Quality‑of‑life bond will fund $1.2 million in Rio Rancho parks projects, staff say

City parks staff told the Rio Rancho Parks and Recreation Committee on March 18 that proceeds from a recently approved quality‑of‑life bond will provide capital funding for several parks projects affecting the department.

Projects Division Manager Diane Sornier said the portion of the bond ‘‘that affects parks directly will allow us to work on the basketball courts’’ at Star Heights Park, replacing asphalt courts with concrete, and will fund replacement of the playground at Sandia Vista Park. She said staff expect approximately $1,200,000 will be directed to parks projects and that the 1% for the arts provision in the bond package will make about $160,000 available for public‑art recommendations to the city manager and governing body.

Sornier said the timing for work depends on the bond sale; staff hope to begin work in the coming fiscal year (FY25) after bonds are issued. She also noted that some projects may require value engineering or sequencing given construction cost pressures described earlier in the meeting.

The committee did not take a formal vote on these projects at the session; Sornier presented the funding amount and the department’s planned use of funds as part of regular project updates. The meeting adjourned at 6:47 p.m.