2016 – A year of ups and downs
Romero convicted, hospital mill levy defeated
The city of Rio Rancho and Sandoval County experienced some highs and lows in 2016. Here are 10 of the year’s top stories as selected by the Observer staff:
1. ROMERO CONVICTED AND SENTENCED IN BENNER SLAYING
The convicted killer of Rio Rancho Police officer Gregg Benner was sentenced to life in prison without parole, plus 20 years, on Sept. 30, 16 months after the shooting.
“You will die in prison,” said 13th Judicial District Judge George Eichwald as he sentenced Andrew Romero for the Memorial Day 2015 slaying that stunned the City of Vision. The courtroom was filled with police officers and Benner’s supporters.
A week earlier, a jury of nine women and three men found Romero guilty of first-degree murder of a police officer and other lesser offenses for shooting and killing Benner during a traffic stop on Pinetree Road.
According to testimony during the two-week trial, moved to Valencia County because of the intense publicity the case received in Sandoval County, Romero shot Benner after the officer pulled over Romero and Tabitha Littles, Romero’s former girlfriend. They were on a two-month drug binge
they funded by robbing about 10 business, mainly fast-food restaurants.
Romero and Littles were on their way to rob a Twisters when Benner stopped them.
Littles was also sentenced on Sept. 30. Eichwald sentenced her to 16 years and she will be able to cut that sentence in half if she behaves well while in prison.
“Every night since May 25 has been cold and lonely,” said Julie Benner, the officer’s widow.
In November, Eichwald added 40 years to Romero’s sentence under a state law that allows judges to enhance a three-time habitual offender’s sentence.
Records show Romero had previously been convicted of crimes including involuntary manslaughter, drug trafficking and aggravated assault. Eichwald added eight years for each of Romero’s five felony convictions in the Benner case.
2. HOSPITAL MILL LEVY EXTENSION DEFEATED AT POLLS
County voters in November rejected the proposed eight-year extension of a 4.25 mill levy to support the two medical centers in Sandoval County.
The levy, which has supported operations at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center, was defeated by a 51.4 percent to 48.5 percent margin. It was passed initially in 2008 with a 53 percent to 47 percent advantage.
Generating about $13.5 million annually, the tax has cost the owner of a home with an assessed value of $200,000 about $282 a year. Overall, it has generated about $110 million, which has been almost evenly apportioned between the two hospitals.
Advocates for renewing the levy — among them, county commissioners, the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, the mayors of several county communities and the Rio Rancho YES group — argued the hospitals have provided high-quality, close-tohome medical care for county residents, as well as hundreds of new jobs and spin-off economic development.
Opponents of the levy, which included the Rio Rancho TEA Party, argued that, by now, the hospitals should have been positioned to pay their own way.
“We are disappointed that the mill levy did not pass because without these county funds we may not be able to maintain all the services we provide today and the expanded services we had hoped to provide,” RMC Administrator Angela Ward said after the vote.
3. CLUB RIO RANCHO REPORTEDLY SHUTS OUT THE LIGHTS
Club Rio Rancho was reportedly closing its doors after today, following a year in which plans to sell the North Nine golf course for residential development fell through — and the club ran up a tab of more than $300,000 in unpaid city water bills.
The club and golf course have been a community mainstay for 46-plus years.
In April, a Pulte Homes representative presented development plans for the dormant North Nine, proposing a $3.2 million, 145-home development. Amid opposition by a neighborhood group, the North Nine Association, that development would impinge on views and devalue their property, Pulte reduced the number of homes and separated the development into three separate parcels.
At the time, club owner Jhett Browne maintained the North Nine sale was critical to keep the golf course open, saying the sale would help pay off $3 million in loans and the money he owed the city for unpaid recycled water bills.
The North Nine Association wouldn’t accept Pulte’s plan, indicating it would go to court to stop the needed city zone change for the development. Application for a zone change was never made.
The club closed the remaining 18 holes of the course at the beginning of December, according to sources at the country club and former club shareholder Bob Gallagher.
Gallagher said Browne stopped watering and maintaining the west nine holes for cost savings in September. The remaining nine holes stopped receiving water on Dec. 1.
City spokeswoman Annemarie Garcia said the club owes the city $357,532.53 in water services and penalties.
On Dec. 22, Browne alerted club members and employees that the site would cease all operations and shut down on Jan. 1, according to sources at the club and Gallagher.
4. SANDRIDGE BACKS AWAY FROM EXPLORATORY DRILL
Oklahoma-based SandRidge Energy in February withdrew its controversial application for a zone change to allow for an oil exploration and production well west of Rio Rancho.
Following two months of public meetings and a decision by the Sandoval County Commission to remand SandRidge’s application to the county’s planning and zoning commission for further questioning, the energy company sent a letter to the county administration stating its decision to remove their application.
