Ex-councilor questions ‘threatened litigation’ against Fambro, Bellis
Council edges closer to redevelopment district designation
Former Taos Councilor George “Fritz” Hahn bemoaned the fact that the Taos Council was set to hold an executive session at the end of their regular meeting last week regarding “threatened or pending litigation in which the Town is or may become a participant regarding civil action against former Town Manager Richard Bellis and former Finance Director Marietta Fambro.”
Hahn spoke during the public comments period of the Dec. 13 council meeting.
“I think it’s truly unfortunate that two of our very dedicated employees are being subject to a possible civil litigation,” Hahn said, after thanking Mayor Pascual Maestas and councilors for their service. “The issue at hand had been investigated by at least two state agencies; previously considered and debated and cleared by the town council two years ago, reviewed and written by the previous town attorney. I’m concerned we’re going to be spending good money for a bad cause. I urge you to drop this possible litigation.”
There is currently no pending litigation against Bellis or Fambro — who earlier this year quit her job as the town’s finance director after being elected to the Taos Council — in either Taos Magistrate Court or 8th District Court, according to the New Mexico Courts secure database.
Bellis and Fambro were linked earlier this year, however, when — shortly after he took office — Taos Mayor Pascual Maestas requested a formal examination be undertaken by New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colón and suggested that litigation was possible against the pair.
The examination request concerned severance payments that Fambro processed for both her and Bellis that totaled around $100,000. No charges have been filed against Fambro or Bellis, and no oversight authority has determined any wrongdoing.
Maestas did not return a message seeking comment by press time Wednesday and officials did not discuss the possible subject of the closed-door session in open session, and no action was taken after the executive session concluded.
Councilors also heard a presentation by Amy Bell of Groundworks Studio and Taos Mainstreet Executive Director Charles Whitson about a $50,000 grant that could be used to develop a Metropolitan Redevelopment Area plan in accordance with a town resolution that was passed in 2019.
Under the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area chapter of state statute, the designation would allow the “contribution of public resources to private redevelopment projects without violating the [New Mexico Constitution’s] Anti-Donation Clause.”
Bell noted that the MRA plan could be used for coming up with ways to address Taos’ affordable housing crisis, among a host of other development ideas including mixed-use projects that combine commercial and residential spaces.
“One of the key phrases in there is ‘mixed-use developments’ where there can be commercial space on one level and residential space on a second level,’” Whitson said. “When we talk housing in Taos, and potentially creating more density, I think that’s a very viable solution in addressing some of the housing needs we’re facing here.”
Whitson said the MRA designation — which Bell noted works in some other municipalities in tandem with Tax Increment Development Districts — could enable the town to purchase vacant and derelict buildings for redevelopment.
“The theater on the plaza,” for example, Whitson said, referring to the shuttered Taos Plaza Theater, which originally opened in the 1930s, caught fire and closed in 1969, then reopened for another run in 1972. “The MRA would be an extremely valuable tool in helping in the redevelopment of that property. That would be one big target, I think.” The redevelopment strategy could also target deficiencies in the town’s compliance with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act in the central downtown area, as well as public safety.
“All of those do need to be recommended [by Taos] in the plan,” he added. “All of this stuff is subject to public and council approval. It’s not just some private developers — or MainStreet — making this stuff up as we go.”
“It’s great that we’ve gotten this far, starting with Strong at Heart and then getting MainStreet going,” Councilor Nathaniel Evans said. “Now we’re getting to a place where there’s actually some teeth to our ability to get funding. This is what we’ve been talking about for a number of years.”
Evans said Taos should be ready with some shovel-ready redevelopment projects in tandem with its grant planning, and wondered about prioritizing projects. Whitson said priorities could be developed during the grantfunded planning process.
But “off the top of my head, the three I would consider to be front of the line,” Whitson said, are the plaza theater — “it’s right on our plaza, it’s a big building and its really in bad shape” — and projects to address walkability and public safety in the downtown area.
Maestas noted that “the approval rate” for the grant “is something like 90 percent,” and asked councilors to approve the resolution authorizing the submission of the planning grant application to the New Mexico Department of Finance. Councilors approved the resolution. Maestas called the move a “big next step for Taos MainStreet.”
Also at last week’s meeting, officials approved a proclamation honoring town employee Claudio Martinez, who is retiring after 30 years of service to Taos. After serving as a police officer and then with central dispatch, Martinez has been Taos’s Landfill Superintendent since 2002.
“He dedicated his life to public service,” said Assistant Town Manager French Espinoza, who demonstrably will miss having Martinez as a colleague. “I don’t have the words. I would like to thank his wife and his family. I think I talked to her more than I did Claudio on cold nights when the landfill was on fire. Thank you.”