![]() A move to extend the City of Phoenix’s light rail network has been dealt a blow as the result of a vote by the Phoenix City Council transferring some $135 million from the project to other transportation needs. On a 5 to 3 vote, council members determined that the money would be put to better use funding road repairs throughout the city. As proposed, the extension of the Valley Metro Rail system would have gone down Camelback Road from the downtown area to the campus of Grand Canyon University. The council decision comes after months of discussions during which pro-transit supporters said the transit extension was needed to bring Phoenix closer to its goal of being one of the most transit-oriented cities in the West, while opponents have largely complained about the cost. An overall $31 billion transportation package that included nearly $10 billion for expanding the light rail system was approved by voters in the summer of 2015. Last year a group called Building a Better Phoenix launched an effort calling for a referendum to overturn the results of the 2015 vote. That group was successful in obtaining enough signatures to get the question put on a ballot for this coming August. Encompassing just over 26 miles, the Phoenix Metro Rail system began operations in late 2008 and is regarded by the American Public Transportation Association as one of the top fifteen most busy light rail systems in the country. Newly elected Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego has vowed to support the expansion of the light rail system, additionally promising to campaign in opposition to the coming referendum. By Garry Boulard
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![]() Members of the Santa Fe Planning Commission will be tasked with once again reviewing a project calling for the west side construction of 68 single-family homes. The project, which has been in the planning stage for more than a year, is set for construction on a vacant 12.5-acre site at 1616 Agua Fria Street and would be built adjacent to the Mandela International Magnet School. Developer Dos Acequias LLC has scaled down the project from an originally proposed 80 homes. But with that reduction, lots for the individual homes would be larger and would include easements for the construction of two-story homes. Despite the overall reduction in the number of homes for the project, area residents in a neighborhood made up of mostly one-story homes, have said they remained worried about an expected increase in traffic on the two-lane Agua Fria Street. If the commission signs off on the project, construction on the new homes could begin later this year. By Garry Boulard ![]() A Congressional move to increase federal fuel taxes appears increasingly unlikely this year, according to sources. Revenue from those taxes goes to the Highway Trust Fund, which pays for any number of road, bridge, and mass transit infrastructure projects. But attempts to increase the federal gasoline and fuel tax, which hasn’t been raised since 1993, have so far generated little enthusiasm on Capitol Hill. That fuel tax is 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents on diesel fuel. If the tax were indexed to inflation, it would today be over 30 cents for gasoline and 42 cents for diesel. Lacking the votes necessary to raise the tax, Congress has instead replenished the trust fund through the use of general taxpayer funds. To date, according to experts, Congress has provided more than $143 billion in taxpayer money to keep the fund going. The fuel tax has additionally become a less reliable source of income, says the website Bloomberg Government, due to the fact that “vehicles have become more fuel efficient.” That lack of revenue has become additionally more acute with the advent of hybrid and energy-efficient electric cars. According to the Congressional Research Service, Congress could be tasked in the next four years with spending up to $94 billion to keep the trust fund in business. “And that’s to maintain a spending level that is inadequate, according to business and transportation advocates, many lawmakers and, at times, even President Donald Trump,” notes the newspaper Roll Call. Now a member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is proposing an alternative to the funding mechanism for the Highway Trust Fund. Illinois Representative Rodney Davis has announced that he would like to see a multiple option funding procedure enacted that would be similar to a retirement account. Davis’ plan would feature a variety of funding options for commuter and freight networks. He has additionally suggested that a federal tax for hybrid and energy-efficient vehicles, including trucks, should be considered. Davis’ new approach could also see the implementation of a system that would charge motorists a fee for miles traveled. The Illinois Congressman says he believes finding several new ways to keep the trust fund going may prove to be one of the signal bipartisan achievements of the 116th Congress. The current authorization for the Highway Trust Fund expires on September 30, 2020. By Garry Boulard ![]() A project that will see the construction of three new floors topping off a well-known downtown Tucson building may be eligible for significant incentives. CID Holdings and Peach Properties, both based in Tucson, want to convert what was formally known as the Wig-O-Rama building at 98 E. Congress Street and turn it into a mixed-use property. As planned, the