By Rodd Cayton
It takes a village to expand a government complex. Actually, it takes a town, a county and a city to get that done — and voters to make the effort pay off. At its Oct. 26 meeting, the Bernalillo Town Council signed off on permissions necessary for a major expansion of the Sandoval County administration campus, approving the annexation and rezoning of roughly 38 acres near State Route 528 and Idalia Road.
The county already plans to add 72,000 square feet to the judicial complex. That project is well into the design phase and will be under construction in 2027. If a bond issue is approved, the site will host a new voting site and a Bureau of Elections warehouse.
In July, Rio Rancho’s governing body signed off on turning 7.8 acres of county property within city limits over to the town to accommodate the judicial complex move (state law requires the offices of county elected officials to be in Bernalillo, the county seat). The annexation and rezoning formalize the county’s authority to build its planned projects on the site, which had been zoned for commercial and retail uses.
Property owners speaking at the public hearing expressed concerns that included the project’s impacts on local roads and drainage and school bus service. In response to other concerns, county staff said existing property access easements would remain open, and that plans are in place to coordinate a dedicated right-in, right-out access point from nearby residential areas onto Highway 528.
Councilors also approved $60,800 in lodgers’ tax grants: $20,000 for advertising and security for town Christmas events, $20,000 toward the purchase of a mobile light tower, $20,000 for construction of a perimeter cinder-block wall on the north side of Loretto Park and $800 for banners and promotional materials for the Bernalillo Farmers Market (with a clerical correction to the application header).
Staff also reported that 74 pounds of unused prescriptions were brought in during the Oct. 24 Drug Take Back Day event.
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