The Taos Community: Reconciliation and Economic Challenges
Historic Meeting
On Thursday, April 10, Taos County Commission Chair Gabe Romero called to order a “historic joint meeting.” Chairman Gabe sat between Commissioner Blankenhorn and Commissioner Barrone, the latter, the newly elected Mayor of the Town of Taos. On the Mayor’s left sat Councilors Fred Peralta, Andrew Gonzales, Fritz Hahn, and Judi Cantu. The meeting lasted from 9 until 5, with brief discussions of and agreements to proceed on issues of inmate and water rights charges between the County and the Town.
More importantly, the Town and County agreed to proceed on a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) or principles for the E911 Operation and Dispatch Center to be located at the County Complex in the near future. The Department of Finance Authority’s representative from the Local Government Division, Wayne Sowell, was present and blessed the proceedings. According to the proceedings, the community will gain not only a state of the art facility, costing about $1.4 million, at the Complex but will relocate the current equipment from the KCEC Command Center to Civic Plaza Drive as a back-up facility. With one PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) in place, Taos will be eligible for financial and technical support from DFA. Sowell called the collaboration “very exciting.” Before final adoption, the JPA will be presented not only to the principals but also to TSV, Questa, and Taos Pueblo. Other communities in greater Taos County will be invited to join the JPA.
The Town and County also agreed to a “Memorandum of Settlement Terms” regarding annexation, which lawsuits will be dropped and annexation nullified. In addition the County agreed to rebate gross receipts taxes from construction of the crosswind runway to the Town as part of the match for the proposed FAA grant. Generally speaking, the airport runway project will be accomplished in two years, phase one in 2014 and phase two in 2015.
Thus, Men of Good Will and One Woman put aside years of bickering and decided in favor of putting community safety and welfare first. It was, indeed, a historic day to savor for we don’t know if this day will be an exception or become the seed for a pattern of cooperation. The day was long, due, mostly to the insistence on the part of Councilors Peralta and Gonzales to discuss redundant or obvious points because they so obviously enjoy the sound of their own voices. Staff, including Managers Archuleta and Bellis, Attorneys Malone and Caldwell, were unfailingly polite and articulate. In comparison to the contentious meetings of the last couple of years, the community has benefitted from an election: “addition by subtraction.” No insults.
Economic Challenges
Prior to the beginning of the substantive part of Thursday’s meeting, LEAP partners, Matt Spriggs and Bruce Ross, presented a realistic appraisal of the community’s rather dismal economic status. Basically, Spriggs and Ross acknowledged that while support for traditional industries such as the creative/tourism/retail businesses should continue, the Enchanted Circle area needs to look at regional public/private partnerships in order to access start-up grants from the USDA and state in order to create jobs.
Much of what the community refers to in terms of its “cultural identity” involves the arts” or 2.7% of the economy and “agriculture, forest recreation, hunting, or agrarian pursuits,” 1.9% of the economy. Hospitality or accommodations and food establishments amount to 40% of the economy. The above, however, have experienced either declines or marginal growth.
The information/technology sectors, however, have experienced robust or 16% growth and can be expected to continue as the Kit Carson Broadband project is completed. Research and Development (R&D) or architecture, engineering, accounting and legal services have experienced a 14% growth rate. Another area experiencing growth is the small-scale “personal care products” manufacturing sector. As the Leap Partners, summarized, the information/technology, science or research and development area and light manufacturing appear to be the places wherein the community should invest.
A sticking point for economic growth in the community appears to be “the lack of a workforce.” Thirty-one percent of County population relies on government subsidies for income while another 20% rely on income from passive investments (financial portfolios i.e. rent, stocks, bonds, etc.). Young people are leaving and retirees with less income than the previous wave of wealthier second homers are arriving. As Spriggs and Ross noted, the growing number, since 2006, of empty storefronts, for sale signs on businesses and residential homes, are obvious (but the wrong kind of growth).
The local drug problem affecting young (and middle-aged?) people combined with a lack technology skills, challenges employers. Apparently, a successful local Internet programmer and Web Site developer may relocate to Albuquerque because he can’t find the talent locally or convince the talent to move to Taos.
During discussion of E911 issues, the new director said employees should be trained in order to take advantage of state of the art communication technology but also worried that certified personnel would leave Taos for better paying jobs elsewhere (not unlike the experience of Town PD and TCSO).
As a cultural aside, the new E911 director, Amity (great name) also acknowledged how invaluable native Taosenos were at E911, due to their geographical knowledge of the community, a community still incompletely mapped by GIS systems. (Where’s Jesus Gonzales?) A long time fire chief told me that radio dispatch gives firemen an address or location but they find the place “the old fashioned way” i.e. “it’s next to Aunt Sally’s near the crooked tree just past so and so’s culvert on such and such acequia or by so and so’s old barn near that new restaurant and old gas station.
As Bruce Ross said, repeating what the community has said during round table discussions, regarding a regional public-private partnership, “Leadership is critical.” And it’s not about marketing, my friends, it’s about jobs, creating better paying jobs.