More than $1.7 million in state Capital Appropriation Funds should soon be flowing into Torrance County after the county commission approved eight projects at its Dec. 13 meeting.
The bulk of that – $1.05 million — is earmarked for a project “to plan, design, construct furnish and equip improvements to the fairgrounds in Estancia in Torrance County,” according to the proposal that passed unanimously.
The idea is put up a multi-purpose building on the fairgrounds, said Commissioner Samuel Schropp, to house the local New Mexico State University extension office, as well as an area for smalltime horse shows and exhibiting animals.
The move is actually something of a pivot for the country as original plans from the consulting engineering firm called for a $13 million project, he said, and none of the commissioners want to invest that kind of money.
So the commissioners and the engineers made a trip out to the fairground, Schropp said, literally marking areas with spray paint.
“At this point, we don’t what the scope of the work will be,” he said in an interview Dec. 12. “We all went out to the fairgrounds with the county staff and the three commissioners and actually stepped off what we wanted off the ground with an engineer from (engineering firm) Bohannon Huston and present and taking notes. We actually laid it out with marking paint and tape measures.”
The idea is to have a serviceable structure that enhances the fairgrounds, and provide the community with a building that can be used by local groups throughout the year.
“This is the third time we’ve gone back to the drawing board,” Schropp said. “This time, Bohannon Huston has a much better idea of what we want. “We don’t need a Taj Mahal. But we do need a good, quality, modern, efficient-type of building.”
Despite, the progress, the project is still quite a ways from completion.
“The plan, tentatively, is to have everything in place, all of the plans and all of the contractors and contracts signed,” Schropp said. “So that when the fair is over in 2024, construction will start immediately with an eye toward having this building ready by the 2025 county fair.”
The commission also approved:
- $250,000 to plan, design and construct a shop and fenced yard for the Road Department in Estancia;
- $169,621 for renovations, including the purchase and installation of equipment for the Estancia Senior Center;
- $158,861 for renovations including the purchase and installation of equipment for the Mountainair Senior Center;
- $100,000 to plan, design, construct, equip and furnish an administration building in Estancia and
- $53,599 to plan and design the Moriarty Senior Center.
For the latter appropriation, “contracts have already been obtained for this project,” Amanda Luján, county grants administrator told the commission. “When we get the new funding, we will go forward. And just to clarify, this is actually for the planning of the new senior center. And written in the scope of work, I know we talked about a multi- generational center. So the way the scope of work is written, I believe the study can be done to find a location that would serve that purpose, as well.”