What to expect at Tuesday's Bernalillo County Commission meeting

The Bernalillo County Commission could fill a vacancy to the Air Quality Control Board on Tuesday. The Commission also will consider increasing residential trash collection fees.

The Air Quality Control Board is a joint county and city body that enforces air pollution regulations. The board was the subject of some controversy last year when Albuquerque City Council passed legislation that would halt the board’s operations. A subsequent lawsuit allowed the board to continue operating.

The Air Quality Control Board includes seven members, four appointed by the Albuquerque mayor and three appointed by the Bernalillo County Commission. The board members have three-year terms and are limited to two consecutive terms.

Commissioner Eric Olivas wants to appoint Thomas De Pree, a civil and environmental engineering researcher and assistant professor, to fill the vacant seat, with a term that would end in June 2025. Commissioner Walt Benson would like to appoint Paul Silverman, a real estate firm manager who served on the Air Quality Control Board from 1994-2004; Chris Meech, the director of a concrete, asphalt and mining company; or Jarek Goetsch, an airspace manager for Kirtland Air Force Base.

The other two county Air Quality Control Board members are Judy Calman and Kitty Richards. The city of Albuquerque also has one vacant seat on the board.

Higher solid waste fees

The Commission is expected to decide on increasing solid waste fees for residential customers to fund a potential increase to the Solid Waste Department’s budget by $420,000. If approved, the fee increase would go into effect in January 2025.

According to a county staff financial analysis, the vendor, Waste Management, notified the county’s Solid Waste Department that an increase in solid waste collection costs for the county was to begin in July because of the national consumer price index increase.

The new monthly fees would be $19.94 for weekly residential collection in one container, $18.58 for weekly collection of 10 or more households billed on a single billing, $10.45 for weekly collection in a single container and recycling collection for low income assistance qualified residences, and $5.18 for weekly collection in a single container and recycling for very low income assistance. The current fees are $18.72 for weekly residential; $17.45 for weekly collection for 10 households or more on one property; $10.10 for low income assistance; and $5 for very low income assistance.

Bonds for new movie studio

The Commission will also consider an application for Taxable Industrial Revenue Bonds, not exceeding $186 million, to incentivize Mesa Film Studios to build a media production campus in Albuquerque north of the Double Eagle II airport. The county would not be responsible for debt or payments on the bonds. IRBs are issued for tax exemption purposes.

If the inducement resolution is approved Tuesday, the county would publicly announce its intent to issue the industrial revenue bonds. This would be a first step in the IRB process, and the Commission would still have to give final approval on the bonds at a future meeting.