What About Section 16? Again?
By Bob Steiner
According to the advance agenda notification for the Edgewood town council meeting on Wednesday, Feb 4, one of the the items to be discussed is property acquisition. For a variety of reasons such discussions are held in a closed session. The mayor, town council members, and staff “retreat” to an adjacent room where the matter is considered without potential “discordant” input from the audience. Ultimately. if a decision is made in the “back room” to recommend purchase of real property, the matter would be scheduled as an agenda item for a “forthcoming” council meeting and the transaction would be voted on by the council. While the procedure described does not really bother me, recent actions by the town cause me to want to “view” any potential real estate transactions with a critical eye.
Specifically, the area known as section 16 was designated as the eventual location for the Edgewood town’s municipal complex shortly after the town was incorporated in 1999. Over the years a 12 acre parcel of land was purchased to be the nucleus of the center and options to purchase adjoining property were negotiated with other entities, including the state land office. Extensive planning for roads and buildings at the site have been developed.
Unfortunately, over the past year, it almost seems that the town wants to cancel its commitment to developing the land, even to the point of finding an alternate “temporary” location for the library. The town also seems to be not as supportive for the regional animal control center at that location, as they might be. While I recognize that the current economic situation may be impacting on some decisions, I do recall a recent meeting with our elected representatives from Santa Fe during which the town was prodded and encouraged to expedite any capital projects it was considering.
Because of its importance to the town, in general, I would think that the town would give at least a brief (two minutes might be enough?) update on Section 16 activity at every council meeting. I feel the people deserve to know what is going on, as well as any problems which are delaying progress.
In writing this article, I do concede that I could be wrong (and I hope I am!) in my assumptions. Still, being bothered by the lack of information being released by the town, I am concerned. Are there those who want the town center elsewhere trying to influence the council? Or do we have a recalcitrant town staff who are just frustrated by the complex and ever-on going nature of this undertaking and don’t want to bother with it?
In any event, if the town is considering additional land needs for projects once slated for section 16, I would hope that they would consult diligently with the state land office, as well as exercising any cost effective options on land in close proximity to section 16 that we have previously locked in. Once again, I hope that my concern on this matter is unfounded? Perhaps it is just a communication problem ?