Saturday, March 1, 2008

Belen forum addresses water, growth and development

Clara Garcia, Julia Dendinger and Jackie Schlotfeldt News-Bulletin Staff Writers

Belen About 65 people showed up to hear from the five candidates running for two seats on the Belen City Council Thursday night about their thoughts on a variety of topics including economic development, mass transit and water.

The forum, which was sponsored by the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce, was held in the Belen High School auditorium. Linda Hixon acted as moderator.

Voters will cast their ballots for the five candidates, Jerah Cordova, Wayne Gallegos, Rudy Jaramillo, Dianne Mattson and Jeff Trembly, on Tuesday, March 4.

In your opinion, what is the best rate of growth for Belen?

Cordova, a secretary for the Los Lunas School District, said: "What I think this community needs right now is growth. I don't know how you quantify the amount of growth that I would like to see or that anyone would like to see, but what I can say is we need significant growth on the level of what we see in Los Lunas."

Gallegos, a retired fire chief, also said he'd like the community to grow and that Belen is in a position where it will be accepted. He also said that the city has a comprehensive plan, but a master plan is needed to project for future growth.

"Growth is needed," he said. "It nurtures business and the population, which is great for gross receipts tax. I'd like to say I'm not in favor of rapid growth and (later on) we have to accept it and not have any plans for it."

Jaramillo, a business owner and one of two incumbents in this race, said the city already has a set plan for growth, which he says is moving in a positive direction. He also said that he knows of property owners who have raised their rents so high that new businesses can't afford it.

"We, as a governing body, have done some things such as annexed properties that have been beneficial to the City of Belen," Jaramillo said. "I feel that, without growth, the community dies. We have many things that have been occurring through economic development to try to get new business into the City of Belen."

Mattson, a retired schoolteacher, said she doesn't mind growth, but feels that the city needs to take care of the existing infrastructure first. She said she was concerned when she heard that the developer of Rancho Cielo, a planned 6,000-acre community annexed into Belen, talk about a town center in the new development.

"I don't know if he's thinking of moving Belen over to the mesa on the other side of I-25, but that's a big concern of mine," Mattson said. "What is going to happen in the town ... that we know as Belen now? I want to make sure that we come up with ideas to save Belen and keep it the wonderful small town that it is."

Trembly, who is running for re-election and is a school counselor, said growth needs to be slow and steady. He said Belen does need positive growth that will be sustained by families.

"We need business that will help the gross receipts tax," Trembly said. "Without gross receipts tax ... any town in the state of New Mexico and the United States will die. We need to keep business coming in and support new businesses by shopping with them. It's hard, it's not easy — it's a long, steady road.

Where will our water come from in 20 years?

Jaramillo said water is a big issue, not only in Belen but also all over the country. With the dry conditions in New Mexico, he said, "we as people need to conserve and study the issue further."

Mattson said the issue of water becoming scarce is of big concern to her, and one of the problems is when ranchers and farmers sell their water rights, yet some continue to use the water. "Something has to happen so that we preserve the water in the valley so it's not sold off," she said.

Trembly agreed the issue of water is serious and maybe there could be tax incentives for low flow toilets as well as penalties for overwatering yards to the point where the water is running down the streets. "I think we need to start locally," he said.

Cordova said a report he's read explains that water will come from the Santa Fe aquifer, and currently there is 30 million acre feet of water in it. "We're going to have to create storage systems within the city limits to hold the water for the future," he said. "We have to plan for it." He went on to say that the report said the surface water will be depleted over the next 20 years but with the there's enough water to sustain the community now if growth is controlled.

Gallegos said he is pushing for master planning that will envision the needs for up to at least 20 years. He said the plan could be workable and could change as issues arise.

"We use a lot of water," he said. "We don't have it in our heads to conserve water. I know the city has 5.5 million gallons available to us for firefighting and regular use, and I know we're not maxed out on that."

What are your ideas for a flood plan or is it felt that we've had out 100-year flood and the issue won't come up again for generations?

Jaramillo chuckled, saying that Belen seemed to flood every other year. "Our town is in a bowl, and every time it rains, the water runs down off the mesa," he said. "This goes back to the proper maintenance of the ditches. If maintenance isn't taken care of ditches, there will be more flooding."

Working with the conservancy district and looking at its emergency plan for flooding was something Mattson proposed. She said she appreciated that all around high school and recreation areas, there were ponds to collect water and suggested that that idea be extended to other parts of the city.

Trembly reminded those attending the forum that the city had made great strides improving the drains in Belen. "There were parts of town that were horrendous when it rained," he said. "Now that water isn't there anymore and it's better." He continued, saying that with water in the magnitude of what was seen in 2005, even improved drains won't help. Trembly said it was an ongoing project to keep floods away.

In his walking around the community and knocking on doors, Cordova said, he noticed homes with sandbags permanently in place. "That is unacceptable. We need to focus on the current infrastructure and improve it before we reach out and add something new," he said. "There is $3 million for a North Belen interchange. That money could be better spent for flood control."

