By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Rio Rancho’s governing body unanimously cleared the way last week for Sandoval County to annex 7.8 acres into the Town of Bernalillo, a boundary shift that lets the county move forward with a bigger 13th Judicial District Court Complex and a relocated Bureau of Elections.
City staff reviewed the request and found it wouldn’t harm Rio Rancho’s own development plans, according to a staff memo presented to council. The land in question, part of the La Plazuela complex near NM 528 and Idalia Road NE, currently sits inside Rio Rancho’s boundary even though it’s surrounded by county government buildings — creating what County Manager Wayne Johnson called a “jurisdictional nightmare,” including a Health Commons building split between two municipalities.
State law requires Sandoval County’s elected officials to keep their offices in Bernalillo, the designated county seat, Johnson told council. Shifting the parcels lets the county finish a 60,000-square-foot addition to the judicial complex — adding three courtrooms, two hearing rooms and a jury room — and build a new Bureau of Elections headquarters on the property’s north end.
Funding on the ballot
Voters will decide in November whether to fund a new Bureau of Elections warehouse on the annexed land, Johnson said in a separate interview with The Paper. The building would consolidate elections operations currently split between the administrative complex and a facility on South Hill Road near I-25 — a location Johnson said is difficult for the public and media to reach, particularly on election nights. Once construction begins, Johnson estimated the warehouse would take roughly 18 to 24 months to complete.
Growth pressures
Johnson pointed to Sandoval County’s rapid growth, driven largely by Rio Rancho, as the reason for the expansion. The county’s population is now roughly 156,000 to 160,000, according to census figures cited by Johnson, but the county’s ability to grow its own footprint is constrained by Bernalillo’s limited size.
City officials confirmed Rio Rancho has supplied water to the county complex for nearly 20 years and said the annexation won’t change that arrangement.
Two additional sites are earmarked for future county office space and a possible clerk’s building expansion, county officials said. The Town of Bernalillo has given preliminary approval of the annexation contingent on Rio Rancho’s sign-off, county officials said.
What’s next: Sandoval County’s petition now goes to the Board of County Commissioners, then to Bernalillo’s governing body for final annexation approval. Bernalillo’s vote timing has not been finalized.
On the ballot: Voters decide on Bureau of Elections warehouse funding in November.
Contact: Sandoval County Manager’s Office, 1500 Idalia Rd. Bldg. D, Bernalillo, NM 87004, (505) 867-7500