Santa Fe committee adopts 2027–2031 infrastructure capital plan after debate over priorities and funding

The Santa Fe Quality of Life Committee voted July 2 to adopt a resolution authorizing the City of Santa Fe’s 2027–2031 Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan (ICIP) as amended, following a staff presentation and extended discussion about which projects the city should prioritize for legislative and other funding.

The measure, introduced as “resolution adopting the City of Santa Fe’s 2027 through 2031 infrastructure capital improvements plan” and sponsored by Councilor Amanda Chavez and Mayor Alan Weber, passed on a roll-call vote of Councilor Castro: yes; Councilor Chavez: yes; Councilor Michael Garcia: yes; Councilor Faulkner: yes. Councilor Cassett was absent. The committee approved the plan “as amended.”

The ICIP adopted by the committee lists roughly $896 million in projects across roads, utilities, parks, public safety and other infrastructure categories. Director Regina Wheeler told councilors the ICIP is compiled annually from project worksheets submitted by each city division, reviewed by department leaders and the city manager, and that the “top five” projects on the list are the items the city typically emphasizes when seeking legislative appropriations.

“The legislature funds their priorities more than they fund the city priorities,” Director Regina Wheeler said, pointing to recent appropriations for Fort Marcy Park and projects at the airport that were not the city’s top five but still received large legislative support. Wheeler summarized recent legislative wins and existing project investments: Fort Marcy Park ($5,000,000 in 2024), Soccer Valley ($6,250,000), and airport-related funding including $4,500,000 for the 599 access road and $2,000,000 for Phase 2 terminal design. She said earlier airport funding brought roughly $9,000,000 for Phase 1, a total that would put the airport investments near $16,000,000 when combined.

Councilor Michael Garcia pressed staff on whether the ICIP approach matched direction from the city’s legislative delegation, saying legislators had urged the city to complete projects before asking for new money. “Our delegation…would like us to complete projects and then go after new money,” Garcia said. He and other councilors singled out several projects they want finished or prioritized, including the Shelby Street Bridge replacement and sewer extensions to address neighborhoods off Airport Road.

Wheeler described the Shelby Street Bridge timeline: an early, small preliminary estimate to start design; a collapse in 2023 that prompted legislative appropriations; roughly $250,000 appropriated in 2024 and another $250,000 in 2025; and an expectation that the project will soon enter historic review and later come to the governing body for additional construction funding (Wheeler said staff expect to seek roughly $1 million for construction once historic-review approval is secured). She said the Jemez Road sewer project recently received both grants needed — about $600,000 in total — and is in in-house design.

Councilors repeatedly asked for clearer information on which projects already have other funding sources and which projects rely primarily on new legislative requests. Wheeler said each project has a worksheet submitted to the state listing potential additional funding sources, but the city must extract and compile that data into a clear presentation. She agreed a public presentation showing which ICIP projects are eligible for or already have matching federal, state, impact-fee or other funding would be useful; the committee discussed requesting that presentation at an upcoming Public Works meeting.

Councilors and directors raised federal funding risks and recent grant developments. Wheeler reported the city has continued to receive federal funding in several areas; the Federal Transit Administration had approved a $4,000,000 grant mentioned by staff. Director Hammond Paul said some AmeriCorps senior-program funding showed initial cuts but was later reinstated, and he warned that HUD voucher cuts at the federal level — while not administered by the city — could create downstream impacts the city will feel.

Wheeler and councilors also discussed the backlog and timing challenge that has reduced the city’s ability to show completed projects to the legislature. Wheeler said the city recently received a wave of grant agreements after audits delayed execution: “we started to get all of those grant agreements. We received 63 grant agreements for $40,000,000 in less than a year.” Councilors emphasized the political difficulty of asking for new capital outlay when previously appropriated funds remain unspent or projects are incomplete.

Several specific projects were discussed by name during the committee’s review of the ICIP: a $27,000,000 ask for a large-capacity noncongregate shelter; a police training facility and improvements to police headquarters listed among the top five priorities; Shelby Street Bridge (recent design funds, historic review upcoming); Verrero De Valencia sewer extension (completed, with six or seven homes connected, per Wheeler); Jemez Road sewer (grants secured; in design); Midtown redevelopment (infrastructure at roughly 30% design, with an estimated $40,000,000 infrastructure investment anticipated in fiscal years 2027–28); Paseo Real wastewater plant (recent investment described by staff at roughly $14,000,000); and the medians/gateway medians project (construction of a number of medians to begin this summer).

Councilors asked about committee appointments and next steps. Wheeler said the Capital Improvement Advisory Committee (impact-fee advisory committee) is being finalized and will be seated after each councilor provides their candidate selections; staff also reminded the committee that each councilor will have an opportunity to nominate a district priority when the legislative priorities resolution is prepared in the fall.

Procedural schedule noted by staff and chair: the item will move through Public Works (scheduled for July 21), return to Quality of Life (July 23), go to the Finance Committee (July 28) and then the full Governing Body on July 30.

The committee approved the ICIP as amended and directed staff to prepare public materials that clarify funding sources for projects and to present that information at a Public Works meeting so councilors and constituents can see which projects already have funding streams and which rely on new legislative or other grant requests.

No other formal amendments or spending authorizations were adopted at the committee level beyond approval of the plan as amended.