Sandoval County commissioners on Wednesday approved what is normally a routine request, but not before several Placitas residents voiced their opposition to the project at its center.
The Placitas Artists Series is seeking grant money for planning and design of a plaza-style outdoor space in the unincorporated village. The description in the agenda reads in part: “the creation of a master plan, architectural, engineering and surveying services to design an outdoor plaza style space, weave in hiking and bike trails, pedestrian interface … and safe routes to school to improve walkability of the core village area of Placitas, as well as looking at the entrance or arrival to the core of Placitas in an artful way and creating the design for an artful environment.”
The organization asked the county to serve as fiscal agent, a role a local government would fill for a nonprofit that receives money from the state. The fiscal agent receives and disburses that money, ensuring compliance with requirements set forth by the granting agency.
A request for fiscal agency is typically accepted with minimal discussion. Senior grant writer Laura Chavez told commissioners the county is currently the fiscal agent for two other nonprofits, overseeing four appropriations altogether (and commissioners approved two other requests later in the meeting).
However, several representatives of the San Antonio de las Huertas Land Grant asked the board to deny the request or defer the decision until more is known about the project.
They expressed concerns about air quality, noise, light pollution, water use and other issues. President Kendra Lucero-Matteucci also said the Artists Series hasn’t been open to participation by community members.
County Manager Wayne Johnson said agreeing to serve as fiscal agent for a project does not convey support for the project. He noted that opposition to the motion was based on planning and land-use concerns, rather than financial matters.
He noted that there are still other steps between now and the start of any development.
“You may approve this tonight,” Johnson told commissioners. “The planning and zoning commission may deny the zoning change. The developer may pull out. There are a lot of off-ramps to this project that have nothing to do with whether or not we’re the fiscal agent.”
Once the Artists Series receives the money, it can produce a site plan that would be evaluated under county policy, Johnson said.
“We’ll get another crack at this,” Commission Chair Michael Meek said, adding that letting the plan be developed would give community members a better picture of what the Artists Series plans to do.
The debate came after Chavez explained to commissioners how the county handles fiscal agency requests.
After reading this article there is not a clear description of exactly the scope of this project or exactly where it is targeted to be located. In the Village is not a good area as it could not help but adversely affect the resident population with traffic congestion, parking, water usage, etc.