ground floor of the structure would be devoted to retail space, while the new upper three floors would be all residential, with at least 30 apartment units. The project, which is expected to cost around $10 million to complete, has won the approval of the Rio Nuevo downtown development agency board. Pending the results of an economic study, that same board could provide to the developers a sales tax rebate of up to $2.1 million. The developers purchased the Wig-O-Rama building and an adjacent retail space in the spring of 2017 for $950,000. The structure, originally known as the Central Block Building, was built during the first decade of the last century. For many decades it housed a pharmacy, small grocery store, and soda fountain. The Wig-O-Rama store opened in 1976, but moved to another location after a small 2013 fire in the building. Developers earlier peeled away the 1950s-style stucco façade of the 98 E. Congress Street property, revealing its original red brick front. By Garry Boulard ![]() A controversial bill passed by the Colorado State Legislature that will significantly change the way oil and gas well drilling projects are approved in the state is on its way to Governor Jared Polis for his signature. Senate Bill 181 gives to local government bodies more authority to regulate, and also reconstitutes the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, requiring it to more aggressively evaluate the environmental impact of well project applications. The bill also mandates that a newly-drawn commission must include a public health specialist, with one other member representing the oil and gas industry, down from the current three industry members. The measure has been opposed by the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, which said the legislation could have a negative impact on future well development, as well as the larger Colorado economy. In a statement after passage of the bill, Sara Loflin, executive director of the League of Oil and Gas Impacted Coloradans, said, “It is time that communities have a voice when it comes to massive industrial projects being forced into their neighborhoods and near their schools.” Last year Colorado voters rejected by a 56 to 44 percent margin Proposition 112, which would have expanded the current 500-foot setback for any new well being built near a home to 2,500 feet. Proponents of the setback measure pointed to several explosions related to wells, including most prominently a 2017 explosion caused when leaked gas from an abandoned oil well flow ignited and killed two men in Firestone, Colorado According to industry sources there are roughly 60,000 active oil and gas wells in Colorado, along with another 20,000 that are abandoned. By Garry Boulard backlog of infrastructure repairs won't be complete until the end of the century, says report4/4/2019 ![]() At the current pace of work, it may take at least eight decades until all of the deficient bridges in the United States are repaired. That’s according to a report just released by the Washington-based American Road and Transportation Builders Association which also notes that of the more than 616,000 bridges in the country today, some 8 percent of them are deemed structurally deficient and in need of immediate repair. That 8 percent represents more than 47,000 individual bridges. Another 235,000 bridges, according to the group, are in need of various levels of repair. Although the report acknowledges that progress in recent years has been made repairing structurally deficient bridges, with their number declining from nearly 53,000 in 2014 to today’s 47,000, it’s the pace of the work that is proving the most challenging. “At this rate, it would take over 80 years to make the significant repairs needed on these structures,” says the group’s 2019 Bridge Report. The report additionally notes that just over 235,000 bridges currently have some sort of identified repair needs, and of that total, 19,000 are interstate highway bridges. More than half of the top twenty states with the greatest number of deficient bridges are located in the East and Midwest. With a total of just over 4,000 bridges, New Mexico ranked 32 on the report’s list with 5.8 percent of its bridges defined as deficient. Colorado came in 34th on the list with nearly 8,800 existing bridges, 5.4 percent of which are deficient. The report gave to Arizona the 50th place on the list with nearly 8,300 bridges, 1.8 percent of which are deficient. Some of the defined “structurally deficient bridges” in the report include New York’s famous Brooklyn Bridge; the Memorial Bridge connecting Washington with Arlington, Virginia; and the nearly 5-mile mile Robert Maestri Bridge spanning Louisiana’s Lake Pontchartrain. Taking note of the eighty-year timeframe, Alison Black, chief economist with the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, remarked, “That’s longer than the average life expectancy of a person living in the U.S.” In a statement, Black continued: “America’s bridge network is outdated, underfunded, and in urgent need of modernization. State and local government just haven’t been given the necessary resources to get the job done.” By Garry Boulard ![]() A 122,000 square foot storage facility may soon be going up on currently vacant land in northeast Albuquerque. The project represents just one more sign of a robust local and national self-storage industry, an industry that analysts increasingly define as recession proof. Guardian