Gallegos said his No. 1 priority would be the implementation of a flood authority board, to ensure the safety of citizens. "As am emergency services coordinator, I've seen flooding throughout the county," he said. "If nothing else, I'd like to issue a challenge. Whoever gets in, you have to do something. The storm drainage plan needs to continue and be enhanced."

Where, in the city's budget, is there money for more police officers?

Cordova said that the city needs prioritize its spending and ensure that money is put into things that are needed. He said Belen is losing officers to Los Lunas and Albuquerque "because they get better pay up there." He suggested that the city look into providing free housing to officers in order to supplement some of their income.

Gallegos said there are law enforcement grants available to fund police departments, which Belen already uses. He said the city has a $7 million budget, which is divided between various departments. He said other cities are offering bonuses to certified police officers, but added that Belen has a very good retirement plan.

Jaramillo said in order to get money in the budget for more police officers, more businesses need to come in order to raise the city's gross receipts revenue.

"Our officers, I feel, need to be the top paid people in our city," Jaramillo said. "And the only way we can do that is if we take care of our officers. We do offer housing to our police officers — there's many city properties that police officers live in to try and keep our officers to keep them from going to Los Lunas or Albuquerque. We have a good retirement plan for them and a good insurance plan for them."

Mattson said one of her ideas is to apply for additional grants for extra money. She also suggested that the department should travel and recruit retiring or retired officers from other areas who may want to relocate to Belen and work for a second retirement.

Trembly said Belen's police department is one of the best in the state, saying that it is one of five in the state that have received its certification. He said pay is always an issue, but the city is working on it.

"(Police Chief Mike Chavez) has put some things in a plan that really entices our officers to stay and work for a 20-year retirement," Trembly said.

How can we improve mass transit here in Belen and in cooperation with, say, Los Lunas and smaller communities to the south?

Working with different companies coming into the area is something Mattson said needs to be done in order to improve mass transit. "I think more businesses would like to have transportation to their company," she said. "I think we have to have the chamber of commerces of the areas work together to see how they can provide transportation to people, especially those starting at minimum wage. It's very difficult to afford transportation and secure a place to live and food."

Sometimes getting around Valencia County can be tough, but the Rail Runner has been beneficial in getting people out of Belen and to work in other places, as well as bringing them to Belen to work Trembly said.

He added that there are also two buses to help transport senior citizens to appointments.

"As far as working with Los Lunas, we've had a couple of meetings and we are trying to pool funds to have one transit for Valencia County to get people out and about," Trembly said.

Cordova said he thinks mass transit needs to be supported, and he'd like to see the community more walkable by having more sidewalks friendly to pedestrians.

"I think the Rail Runner is something the community can use in the long term, not only, as Jeff said, in letting people work where they want but in bringing people down," he said. "One disappointing thing I've heard is the city doesn't provide adequate transportation for people who arrive here from Albuquerque. We need to encourage a system that is consistent within the city that will allow people to come down on the Rail Runner."

Gallegos said some of the mass transit that is available for seniors and those with special needs is limited in the times it runs but that could be improved. He said the city needs to use more of the regional concept where the Council of Governments helps with master planning and regional transit. "Master planning is going to be a part of this," he said.

Jaramillo said he has been involved with the New Mexico Department of Transportation to pilot a program that is trying to figure out how to get people around.

"Working with other municipalities and putting a transportation plan under one umbrella is something that is in the works," Jaramillo said. "The Rail Runner is something that's worked positively for this area, and it's also being looked at and addressed."

Do you think that annexation of Rancho Cielo was a good idea? Why?

"Since I voted for it, I better say yes," Trembly said. "Yes, I do and I'll tell you why." he said that the development of Rancho Cielo will take between 10 to 15 years to develop completely and his concern for that development was controlled growth. "It will enhance Belen and enhance gross receipts and we'll have the control over it we need," he said.

Cordova said he thinks it was a mistake annex all of it instead of taking it in steps. He said the way the plan is written is in phases and he thinks the council needs to make sure they take it in phases as well.

"There are aspects of Rancho Cielo that could harm the community if we're not careful," he said. "There are 200 acres of business that could be good for the community or it could be bad for Main Street. We cannot be sure. We have to take it in slow steps."

There are pros and cons when you accept a development, Gallegos said. He went on to say that we want nourishment for our community and we want to keep Main Street alive, but when it's in our back yard it's a different story.

"It's here now, we need to move on with it and control the growth of it," he said. "It all goes back to that."

Jaramillo said if the city didn't annex the development, then Los Lunas would have been offered the annexation or it would have stayed in the county and then there would have been more issues with wells and septic systems.

"By being annexed into the city it is controlled by the city, and we will have a wastewater treatment system for the development," Jaramillo said.

One of Mattson's concern is that the city follow up with the development because it has to have water rights in order to develop.

"It doesn't mean the development will grow rapidly," Mattson said. "The other thing is I was looking at a map and the city limits and we have Belen here and the annexation over there. What is best for those people and for Belen and the development? I think we need to study it before we will know the answers."

Other questions were asked about the development of rental properties, working with the converancy district and and a second audience question about economic development.

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