Legislators Hear Local Concerns for Upcoming Budget Session Progress
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SANDOVAL PLACITAS PRSRT-STD U.S. Postage Paid BERNALILLO Placitas, NM CORRALES Permit #3 SANDOVAL Postal Customer or COUNTY Current Resident SignPOSt ECRWSS NEW MEXICO A N I NDEPENDENT L OCAL N EWSPAPER S INCE 1988 • VOL. 30 / NO .1 • JANUARY 2018 • FREE LLIS Progress on county oil E and gas ordinance hits ACK —J sudden U-turn ~BILL D IVEN The contentious and long-struggling attempt to impose zoning regulations on oil and gas devel- opment in rural Sandoval County devolved into uncertainty on a 4-1 vote in December. A month earlier, Sandoval County commis- sioners approved Commissioner David Heil’s amendments to a proposed ordinance and agreed to act on publishing the ordinance at their December 14 meeting. All passed on 4-1 votes. With a favorable vote on publishing legal notices, the commission would have been free to take final action on the ordinance on January 18, its one meeting scheduled for the month. Instead the wheels came off. Setting the stage was Planning Director Mike Springfield acknowledging the ordinance View of Sandias and Rio Grande from Coronado Historic Site in Bernalillo amended in November contained erroneous noise limits for well drilling and production. Those were shown as higher than those recom- Legislators hear local concerns for upcoming mended by the Planning and Zoning Commis- sion after a public hearing in September. That administrative error had been corrected in the budget session IVEN document presented as ready for publication on ~SIGNPOST STAFF D December 14. ILL As the season of good cheer ends, the Legislature Commissioner Jay Block, who said he just convenes. During the 2017 Legislature, the state —B learned of the error that afternoon, contended capitol, nicknamed the Merry Roundhouse, felt the correction amounted to a significant change more like a mausoleum. The sixty-day session in the proposed ordinance that commissioners waded through spending cuts and fund raids to had approved. Block also took issue with the balance the budget followed by Governor Susana unexpected appearance on the agenda of not Martinez vetoing college funding and then a special one, but two, proposed oil and gas ordinances. session in May to restore order. Those were the amended version, dubbed the The 2018 session, lasting thirty days, begins on Heil ordinance, and the original version from January 16 and should be livelier given the fore- the P&Z Commission known as the Stoddard Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert, R-Corrales, and Bernalillo casted $200 million in “new money” over which to ordinance for Daniel Stoddard, the P&Z com- Town Councilor Dale Prairie talk politics during the squabble. By law, the short session is limited to missioner who first introduced it in August. annual legislative breakfast hosted by the town. Her passing a budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 “Mister Chairman, this doesn’t make any House District 44 includes parts of Corrales, Rio Rancho and any crime or other bills the governor agrees to sense,” Block said. “’You vote for this, but if this and the area of Bernalillo west of the Rio Grande. include. doesn’t pass, try this one over here’… It’s just But, and there’s always a but: “Contrary to what wrong. It looks wrong, everybody knows it’s “Any impact on that is going to impact communi- you hear in the media, there’s not much money,” wrong, and we’re going to go ahead and vote ties around the state,” he told the three legislators Rep. Jane Powdrell-Culbert, R-Corrales, said during for this? It’s a huge mistake.” representing all or parts of Bernalillo. “We don’t a December 13 legislative breakfast hosted by the Chairman Don Chapman responded saying have a lot of options for raising revenue at the local town of Bernalillo. the commission approved the draft Stoddard level.” However, Sen. John Sapien, D-Corrales, a member ordinance for publication but never gave it a Powdrell-Culbert, Sapien, and Rep. Derrick Lente, of the Senate Finance Committee, was bit more opti- final up-or-down vote after it was pulled from D-Sandia Pueblo, all praised the collaboration mistic. “There’s probably a little more money,” he the October 19 agenda due to an error in legal among local governments and agencies in their said. “Oil and gas is up, and gross-receipts taxes are notices. If commissioners now voted not to pub- work with each other and their legislators. “We’re stable.” lish the amended Heil ordinance, they could all neighbors, not separated by a road or river,” It’s the gross-receipts tax, often called the sales then consider the Stoddard ordinance, he said. Lente said. “What impacts one of us, impacts all off tax, which is an ongoing concern for municipal gov- The Stoddard ordinance mimics the state Oil us.” ernments as legislators look for ways to beef up Conservation Division process, which issues The breakfast drew government, school, and state revenue. That tax revenue accounts for 78 per- drilling permits based on a checklist of applica- civic leaders to the community room of Bernalillo’s cent of Bernalillo’s general budget revenue, Mayor tion requirements. The Heil amendments would Martha Liebert Public Library. The newly renovated Jack Torres said. require the county attorney review approved Depression-era adobe building is part of the drilling applications and added protections, —continued on page 8 including public hearings for drilling permits in more-populated areas, including Placitas. Read the Signpost online at sandovalsignpost.com Commissioner James Holden-Rhodes of Plac- itas again brought up a $62,000 geology and Back Issues • Current News • Art and Culture ground water project underway by New Mexico Community Information • Classified Ads • Ad Rates • and More —continued on page 5 ThThePl lP acittas Artitistts Sereries CContinuesCoConontntitininunueuesess itsitts 31st3131s1stst SSeasonSeaSeasasosonon wwithwiwitithth a PPerformanPererfrforforformrmamananncencce by Willy Succreae and QTaTango 4VOEBZBZ Z +BOVBSZ BUBU QN innvitesnvnvivititeteses yoyyououu to j jooiin uss forfoforr muusicususisicic andanndd arrt in tthethhe foothilfofooootoththihililllsllls The History ofTTaango frfrom Bizet to Piazzolla Concert generouslyly spsponsoreddbbyy VViicki Gottlieb,b, JaJadvyvygyga Biskis, and Larryry & GeriVVeerble THE VISUAUALL ARTISTSTS eR p wotice l blin e he d al 2:00 p.m.t The P Aacile Stisrtas es wriets vcolew aauismes ts:tisrl h,isim FJ h,isim WoWood Scud lplpturere ViVi a Mlriotc adyy,, ohP totogogrgrapaphy MaMa rr iaagge ofof MMeetal raM Rcir trksaca awaw,w, Oi lPPaai tini ngng,g, Drara iw ngng,g, Pr tsni ts and Be adwork tliniay Cb tliniay iaC tliin VeVeláz euq z-F elga y,y, B aeB d ade nd S li ver JeJewelryry VeVe yelgaz-Feuqázl thP otohP oggrrapaphbh bbyy P Bte ihöBt irhöer ngngeer Thi p is scjeors detropput ain pain br Nt Mey Axiew trco ts, f then ooiisa div ooiisa f then traepD ontme Ct Aaurtluf ffal irsa See you at the Concerts! wwwww.w.PlacittasArtistsSeries.orgg Savave on Half-Season ticketss, stillaavvailableffrrom the website. 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