Sandoval County OKs leases and advances notice of intent for Castilian defense project

The Sandoval County Board of County Commissioners approved three connected lease resolutions and voted to publish a notice of intent to adopt an ordinance for a proposed defense equipment manufacturing project tied to Castilian Corporation.

Bond counsel Jill Sweeney of Taft Law Firm told the commission the three measures are related: one extends the county's lease with the State Land Office for a portion of Rio Rancho Estates, a second authorizes a county sublease to Castilian Corporation under that arrangement, and a third pairs the county with a private lease for adjacent property. "These leases are in progress" and the adjacent-parcel lease "does need state board of finance approval," Sweeney said.

The commission approved all three resolutions by recorded voice votes; the clerk recorded unanimous votes in favor. The board then voted to publish a notice of intent to adopt the project ordinance required under the county's economic development ordinance (referred to in the meeting as the LETA/LEDA-style project ordinance). Sweeney said the final project participation agreement and intergovernmental agreement will be returned to the board for formal adoption, and that the transaction involves participation by the City of Rio Rancho, Sandoval County and the State.

County staff described the draft financing package as still under negotiation but provided preliminary figures to the commission. The county manager said the current package being discussed includes an estimated $22,500,000 in county participation, a $1,000,000 city contribution and about $5,000,000 in state participation, but emphasized those numbers are preliminary and subject to change before final action. The manager also said the county would act as fiscal agent to receive and disburse state and local funds should the project move forward.

Commissioners asked procedural questions but did not pose substantive objections during the public vote. Earlier in the meeting public comment included concerns about the company's business area and transparency; Ramona Goolsby, a resident, said she worried about financial and environmental risks and said the company appears to be a new entrant into defense contracting.

The county staff and bond counsel said additional approvals will be required before any incentives or public funding are transferred, including state-level approvals and the final negotiated benchmarks in project agreements. The county directed staff to proceed with publishing the notice of intent and to continue negotiations; final approvals will return to the commission at a later meeting.

Details left unspecified in the meeting record include the exact final dollar amounts, the precise performance benchmarks in the project participation agreement, and the final PPA terms for any power-purchase or jobs-related commitments. County officials said they will present those specifics to the board before any funds are committed.