Caveat: Is Taos Gentrification the Answer?

Father Fred

On a recent Saturday morning at the Farmers Market on Taos Plaza, I ran into Town of Taos Mayor Pro Tem Fred Peralta just outside the front doors of the Old County Courthouse, where my wife has a shop, Just Deb’s. Deb sells art and handmade cards when she’s not working with fitness clients or her beloved ancianos at the Taos Senior Center. I help out and we also oversee the County’s Art and Artifacts Review Committee display of historic photos. We sell the occasional historic photo or one of Deb’s cards and on a lucky day one of her collages or tea bag quilts. I am no shopkeeper by nature but do hold the keys to the Mural Room and open up the place for viewing the historic frescoes each day.

Fred likes to talk about economics and, as a veteran of more than twenty entrepreneurial ventures in Taos proves, I have a vivid imagination, enough imagination to get myself into trouble. While we couldn’t think of a magic bullet, we both noted the need to enhance the community’s outdoor and cultural opportunities. We hope (it springs eternal) the community becomes cleaner, friendlier, and less burdened by local, state, and highway signs. We also laughed and admitted that we had been talking about the same challenges for about forty years (most of our adult lives). Poor customer service, unfriendly front people, recalcitrant Plaza merchants and the gougers among local business folk tend to create an unfriendly community.

Still this tradition of hostility seems to be gradually changing, thanks to good corporate citizens like Smith’s and a few outstanding local friendlies. But the future looks like a long slow slog sans much in the way of development, etc. Even the billionaire at TSV could suffer due to climate change. That’s why he brought such a large fortune to Taos.

We also noted the difference in generations. Town Manager Rick Bellis has underscored the so-called “new demographic,” which has a passion for the outdoor experience, music, clubbing, and dining but is less interested in historical and cultural highlights or the visual arts than it is in electronic gizmos, communication, gear and apps. A member of Gen X recently told me that the lack of a late night espresso joint where techies could congregate and share ideas was a bummer. Brown Rice, an Internet service, pays well but can’t hold onto geeks, due to cultural deprivation.

Nor does the overwhelming numbers of Gray Hairs (White Hairs) appeal to the footloose pack backers with iPhones and visions of electronic sugar plums boiling round their brains. If the visitors on the Plaza are an indication, the demographic today is still generally older but more frugal than in the past.

Mr. Work Gloves

On Saturday afternoon, Mayor Barrone and Manager Bellis happened by the old county courthouse and told Deb that the Mural Room was closed. She denied the charge. (I open it each morning and close it each evening but he’s Da Mayor.) The Mayor also told Deb the Town had access to a $500,000 foundation grant for the old county courthouse and, basically indicated that his plans mean it was out with the Coop gallery and in with a new anchor tenant, who could pay some $4000 a month for the space. The Mayor also suggested that the Town would align itself with the philosophy of Chamber of Commerce and Ten (The Entrepreneurial Network).

On Tuesday, August 12, at the Town Council meeting, the first presentation on the agenda, about one fifteen pm, says: Discussion, consideration, and possible action regarding the following: Presentation from Taos County Chamber of Commerce, Taos Entrepreneurial Network, Taos Mainstreet and Taos Arts and Cultural District regarding the Old County Courthouse. Possible action? Eh?

The Quiz

What’s wrong with the picture above? Since this is not a quiz, I’m going to tell you.

First, there’s a repeat of the Oscar Rodriguez mantra: the county can’t be trusted to do the right thing with the courthouse (implied). Then there’s the Brian James notion: the county has no standing?

When the Town tried to annex El Prado and arbitrarily move E911-Dispatch to the KCEC Command Center, the Town of Taos lost the case for annexation in court and the county prevailed in the E911-Dispatch and moved it to the Complex though at great expense.

And, lest you forget, the County and their allies in Town replaced the last administration with a new mayor and manager, ironically, from the county.

The County owns and manages the old County Courthouse—despite the naysayers and rumormongers at Town Hall. Have our friends been drinking cool-aid or did the mystic Aspen images divert their attention?

