Committee of the Whole on 2025-2034 Capital Plan and 2025-2026 Bond - March 6, 2025
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Committee of the Whole Meeting on 2025-2034 Capital Improvements Plan and 2025 Two-Year Capital Budget - March 6, 2025
This meeting of the Albuquerque City Council Committee of the Whole was held on March 6, 2025, from 5:00 PM to 6:28 PM in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers. The purpose was to mark up R-25-117, the proposed 2025-2034 Decade Plan for Capital Improvements and the 2025 Two-Year Capital Budget, following the mayor's proposed general obligation bond program. All nine councilors were present. Public comment was not taken; it will be heard at the March 17 City Council meeting. The committee approved a substitute and numerous amendments, ultimately recommending the bill do pass, but failed to schedule it for immediate action.
Discussion Items
- Committee Substitute: Chair Grout introduced the substitute, which increased the bond package to $180 million from a starting point $25 million lower than two years prior, reallocating funding from broad buckets to specific departmental projects. The substitute passed on a 6-3 vote (For: Baca, Bassan, Lewis, Rogers, Champine, Grout; Against: Sanchez, Peña, Fiebelkorn).
- Amendment No. 1 (Peña): Proposed reducing Eastern and Alvarado Pump Station by $1 million and increasing Westgate Little League Library by $1 million. Peña withdrew the amendment after discussion, citing equity concerns and not wanting to take from Councilor Rogers' district.
- Amendment No. 2 (Rogers): Specified pedestrian safety projects in District 6, including Central from Louisiana to Ubank and areas around Whittier Elementary and Wilson Middle School. Passed unanimously.
- Amendment No. 3 (Rogers): Originally proposed reducing aquatic facility improvements by $300,000 and Bullhead Park renovation by $250,000 to fund District 6 food insecurity. After debate, Rogers amended to take the full $550,000 from Bullhead Park only. Passed unanimously.
- Amendment No. 4 (Bassan): Combined $1.5 million for the Balloon Museum and $100,000 for the playscape into a single line item. Passed unanimously.
- Amendment No. 5 (Bassan): Reduced major paving rehabilitation by $1 million and redirected funds to ADA sidewalks ($1.5 million), NTMP ($500,000), and pavement signs/markings ($1 million), removing the Indian School Road earmark. Passed on a 6-3 vote (For: Sanchez, Peña, Bassan, Lewis, Rogers, Fiebelkorn; Against: Baca, Champine, Grout).
- Amendment No. 6 (Bassan): Removed the $1 million earmark for the Ubank multi-use trail in District 9. Passed on a 5-4 vote (For: Sanchez, Peña, Bassan, Lewis, Fiebelkorn; Against: Baca, Rogers, Champine, Grout).
- Amendment No. 7 (Bassan): Increased North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center from $4.5 million to $5 million and reduced ACS facility renovations from $1.75 million to $1.25 million. Passed on a 6-3 vote (For: Sanchez, Peña, Bassan, Lewis, Champine, Grout; Against: Baca, Rogers, Fiebelkorn).
- Amendment No. 8 (Bassan): Increased AFR apparatus replacement to $3.5 million, reduced ACS facility renovations to $750,000, and fire suppression rehab parking garages to $1 million. Passed on a 6-3 vote (same split as No. 7).
- Amendment No. 9 (Bassan): Removed earmarks for medians on Indian School Road and Ubank/Comanche/Academy. Failed on a 4-5 vote (For: Sanchez, Peña, Bassan, Fiebelkorn; Against: Baca, Lewis, Rogers, Champine, Grout).
- Amendment No. 10 (Champine): Reduced Wantabo Library renovation by $700,000 and added the funds to Academy/Comanche median improvements. Passed unanimously.
- Amendment No. 11 (Champine): Reduced median earmarks by $500,000 to put toward Academy/Comanche median improvements. Failed on a 4-5 vote (For: Sanchez, Lewis, Champine, Grout; Against: Baca, Peña, Bassan, Rogers, Fiebelkorn).
