Commissioner Lisa Kokari Stone asked the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners to fund additional preconstruction work for an Agua Fria arts and cultural center, saying a community‑produced feasibility packet substantially fulfills typical feasibility study requirements and requesting up to $200,000 to complete a cost‑benefit analysis and preliminary engineering report (PER).

Stone said the community has compiled an almost‑complete feasibility/predesign package over eight years and that the submission includes community outreach, design visuals, program use descriptions and site information. She asked staff to add $200,000 (instead of an initial $100,000 figure discussed by staff) to move the Agua Fria project through final feasibility steps and into preliminary engineering as soon as possible.

Manager Schafer, county engineers and project staff described the difference between feasibility work and a PER: feasibility assesses need, uses and potential revenue and can involve economists or subject‑matter experts; a PER is typically led by engineers/architects and provides detailed cost and buildability estimates often distilled to three alternatives for board consideration. Mr. Schneider (county engineer) said a $100,000 PER would be “well on our way” given the materials already assembled by the community, but Commissioner Stone argued the board should fund $200,000 to complete both a cost‑benefit analysis and a PER within months.

The nut graf: Stone presented the county with a community‑assembled report she said contains most feasibility elements and asked the board to fund the final economic analysis and PER to accelerate the project; staff agreed the existing materials reduce time and cost but recommended a PER scope be defined before committing larger sums.

Commissioners and staff agreed about process: feasibility work can be done by economists or cultural planners, PERs require engineering expertise, and staff cautioned that funding feasibility or PER work does not guarantee construction funding. Commissioner Justin Green and others supported creating predictable funding for early‑phase planning across districts so community projects can move from idea to executable capital proposals.

No board vote was taken on funding for Agua Fria at the session; staff said they would incorporate commissioner direction when preparing the July ICIP and capital budget materials.