County OKs $225K for Española recreational facilities

$150,000 will be given to Lucero Center to fix pool

Santa Fe County commissioners on Tuesday approved $225,000 for repair and improvements at recreational facilities owned by the city of Española.

The bulk of the funds — $150,000 — will go to the Richard Lucero Recreation Center, where the swimming pool has been closed since May, according to Maria Sandoval, the program supervisor there. The other $75,000 will be used to buy new playground equipment at Valdez Park.

Española, which straddles the boundary with Rio Arriba County, is one of three incorporated municipalities in Santa Fe County, along with Santa Fe and Edgewood.

A memo outlining the improvements and funding request says the facilities serve northern Santa Fe County residents and Española residents alike. Up to 4,000 children use Valdez Park for recreation each year, the memo states, and the Lucero Center’s gymnasium and pool serve Santa Fe County residents, too.

Last year, some residents of Española neighborhoods within Santa Fe County, with encouragement from Rio Arriba County officials, began circulating a petition to secede from Santa Fe County. Backers of the idea said they could receive better services from Rio Arriba County for the approximately $1 million in taxes generated annually in that part of Española, which has one of the highest gross receipts tax rates in the state.

Santa Fe County commissioners in June voted to raise the countywide gross receipts tax rate by one-eighth of a cent per dollar spent on a taxable transaction starting Jan. 1. The commission also scheduled a special election for Sept. 19 to see if voters are willing to pay an additional one-sixteenth of a cent on top of that.

Commissioner Henry Roybal, whose district encompasses the northern section of Santa Fe County, said Tuesday that improved communication between Santa Fe County and Española officials and staff led to the spending proposals for recreational facilities.

“I’m excited to see other projects benefit individuals” in northern Santa Fe County, he said.

The county money will come from its gross receipts taxes fund for capital outlay projects, spokeswoman Kristine Mihelcic said.

Sandoval said the Richard Lucero Recreation Center’s heating and ventilation system broke earlier this year. The walls, roofing and ceiling deteriorated as a result, she said, forcing the pool’s closure.

The county funds will be put toward repairing the corroded materials as well as resurfacing the pool deck and replastering the pool, Sandoval said. She expects work to begin early next week and hopes the pool will re-open within a month.

The Valdez Park playground equipment is outdated and has been damaged over the years, according to Xavier Martinez, Española’s community services director. Martinez said he did not know when the playground materials were installed and could not be specific about what was damaged.