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Santa Fe County holds special public hearing on CDBG eligibility, no project selected
Summary
Santa Fe County commissioners heard a presentation from county staff on Community Development Block Grant rules and eligibility, took public testimony from Agua Fria residents and agreed to continue project selection at a July 8 meeting; no CDBG application or project was approved at the special meeting.
Santa Fe County Commissioners held a special meeting June 2025 to satisfy Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) public-participation requirements for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and heard staff and public input on potential projects but did not select a project or approve an application.
The meeting included a staff presentation by Max Hendren, capital planning team leader for the county's Growth Management Department, who described CDBG eligibility, scoring, past county grants, and program constraints. "The purpose of this special meeting is to provide you information on the Community Development Block Grant," Hendren told the board as he outlined how the state Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) and the New Mexico Community Development Council apply HUD rules and American Community Survey (ACS) data to determine whether a project meets the low- and moderate-income (LMI) national objective.
Hendren urged commissioners to sign the public-attendance roster required for application documentation and described three categories likely to be most competitive for the county: projects that serve census tracts with 51% or greater LMI, projects serving a limited clientele (for example, senior centers), and projects that can be completed within the CDBG program's 24-month performance window. He noted administrative and funding constraints: applications without certified cost estimates are limited to $500,000; the county's nonrural cash-match requirement is 10%; DFA now requires an external professional project administrator; and the county may use North Central New Mexico Economic Development District capacity-building funds to support application preparation. He also summarized recent county CDBG work, including a 2019 Greater Glorietta regional well project that combined $1,131,968 in CDBG funds (initial $750,000 plus an additional $381,968) with $2,400,000 leveraged to serve about 70 households, and cited past housing and roofing grants.
During the public hearing, two speakers from Agua Fria spoke about a proposed Agua Fria Village History, Arts and Cultural Center. Resident Nancy Suter asked whether the cultural center was eligible for CDBG funds, saying: "I need a little clarification about our Agua Fria Village History, Art, and Cultural center ... I thought was being proposed for this grant. But now I'm what I'm thinking I'm hearing is that at this point, it's not eligible. Is that correct?" Hendren replied that the project was currently under a feasibility study and "is not identified as an infrastructure project at this time. Maybe potential funds on down the road." William Mee of the Agua Fria Village Association said the group had been building public interest online to justify eventual bricks-and-mortar work and thanked the commission for any help.
Commissioners pressed staff on possible project types and readiness. Commissioner Justin Green asked whether the old Chimayó Head Start building site or a vacant state police outpost might host child-care or pre-K facilities; Hendren said the county would "take them back to the committee and identify if there's a potential project." Commissioner Lisa Kokari Stone emphasized Agua Fria's cultural and historical significance and asked that the residents' testimony be entered into the public record for pipeline consideration; the chair and staff agreed to include testimony and to continue public input at future meetings.
No formal project selection or CDBG application was approved at the special meeting. Hendren said staff will return for a fourth public-participation meeting and a post-project-selection hearing on July 8 prior to the regularly scheduled Board of County Commissioners meeting; staff also indicated an August 19 internal target related to application timing. The board approved the meeting agenda at the start of the session (motion by Commissioner Hank Hughes; second by Commissioner Justin Green) and later adjourned the special meeting (motion by Commissioner Adam Johnson; second by Commissioner Justin Green).
