good reason, Heldmeyer says, noting that Governor Miles Road was built to facilitate development in both the county and the city and that work on the wells was crucial to keep water taps running for both city and county customers.
"These were both true joint projects," she says. "I don't care if they're under budget or over budget with the senior center. It's not a joint project."
The vote was 4-0 in favor of the allocation; Mayor David Coss, the chairman of the RPA, does not vote. City Councilor Matthew Ortiz abstained. City Councilor Rebecca Wurzburger and County Commissioner Harry Montoya were absent.
Ortiz tells SFR he wasn't comfortable voting because, among other reasons, the money allocated for the center initially was earmarked for Siler Road and he wanted further discussion on the issue.
"I thought instead of stalling the project and adding to the acrimony between the city and county, it was better for me to abstain," Ortiz says.
Chavez, who voted to approve the money, acknowledges Heldmeyer's point.
"I'm not second guessing my vote, but I'm not totally comfortable with it either," Chavez says. "But we know that the county is struggling to provide services to its senior residents and, at the same time, the $350,000 is going to go back into the RPA fund through gross receipts taxes."
For Heldmeyer, that logic is not enough to sway her from sharply criticizing the RPA: "No matter how desirable, a senior center in Eldorado only benefits people outside the city limits. It's not reasonable to think that this is what the money was intended for."