I have downloaded and read the Jan. 2012, Taos Arts and Cultural District Plan. The document is redundant and filled with frothy concepts: renovating the Plaza Theatre and a public parking edifice on the McCarthy property south of the Plaza, not to mention the usual emphasis on the practical things like re-doing (eliminating) signs and maps. But there are some darn good ideas: the renovation of the old County Courthouse as a cultural institution is chief among them.

But I’m beginning to understand why the Arts and Culture District hasn’t gotten off the ground for some five years, more or less. The document suggests a conversation should take place and did among the stakeholders: Native Americans and native Hispanics, i.e. property owners, merchants, culture workers, and the County. The document names the people “who go to meetings.”

Much of the document applies to other communities that don’t have downtown museums and galleries, etc. in the historic district. The also plan suggests the Arts and Cultural District needs an “artist in residence.” That’s like shipping coal to Newcastle or Red Willows to Taos Pueblo. Who is Ed Sandoval if not an artist in residence.

Rachel Prinz’s plan for the restoration of the town’s acequias is part of the Arts and Culture District Plan. But when is the Town of Taos going to accept responsibility for “taking” the Spring Ditch water source? The parciantes are growing impatient.

The best part of the guide suggests ways of financing the district through taxes and grants. But local merchants and property owners will never consent to tax themselves. Hence the Town is seeking funding from a foundation.

The Bell Tolls for Bellis

The figurative annexation of the old County Courthouse by Town of Taos fiat and their newcomer allies doesn’t sound quite right to me. Now I made no secret of my support for Councilor Hahn, Councilor Judi Cantu, and Mayor Barrone in the last election.

I don’t know why Hahn and Cantu wanted to pick a fight with their supporters by ignoring them when it came to renaming the Kit Carson Park. We’re told that Bellis put the name-change item on the agenda and caught the councilors by surprise. They should have tabled the motion.

Nor do I know why Bellis tried to persuade the Taos Mesa Brewery to put a taproom in the Coop Gallery space. (Or why Barrone went along with it.) There are “potential anchor tenants” of a cultural nature (art and jewelry) available for the Old County Courthouse Coop space, which is appraised at $16 per square foot or about $2300 a month, according to the County’s former Chief Appraisers. If the commissioners decide they want an anchor tenant, I know of one or “two potentials” and an RFP (Request for Proposals) would bring them running.

As for the Mesa Brewery, the partners will be taking a look next week at a location for a taproom that is two and half times larger, which includes indoor and outdoor space on the Plaza for half the price. The private sector moves much faster than the public process. Plumbing problems could hold up the deal but I’m optimistic.

The commissioners and at least one commissioner-elect have made it clear they do not want to sell alcohol at the old county courthouse.

Thanks to lax oversight, much of it under the purview of Town Manager and former Deputy County Manager Rick Bellis et al, there are no policies and procedures in place at the old county courthouse. Like Brian James and Oscar Rodriguez, Bellis seems fascinated by the game of “smoke and mirrors.” (The Mayor needs a bottle of Windex.)

The County spent a ton of money last year on the old County Courthouse. Deputy County Manager Jaramillo is picking up the pieces and re-organizing the administration. Sure, Bellis et al produced a lot of activity in the Mural Room. Here’s the kicker: the TCA charges $800 for a few hours at the auditorium. The County, per Bellis et al, was telling folks, “Pay what you want” at the Mural Room. One theatre company smartly jumped and booked up time and space but also donated money and curtains to the County.

A Failure to Communicate

County Management, thanks to assistance from TEN, has posted a calendar for the use of Mural Room online at oldcountycourthouse.com. You can request dates and confirm same at the site. Since I am on the premises, I have been urging producers, whose reservations were never forwarded to the county manager’s office, to contact Deputy County Manager Brent Jaramillo at the Complex. According to some producers and renters, who have forwarded checks to “somebody,” some checks, including one for $700 from a theatre company, have never been cashed. Contracts and memos of engagements, etc. were never signed and returned to producers.

The Commissioners will consider criteria developed by staff for an RFP re: the old County Courthouse on Tuesday, Aug. 19. (The Coop is revising its approach and will probably make an offer for the space designated for an “anchor tenant.”) Barrone has Bellis and the bucks while Chairman Gabe the Good has good will and the people on his side. It looks like the Gentry v. La Gente.

What would we do for entertainment without politics? Miss all the fun as Rena says.