A plan to build a new spur for the New Mexico’s popular Rail Runner commuter rail system has taken a significant step forward with the passage of a capital outlay bill in the New Mexico State Senate. The project, as proposed by City of Albuquerque leaders, would see the transit service stopping at the Balloon Fiesta Park. That park is the home to the annual International Balloon Fiesta, which attracts upwards of nearly 900,000 visitors in early October. In an effort to lessen the inevitable traffic congestion that comes with the fiesta, Albuquerque has several times considered building a special spur just for the park. It is thought that it will cost at least $8.4 million to build that spur, with the funding coming from a variety of sources, including the state and federal government. Work on the spur project could begin later this year if all of the needed funding is secured, with a target completion in time for the fall 2021 fiesta. By Garry Boulard
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Up to $1 trillion in new infrastructure investment is being proposed as a part of the Trump Administration’s new Fiscal Year 2020 budget. The White House proposal calls for a more streamlined process for determining which transportation infrastructure projects be funded, and offers $200 billion for such non-traditional infrastructure projects as rural broadband and the installation of 5G wireless technology. At the same time, the Trump budget is calling for a 22 percent decrease in discretionary spending for the federal Department of Transportation. In the proposal, the administration notes that in both fiscal years 2018 and 2019 the Transportation Department received “large discretionary increases for surface transportation and airport infrastructure investments, meeting the administration’s call for increased infrastructure investments.” However, the new budget “continues certain important transportation infrastructure investments, but in a way that also recognizes that the federal government is not—and should not be—the primary funder of the nation’s transportation systems.” While the Capital Investment Grants program would receive $1 billion less than it was allocated in last year’s fiscal budget, the overall competitive grant programs will be increased to $3 billion. Those grants include the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America program, which will be getting a $1 billion increase, and the Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development grant program. The proposal also calls for the creation of a $300 million competitive bridge replacement program. If approved, the budget would additionally reduce funding for new transit projects by nearly 40 percent, including a 23 percent decrease in support for Amtrak. Paul Skoutelas, chief executive officer of the American Public Transportation Association, said his association is committed to working with the White House on the new transportation budget, but criticized the decline in transit spending. Noting that there is currently a backlog estimated at $90 billion in public transportation improvement projects, Skoutelas added: “Americans across the country deserve a public transit network that is safe, reliable, and meets the demands of a 21st century economy.” By Garry Boulard A modern new two-story facility housing a free-standing emergency room is set to go up near the intersection of Oneida Street and Hampden Avenue in southeast Denver. The project will be only the latest in a booming industry that has seen Colorado become the third largest state in the country in terms of its total number of free-standing emergency rooms. Such facilities are typically designed to offer hospital emergency-level services in smaller and more convenient neighborhood locations. The Centennial-based Centura Health says it wants to build a 24,000 square foot facility in a part of Denver currently lacking in emergency care service options. The building will go up on a 1.6-acre site that was formerly the home of a UMB Bank branch office. That structure has since been demolished. Centura purchased a portion of the site in late 2017 for $1.9 million and another part of the land last year for $3.3 million. Centura has additionally purchased a 57-acre site in Colorado Springs in order to build its third hospital in that city. Altogether, the company now has nearly 20 clinics and emergency care facilities in both Colorado and Kansas. Boulder Associates Architects, which specializes in medical facility work, is the designer for the new Denver Centura facility. Work on the building is expected to begin later this year with an anticipated spring 2020 completion date. By Garry Boulard Up to $9 million in funding has been approved by the Arizona legislature to fund the construction of new water wells throughout the state. Those wells would be specifically available to the state’s agricultural irrigation districts and could also be used to build the infrastructure needed for transporting groundwater to farms. Arizona has 65 such districts, mostly located in the southern half of the state. Those districts were established with a mandate of providing irrigation water for agricultural uses by building and operating irrigation systems. The legislation originally called for appropriating $5 million for the irrigation districts, but lawmakers upped that figure to $9 million, while also setting aside an additional $10 million for the Central Arizona Water Conservation District. The bill stipulates that all irrigation district construction and rehabilitation projects must be completed by the end of 2022. A separate bill introduced by Representative David Cook is calling for a much larger $20 million in funding for the drilling of new water wells. That measure has now been approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee, although its fate in the larger Senate appears uncertain. By Garry Boulard A bill has been introduced in Congress calling for an appropriation of $23.5 billion to build and maintain wastewater and storm water treatment facilities across the country. The Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act of 2019 would additionally authorize the federal Clean Water State Revolving Fund to support point and non-point source water pollution control programs, while also creating storm water best management practices programs. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund requires a 20 percent state match for all funded wastewater and storm water infrastructure improvement projects. Since its founding in 1987, that fund has leveraged some $126 million in basic waste water infrastructure improvements nationally. A 2016 study conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency estimated that up to $271 billion will be needed in the next several years to pay for all of the country’s wastewater and storm water infrastructure needs. The Water Quality Protection and Job Creation Act, introduced in the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, will specifically make pointed investments in water recycling and groundwater recharge projects. In a statement, Peter DeFazio, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the country’s water infrastructure is “in dire need of federal investment to make sure we don’t go back to the bad old days before adoption of the Clean Water Act when waterways were so polluted they caught fire or couldn’t support marine life.” DeFazio added that the proposed legislation will make the nation’s water infrastructure “more resilient to disasters, and more affordable for all communities.” The bill, if it wins Congressional approval, will also make available roughly $900 million in grants to treat and reuse sanitary sewer