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Monday, November 16, 2009
DOT Shops for New Property
By Colleen Heild
Journal Investigative Reporter
At a time when the state Department of Transportation is facing its roughest financial patch in years, some agency officials have been in talks to spend more than $1 million for a new property in Santa Fe.
Behind the scenes, there's been a snag.
The DOT-hired property appraiser on the project hasn't been paid for his work, saying he's been told he was hired under the wrong contract.
Timothy Holzhauer typically appraises property for highway right-of-way but this is an office building that would be used for DOT employees.
Holzhauer said he's also been told the work was authorized by a DOT employee who had no authority to hire him.
"They're actually telling me they don't know if I should have done the work for them at all," Holzhauer said last week.
The property is off Cerrillos Road on Jaguar Drive, next to the state transportation agency's District Five offices.
Holzhauer, of Santa Fe, said he finished the appraisal two months ago, but he hasn't been paid the $4,000 he's owed.
A DOT spokesman on Friday said the agency was "proceeding with payment" and had determined Holzhauer's contract was a "valid procurement."
That was news to Holzhauer.
"They're going back and forth as to whether the person who signed this particular scope of work was supposed to assign work to me at all," Holzhauer said.
That person is J. David Carter, a temporary employee hired in May in the property asset management division at DOT, state records show.
Carter works for Lawrence Barreras, director of divisions for programs and infrastructure. Barreras was placed on paid administrative leave last week. The DOT won't say why, except that it is a personnel matter.
Carter has been earning nearly $75,000 annually in his temp position, according to September payroll records, the most recent available to the Journal. Carter couldn't be reached for comment late Friday.
Holzhauer has an overall DOT contract to do appraisals when the agency needs to buy land for right-of-way. But he said his work on Jaguar Drive had to do with "property they're considering purchasing for more office space."
"Their accounting department is saying that they're not allowed to pay me ... because I wasn't supposed to do this under the contract."
In an e-mail Friday, DOT spokesman Mark Slimp didn't acknowledge any problems had occurred.
"David Carter was authorized to order the appraisal for this project," the e-mail said.
Carter's 180-day stint at DOT is set to expire Nov. 29, according to one state record. But there are signs he may be staying longer. When a Journal reporter visited the agency's Santa Fe right-of-way offices last month, Carter's nameplate was attached to a closed office door.
Making money
Before being placed on leave, Barreras told the Journal that Carter was hired as part of a "property management initiative to develop revenue for the road fund." He said DOT management decided to "bring on staff including David Carter with experience in real estate development ..."
Barreras, in an e-mail, said the initiative was "co-developed" by DOT management and the state Transportation Commission, a five-member group appointed by Gov. Bill Richardson.
DOT is looking for extra sources of revenue since the state road fund has taken a hit over the past year. Motorists have cut back on travel because of the economy and higher fuel costs, and that means less gasoline tax revenue for DOT.
The department initially expected to receive about $400 million in state road money this year, but Secretary Gary Girón told a legislative committee that could drop to $340 million, according to an Associated Press story published last month.
The DOT relies on the state money and federal highway dollars but currently has no cash reserves and is keeping its vacancy rate above 15 percent to hold down costs, the AP reported.
How the DOT could pay for a new building isn't clear.
Asked why the Jaguar Drive property was appraised, Slimp's e-mail said "the NMDOT is evaluating potential properties in Santa Fe for future purchase."
"Any purchase of this nature would come from NMDOT operating budget," Slimp added.
The Jaguar Drive property is owned by Four Amigos LLC, Slimp said. He identified the principals as Bart J. Davis, Mark G. Henderson, Franz Schneider and John Robertson.
Tom Keesing, of New Mexico Real Estate Inc., said the property consists of more than an acre of land and includes a vacant 9,500-square-foot building. It is on the market for $1.5 million, he said.
"We're actively looking for a buyer," said Keesing, the broker on the property. "We've shown it to half a dozen different prospects and one of those prospects was DOT, but at this point we have nothing from them."
State Sen. Phil Griego, D-San Jose, who is familiar with the Jaguar Drive property talks, told the Journal on Friday that if a deal is reached, it could be April before the sale is final.
He said one funding scenario would involve the Legislature, the New Mexico Finance Authority and require approval from the transportation commission.
"It's far from being completed," he said.
Griego said purchasing the building would help alleviate overcrowding at the District Five office, which handles road maintenance and construction for most of Northern New Mexico and Torrance County.
Griego is listed as an independent agent at another company of Keesing's, The Santa Fe Agency, but said he's not involved in the Jaguar Drive property talks with the DOT.
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