Closed-door meeting set on roadway dispute
Residents say contested easements are clouding titles in basin, driving down property values
Residents say contested easements are clouding titles in basin, driving down property values.
More closed-door meetings are scheduled this week between Santa Fe County, four pueblos and the U.S. Department of the Interior regarding roadway disputes that threaten to impede funding for a regional water system planned in the Pojoaque Basin.
The meetings Wednesday and Thursday at the state Capitol concern county roads said by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to trespass on tribal land. Santa Fe County commissioners have voted not to allocate the county’s share of money for the planned multimillion-dollar regional water system, part of the Aamodt water-rights settlement, until the road disputes are resolved.
In addition, the disputed road easements are clouding titles in the basin and have driven down property values, residents say.
The meetings this week follow a pair held at the Capitol last month, also closed to the public.
The county government’s meeting notice cited two exceptions to the state’s open meetings act in closing this week’s gatherings, namely allowances for threatened or pending litigation and possible acquisition or disposal of property.
But the discussions being closed to the public has drawn criticism, notably from the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government and Brian Egolf, speaker of the state House of Representatives.
“The public has a right to weigh in on the deliberations and policies that are going to impact their communities and their lives,” said Peter St. Cyr, executive director of the Foundation for Open Government. “What they hiding from? And why won’t they do this in public view like every other public entity — from Congress to the advisory board for the dogcatcher?”
A county spokeswoman downplayed the closed meetings.
“Santa Fe County would like to reiterate that any solutions resulting from the talks will be fully reviewed, discussed and approved during one or more open public meetings of the board of county commissioners, as required by the open meetings act,” said Kristine Mihelcic.
“As previously stated, all parties are coming together in a spirit of cooperation and unity and are hopeful that these discussions will result in comprehensive, long-term solutions for the roads in question,” Mihelcic added.
The frequency of the meetings suggests an intensified emphasis on reaching a resolution to the disputes as the Bureau of Reclamation prepares to begin construction on the water system next summer. The deadline for substantial completion of the $253 million project is 2024.
Daniel DuBray, chief of public affairs for the Bureau of Reclamation, said in an emailed statement: “We are working to ensure that public participation will help inform the pathway that reaches resolution of these complex issues.”
Dubray was referring to a town hall meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Pojoaque, to be co-hosted by Acting Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation Alan Mikkelsen and Democratic state Rep. Carl Trujillo.
Mikkelsen and Trujillo will discuss and answer questions about the implementation of the Aamodt settlement as well as the roadway disputes.
The town hall came out of a dispute over the private meetings held last month. Trujillo, who was not invited, walked into the room and was asked by Mikkelsen to leave.
Trujillo said Mikkelsen told him later they could host a public meeting for Trujillo’s constituents, whom Trujillo said were being shut out of discussions.
Messages left for the four pueblos with concerns of access — Nambe, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso and Tesuque — were not returned Monday.
Santa Fe County Commissioner Ed Moreno said informal discussions between the county and pueblos have continued in the interim since the meetings last month.
“We’re just getting a feel for the lay of the land, literally,” Moreno said, declining to be more specific about the progress of the talks. “We still have an awesome opportunity to make things work for everybody. I’m committed to work with anybody who has a stake in the process, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure there is a good, fair outcome.”
Other county commissioners did not immediately return messages seeking comment.
An aide for Commissioner Henry Roybal, whose district encompasses the Pojoaque Basin, said Roybal was out of town and unavailable.