Commission looks at $1.25M grant for Mountain View development

The Bernalillo County Commission will give some attention to the Mountain View neighborhood, set up a process to select the new county manager and get rolling on improvements to the Dolores Huerta Gateway Park Market among other items at its meeting Tuesday, March 19.

What’s Up?

• Addressing the historical concentration of pollution and heavy industry in the Mountain View Neighborhood is on tap with a one-time $1.25 million allocation from the New Mexico MainStreet grant fund to support the development of a sector plan. The funding will also be used for environmental improvements, land acquisition, design and construction of a public park in the Mountain View neighborhood.

The neighborhood is located along Second Street and Broadway Boulevard, south of Rio Bravo Boulevard, on the east side of the river. The historic agricultural and residential neighborhood that has been the center of heavy industry in Bernalillo County since the 1970s, is home to three asphalt plants, numerous auto salvage and other heavy industry. It is also home to the Valle Del Oro Urban Wildlife Refuge and the Rio Grande bosque.

• Commissioners are set to approve using $410,000 from the New Mexico MainStreet grant fund to redevelop the Dolores Huerta Gateway Park at 100 Isleta Blvd. SW. Proposed improvements include a shaded picnic area, more shade structures, more trees, a stage and a new “gateway” structure, among other improvements. The park is home to La Familia Growers Market, the La Familia Growers Market Harvest Festival and I Love The South Valley Because Art Exhibit.

• The Commission will discuss a process and policy to select a new county manager after long-time County Manager Julie Morgas Baca retires at the end of June. She was appointed county manager in 2015. The proposed resolution says that a professional recruitment firm will be chosen by the end of March and in April, there will be a series of town hall meetings to gather public comment and also a survey. According to the resolution, a new county manager should be selected and announced by June 14.

How To ParticipateBernalillo County meetings are conducted at 5 p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of the month in the Ken Sanchez Commission Chambers at 415 Silver Ave SW or via a hybrid manner through GOV-TV or online at the county’s website or on Bernalillo County’s YouTube channel. The next meeting is at 5 p.m. on March 19.