City Council plans water treatment facility upgrades, handles Nov. business

RIO RANCHO — The Rio Rancho City Council Governing Body met last week to take care of some November business and approve their listed priorities for the coming year. That business included adding another $1 million to the city’s Permanent Fund.

All councilors were present (Councilman Bob Tyler attended remotely) as the meeting kicked off with an acknowledgement of the sacrifices of our first responders, followed by a “thank you” from Tyler, Councilwoman Dapson and Mayor Gregg Hull to the public works department for their handling of the recent harsh weather.

“The storm ended and those potholes [on Southern Boulevard] were fixed,” Dapson said. “So, a huge thank you to public works for that.”

The consent calendar was approved and, with no reports to hear, the Governing Body moved on to regular business.

Among the items on the agenda were the “discussion and deliberation” of the Legislative Priorities and the Capital Outlay Priorities for 2025. Both passed unanimously.

The Legislative Priorities included items such as “protecting the autonomy and authority of municipal home rule, enhancing economic development tools and opposing legislation that restricts municipal government tools and resources.”

The council also approved a one-time transfer of funds to the city’s Permanent Fund. $1,000,000 of revenue, which was raised from the cellular land agreement, is being added.

The Permanant Fund was created two years ago with an initial investment of $10 million. As of Nov. 14, the balance was approximately $13 million.

“We are able to put that in the Permanant Fund and let it grow for the citizens of Rio Rancho, which allows us to create revenues without corresponding tax increases,” said Hull. “I’m really happy this was voter-approved two years ago and turning out to be really a legacy fund for future generations.”

The council also heard opening discussion and deliberation concerning D51, funding for improvements to Water Treatment Plant 2.

The proposed $28,692,371 project would be partially funded through federal programs and would take 1,095 days to complete. AUI inc., one of New Mexico’s largest general contractors, will be handling the project.

Among the proposed improvements would be the combining of two separate “headworks” into one centralized “headworks”, increasing efficiency and water flow. A water treatment facility’s headworks (the “s” is used in singular and plural) is the area where water enters the facility. It may consist of bar racks or bar screens, shredders or grinders, a wet well, or simple water pumps.

Albuquerque Asphalt was awarded an $11,240,080.94 contract to handle roads and waterways in districts 1, 4 and 5.

A number of ordinances received first and second readings, and all measures passed unanimously.

In Public Hearings, Ordinance 25, concerning the districting of an area for Rio Rancho Estates for residential use, was approved.

Murphy’s Oil Express, which recently changed ownership and location, was approved to transfer its package liquor license.

O24, also known as the short-term-rental ordinance, received its Second Reading and passed without discussion.

Nature’s Toolbox Economic Development Project, a startup out of Los Alamos, was the subject of O26. The program was originally contracted to create 49 full-time jobs in Rio Rancho. They exceeded that number and are estimating at least 54 new jobs. O26 will simply restructure the contract requirements.

The meeting closed out with city manager Matt Geisel’s City Report.

Geisel began with two reminders: anyone with signage in right-of-way areas must remove it immediately, and secondly, this is the only scheduled Governing Body Meeting for the month of November.

In good news, Geisel informed the council of two upcoming events: The Rio Rancho Arts & Crafts Fair from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and the Rio Rancho Winterfest is happening Dec. 6 at the Rio Rancho Events Center.