Bosque Farms council discuss possible property annexation

BOSQUE FARMS — The flogging of a metaphorical deceased equine continued at the final meeting of the year of the Bosque Farms Village Council.

Once again, the council discussed the proposed annexation of a piece of property on the south side of the village by the town of Peralta. This is the second month in a row the annexation has been on the agenda without council action.

Earlier this year, Peralta gave informal notification to Bosque Farms it would like to annex 2500 Bosque Farms Blvd. into it’s jurisdiction since it bought the property in July 2024 to use as a community center. Formerly J&L’s Country Kitchen, the building has been sitting empty for about 16 years.

At the February Bosque Farms council meeting, then clerk/administrator Michael Limon expressed hesitation about letting the annexation happen, citing the possible loss of property tax revenue for the village. The council voted 4-0 to postpone any action on the annexation until more research could be done and it received a formal request for annexation from Peralta.

At their March 11 council meeting, Peralta councilors approved a resolution requesting the annexation of the property, with consent from Bosque Farms, as well Peralta Boulevard along the southern boundary of the property.

According to the March resolution, Peralta is also willing to fully assume maintenance for the entirety of Peralta Drive — even the part within Bosque Farms — a short street located north of the community center property but not adjacent to the land, “as a good faith gesture.”

At the December council meeting, Bosque Farms Mayor Chris Gillespie said a question remains about gross receipts taxes from the property being lost by the village if it agreed to let Peralta annex the land.

“This item was added to the agenda for a second month for discussion,” Gillespie said. “Action was removed because an answer to the GRT question has to be presented for the council to consider.”

He then postulated that if Peralta “runs short of funds” the community center property would “be the first thing to liquidate and all the tax revenue would go to Peralta.”

Councilor Tim Baughman said if anyone was at the November meeting, they know he doesn’t disagree with the annexation. Last month, the councilor said while there may be concerns about lost tax revenue, the property hasn’t generated GRT for more than 15 years, and now that it belonged to Peralta, another government agency, there wouldn’t be any property taxes generated either.

“It doesn’t matter what we do with the annexation as far as taxes go; we get zero from it,” Baughman said. “The proposed agreement would let Peralta take a small street (Peralta Drive) — it doesn’t let them take it into Peralta, but it lets them do maintenance and repair — in exchange for annexation. That’s money we wouldn’t have to spend on the road and provide a service to residents.”

At the November meeting, Bosque Farms Councilor Erica De Smet asked what happened to planned conversations between Gillespie and Peralta Mayor Bryan Olguin.

“Back in June, the mayor said he would meet with Mayor Olguin,” De Smet said. “How did those meetings go?”

Gillespie said the meetings never happened. Steve Robbins, Peralta’s treasurer, was at the November meeting and said it wasn’t because of the mayor of Peralta.

“His calls were not returned,” Robbins told the council.

Saying the annexation has been on the agenda for “months and months and months and months,” De Smet asked it be put on the December agenda for action. De Smet did not attend the December meeting.

Again pointing out the village hasn’t received GRT from the property in years, Baughman said during the December meeting the council can’t look ahead to a possible financial bind for Peralta that might cause the sale of the property.

“It’s not our job to forecast that,” he said.

Councilor Ronita Wood asked if the village gets GRT from commercial events held at the center or if it’s rented out. Village attorney Nann Winters said if the building was renovated or underwent construction, GRT would be paid, as well as from rental usage.

Gillespie said after a conversation with an auditor with the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, there is some GRT paid into a government pool which the village would receive if the property stayed in Bosque Farms’ jurisdiction.

“Once it moves to Peralta, we wouldn’t have to charge that and wouldn’t collect any due from the property,” the mayor said. “That’s one reason we didn’t put this on (the agenda) as an action item and haven’t for the last little bit.”

Robbins also attended the December Bosque Farms council meeting, and offered some clarification on the GRT situation. He said there is something called GGRT — governmental gross receipts taxes — that municipalities have to charge when municipal property is leased or rented.

The GGRT is 5 percent and goes into a pool that is split among the 106 municipalities in New Mexico, he said.

“If Peralta rents the center for $500, $25 goes into the pool. When it comes to GRT, should Peralta rent it out for a crafts fair, those vendors do charge GRT to whoever purchases their products, which is 8.3 percent for both Bosque Farms and Peralta,” Robbins said. “The municipalities receive 2.2 percent; for every $1,000 of revenue from a vendor, the village gets $20.20.”

With all the talk about GRT, former Bosque Farms mayor and current planning and zoning commission chairwoman Sharon Eastman asked how much property tax is generated by the property. Municipalities don’t pay property taxes and, according to property tax records, the village collected $724 in taxes on the property for the 2024 tax year.

“I just don’t think there’s enough meat on that bone to worry about it,” Baughman said as discussion wrapped up.

Gillespie added he didn’t see a reason to “do either at this time. We can let it sit for another year, but I would rather not.”