City of Belen Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Gallegos last night appointed Max Cordova to the City of Belen Planning and Zoning Commission.
Cordova manages construction projects for Belen Consolidated Schools.
He was confirmed by a 3-0 vote of the city council. Councilor Jerah R. Cordova abstained from voting because the new planning and zoning commissioner is a distant relative.
Mayor Rudy Jaramillo was unable to attend the meeting to make the appointment.
Buildings once used as classrooms for Belen Middle School students will soon be demolished.
The Belen Consolidated Schools Board of Education this week approved a $115,220 bid to have the former classrooms at the current site of Belen Middle School knocked down.
The buildings, located at the southeast corner of the school’s grounds, hadn’t been used by students for years, instead housing for a short time the district’s warehouse and maintenance offices.
A new bridge in the Los Lunas area could actually mean a new interchange for the City of Belen.
As the Mid-Region Council of Government continues its Los Lunas corridor study, two primary routes for a new interchange and bridge are being evaluated. Those routes are near Miller Road just north of Los Chavez and Morris Road just south of Los Lunas.
Despite all of the proposed routes being so far north, the interchange options under consideration near Miller Road are actually within Belen city limits.
Los Lunas is in red and Belen is in green.
The study has a long way to go, and it’s unclear which interchange option will ultimately be recommended for the construction of a new interchange.
A new interchange in Belen, however, could have the benefit of providing opportunities for economic development, boosting gross receipts tax revenue.
Up until this week, it had been unclear exactly how far north Belen’s city limits go, after the city annexed the area west of Interstate 25 in 2006, because the study hadn’t clearly shown the various county and municipal jurisdictional boundaries.
Councilor Jerah R. Cordova requested the information to get a better understanding of the effect the issue could have on Belen.
Belen Mayor Rudy Jaramillo and the Belen City Council launched the the Adopt-a-City Park Program over the weekend, intended to both help the city maintain local parks under the current budget woes while also giving citizens more opportunity to beautify their community.
Since the launch of the program on Saturday, the city has received two application requesting to adopt parks. The city has also received interest and requests for applications from eight other individuals or groups.
The city maintains 11 parks from as small as 9/11 Park on Main Street to as large as Eagle Park near Belen High School.
The program was written and created by Councilor Jerah R. Cordova, with help from Jaramillo and the city council.
To participate in the program, whether as a volunteer or an adopting individual or organization, call Audrey Torres at 966-2740.
The Belen City Council voted 4-1 on Monday night to approve a change order that had sparked pointed questions about the process used to approve change orders.
According to Molzen-Corbin & Associates, the city’s engineer and project manager, the change order for $16,000 worth of work at Belen Alexander Municipal airport had been verbally approved by the former city manager, but there were no record of the approval.
In the meantime, based on the former city manager’s approval, the work in the change order was completed.
When it came time to pay for it under the new administration, the city’s finance director refused, wanting to either see documented approval or receive approval from the city council.
On Monday night, the city council voted 3-1 to approve the change order, understanding that the city would pay less than $400 of the $16,000, with the rest paid through a grant match.
While voting in favor of the change order, Councilor Lorenzo Carrillo expressed deep concern about the approval process for change orders.
Councilor Jerah R. Cordova voted against the payment, wanting to see records approving the work.
Mayor Rudy Jaramillo vowed all change orders would be brought to the city council to be approved.
The Belen City Council tonight unanimously approved a resolution expressing support for a study that’s expected to help determine where to place a new interchange and bridge in Valencia County.
The study has two primary locations for an interchange still under consideration, either placing it near Morris Road in Los Lunas or near Miller Road, which could be within the area annexed by the City of Belen for the Rancho Cielo development.
The interchange would connect with a new bridge also near either Morris Road or Miller Road, extending to Highway 47.
The study continues to determine exactly where to connect to Highway 47. Right now, the connections are primarily north of Tome in the El Cerro neighborhood.
The resolution only approves of the progress of the study but doesn’t support a particular location for the interchange and bridge. The resolution also leaves open the possibility of a “no action” alternative, where no interchange or bridge would be built.
Belen Consolidated Schools began moving into its newest school this week.
Construction on Infinity High School ended last week, with school board members and staff walking through the new building to take a look at the work.
A full view of the science lab.
The instructor's science demonstration table.
The two-story alternative high school, located at the intersection of Baca Avenue and Fourth Street, has commons areas, classrooms, a computer lab, a science lab and other rooms, like offices.
The principal’s office has enough windows to provide a nearly 360-degree view of the entire first floor and main entrance, for added security.
Three board members view the computer lab.
A colorful floor and wall compliments a bookshelf.
Last school year, Infinity High School students attended class in two portable classrooms on Becker Avenue.
Belen Consolidated Schools has secured stimulus money to install solar technology at one of its schools, according to the Office of Governor Bill Richardson.
The district will get approximately $300,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for a 50-kilowatt, nearly 20,000-square-foot photovoltaic solar power system.
Late last year, the district submitted an application to construct the system at Belen High School, not only to save on energy costs but also to provide students at the Career Academy a chance to learn about solar technology.
The district has been developing solar technology curriculum.
Only 15 districts across the state were awarded the funding, after a competitive application process.
Los Lunas Schools was also awarded funding for a similar solar project.
Work on the reconstruction of the North Belen interchange halted Wednesday, less than four months after it became clear the project would run out of money.
The interchange was being reconstructed to provide access to Rancho Cielo, a master-planned residential, commercial and industrial development west of Los Chavez.
While the state funded $4 million of the design and reconstruction work, Rancho Cielo’s developer, Coast Range Investments, never provided the remaining millions needed to complete the project, as had been promised in a three-party agreement among the developer, the State of New Mexico and the City of Belen.
According to officials with the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT), a letter has been sent to Coast Range Investments telling the company it’s too late to contribute its portion to complete the project.
NMDOT is terminating the project’s construction contract.
Demobilization of the construction crew and the delay in completing the project will substantially increase the cost of completing it in the future, should Coast Range Investments seek to restart construction. The project will also need to be rebid.
The interchange project was embroiled in controversy in February when city officials and others found out the developer was refusing to contribute the funding needed to complete it.
The construction crew and NMDOT are expected to address a couple of minor issues related to paving and lighting in the coming weeks.