David Kimmel, SandRidge director of communications, said the company planned “to focus its time, energy and resources on its proven MidContinent and Colorado assets.”
SandRidge filed the zone change request in November 2015. The company anticipated drilling to a depth of 10,500 feet on two privately owned acres in the Rio Rancho Estates area.
The application touched off a major public backlash — large crowds attended meetings at the Sandoval County administrative office in January and February with opponents, concerned about impacts on nearby communities and the environment without sufficient regulations in place — lashing out at the proposed drill.
Despite SandRidge’s withdrawal, Sandoval County and City of Rio Rancho officials are both working to create oil and gas ordinances.
5. ECONOMIC UPS AND DOWNS
It was an up-and-down year on the economic development front, with jitter-causing layoff announcements, store closings and the opening of new businesses.
In April, Intel Corp. announced plans to lay off about 12,000 employees from its global operations, or about 11 percent of the company’s total workforce, triggering weeks of local anxiety about how the Rio Rancho plant would be affected.
The plant had about 1,900 employees at the time, a number that has steadily declined over the past several years.
In May, it sent layoff notices to some Rio Rancho employees, but has remained mum about how many workers would be affected. One worker’s notice read that the worker’s employment would be terminated “due to site closures or consolidation” and went on to say “the expected date for the site closure or consolidation is Dec. 31.”
The company has continued to decline to discuss workforce or plant changes at any company sites.
In June, the Albertsons supermarket on Southern Boulevard closed, a company representative saying, “It was determined it would be best for us to close that location to strengthen our operational efficiencies.” Many of the store’s 80 employees were assigned to other store locations.
In July, Hastings announced it was closing and liquidating all locations by the end of October, including its long-time location in Hilltop Plaza. There was brighter news. Retail development continued in the Unser corridor as well as the Plaza at Enchanted Hills.
In June, PCM, Californiabased technology solutions company, announced plans to move into a portion of the HP building in City Center and bring 224 jobs for a call and sales center.
Later that month, Safelite AutoGlass, a nationwide provider of vehicle glass repair and replacement services, announced plans to open a customer contact center in the former Sprint building, creating more than 900 jobs.
PCM and Safelite are expected to bring a $34.5 million annual payroll to the city, combined.
6. PARADE OF ELECTIONS
2016 featured a seemingly endless parade of political campaigns and elections, with a municipal election and runoff in the spring, primaries in June and a general election in November.
Voters also went to the polls to decide an $84 million bond issue for CNM in February and a Rio Rancho Public Schools $60 million bond issue in August. Both measures passed.
In the Rio Rancho municipal election in March, city voters approved 10 of 11 proposed charter amendments, rejecting the measure that would have substantially increased the pay for mayors and councilors elected in 2018 and after.
They also approved a $9 million road bond.
The election, though, produced only one outright winner in the races for three council seats, with former Councilor Marlene Feuer easily winning in District 4.
Former Mayor Jim Owen emerged as the winner for the District 1 council seat in an April runoff against political newcomer Joshua Hernandez. Neither gained more than 50 percent of the vote in their district to win outright in the regular election.
Incumbent Lonnie Clayton lost his seat in a runoff with former Councilor David Bency in a bitterly contested race. Highlighting the campaign was a claim Bency made with Rio Rancho police that Clayton had damaged one of his campaign signs. Clayton filed a complaint against Bency for making a false report after police could not substantiate Bency’s claim. Just before the runoff, police filed a misdemeanor false report complaint against Bency. A six-person magistrate court jury found Bency guilty. He was sentenced to one year unsupervised probation and ordered to pay $120 in court costs.
There was a non-election change on the governing body as well. Shelby Smith stepped down from his District 5 seat in July. Jennifer Flor was appointed to serve the remaining two years in his term.
In November, voters elected three new Sandoval County commissioner: Jay Block of Rio Rancho beat incumbent Nora Scherzinger in District 2; Dave Heil of Rio Rancho topped Alexis Jimenez in District 4; and F. Kenneth Eichwald of Cuba was unopposed in District 5.
Two incumbents, Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya and County Clerk Eileen Garbagni, retained their seats.
County voters also rejected the proposed extension of a 4.25 mill levy to support Presbyterian Rust Medical Center and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center, but approved a $21 million flood control bond.
7. IMPROVEMENTS MADE TO ROAD SYSTEM
Residents saw their city address the deteriorating conditions on some of its most heavily traveled roads as well as rebuild or construct new projects in 2016.
A $7.5 million reconstruction of Idalia Road between Iris Road and NM 528 was completed in the fall. The project created a two-lane divided road with storm drain system, bike lanes, sidewalks and curbs and gutters and installation of traffic signal at Idalia and Camino Encantadas. Construction began in November 2015.
