To fix streets, mayor proposes bond issue

City to consider idea that would funnel $12M of gas taxes to street projects

Mayor Javier Gonzales has proposed a bond issue that would earmark almost $12 million from gasoline taxes for maintenance and improvements of city streets, alleys, bridges and public buildings.

These projects might pave the way to a better transportation system but could also mean congested roadways amid a wave of construction.

The annual debt on the bonds would be paid off over the next 10 years with the city’s share of gasoline tax revenue from the state.

A bond issue would accelerate repair work on capital projects across Santa Fe that might otherwise take a decade to complete, city officials said.

If approved, work would begin in earnest in 2018 and be completed in two years instead of 10, according to a city fiscal report. That compressed timeline is part of the appeal of the proposal, Gonzales said in a statement.

“Spending time with our road maintenance workers out fixing potholes, I realized that we’re constantly putting our guys behind the eight ball and asking them to play catchup,” Gonzales said. “Now we have a chance to be smarter about how we use our debt to invest in infrastructure.

“It’s one of those things that’s easy to talk about, much harder to deliver and too important not to take action on.”

Bradley Fluetsch, the city’s investments officer, said the state annually provides Santa Fe with some $1.3 million to $1.5 million from wholesale gas taxes.

The time is right for the sale, Fluetsch said, because interest rates are expected to rise in coming years. Fed-

eral Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen late last month said the Fed plans to continue raising its benchmark rate, which has already been hiked twice in 2017.

“Where our rates are now, financing is a win-win for the public,” Fluetsch said. “The general public will be able to enjoy better roads at virtually no financing cost.”

City Councilor Joseph Maestas cautioned against putting Santa Fe’s gas tax revenue from the state, principally reserved for street maintenance work, toward debt on a bond issue.

“There are still going to be needs from other existing streets that aren’t on the [capital improvements plan],” said Maestas, one of eight candidates seeking to succeed Gonzales, who is not running for a second term in the March election.

At a pair of committee meetings last month, Maestas was the only councilor to vote against the proposed bond ordinance. He said he wanted to see an updated assessment of the city’s financial condition before incurring any debt.

“The first thing on anyone’s mind is: How’s the money going to be spent? We’re moving forward with the transaction before we know the answer to that,” Maestas said.

David Catanach, director of streets and drainage maintenance, said city staff has identified $40 million in road improvements “that need attention fairly quickly.”

Repaving work to be financed through the bonds would prioritize high-traffic areas within the broader scope of road projects.

“It’s a start, and we have to start somewhere,” Catanach said.

A tentative list of streets to be addressed include sections of Paseo de Peralta, Rodeo Road, Old Pecos Trail, Agua Fría Street, Upper Canyon Road, Galisteo Street, Rufina Street, Siler Road and Zia Road among a few others.

“These are the roads we felt were in the worst condition that were affecting the most people,” Catanach said.

Asked the last time those sections of road had received attention from the city, Catanach said, “I’ve been here 10 years, and these were bad when I came in.”

The improvements would not include state-owned thoroughfares like Cerrillos Road, St. Francis Drive and St. Michael’s Drive, said Nick Schiavo, the city public works director.

City streets will be made “safer, more efficient and more comfortable for commuters,” according to a city fiscal report, which added that “many of the [Americans with Disabilities Act] requirements will also be completed” in the sweep of construction.

An unspecified number of shortterm construction jobs would be created, the fiscal report states.

“On the negative side,” the report goes on, construction delays can be expected “because more projects will be going on at the same time.”

The ordinance, introduced by Gonzales and co-sponsored by Councilor Peter Ives, is scheduled for a public hearing in early November by the City Council.