I am happy to report that my suspicions and fears were wrong.
I was worried that T or C was planning to extend water lines (about six miles) out to the municipal airport and dig a new city well out there (See related article: https://sierracountycitizen.org/t-or-c-plans-for-next-25m-in-water-system-overhaul/ ).
But City Manager Gary Whitehead told the Citizen a few days ago, “I should be run out of town on a rail if I were planning to extend city water lines out to the airport when we are dealing with 20 leaks a day in town. There will be only low-water-use development using the [existing city] well at the airport. The only way we would extend water lines out there is if a developer paid for it.”
It was a few things that made me suspicious.
–The city commission just approved doing a whole new airport layout plan, which has industrial and commercial development at the center, including closing down two of the dirt runways to make room for potential businesses locating out there. See: https://sierracountycitizen.org/t-or-c-municipal-airport-seeks-a-new-layout-plan-for-future-growth-and-funding/
–The city approved the yearly five-year projection or Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan in May and added building an industrial park (on the public’s dime) to its list of projects, mentioning the airport location. See: https://sierracountycitizen.org/trickle-down-economics-toxic-optimism-lack-of-asset-management-our-present-and-future/
–The $25 million water project will include fixing well number 2, a new well and 31,000 linear feet of water lines, as stated in the Sept. 1 article linked above. It’s the 31,000 feet that got me. That’s about six miles, the distance to the airport.
But Whitehead gave the Citizen details on Sept. 29 that refuted my suspicions.
The 31,000 of water lines will go to seven locations in town. No map is available yet, but will be in a month. I’m paraphrasing Whitehead, who said something like:
–new loop from the upper tanks to behind McDonalds to a new line at Smith Street.
–6th Street and Pershing intersection to 6th Street and Silver intersection.
–New loop from 3rd Street and Silver intersection to behind the Pine Knot to the Bosque area.
–Gold, Maple, Elm and Magnolia streets below 3rd Street.
–New line to Williamsburg.
–New Valves and new lines along 9th Street to Pershing
–Funded by money left over from Shovel Ready, which bid came in under budget: Replace cast iron pipe behind the high school to 9th Street.
The new well will be “on the north side of town,” Whitehead said, the location yet to be determined.
Whitehead said the $25 million figure was dictated by the city’s available match money. The city received $4.4 million from the U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich in the form of a Housing and Urban Development grant to be spent on water projects.
The New Mexico Finance Authority’s Water Trust Board is the funding source the city is targeting, first for a 100-percent $2.3 million planning grant. Second, for a $22 million construction grant/loan. The latter requires a 10 percent cash match and a $2.2 million loan, which comes to $4.4 million–Heinrich’s grant amount.
This $25 million water project is above and beyond the nearly $47 million the city already has on the books in water projects. The city has already put together funding for that $47 million, which consists of:
–WSPI 1, $7.5 million
–water meter replacement, $825,000
–Shovel Ready, $9.29 million
–WSPI 2, $9.9 million
–Critical Waterline, $19.2 million
All but the water-meter project are described on the city website here: https://www.torcnm.gov/business-development/city-blueprint-capital-projects/