Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Projects topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council reviews ICIP top-five priorities including $12M housing ask; EOC proposal prompts questions about duplicating LANL facility
Summary
County staff presented the Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan top-five priorities — led by a $12 million housing-infrastructure request — and councilors extensively debated a proposed $5 million Emergency Operations Center.
Los Alamos County staff presented the county’s prioritized Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) list at the June 17 work session, explaining how the county ranks projects for submission to the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) and the governor’s capital-outlay process. Danielle Duran (county intergovernmental affairs) and Erica Thomas (project manager) walked council through the top five projects recommended for state consideration.
Top five ICIP priorities presented (requested amounts): 1) housing infrastructure — $12,000,000 to increase capacity for affordable and middle‑income housing and to support development of county-owned land; 2) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) adjacent to Fire Station 3 — $5,000,000 to construct a dedicated, 24/7-ready EOC with redundant communications and backup power; 3) social‑services co‑location facility (sometimes referred to in discussion as a Community Action Center) — $10,000,000 (phased $2M in 2027 and $8M in 2028) to co-locate county social services and complementary providers; 4) EA‑4 electric feeder replacement — $7,500,000 to replace aging overhead distribution line that supplies water wells and the wastewater plant; and 5) White Rock Town Center / Longview Drive realignment and streetscape — $2,500,000 (county has $900,000 encumbered for property purchase and $1,000,000 for road construction).
Staff said projects were prioritized not as a statement of absolute community importance but to maximize likely capital‑outlay success based on state interests, legislative priorities and agency funding cycles. Duran described post‑submittal advocacy with legislators and the governor’s staff as part of the capital‑outlay process.
Discussion focused heavily on the proposed $5 million EOC. Several councilors questioned whether the county should build a separate EOC when Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) maintains a large EOC on lab property. Councilor Hand and others argued staff should pursue a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with LANL and DOE to secure usable access, or otherwise explain why a county facility is necessary. Councilor Reedy noted prior presentations had justified a local EOC for county-centered recovery operations and for regional partners, while councilor Regor and others urged more due diligence with lab and federal partners before prioritizing the project for the governor’s capital-outlay request. County manager Anne Laurent and other staff said functional constraints (network access, badge access, and operational control) have limited county use of the LANL EOC in past incidents; staff suggested they will pursue further conversations with LANL and DOE and recommended bringing the item back for more discussion.
Councilors asked detailed questions about the housing infrastructure item: staff said the $12 million would be staged across county‑owned projects such as North Mesa, 20th Street, 888 (DP Road) and other opportunities (for example, land acquisitions or deed‑restriction purchases) depending on which projects become shovel‑ready. On the EA‑4 electric feeder, utilities staff described the line as an original wooden‑pole line nearing end of life and said replacement with steel poles (some materials likely delivered by helicopter) is needed because the feeder serves water wells and the wastewater plant. For the social‑services co‑location facility staff said the scope is still being defined but the intent is to consolidate county social‑service programs and contracted providers under one roof to reduce rent burdens and improve client access.
No formal votes on project ranking were taken at the work session; staff said the draft ICIP will be submitted to DFA by the July 11 deadline and can be adjusted if council gives different direction at a subsequent meeting. Council asked staff to treat the EOC as a topic for further public discussion and to pursue clarifying conversations with LANL and DOE; staff indicated they will return the item to a future agenda and recommended continuing to seek outside funds that could lower local cost exposure.
