Taos: How Do You Want Your Future Determined?
“New Mexico, moving forward, must learn how to attack waste, fraud and abuse in a way that does not harm its own citizens.” Hector Balderas, Attorney General, New Mexico
Though the New Mexico Attorney General, Hector Balderas, was speaking of audits regarding the Gov. Martinez-Arizona health-care movida in the above statement, his remarks sum up the challenge to address corruption, perceived or real, among local officials. Sometimes the bandido has a heart of gold: his intentions are good even if his methods are questionable. Should we forgive or make war?
The Taos District Attorney’s office is working under a cloud, due to charges of prosecutorial misconduct by the New Mexico Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court because it wanted to short-circuit due process, judges and grand juries, so they could slap the Ma Barker Gang, allegedly responsible for robbing the KCEC, in jail. Similarly, the DA is struggling to justify using a federal subpoena in state dope bust re: the Plumber’s Crack case. Get the crooks at any cost.
Only a week ago, town leaders, Barrone, Bellis, and Hahn transformed themselves into “master movida-makers.” 1) The Mayor ignored the duly adopted Roberts Rules of order; 2) they raised a mob of supporters; 3) they transcended the rules by pleading for the democratic principle of free speech and let their supporters, mostly non-residents, speak despite motions to shut down debate; 4) the Mayor marginalized the Town attorney; 5) Barrone, Bellis, and Hahn humiliated their enemies, who gave in to mob rule; 6) and the three musketeers won a “popular victory” by retaining the Town Manager. How’s that Mark? A six-point movida.
According to The Taos News, Councilor Hahn said, “we are at war.” Whether you see the “movida” as justified or not , one movida begets another. Councilor Cantu has already asked Bellis to resign, again.
Girded for battle, the war continued the next week as Councilor Hahn chided veteran farmer Daniel Carmona from the dais and the Council, except for Cantu, sided with the Farmers against some Taos Plaza “brick and mortar” merchants. The Farmers apparently have picked up the ethos of the Council and may devolve into two or three factions. Some like Carmona pushed for moving the market to the Complex and he also derided “Comida.”
Hahn, sometimes referred to as the Red Willow Councilor, or social engineer, has helped established this mysterious new group, Comida, as a player, while ignoring, those merchants who brought him to the dance and brought the produce to the Plaza.
On Monday morning the Town will meet to see if it can establish and/or fill the long vacant positions of finance director, advertising overseer, economic and planning department director, etc. Councilor Cantu’s criticism of Town Manager Bellis for the “slow pace” and lack of response at Town Hall echoes the complaints of citizens, who wonder about deepening potholes that are spreading across pock-marked roads like the Ebola virus.
Will the Town address the prior administration’s violation of town, state, and federal regs for the procurement code? The procurement code governs the way municipalities and counties spend their money but officials frequently interpret and abuse the public trust. For instance, the Town’s 3 million dollar plus swimming pool was never put out for bid and now it needs a new roof and wall. The Chamisa Verde low-income housing project, under previous administrations, violated both local and state ordinances and the project came to a screeching halt.
Ten months ago I met with a young whistleblower who worked in purchasing and procurement for the Town. The whistle blower gave me a 20-page affidavit, which names names and puts elected and appointed officials at the scene. I was reading it this morning. The former Town Manager, Oscar Rodriguez fired the whistleblower but many of the perps remain in place, alas.
Last week the Town, unconsciously, approved El Prado Water and Sewer District’s John Painter’s request to launder the purchase of “main-stem Rio Grande” water rights at the Town’s 1200 foot test well in order to aid construction of the cross-wind runway. As The Taos News reported on Thursday, El Prado currently uses about 75 acre feet a year of water rights but they are seeking and buying or have purchased from northern Taos County some 575 acre feet of water rights.
So what are their plans for all that water? Or is John, the king of “white-out,” just making sure the water will remain in Taos County unlike former Mayor Peralta and Manager Cordova who ignored the chance to buy Top of the World water rights, which were sold to Santa Fe County for a song.
The town itself also has a history of turning a blind eye to development that encroaches on agriculture and acequias, see the “Spring Ditch” et al. It’s similar to the way Abeyta signatories, Painter and Palemon, are plundering the north for water rights and drying up a dry landscape.