Storage, which currently has five such facilities up and running in the metro area, comprising more than 375,000 square feet, wants to build a three-story, indoor storage structure on the site. Members of the Oso Grande Neighborhood Association say the project, which will be located between the John Roberts Dam and the Oso Grande Park, is inappropriate for the area. They specifically argue that it will increase traffic, harm wildlife, and alter the current open space views of the site. The Albuquerque-based Consensus Planning, which specializes in urban design and planning services, among other things, is the landscape architect for the facility. If the project receives city approval, construction could begin sometime this summer. By Garry Boulard ![]() A decision to build a new 450-space garage in downtown Tucson will provide some vitally needed parking space in a part of the city currently lacking that amenity. Members of the Rio Nuevo Board have given their unanimous approval to building the multi-level structure on the east side of the busy Tucson Convention Center, which is located at 260 S. Church Avenue. The garage itself will be located near S. Church Avenue and West Cushing Street. The Rio Nuevo Board is a tax increment finance district whose mission is to spur downtown Tucson development. In agreeing to the project, the board also approved spending $292,000 for the garage’s design. A Request for Proposals to actually build the structure is expected to soon be published. The board has also been advocating for a wide range of upgrades to the Tucson Convention Center structure itself. Those upgrades include the $7.6 million remodeling of the center’s exhibit halls and meeting rooms, as well as the upgrading of the building’s music hall, also expected to cost $7.6 million. If all goes well, work on the new garage could begin in early 2020. By Garry Boulard ![]() Costs for construction equipment and supplies continued to register a general increase last month nationally. That is the finding of the most recent survey released by the London-based IHS Markit and the Procurement Executives Group in Boston. According to the survey, materials and construction prices were up from February to March in ten of the industry’s recorded subcomponents. Based on the responses of procurement officials in leading construction, engineering, and procurement firms, fabricated structural steel and carbon steel pipe saw price declines, while all other categories experienced increases. The survey also noted that labor costs registered increases in every region of the country. “U.S. construction labor markets remain incredibly tight and shortages are widespread,” said Emily Crowley, a principal economist in pricing and purchasing with IHS Markit, remarked in a statement. “Even firms that are willing to raise wages and offer bonuses are having trouble finding experienced workers,” Crowley added. The report also indicated that survey respondents expected to see continued increases in both materials and equipment, not to mention subcontractor labor costs, during the course of the next six months. By Garry Boulard ![]() In the final days of the 2019 regular session of the New Mexico State Legislation, a bill was overwhelmingly passed in both the Senate and House that will, in part, provide funding for a series of state-wide senior center upgrade projects. Those centers are administered by the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department, an agency created in 2004 that is designed to respond to the needs of seniors across the state. With New Mexico’s 65 years of age and above population slated to be the fourth largest in the country by the year 2030, the need for those services, say agency officials, is only going to increase. For that reason state lawmakers considered, and finally voted, to approve capital outlay funding for senior center facility upgrades that will include $334,000 to construct and renovate the Village of Tijeras Senior Center in Tijeras; and $61,000 for renovations and equipment purchases for the Silver City Senior Center. Also slated to receive funds is the Ruidoso Senior Citizens Center, which will receive $49,000 for renovation work; and the Ruidoso Downs Senior Center, set for nearly $126,000 in renovation funding. Lawmakers also approved $140,000 for the Betty Ehart Center in Los Alamos, with that money mostly going for renovation work; and $143,000 for renovations to the Bloomfield Senior Center in northeast New Mexico. The Pueblo of Zuni Senior Center is getting $42,000 for renovations and new construction, as well as site and drainage improvement work; while the Aztec Senior Community Center is set to receive $54,000 for code compliance upgrade work. Code compliance work is also scheduled for the Socorro Senior Center, which is receiving $116,000 for that work. One of the larger items is the nearly $638,000 for design, construction, and renovation work at the Taos Senior Center. The planned construction of a new senior center in Santa Fe, to be built off of New Mexico Highway 14, is receiving $800,000. Senior centers in New Mexico are generally open daily, offering seniors a meeting place, and place to dine together, while also offering everything from computer labs and fitness centers, to arts and crafts and music classes. The capital outlay funds approved by the lawmakers must be spent between this year and 2023. By Garry Boulard |
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