overflows; with another $375 million going to alternative water source projects. By Garry Boulard A project that could see the eventual construction of up to 10,000 new homes in Las Cruces has been given the go-ahead to develop a larger footprint. The Las Cruces-based Sierra Norte Development initially said it intended to build at least 9,000 single-family homes, along with an additional 1,000 multi-family residences. What is being called the Metro Verde master planned community will also see the construction of parks, light industry space, more than 1 million square feet of commercial and retail space, and some affordable housing units. The centerpiece of the development, some 10 miles to the north of downtown Las Cruces, is the 200-acre Red Hawk Golf Club. Originally, the project was to be built out on some 879 acres. But now the project, as approved by the Las Cruces City Council, will have a site span of just under 1,200 acres. The first phase of the project, Metro Verde South, will also see a greater emphasis on the creation of open space, compared to the plan first approved by the city council in 2011. The boundaries for the site’s expansion include Peachtree Hills Road to the north, Thurmond Road to the south, and McGuffey Street to the east. It is thought that in the next two decades more than 25,000 people will be living inside Metro Verde. By Garry Boulard A new subdivision that would be built not far from the banks of the Rio Grande in Albuquerque has sparked the spirited opposition of area residents who are appealing the decision of a city board that earlier approved the project. What is being called the Overlook at Oxbow would see the construction of 76 single-family homes on a site adjacent to the Taylor Ranch neighborhood. The project was granted a variance request late last year by the city’s Development Review Board, and would see the demolition of a 6,000 square-foot main house on the property, as well as several smaller structures. The new homes, measuring anywhere from 2,100 to 2,700 square feet, would be built on lots measuring 50 to 60-feet wide. Opponents say the proposed subdivision would negatively impact the surrounding environment, and that the variance approval given by the review board was done in violation of the city’s Open Meetings Act. Members of the Albuquerque City Council may end up hearing the appeal of the project. As proposed, the project would go up at what is known as the San Antonio Oxbow, a 40-acre wildlife refuge maintained by Albuquerque’s Open Space Division. By Garry Boulard The new fiscal year 2020 budget for the federal Housing and Urban Development calls for spending just over $44 billion on building housing for the homeless and reducing lead in current public housing structures, among other initiatives. As announced by the White House, the new budget proposes spending just under $2.6 billion for local housing programs, an increase of 9 percent, or $215 million, over last year’s budget. A press release from HUD additionally notes that some $290 million will go to the department’s Office of Lead Hazard Control and Health Homes program, a program designed to “protect families and their young children from potentially dangerous lead-based paint and other home health and safety hazards.” President Trump is specifically asking for Congressional approval to merge HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund with the Public Housing Operating Fund in an effort to streamline the process of repairing the nation’s public housing stock. According to the HUD statement, combining those funds will give “extra flexibilities to pay for capital improvement needs.” While the new proposed HUD budget represents a 7 percent overall increase over fiscal year 2019, says Housingwire.com, “it is down a whole $8.6 billion, or 16.4 percent, from 2019’s enacted budget.” Diane Yentel, the chief executive officer of the National Low Income Housing Coalition, said that decreases in specific HUD initiatives making up the President’s proposal, “could leave even more low-income people without stable homes, undermining family stability, increasing evictions, and, in worst cases, leading to more homelessness.” One of the most controversial aspects of the new budget will require anyone receiving federal rental assistance, with the exception of the disabled and elderly, to work up to 20 hours a week or attend workforce training or other educational classes. HUD Secretary Ben Carson said the proposed budget is designed to place an emphasis on helping families access financial and educational programs, while also securing higher paying jobs. Continued Carson: “We must think beyond investing in bricks and mortar, and think about investing in people.” By Garry Boulard An ambitious project that will include the construction of a 36-story residential glassed-wall tower is currently under consideration by city officials in Denver. As planned, the tower would go up in Denver’s Lower Downtown area, and would also include the building of a second five-story structure that would house office, restaurant, and retail space. Developer of the project is Kairoi Residential of San Antonio, a company specializing in multifamily development and property management. The two buildings will go up at the 1300 block of Market Street, which is also known as Bell Park. That block was once the site of Denver’s old City Hall, which was built in 1883 and torn down in the late 1930s. The 1.5-acre site, in a part of the city dominated by multi-story office space, is on a block separated by the Cherry Creek. There are currently parking lots on both ends of the site. Plans for the project also include the building of three levels of underground parking in both of the buildings. A recent preview presentation of the project made to the Lower Downtown Design Review Board indicated that the new tower will be built in compliance with the city’s Green Roof Ordinance. An exact timetable for the tower and office building construction has not been announced, but it is thought that once approved, the tower could take up to three years to build. By Garry Boulard By a 32 to 9 vote, members of the New Mexico State Senate have passed a bill committing the state to replace all carbon generation with clean energy resources between now and 2045. Half of the state’s energy would be required to be carbon neutral in just twelve more years. Senate Bill 489, which has won the support of Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, will in particular provide financial help as a means of cushioning the cost of closing the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station in the Four Corners region. Sponsored by Senator Jacob Candelaria, the legislation, now under consideration in the House Judiciary Committee, will also provide energy renewable targets for rural electric cooperatives and public utilities, as well as creating a development assistance fund and transition displaced worker assistance fund. According to a report issued by the Legislative Finance Committee, the total fiscal impact of the legislation is currently unquantifiable. The report also notes that the eventual closure of the San Juan Generating Station will have “significant impacts on the state general fund as well as the local communities and school districts through losses of jobs, personal income taxes, gross receipts taxes, and severance taxes.” The legislation has won the backing of the Public Service Company of New Mexico, which owns a portion of the San Juan Generating Station. The energy company, according to reports, has reduced the coal generation portion of its portfolio in recent years from 60 percent to 30 percent. By Garry Boulard |
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