Tuesday, February 20, 2024Massive Capital Outlay Bill Will Change The Face Of Many Neighborhoods Across The State; That Bill Is Our Pic Of Most Memorable From Session '24, Plus: A Peek At Many Of The Projects To Come Results were meager with just 72 of the 658 bills introduced winning passage. But one of them--or at least the results from it-- has the best chance of New Mexicans recalling it a dozen years from now. That would be the colossal $1.4 billion capital outlay bill (fondly referred to as "pork) authorizing a myriad of construction and other projects that will in many cases change the landscape of numerous neighborhoods. Now that's memorable. Here's a glimpse at some of them, mostly financed with royalty and tax money from the ongoing and historic oil boom in SE NM. --Nearly $16 million was approved for improvements to ABQ Balloon Fiesta Park, home to the state's most iconic tourist attraction and soon to be the stadium home for the popular NM United soccer team. Balloon aficionados and soccer fans alike will be enjoying the improvements for decades to come. --The renovation of of the historic downtown ABQ Rail Yards has been greeted with skepticism but with the addition of the NM Media Academy to train future film workers it appears a massive renovation to turn the Yards into a major attraction has gained favor. A $10 million appropriation will speed up the process and is on top of $40 million approved by lawmakers in 2023. 
--APD will be buying a new $3 million helicopter; the state fair will receive $8 million to improve infrastructure and electrical systems at the aging fairgrounds and UNM's Popejoy Hall will see $1.07 million for improvements to the fine arts center. --Elsewhere around the state: -- $1.15 million will go for construction of a soup and community kitchen in Las Cruces. --The tiny population of Harding County--just 628 souls-- landed $575,000 for construction at the county's senior center. -- In Lea County, where roadways are taking a beating from the oil boom, $75 million has been approved for improvements to Highway 128. --In Deming there's $110,000 in improvements slated for the local dog park. --In McKinley County the Navajo Code Talkers Museum will receive $1.5 million. --In Alamogordo in Otero County the Museum of Space History gets $1 million for improvements.
In Colfax County $25 million will be spent to improve the well-known I-25 intersection at Raton and US 64. In San Juan County the Bloomfield City Hall will undergo $275,000 in renovations. In San Miguel County water is a major concern and capital outlay is headed there to help resolve the problems including $1.5 million for improvements to the Pecos water system. In Sandoval County $15 million was approved by lawmakers for construction of a magistrate court building and $275,000 to make improvements to the Coronado Historic Site. --In Santa Fe County $4 million of capital outlay will go for renovations to the State Supreme Court building and $5.45 million has been green lighted to expand the water system for the village of Agua Fria. That's only a sliver of the $1.4 billion headed out the door and across the state. But there is a catch. Too many projects continue to be stalled and the state currently has a backlog of nearly $5 billion in capital outlay as lawmakers continue their years-long effort to improve the system. Local communities hope that won't be the case with this latest big batch of dollars and will make for fond memories of Session '24. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2024 |
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