Letter to Steve Fuhlendorf: Economic Development?

I like Steve, I always have. But to suggest that Bill Whaley is against economic development (ED) doesn’t sound like something Steve would say unless he was encouraged to do so by a supervisor. For that matter, I have been very vocal against Kit Carson Electric management and ED and he has not accused me of being against economic development.

What is economic development anyway? The Town of Taos Mayor and Council don’t know, although Councilors Abeyta and Gonzales seem to grasp how important The Eco Park soccer fields could be towards the ED for Taos. The County, I won’t even go there.

Since Steve is the PR man for Kit Carson Electric it’s safe to assume he is talking about the ED subsidiary businesses the KCE manager has committed the membership to support, specifically the Propane, Internet, Command Center, and now the Broadband.

The first three have cost the membership millions of dollars and the Broadband, which is a good thing, will be another black hole that may bring the manager’s investment follies to an end.

So I ask you Steve, how would you respond to the following?

The membership has never voted for any of these ED investments and yet we are left to support them with the electrical end of the business. The Capital Credits that we are supposed to receive have been sequestered in these ED failures. Here is the worst of it: the management has illegally pledged 100% of the KCE assets to secure the Broadband project.

State law allows only a total of 20% of the electrical assets to be used towards ED investments. I spoke with an RUS agent and asked him since KCE is in technical default how does the manager intend to honor it’s financial commitment. Supposedly the manager informed RUS that he had a few thousand committed customers. I’m sure, just like he had a dozen or more organizations that were going to occupy the Command Center Building.

Where are the 300 jobs that the Broadband project was going to generate in the county? There have been some contracts issued to locals along with some labor work, but the big bucks are going to out of state contractors just as the manager knew they would and yet he made a presentation before the Town Council, playing up the great ED he was bringing to the county.

For whom?

The PRC instructed the manager that KCE must separate its subsidiary businesses from the core business of providing electricity. The manager is fighting this requirement because he knows fullwell that he is going to need the electrical assets to support the Broadband business.

I could go on with much more Steve, but explain to me how the above could be supported by you, myself the community, and oh yes, Bill Whaley? Economic Development that costs us millions, keeps us broke, and raises our electrical rates is not ED.

Gene Sanchez