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Monday, May 05, 2008

Balloon-Site Plan Out of This Budget World



      Thirteen months and several tightened notches in its budget belt later, why is the city of Albuquerque still trying to scrape up an extra million bucks for a 22-acre balloon landing site?
       The city has around $5 million for the parcel at Osuna and Vista del Norte NE, an area it decided would be better served by high-flying balloons than Wal-Mart's everyday low prices. And while a big-box supercenter likely would have inflicted strain on surrounding roads and neighborhoods, a mini balloon fiesta park that takes a huge chunk of commercial land out of the tax equation is likely to inflict fiscal strain on the cash-strapped city.
       The parcel has been appraised at $7.1 million, though the city has a deal in place to buy it for $6.1 million from Sundt Construction Inc. Sundt is understandably tired of being tethered to the property and a sale that never seems to close.
       City Councilor Debbie O'Malley, who led the charge to buy the property, says she's juggling funds from other budgets to cover the tab. But does the city really need all 22 acres?
       Even if officials cobble together another $1 million, that won't turn the site — roughly the size of 10 Isotopes Park ballfields — into a park. There's no funding allocated, it's not in the city's 10-year plan, and there's a line of projects in front of it.
       Five commercial developers have approached Sundt about the property. It's worth investigating if one has a smaller-scale development that works in tandem with a city open-space plan, bringing in tax dollars while leaving some cash to develop the landing site.
       That's a sounder financial bet than a park that never gets off the ground.
      
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