At some point John’s District purchased the “Gallagher Ranch” up in Sunshine Valley for the water rights, water rights with a questionable provenance, called historically, “adjudication.” Allegedly the water rights were acquired through “show farming” by a famous speculator. (More about that later). The District paid what? An estimated million and a half dollars for Gallagher and another half-million or less to purchase the El Torreon property in El Prado. Plus they spend a ton of money on legal fees and had to borrow a half-million, I’m told, from the bank to pay down the balance owed to Attorney Brockman.
Where do they get all that dough? By raising rates? Maybe they borrow it like Luis at the Coop.
To acquire “beneficial use” of water rights purchased from northern watersheds and independent water basins, as the Abeyta signatories continue to do in the Questa area, the purchasers must establish downstream “beneficial use,” use approved of by the Office of the State Engineer. Hence the District sticks their Water Rights in a well where they can prove its benefit, like the airport well. So the Town Council is now helping dry up Sunshine Valley by helping John clean up and launder the water rights, which, in turn, depletes the Rio Grande by using water that impacts Rio Grande springs. It might all be legal but is it ethical? Or ecologically sound?
Think “Chinatown” wherein LA dried up the Owens Valley, just as Las Vegas today seeks to dry up north central Nevada and the Colorado River, which will, in turn, reduce the flow to the San Juan/Chama diversion, and impact the downstream flow of the Rio Grande, which, in turn increases the number of thirsty speculators, who will come up here for Taos County Water. Painter says downstream munis call him up all the time.
Meanwhile, the Rio Grande water source being used by the Town and El Prado could very well belong to someone else who has a downstream claim upriver. Though the OSE acts as judge, jury, and litigant, sooner or later, somebody, like Hector might take a second look and/or a federal judge might get approached about all the incestuous doings in Taos County.
The challenge for the Taos County Commissioners concerns the paradoxical nature of the El Prado water transfers from the north. (Commissioners ignored the Palemon Martinez Rio Lucero transfer from the Llano ditch in Questa to their Arroyo Seco/El Salto/El Prado constituents.) Local officials have indicated that they are in effect establishing a “special category” for transfers within the county by allowing the homies to raid Questa north. (Where was Questa Mayor and Commissioner Mark Gallegos on Tuesday? Surely, former Mayor, Esther Garcia was there.)
What gives, my friends? When future downstream munis come with pockets full of cash and if county commissioners protest, the judge could say: “you didn’t protest Top of the World, or Gallagher, or Llano in Questa, or Top of the World (again). What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Protest dismissed.”
At a meeting of the El Prado Board of Directors a few years ago, I was told the District owed over $20 million by extant Director Fernando Miera (RIP). Saint Whiteout, John, dismissed the claim as nonsense.
What happens when Brockman comes looking for his “cup of water?” Brockman misled Commissioner O’Donnell on Tuesday, Jan. 27, when she asked him what clients he represented and mumbled something about irrigators. Here’s a list of clients, according to his web site: http://newmexicowaterlaw.com/clients. They’ve got deep pockets and they are thirsty. John’s rolling the dice based on what? good will?
Representative Firm Clients
Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority
City of Las Cruces
City of Alamogordo
City of Gallup
City of Espanola
Convejo de Economico de Mexico (Baja California)
El Prado Water and Sanitation District
Office of the Attorney General; State of New Mexico
Interstate Stream Commission; State of New Mexico
HRI, Inc
Regional Planning
State of Nebraska
State of Kansas
Midvale Irrigation District
Water Defense Association
Union Pacific Railroad Co.
Representative Firm Projects
Alamogordo Brackish Water Desalination Project
Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority Drinking Water Project
The State Engineer Permit, issued in 2004, to divert and fully consume the Authority’s San Juan Chama Project Water. The Permit was adopted by the Water Court for the Second Judicial District Court in 2006.
City of Las Cruces
City of Las Cruces was permitted to divert 10,200 acre feet per year of water on the East Mesa in 2002
Special Water Users Association Legislation providing for transfer of agricultural water in the Elephant Butte Irrigation District to municipal/industrial use, enacted into law in 2003.
City of Las Cruces was adjudicated 21,869 acre feet of water with a senior priority of 1905 in 2005.
Pecos River Compact Compliance Project
Target goals met for purchasing and retiring water rights to ensure compliance with the Pecos River Compact delivery obligations to the State of Texas.
Taos Regional Settlement