Shortly after the Idalia reopening, city officials clipped the ribbon marking completion of a $3.25 million segement of Broadmoor Boulevard between Northern Boulevard and Paseo del Volcan. The two-lane extension provides alternative access to Rio Rancho’s City Center and Sandoval Regional Medical Center and officials are hopeful it sparks new development along the Broadmoor corridor.
Residents saw the fruits of the road bond issue passed in March when the city completed a $934,188 rehab of Sara Road in December. The project, begun in early October, involved milling three inches of the asphalt, sealing of existing cracks and the laying down of new asphalt. Curb ramps were constructed at intersections to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In late November, work began on the $5 million High Resort Boulevard reconstruction project between Broadmoor and NM 528. About $4 million of the fund derives from the road bond passed in March.
The project, which is replacing deteriorating pavement with new pavement, providing new sidewalks and a multi-use path as well as new water lines and updated curb ramps, is scheduled to be finished in May.
8. PAY RAISES FOR FUTURE ELECTED OFFICIALS
The Rio Rancho Governing Body adopted an ordinance in August that will raise the pay of city officials elected in 2018 and after.
The ordinance sets the mayor’s salary at the most current median household income level for Rio Rancho in 2018 as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Based on 2014 census information, the mayor’s salary will increase from its current $30,402 a year to $59,243.
City councilors’ annual salaries will be set at 28 percent of the median household income in 2018, increasing to $16,588. Councilors elected in 2014 (districts 2, 3 and 5) currently earn $15,201 annually while those elected in 2016 (districts 1, 4 and 6) earn $16,127.
The council action followed a decision by voters in March rejecting a proposed charter amendment to raise pay for the mayor and city council.
The amendment would have raised the mayor’s annual salary to the city’s mean household income of $74,099 and city council members to 35 percent of the mean household income, at $25,934.65.
Not long after the pay raise ordinance was approved, the council adopted a resolution moved by Councilor Jim Owen to create a charter review committee to look at the pay question again. Owen said he was concerned about how adoption of the pay raise ordinance might be confusing to voters after the charter amendment was turned down in March.
The committee subsequently recommended no changes in the salaries set by ordinance, but proposed putting them in the charter, which would require a public vote before they could be changed. The council did not accept the recommendation and sent the matter back to the committee.
The committee returned to the council without new recommendations and was disbanded in December.
9. A PARK (SOARS) ABOVE THE OTHERS
Rio Rancho’s unique A Park Above, designed to be accessible to children of all abilities, opened ahead of schedule in February.
The park sits on six acres off Westside Boulevard, across from Rust Medical Center, and features equipment designed to be therapeutic and offer children an opportunity to relax or practice motor skills.
The park is complete with special playground equipment, such as swings that are wheelchair-accessible (rather than a seat, they have a platform large enough to hold a wheelchair), as well as a few rules to promote the safety of all children — for example, the only wheels allowed in the park are strollers and wheelchairs, because bicycles and skateboards could potentially frighten those with special needs or cause a collision.
Also included are a water splash pad open during the summer, exercise equipment and a dog park, which was built on the same principle of inclusiveness – this time, for canines.
A Park Above is the first of its kind in New Mexico, and to celebrate the milestone, Gov. Susanna Martinez was on hand for the official opening in May.
The project was headed up by Jennie Schulte Riedl, community chairwoman for the Rio Rancho Rotary Club, after she visited a similar park in Lakeland, Fla., and dreamed of an all-inclusive playground in the City of Vision. In October 2013, the city broke ground for A Park Above and construction began three months later in January 2014.
A Park Above made Albuquerque the Magazine’s 2016 “Best of the City Parks” topfive, as well as the magazine’s list of “Fun Things to Do in Albuquerque.”
10. CITY SETTLES LAWSUIT WITH CURB
The Rio Rancho Governing Body in February approved a $280,000 settlement agreement with Curb North Inc., ending a lawsuit filed by the company over the two-year impact moratorium imposed by the city in 2012.
Curb North, the developer of the Cabezon subdivision, filed a lawsuit against the city in September 2012, shortly after the governing body approved a 24-month moratorium on residential impact fees and all of commercial impact fees in an attempt to stimulate economic growth.
Curb originally sought $5.6 million in damages, arguing that the moratorium rendered accumulated impact fee credits worthless and caused the developer financial harm.
Impact fees are charges developers pay to the city to cover the cost of major systemlevel improvements to handle the growth their developments will bring. Developers can sell impact fee credits to other developers to recover some of their expenses.
Although a state district judge dismissed three of four claims against the city in March 2014, the judge held that the moratorium constituted a “government taking” in violation of state law.
The court ruled, though, a final judgment would not be issued until it determined the amount of damages, which was to be decided at a trial that has been scheduled in February.