Gift horses that made water and wastewater projects possible

The New Mexico legislature and New Mexico’s U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich have been very responsive to Truth or Consequences’ water and wastewater infrastructure crisis.

I doubted Mayor Rolf Hechler would succeed in lobbying for millions in grants last year, but I was wrong, fortunately.

I thought hiring Kathy Elliot, a lobbyist with Civility Government Relations, would be money better spent on hiring a city engineer. I was wrong about that too.

I still think the people need and deserve a city engineer who will give regular who-what-why-where-when-$$$$ reports in layman’s terms on the city’s 30 or so capital projets. I still think such an engineer, overseeing the master-planning and prioritizing of over $200 million needed in water and wastewater repairs would save the public purse many millions and a lot of time.

But I was wrong about the power of lobbying. I thought our federal and state representatives would scoff at giving millions to fix a city that has obviously mismanaged its money and neglected its infrastructure.

The city didn’t get any of Biden’s infrastructure money two and three years ago because it went to governments that could put up 40 percent matches and present already-paid-for engineering for the projects, proving they were good managers and planners and that the public’s money wouldn’t be wasted.

Previous City Manager Bruce Swingle, two and three years ago asked U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich for $53 million and received $1.6 million. Swingle made the same pitch to the legislature and nothing happened.

But something changed last year. I think state representatives and Heinrich realized, because of the huge number of grant/loan requests, that rural governments, such as T or C don’t have the management or technical knowhow to prevent water and sewer infrastructure neglect. They can’t even handle day-to-day operations, let alone long-term planning. That’s what a recent Legislative Finance Committee Report bore out, “Policy Spotlight: State-Funded Water Projects.” The report recommended that much more technical decision-making come from the top instead of expecting each local government to find and hire planning, engineering, financial experts.

Last year Mayor Rolf Hechler, accompanied by City Commissioner Ingo Hoeppner, backed by bill-carrying state Senator Crystal Diamond Brantley and echoed off-camera by lobbyist Elliot, the city’s story about crisis-level water leaks was heard. Years of bad management and lack of planning weren’t the obstacles they had been in the past. Lobbying worked.

At the city commission November 13 meeting, Hechler and Assistant City Manager Traci Alvarez gave an update on the government’s largesse and the made possible. The city received $23.9 million in grant money last legislative session. The city will have to come up with $2.07 in matching cash, but $1.6 million will be covered by Heinrich’s grant given two years ago. The city also received $2.07 million in .125 percent interest loans. Therefore $27.78 million will be spent on replacing waterlines in two areas where leaks are rampant, breaking ground in about a year, since the engineering must be done.

In addition, almost $336,000 will be spent on engineering the “headworks” to the sewer plant, which filters out flotsam. The headworks are currently being operated manually and have been malfunctioning since the big rain event, July 2020.

The breakdown of the $28.115 million:

1. Hechler announced that Heinrich gave T or C $5.4 million to the city for waterline replacement. Its exact use is not pinned down yet. There are two areas where leaks are the worst, south of the Sierra Vista Hospital and Veater Street and its offshoots, which are referred to as the “metal streets.” Heinrich’s money will go to one or the other or to both areas. Ground-breaking in both areas is expected in about a year. Both are in the process of being engineered, which plans wil then be reviewed and approved by state agencies.
2. The metal streets, critical waterline repair: The New Mexico Finance Authority oversees the Colonias Infrastructure Fund. The NMFA granted $3.9 million, loaned $440,000 and the city will provide a $440,000 cash match. Ground-breaking in about a year. $4.84 million total
3. Headworks to sewer, engineering. NMFA Colonias Infrastructure Fund will provide $274,860 in grant, $30,540 in loan and the city will provide a $30,540 cash match; $335,940 total.
4. South of the hospital and Veater Street, critical waterline replacement: The New Mexico Finance Authority oversees the Water Trust Board Fund, which granted the city $14.4 million and loaned the city $1.6 million. The city will use Heinrich’s $1.6 million as the required cash match. Ground-breaking in about a year. $17.6 million total