Swisstack Leads RR in Making City’s Wish List

Rio Rancho councilors who in recent months have had testy exchanges with Mayor Thomas Swisstack acknowledged his legislative experience last week as they crafted the capital projects wish list the city will send to Santa Fe.

Rio Rancho’s deadline for submitting the list of projects for which it hopes to get legislative funding to the state Department of Finance and Administration was Monday. The next Legislative session begins Jan. 15.

Swisstack, who represented House District 60 from 2003 through 2008, weighed in as councilors discussed potential priorities from the list of projects on the city’s Infrastructure and Capital Improvements Plan.

“I’m just trying to get us to stay focused if we want to be reasonably successful in this 60-day session,” Swisstack said.

He told councilors that legislators will want to know the economic development benefits, the level of regional significance and what the city has already done or spent toward completing a project.

“I would like to say your comments are duly noted, Mayor, and I would like to see you lead us in what can really make it,” Councilor Tim Crum said.

At recent council meetings, Crum and councilors Lonnie Clayton and Chuck Wilkins had disagreed over the effect of reducing fees the city charges developers to provide things like roads, water lines and public safety. Swisstack indicated concerns that it may harm the city. Crum recently said his views were “absolutely opposed” to the mayor’s.

At the Wednesday council meeting, the mayor suggested prioritizing a $5.5 million project to acquire rights of way to widen Unser from Cherry to Paseo del Volcan. He said the city could demonstrate its value as a connecting road and show that it has already spent money to widen portions of Unser.

He also suggested a $10.5 million project to build out Broadmoor Boulevard from Norwich Avenue to Paseo del Volcan, a route that could serve the new University of New Mexico Sandoval Regional Medical Center. Swisstack said the city could potentially work with UNM, a powerful partner, to gain legislative support for the project.

Councilors agreed to keep those projects among the top six on the list, but chose projects that would benefit the city’s water system and public safety services among its three priorities.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal