Santa Fe County commissioners approve series of contracts, grants and a housing bond ordinance

The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners on Oct. 14 approved a slate of agreements, contract amendments and a bond ordinance to support affordable housing and county programs, and authorized publication of an ordinance related to recognizing historical and cultural events.

The board voted to approve contracts and amendments that county staff said fund housing rehabilitation and energy-efficiency programs, tourism marketing, engineering and planning for buildings and infrastructure, and design and construction oversight for the Santa Fe Rail Trail Segment 7A. Separately, commissioners authorized the county to publish the title and general summary of an ordinance that would establish policies for recognizing historic and cultural events at Board of County Commissioners meetings, a measure presented by Commissioner Lisa Kakari Stone.

Why it matters: The actions commit county resources (mostly contract management sums and administrative approvals) and unlock outside funding and project planning. The Turquoise Trail housing bond ordinance moves a 312-unit affordable multifamily project closer to construction and uses tax-exempt multifamily housing bonds to lower financing costs for a private developer while keeping affordability covenants.

Key votes and outcomes - Agreement No. 2025-055 with HomeWise Inc. to administer the county’s Home Rehabilitation and Energy Efficiency (HREE and CED) programs — approval (motion: Commissioner Hank Hughes; second: Commissioner Lisa Kakari Stone). Contract manager Ruben Macias presented the program and said the contract amount requested for program administration is $424,500; total program budgets referenced during discussion were $2,835,000 (seed and HREE funds combined). Commissioners approved the agreement.

- Amendment No. 8 to Agreement 2020-0001 with Griffin & Associates Marketing (doing business as Sunny505) — approved (motion: Commissioner Justin Green; second: Commissioner Adam Johnson). The amendment would add $900,000 for FY2026 marketing and extend the professional services through June 2026. The board approved the increase. The staff presentation noted rising media costs and a focus on year-round and seasonal marketing targeting Texas, Colorado, California, Arizona, Oklahoma and New Mexico. (Transcript contained differing renderings of the contract total; the board record should be used for the precise final contract sum.)

- Agreement with Architectural Research Consultants (ARC) for a feasibility and master-planning study of the County’s Airport Road facility (former juvenile detention center) — approved (motion: Commissioner Justin Green; second: Chair Camilla Bustamante). Project manager Celeste Sanchez said ARC will complete an engineering feasibility study and a long-range reuse master plan; work duration estimated at four to six months.

- Agreement No. 20250333-PW-TJ with OTEC Inc. for design and construction oversight of Santa Fe Rail Trail Segment 7A — approved (motion: Commissioner Adam Johnson; second: Commissioner Hank Hughes). Project manager Dan Anderson said the four-year agreement is for $661,146 (exclusive of NMGRT) and will fund preliminary engineering, geotechnical reports, right-of-way work, and construction oversight to evaluate overpass vs. underpass options and connect to County Road 33 toward Lamy.

- Amendment No. 3 to Agreement 2020-0427 with Sauder Miller & Associates (sewer design) — approved (motion: Commissioner Hank Hughes; second: Commissioner Adam Johnson). Public Works said this completes a missing scope item to design a sewer extension from Calibre Phase 2 to the Abajo Lift Station and will move to bid; staff described the Abajo Lift Station design and SR14 project as funded and ready for construction.

- Approval of Agreement 2025-055 (HomeWise), and the other administrative items listed above — carried on unanimous “aye” votes unless noted in the official minutes.

- Proclamations and appointments: The board approved proclamations recognizing Indigenous Peoples’ Day (October) and Rancho de Chimayó Day (Oct. 14, honoring Florence Jaramillo). The board approved appointment of Deborah Torres to the Arts, Culture and Creative Economy Council (District 1 vacancy).

- Letter of support to New Mexico Environment Department for the proposed Clean Transportation Fuel Rule (sponsored by Commissioners Hughes and Johnson) — the board voted to transmit a letter endorsing the state’s draft program to incentivize cleaner transportation fuels.

- Ordinance publication: The board voted to authorize publication of title and general summary for an ordinance establishing county policies for recognizing historical and cultural events at Board meetings and “requiring a meeting to celebrate Fiesta de Santa Fe.” The vote cleared the way for public hearings and later committee/editorial work; attorney advice given at the meeting made clear that the ordinance process requires public comment before final vote.

- Multifamily housing revenue obligations (Turquoise Trail): The board adopted Ordinance No. 2025-02 authorizing issuance of multifamily housing revenue obligations (bonds) to finance the Turquoise Trail affordable housing project. County staff said the developer requested up to $70,000,000 in tax-exempt multifamily housing bonds. Bond counsel Peter Franklin explained the structure: senior and subordinate lien bonds will finance construction and permanent financing; documents include a ground lease, project and loan agreements, a limited offering memorandum, and a tax regulatory agreement. Counsel and staff emphasized the bonds are payable from project revenues only and the county is not pledging general fund revenues. The developer (Dominion Development and Acquisition LLC) testified under oath that the project will offer primarily 60% area median income (AMI) units (312 units; two units at 50% AMI were noted). The board passed the ordinance by roll call; Attorney Franklin and staff said any material contract changes will return to the board for approval.

What the board did not include in decisions today: the publication vote authorizes notice and public hearings on the cultural-events ordinance; the broadband strategic plan and the senior-needs assessment were presented for discussion and further work but did not require or receive final board approval at this meeting.

Next steps and record-keeping Staff said contract documents and findings for quasi-judicial items would be posted to the county’s online board portal. Several projects (rail-trail, ARC master plan, sewer work) will move to design or bidding phases and return to commissioners as needed for contract awards, budget appropriations or project updates. The Turquoise Trail financing will proceed through customary bond-closing steps with bond counsel, lender purchase commitments (Freddie Mac identified as expected purchaser of senior bonds), and final documents returned to the board if materially altered.

Ending: Commissioners and county staff repeated that the approvals are intended to move projects from planning toward implementation, with staff reminding the public that additional community input and formal reviews (public hearings, contract awards, environmental or permitting steps) may follow for individual projects.