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Commissioners approve wildfire grant application, free disposal days, water‑rights purchase and multiple public‑works contracts
Summary
At its March 12 meeting the Santa Fe County Board approved a set of resolutions and contracts: authorizing the County Manager to submit a Community Wildfire Defense Grant application, several free solid‑waste disposal days, purchase of 48 acre‑feet of water, and multiple public‑works agreements and budget reallocations.
Santa Fe County commissioners on March 12 approved a package of resolutions and contracts intended to advance wildfire mitigation, solid‑waste collection, water supply and road infrastructure.
Votes at a glance - Community Wildfire Defense Grant (CWDG) application and signature authority (resolution 2025030): Approved. The board authorized the county manager to submit two versions of the CWDG application and to sign related grant documents if awarded. Fire‑department presenters described the county’s county‑wide community wildfire protection plan (CWPP) and said the mitigation application could request up to $10 million with a required match (staff said 25% match is typical, and in‑kind labor can help meet the match). The board approved the motion made by Commissioner Justin Green and seconded by Commissioner Hank Hughes.
- Free solid‑waste disposal and tire/green‑waste days (resolution 2025031): Approved. The board authorized countywide free residential solid‑waste disposal days to support community cleanups (dates announced include a tire drop‑off day and events tied to Great American Cleanup and Toss No Moss) and earmarked $500,000 from the environmental gross receipts tax fund for community green‑waste disposal support.
- Purchase of 48 acre‑feet of water from Platt Land & Water LLC (resolution 2025032): Approved. Deputy utilities director Travis Soderquist told the board the county will buy 48 acre‑feet at $19,000 per acre‑foot (total purchase price $912,000). Staff said fee‑in‑lieu funds are available and that last year the county collected about $4 million in fee‑in‑lieu payments and spent roughly $2 million on water‑rights purchases.
- Abajo Lift Station design amendment (contract amendment): Approved. The board approved Amendment No. 1 to the agreement with Molson | Corbin for additional engineering and construction‑observation services at the Abajo Lift Station, increasing the contract by $424,398.08 to a total of $1,010,978.08 (exclusive of NMGRT).
- Santa Fe County road map certification (resolution 2025033): Approved. The board adopted the annual county road maintenance list, certifying 559.33 miles of public roads for county maintenance and submission to the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
- Public‑works design and construction contracts (agreements): The board approved several design and construction contracts including an engineering design contract with WSP for County Road 55A (General Goodwin Road) and a construction contract awarded to TLC Company Inc. (contract amounts reported in the meeting materials).
- Budget adjustments and reallocations (resolutions 2025034 and 2025035): Approved. The board approved a $350,000 increase to the general fund budget tied to grid‑modernization grant funding and approved capital outlay GRT and general‑fund reallocations totaling $433,519 (capital) and $54,591 (general fund) to cover project gaps including sidewalk and senior‑center IT upgrades.
Why it matters Taken together, the votes move forward multi‑year mitigation and infrastructure projects: the wildfire grant would fund contracted mitigation work for high‑risk communities, the water‑rights purchase adds to the county’s water portfolio, and the road and lift‑station contracts address near‑term capital needs. Commissioners and staff emphasized the multi‑department coordination required to implement these projects.
Implementation notes Staff said CWDG awards could take up to a year to reach the county and that the mitigation program, if funded, would likely run over five years, targeting five to six communities per year. For the water purchase, staff said the water should be added to the county portfolio once documents are executed. For road and lift‑station projects staff have delegated authority to the county manager to sign purchase orders and change orders as needed.
Ending All listed motions and resolutions passed on voice votes; board minutes record the approvals and the associated resolution or agreement numbers.
