Andrew Oxford
West Alameda Street
West Alameda Street remained closed May 30, 2023 after part of the road caved in during late March.
During the governing body meeting Wednesday night, Santa Fe residents weighed in with mixed reactions to a proposed $25 million bond to improve city roads.
If approved by the City Council, the resolution, sponsored by Mayor Alan Webber and District 2 Councilors Michael Garcia and Carol Romero-Wirth, would place a bond question on the Nov. 5 general election ballot for more than 50 road improvement projects across the city, including repaving Airport Road from Cerrillos Road to 599. In addition to addressing major roads in all four districts, the proposed bond issue also includes a 10% “set aside” for streets in smaller neighborhood projects that would be identified at a later date.
Los Cerros Colorados Homeowners Association President Rod Gould told councilors he supported placing the question on the ballot, characterizing the proposed bond as “an exercise in pure democracy.”
“Our city as we all know is an exceptional city in many ways, but our streets and roads do not measure up. Many of them are unsafe and over a third are categorized as in poor condition. The only way to catch up is to make a major investment in our streets and roads. That means we as property owners must step up and assist,” Gould said. “I would suggest to those that abhor the idea of additional taxes that it’s a matter of pay me now or pay me later because we are paying more for realigning our cars, replacing our tires, repairing our suspensions because of poor-conditioned roads.”
He also suggested that should voters approve the bond, city councilors invest in preventative maintenance; staffing; materials and equipment.
Others who spoke, however, did not respond as favorably. Jared O’Shell noted the increase in property taxes outlined in a fiscal impact report should the bond be approved. That report estimates a $25 increase per year for 20 years for a home with a market value of $500,000. O’Shell said “regular maintenance has lapsed” under the Public Works Department’s mismanagement and under the City Council and the mayor’s watch.
“So the city wants to ask the people to pay for roads that have been neglected to the point of costing considerably more than regular maintenance would have under the department’s mismanagement,” he said. “Where have the taxes and fees that normally cover maintenance gone and why should the people pay more now? Why don’t these people who failed to do their jobs pay for the roads and the people who have been asking them to do their jobs not?”
Public Works Director Regina Wheeler disputes that assessment, telling SFR “a good pavement program includes preservation, repairs and rehabilitation,” all of which her department does.
“We do some of that preservation and repair in house. That’s potholes or sometimes we’ll grind out a whole section of a road,” Wheeler says. “Of course with this bond, we’re saying these improvements are 20-year investments that with maintenance will last us that long. This is a fantastic thing for the City of Santa Fe.”
She adds if the bond is approved by voters and work is completed, “it makes the job for the whole maintenance team smaller,” leading to a “multiplying effect.”
“There will be less potholes that need to be fixed which means they can do an even better job on the maintenance of our roads,” Wheeler says.
Webber seconded this opinion in brief statements during the resolution’s introduction.
“I’m very pleased we can bring this resolution forward to the governing body. By doing these projects now, we will avoid a much higher price tag later,” he said. “It demonstrates good fiscal management and a recognition there is a need to improve our roads and streets.”
Garcia tells SFR he decided to cosponsor the resolution because “any resident of Santa Fe can attest that the majority of our roads are in dire need of either full repair or some type of repair,” and this will allow for resources for the city to begin to update its infrastructure. However, he adds as the bill goes through the committee process, he is interested in seeing if more needs to be invested.
“This is where, and now that we’re going through the process, I’m really going to flush out what our bond capacity is. Do we need to raise the initial amount of 25 million? Are residents interested in that?” Garcia says. “Now is the time where we settle on this figure, and I’ve got deep interest in potentially increasing the amount just based off of the dire need of maintenance and routes throughout the entire city. I really want to encourage the residents to come out and tell us what they think of this proposal, tell us if they think we’re off mark on the roads that have been identified by staff, because now is our opportunity to make the appropriate changes.”
The bill will head to committees before a final vote at the Aug. 14 governing body meeting.