- Amendment No. 12 (Lewis and Baca): Reduced McMahon Boulevard and a second item by $500,000 each to fund a $1 million Tingley Pond improvement project. Passed on a 6-3 vote (For: Baca, Bassan, Lewis, Rogers, Champine, Grout; Against: Sanchez, Peña, Fiebelkorn).
- Amendment No. 13 (Bassan, by request of administration): Consolidated $2.85 million into GSD City Buildings Improvement Rehab from winter salt shed improvements ($300,000), YFS building renovations ($800,000), APD facilities rehabilitation ($1 million), and ACS facility renovations ($750,000), with a restriction that funds not be used at Gateway West. Passed on a 5-4 vote (For: Baca, Peña, Bassan, Rogers, Fiebelkorn; Against: Sanchez, Lewis, Champine, Grout).
Key Outcomes
- The committee substitute for R-25-117 was approved on a 6-3 vote.
- The bill was sent to City Council with a recommendation of Do Pass, as Substituted, as Amended, by a 6-3 vote.
- A motion for immediate action (to be heard at the March 17 council meeting) failed on a 7-2 vote, lacking the required unanimous consent (For: Baca, Peña, Bassan, Lewis, Rogers, Champine, Grout; Against: Sanchez, Fiebelkorn).
- The bill will be considered at the April City Council meeting. Further amendments are expected before final adoption.
- The meeting adjourned at 6:28 PM.
Meeting Transcript
The whole meeting to order. Today is the second meeting of the committee of the whole to consider the mayor's proposed 2025 general obligation bond program and the 2025 to 2034 decade plan for capital improvements. All counselors are present today with Councilor Rogers joining us on Zoom. Members of the public, city staff, and the media have the ability to view this meeting in person and on live streams through four different platforms of TV on Comcast Channel 16, the Gov TV website, YouTube, and Zoom webinar. The live streams can be accessed from most smartphones, tablets, and computers. Also, this meeting is closed captioned, and you may enable the closed captioning services on your television or device at this time. The video recording of this meeting will also remain available for viewing at any time on the City Council's website. City Council staff is available via telephone if members of the public need assistance. Finding the videos online. Please call 505 768 3100 for assistance during business hours, which are Monday through Friday from 8 to 5. We will not be taking live public comment today, given that today's meeting is for markup. At the end of today's meeting, the bill is substituted and amended, will be sent to the Monday, March 17th, City Council meeting for adoption. Public comment will be taken at the March 17th council meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to focus on the proposed committee substitute and the amendments. Okay, thank you. Um we at this time I'd like to move the committee sub. It's in your iPads and also on our dais here. Okay. Now let's see. I think they're gonna pass out the amendments. I know they're in the iPads, but I want to see it. Physical copies. Okay. Here they come. Before we start the um the going over the amendments, I just want to take this time to thank our budget staff. Um I really enjoyed working with them. Um they're a pleasure to work with, and and I'm very grateful for their service. Um, the mayor sent down a budget that listed money, uh listed money in large items in general buckets, and no projects were listed. Staff just um and we kind of started from scratch and they did an amazing job, so I'm grateful for that. The this proposed committee subs substitute is far better than what I think we originally got. We're working off a program that started with uh 25 million dollars less than we had to work with two years ago, and we were able to increase this bond package to 180 million dollars and still maintain fiscal responsibility. We try to accommodate everyone's wishes. I know we have a lot of amendments tonight, so we'll be changing and making it even better for everybody. Um let's see here. Um, we did not remove funding from GSD. Instead, we move more money into specific departments for them to rehabilitate their facilities. Our responsibility to the taxpayers is to spend their money wisely and to maintain the facilities that we have, um, the infrastructure that we have. Okay, so now we're gonna move to the amendments, madam chair, yes, we first need a vote on the committee sub. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. We just vote on it. Okay. We have to do a roll call vote. Thank you. Would you please take the roll call vote? Councilor Baca. Yes. Councilor Passan? Yes. Counselor Champagne.
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