Taos Crackpots at Town Hall
The Plaza Merchants are being subjected not to “gentrification” but to “gringofication” i.e. “crackpot ideas.”
Gentrification refers to renovations and upscale development at, for instance, Taos Ski Valley. Skiing today is so expensive and therefore selective that one can see little practical alternative to Mr. Bacon’s vision. Those of us who live down in the valley benefit from the economic “trickle down” similarly to the way the acequia culture benefits from the trickles coming down from the watershed.
Down here in Taos Valley, however, and, especially in the historic district of Taos, the newly elected Mayor, Councilor, and Manager are trying to transform the funky charm and long time Taos appeal with notions of “Gringofication.” The promotion of the Farmer’s Market, the capricious closure of the historic Plaza, the arbitrary use of taxpayer dough for concerts, turning a blind eye to corruption in the public works department, all this speaks of muddled minds. Our four fathers and one mother are trying out ideas on their Plaza like kids playing chopsticks on the piano.
Bellis, Barrone, and Hahn in particular have turned the heads of their supporters with notions of Red Willow justice, the contrived music of the Kongos, Fresh Vegetables as antidote for economic ills, and by revivifying a financially failed Solar Fest with public tax dollars. Meanwhile, the public works department undermines the tourist trade and the community in general by creating potholes and cost over-runs on road jobs, draining town coffers. While eccentric Plaza enterprises cling to survival, the Town is giving away the opportunity to earn more GRT by subsidizing the Farmers. The language of funk, which alludes to the casual and unconventional i.e. the smelly underside of life and culture in Taos, is being drowned by the talk of baloney, spewed out by crackpots, who drink craft beer: this generation’s answer to Electric Koolade.
Why does the Town want to subsidize the entertainment business? The Lodger’s Tax dough is meant for promoting not producing concerts. The so-called Bellis demographic listens to music at the improvised KTAO Music Shack out by the “old blinking light” or at the 7th Wonder of the Taos World, the Mesa Brewery’s futuristic Quonset Hut, an indoor-outdoor family-friendly all-encompassing free world entertainment center. Thanks to the above as well as traditional bars and cafes, whether at the Taos Inn or La Martina’s joint in Ranchos, Taosenos today are experiencing more nightlife than seven local radio stations can cover in one 24-hour period.
Government should regulate but not interfere with or compete with the private sector, especially in an already fragile and delicate economy. Closing the Plaza creates a hardship and threatens the very survival of established businesses. One could keep the Farmer’s Market but restrict booths to the interior park, while expanding to the alleys and the public parking lots without threatening the traffic flow on the Plaza.
Public duty means that our four fathers and single mother should provide fire and police protection, keep the streets safe from potholes, and turn Lodger’s Tax dollars over to professionals for promoting and advertising events. We didn’t support Mayor Work Gloves to be a music promoter or Plaza events coordinator. We voted for Dan because we wanted to see him use the shovel to clean out the dirty doings at Town Hall. Apparently, the stars in Rick Bellis’s eyes have blinded him: the Mayor ain’t listening to those who brung him to the dance.
Documents in Taos Friction’s possession, which will be made public, show how the Public Works Department has wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars during the Barrone and Cordova administrations. (Let Fred and Bobby enjoy their retirement.) Over-paid engineers, excessive payments to OMI at the Waste Water Treatment Plant, escape clauses for cuates, who don’t pay their share of the Town’s water bills, unsupervised employees, who clock in early, enjoy breakfast on taxpayer time, take a long lunch break, and quit work early are costing the Town Government thousands of dollars in lost productivity at Public Works. The moguls on Civic Plaza Drive are an example of how Public Works thumbs their nose at the elected officials. The manipulation of the procurement code in the “contracts for cuates” program has cost the Town $310,000 to repair 375 linear feet of road on Merced. I kid you not.
(Several former employees have filed wrongful termination lawsuits. Turnover is high. I’m not sure the right employees are leaving.)
Although you cannot recreate the vitality of the Plaza, you can kill what’s left by ignoring roads and behaving like a bull in a china shop. Taosenos and tourists like to cruise.The retail trade shuts down when the Plaza closes.
Long before a Barrone or a Bellis visited Taos Plaza, and when Judi was just a little girl, the low-riders, pick-ups, new cars and beaters, circled the Plaza, occasionally stopping for conversation, endlessly searching for the perfect parking spot. Then and now, half the parking spots were taken up by shopkeepers and employees (many of whom received special privileges from the local meter minder). Today’s Plaza Merchants will die with their cash registers empty before they will “make change.” Some things never change, including the poorly constructed and maintained streets. More money for contractors.
It’s time for the Town Council to mind their business, especially at Public Works. If Bellis, Barrone, and Hahn spent a few hours in discussion with Bob Malone, the Taos County Attorney, believe me, they might be able to learn how to dance to the procurement code. As for Judi, si se puede.