Detox building remains unsecured
The future of a detox service in Taos remains uncertain after a discussion during a joint Town of Taos and county board of commissioners meeting last week. The item was not an action item, so no votes were taken, but two different possibilities arose concerning the opening of the center.
Town of Taos Mayor Pascual Maestas led the discussion, explaining that for several years, the plan has been to swap the old Ancianos Senior Center, which is owned by the county, for the old detox building, which is owned by the town.
“For a number of years, there’s been discussion about a swap of these two buildings to allow the county to move forward with the detox program. Well, that option is on the table,” said Maestas. “There is another option also on the table that we would like to discuss tonight and provide direction to staff.”
“The other option is that we come together, town and county, and become joint owners of the two buildings,” said District 3 Commissioner and Chair Darlene Vigil.
“So we would not do a swap, we would both get half a building,” said Maestas. “But it would require us to continue working together in the future, beyond my administration, and beyond the current administration at the county.”
Town council member Nathaniel Evans pushed back on this slightly. “I just don’t want these buildings to become stuck in politics in the future… And I think that that does put a little bit of concern for me,” he said.
“These buildings, without joint ownership, have been caught in the politics and have remained largely vacant with the exception of COVID,” rebutted Maestas. “So it’s part of our hope that town and county will be forced to come together and work together.”
District 5 Commissioner Candyce O’Donnell agreed working together was necessary. “It’s about collaboration, and that’s where we’re at today,” she said, adding that several legal issues still needed to be looked at. “I think we really need to consult legal [counsel] because we’re talking about deeds, how we have to redo the deeds to property. I just think that we really should consult with legal [counsel] about how we will jointly own the properties,” she said.
Another issue that came up was a former “reversionary clause” in the deed for the Ancianos building, which would see the building returned to the town if it was turned into anything other than a senior center. A former town council voted to remove the clause, but County Manager Brent Jaramillo explained that the “document never got executed.”
Maestas said he wanted to use his mayoral power to approve the old council’s vote to remove the reversionary clause, but that was brought up as a potential legal issue as well.
Near the end of the meeting, Lawrence Medina with Rio Grande Alcohol Treatment Program got up to express his frustration with the amount of time Taos has been without a detox and his gratitude for the town and county finally coming together to discuss the issue.
“I want to thank the mayor and the town and the commissioners for inviting us for the first time in three years to talk about the detox center, because we weren’t invited [in the past]. The county has been very cooperative and very supportive,” he said. “We don’t have a building because the can has already been dented and kicked down the road for three years.”
Medina explained that in 2021 they lost their chance at $250,000 in funding because a building still had not been secured for the service. “It’s concerning that the politics get in the way,” he said. However, he said they have now raised $73,000 in addition to funds from the county.
“All the vetting and due diligence has been done. We just need to secure a building so we can continue to go on, get the contract, get the money and go raise money,” he said.
Ultimately, no decision was reached, but the town and county staff were each given direction to fully explore both options.