Underpass contract increase approved

The city would pay its construction manager for the multimillion-dollar Acequia Trail Underpass nearly $120,000 more under a contract adjustment approved Monday by the Finance Committee amid discussion about what one councilor said was the need for a more disciplined approach to significant projects.

The city’s roughly $454,000 contract with construction management firm Louis Berger Group Inc., would increase some $119,000 under the amendment. The hike was made necessary by timeline extensions and change orders to the pedestrian underpass project, said Leroy Pacheco, an engineer in the city’s Public Works department, who added the proposed increase was within the city’s overall budget for the project.

Councilor Mike Harris told Pacheco he maintained concerns about the city’s share of the mostly federally funded $5.2 million venture, which links the Railyard with a trail that traces behind the New Mexico School for the Deaf.

There hasn’t been enough clarity about the federal and city obligations and contributions, Harris said.

“The more I look at it, the more questions I have,” he said.

Councilor Carmichael Dominguez said he was uncomfortable with change orders the construction manager had requested and invoked the city’s troubled 2008 parks bond. He said some of the questions Harris was asking reminded him of the aftermath of that controversial undertaking.

“Change orders make me nervous,” Dominguez said. Pacheco responded the Berger firm’s management had been “excellent” and had kept change order expenses relatively low.

But Dominguez said the city in general had to dig deeper about project funding given “the systemic issue” — a reference to the recent external review that found the city’s financial and accounting affairs were at risk of fraud or waste.

“It’s a big project, it’s an expensive project, it’s a complicated project,” Dominguez said. “We’re gonna have to start asking some of these questions.” The underpass is expected to be ready for public use later this year.

Campaign finance reporting change moves

The Finance Committee on Monday advanced a proposed change to the city’s campaign finance code, though the 3-1 vote Monday was not an enthusiastic one. At least one councilor in favor, Signe Lindell, said she simply wanted to see more debate on the proposal with the full City Council.

The proposed ordinance would remove regular reporting requirements for individuals and groups that spend more than $250 on advertising for or against ballot initiatives that reach at least 100 eligible voters. Its sponsor, Councilor Carmichael Dominguez, said the proposed shift was in response to a lawsuit an Albuquerque nonprofit has brought against the city that argues the ballot-initiative requirement would infringe on donors’ privacy and speech.

City Attorney Kelley Brennan said that while the city is “comfortable in the current litigation,” it was less clear what would happen if the $250 limitation remained and other parties entered into a future lawsuit.

The proposal is scheduled for a public hearing at the council meeting Dec. 13.

SFUAD resolution draws community input

The future of the city-owned Santa Fe University of Art and Design campus moved one step closer Monday — though what that future will look like remains vague. And that’s by design, city councilors said, though some community members called for a more definite master plan to determine what will be done with the city-owned property and assets.

Councilor Mike Harris, who co-sponsored a broad resolution outlining a number of initiatives and explorations of possible use at the campus, said the resolution would resolve some misconceptions and rumors about the city’s intent for the space and begin to build consensus about what should exist there after the arts school folds and vacates next spring.

Councilor Signe Lindell, a co-sponsor as well, acknowledged the resolution — unanimously approved Monday by the Finance Committee — was “somewhat vague,” but said it represents a commitment “to the reality that we have a tremendous opportunity here.”

“We will turn this 64 acres into something much more dynamic and much more useful to this city than what we have now while maintaining an educational focus and many other focuses,” Lindell said.

The resolution directs the city manager to continue to pursue discussions with educational institutions that might anchor the property; pursue an expansion of the film industry facilities there; encourage workforce housing development; consider replacing the city’s public La Farge Branch Library with the campus’ Fogelson Library; explore possible partnerships with neighboring landowners, local interest groups and regional technical institutions like the national laboratories and Santa Fe Institute; among other things.

“It’s OK that it’s vague,” Harris said of the resolution. “… I don’t think it ties us to anything.”

“This is really just the beginning,” said Councilor Carmichael Dominguez, who added the city’s website needed a dedicated landing page for all things relating to the campus’ future.

A dozen community members testified before the finance panel with suggestions for both the property’s use and for the councilors’ deliberations moving forward. Many cited the city’s need for affordable housing and several, saying it would draw more community engagement in the process, called for a formalized master plan.

“Do it like the Railyard did it, and let’s move forward from there,” said resident Rick Martinez. “But without a master plan, it’s just a ‘show me the money’ project.”

The campus’ “purpose-built” structures, such as its library and film studio, should be held over for their specific uses, too, testifiers said. Scott Jarrett, director of the Santa Fe University of Art and Design’s recording arts and music production program, said he and other remaining school workers would like to work with councilors to create a dedicated new music school in a campus facility.

Others, meanwhile, were less enthusiastic about the proposal’s suggestion that a public library could be situated on campus. And some simply wanted assurance that however decisions were ultimately to be made, community voices would be included.

City Council candidate Nate Downey broached a few sustainability ideas, saying he’d analyzed the campus’ roof space, tennis courts, parking lots and roads and determined 11 million gallons of rainwater could be harvested in an average year. He also suggested a large solar farm could shade parking spaces and help the city’s reach its goal of being carbon-neutral in coming years.

The resolution is scheduled to appear before the City Council next Wednesday.