Taos Town Council to reconvene Jan. 6

Council approved several infrastructure contracts before year’s end

The Town of Taos is set to reopen next week after a closure that saw non-essential employees receive three weeks of administrative leave during the holiday season.

When it last met on Dec. 13, the Taos Council’s next meeting was scheduled to be held on Jan. 24, when it will again consider the establishment of a commission that would be tasked with writing a new municipal charter. But according to a notice from the town this past Tuesday (Jan. 3), before municipal offices and buildings reopen next Monday (Jan. 9), town councilors will convene for a special meeting on Friday (Jan. 6).

The council will reconvene in order to consider an agreement with the New Mexico Department of Transportation to undertake $73,600 in improvements on portions of Valverde Street. The town’s share of the road project will be $18,400.

Wastewater

The town’s wastewater treatment plant is a critical piece of infrastructure for Taos and the surrounding area. At it’s last regular meeting in mid-December, Councilor Marietta Fambro reminded her fellow officials of this before they approved a $1-million contract with SMA Operations, which operates the Taos Valley Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. The contract, which was set to expire with the coming of the new year, was among two agreements that Fambro noted should have been brought before council months before the December meeting.

“I just think this is probably one our biggest assets [and] that we need to continue monitoring the contract with SMA Operations,” Fambro said. “And I know [Town Manger Andrew Gonzales and] Mr. French [Espinoza, Taos public works director and assistant town manager] continue to work closely with them and make sure that we keep on top of whatever the needs are. If it involves money we need to look for, then we really need to look for it. We need to keep on top of this.”

Espinoza, the town’s longstanding public works director, agreed. He noted that after a tour of the facility with Gonzales, Fambro and Councilor Corilia Ortega, he asked SMA

Operations for a list of necessary capital improvements for the wastewater treatment plant.

“We talked about the capital needs we need to start addressing at the plant,” Espinoza said. “Some is operations, some is basic grounds maintenance” and some is building maintenance.

“During the tour, there was some pretty big numbers thrown out,” Espinoza added. “It was $280,000 for a blower; $1 million for the cassettes and on and on and on. I will bring a list for those costs back to the council, mid year.”

Some costs should be offset by the solar array attached to the plant.

“What we had been waiting for was to see what kind of generation we were gonna get from the solar array to offset the energy costs,” Espinoza explained. “And that money, we would start putting it back into the plant for capital projects. Now that we have a good handle on what that number is, again, we will bring it back to the governing body for approval based on that. This will be a project that will probably last the next six or seven years. It’s wear items we’re going to propose be replaced.”

Councilors approved the renewed contract with SMA Operations to the tune of $1,028,385, excluding gross receipts tax, the cost of which will require the council to approve a budget adjustment request later in the year.

Landfill

Also at their mid-December meeting, councilors approved a $310,245 contract for environmental monitoring and engineering services for the Taos Regional Landfill with Souder Miller and Associates, which includes the cost of designing a new cell at the municipal dump.

“This is a similar situation to the last contract, it’s a renewal of a longterm [request for proposals] we had put out for environmental services at the landfill,” Espinoza said. “They also include engineering services under this particular contract. That would be the design of cell 4B or 4A.”

Espinoza indicated that he took Fambro and the Taos Regional Landfill Board on a tour of the site in October.

“I do that annually with the board to keep them abreast,” Espinoza said.

Fambro noted that Taos is the fiscal agent for the landfill and suggested it should be more timely with bringing contract renewals to council.

“We know these come up annually,” Fambro said. “I know with a new administration, and new legal [counsel for the town] contracted — hopefully we’ll be bringing them [to council] by June.”

Airport

Councilors also approved an amendment to put more money into a contract with Armstrong and Associates for the design of a new terminal at the Taos Regional Airport. The additional $173,288 brings the total design and project management costs of the terminal project — the construction of which will largely be paid for by grant money — to $1,069,403.

“As the governing body is aware, there was a project that was already being designed; it was a two-story structure,” Espinoza said. “We brought it back to the airport advisory board and had a presentation from Armstrong. Their third-party consultant, along with the Airport Advisory Board, made a decision to strike that design and go with a one-story building. That’s what this amendment is about. The additional $173,000 will be taken right out of the current grant that we’re paying for this project. And through some value engineering on the exterior and slight modification on the building itself, we’re hopeful we will bring the price of the construction of the terminal down. But that will come back to the council.”

Ortega asked if the building’s planned construction involves any “green design or sustainability components to it.”

French assured Ortega that “Yes, that was the entire intent behind the two-story design, as well as the onestory design.”

Gonzales further assured Ortega that “the design of the building has large capturization of passive solar for additional heating; they’ve also encompassed electrification into the building itself; and there’s quite a few design improvements for rain water capturization.

“So we’re comfortable with the way the design of the building has been executed,” Gonzales added. “Certainly for sustainability, and also having a lot of input from the airport advisory board and Kino Chavez — the airport manager — who has a plethora of aviation experience.”

The Jan. 6 meeting of the Taos Council will take place at the Taos Council Chambers and online. The meeting agenda and Zoom information are available at go.boarddocs. com/nm/taosgov/Board.nsf/Public.