3 takeaways from this week's Bernalillo County Commission meeting

Mar. 20—Bernalillo County commissioners had disagreements with each other and with county staff this week, but they all agreed that the Mountain View neighborhood should get a new park.

Here are three takeaways from Tuesday's Bernalillo County Commission meeting:

1. The Mountain View neighborhood will get a new park and a new plan.

The Mountain View neighborhood — a rural neighborhood to the south of Albuquerque, just north of Isleta Pueblo and near the Rio Grande — is also home to industrial businesses and a history of pollution.

The Bernalillo County Commission unanimously agreed to spend $1.25 million from the county general fund to create a new sector plan and an environmental improvement plan for the neighborhood, and to acquire land for and start designing and building a new public park.

The sector plan will not affect existing zoning in the neighborhood.

2. Commissioners disagree about how to hire a new county manager.

Current County Manager Julie Morgas Baca is retiring at the end of the fiscal year in June, departing the chief administrative position that oversees the county's day-to-day operations.

Commissioner Steven Michael Quezada is pushing for the county to use a new process for hiring the manager: a series of town halls — one in each district — and hiring a recruitment firm. Quezada wanted to introduce a resolution setting in place those practices and a hiring timeline.

In a 3-to-2 vote Tuesday, the commissioners decided to defer Quezada's resolution to their next regular meeting. Several of the commissioners were worried about locking in a timeline and the potential cost of hiring a recruitment firm.

3. County staff recommended federal dollars go to renovations. Several commissioners want the money to go somewhere else.

The commission approved reallocating $3 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds away from the Gateway Center, which is getting behavioral health money instead. But commissioners haven't decided where the $3 million in ARPA money should go yet.

The county's finance staff recommended reallocating the $3 million to a $15 million renovation of the Atrium, at Second Street and Green Valley NW, which houses some county services and departments, including the Fire Prevention Division. The rest of the renovation funding would come from a mix of public safety bonds, the general fund and grants. The $3 million would be specifically for the emergency operation center and security office center.

Reallocating the money for the renovation failed on a 3-2 vote.

The Atrium is not up to fire code, said Deputy County Manager for Public Works Elias Archuleta, and renovating it would increase the number of employees who could work out of the building.

What ARPA funds can be used for is very restricted and the funds need to be committed to projects very quickly in bureaucratic time — by the end of the year — or the money will return to the federal government.

Commissioner Eric Olivas said he thinks county money, especially general fund dollars, could be better spent on more urgent needs like vehicles, community centers or roads. Commissioner Adriann Barboa said she thinks the juvenile detention center and Metropolitan Detention Center should be higher priorities for ARPA dollars than the Atrium.

County staff is planning to bring a request for ARPA money to go toward new county vehicles, said Denise Benavidez, principal financial analyst for the Finance Division. But money for vehicles has to come from a different pot of ARPA money.

Commission Chair Barbara Baca directed county staff to come back with the full Atrium renovation project for consideration and asked for a breakdown of ARPA funds.