Rendering depicting the area included in the North Mesa Recreation Plan. Courtesy/LAC 

The main features included in the North Mesa Recreation Plan. Courtesy/LAC

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

There are big plans to enhance the recreation amenities on North Mesa; the big question is does Los Alamos County have the time and money to implement them.

During Tuesday’s work session, Los Alamos County Council heard from Sites Southwest consultants Bob Oberdofer and Karina Rodgers regarding the North Mesa Recreation Plan.

The council took no action but Chair Randall Ryti said that the plan will return to council in two weeks for possible action.

According to Rodgers, the North Mesa recreation area is approximately 26 acres.

She said the plan’s “big goal was to accommodate the recreational needs of all users and ages.”

To accomplish that, the public was heavily involved in developing the plan. Rodgers said a total of 250 participants participated in the plans’ development process. Using information from listening sessions, she said community workshops were held that were attended by different recreation users. Then, two draft concepts and scenario designs were presented at an open house. The concept that received overwhelming support was advanced.

“This final concept draft design was shaped directly by community input and each community session really helped defined and prioritized what residents wanted to see in this area,” Rodgers said.

Oberdofer laid out what was included in this final concept.

Parking areas would be refined, he said. The soccer field would be kept intact but group and picnic shelters would be added. A driveway would be constructed to the community garden area, which would be relocated near the rodeo grounds, and the existing area would be storage. Some renovations are suggested to the dog park near the rodeo grounds such as moving the small dog park. A buffer zone would be added between the stables and the recreation area. A piece would be carved out for a three-acre bike park. A ninja or fitness park would be added, too. A nature play area would be provided for children as well as a multi-use pavilion for activities such as basketball and roller derby. There also would be a food truck court and four sand volleyball courts. The walking path would stay.

Even this concept plan got refined; Oberdofer said after getting more feedback, the community garden will stay as it is although the driveway to the garden would be improved. Additionally, the overflow parking lot on the north side of the recreation area would be expanded.

Rodgers added that six ADA parking spots are planned for the overflow parking and a driveway to the rodeo grounds is proposed. Plans for expanding the bike park by 3-5 acres in the future are also included.

As far as how all this would be rolled out, Oberdofer said different features in the plan were prioritized. He said the priorities, in order of importance, are the bike park, the west side paths and parking, the sand volleyball courts and dog park improvements, the community garden, the food truck court and multi-use pavilion.

All these things come with high price tags. Oberdofer provided a list of the costs:

• Bike Park is about $2-$3.5 million;
• West side improvements are about $2 million;
• Sand volleyball and dog park improvements are about $1.3 million;
• Community garden improvements are approximately $800,000; 
• Multi-use pavilion is about $4 million; and
• Miscellaneous items such as the nature play area and ninja park are approximately $1.2 million.

Oberdofer added that in all these prices, there is a 15 percent contingency.

“We know that down the road some of these are not going to happen for a number of years so we wanted to try and build in a little bit of escalation,” he said.

The grand total for everything is about $12.9 million. Oberdofer emphasized that all of this would be happening in phases.

Councilor Melanee Hand wondered what the fate was for the BMX track as well as piece of land outside the fence of the stables near the road to the rodeo grounds where the County started dumping asphalt pilings, dirt, and debris for construction projects and road work for San Ildefonso. 

Oberdofer said the BMX track, which reportedly has been abandoned for some time, would be eliminated and supplanted by the bike park. The spoils or stockpile area would be left as is.

Council Vice Chair Ryn Herrmann said she liked the plan, but the cost was an issue.

“I think it’s beautiful,” she said. “I’m not sure we can afford to do all of this but I really hope we can do a lot of it because it would be a wonderful thing for our community.”

Councilor Beverly Neal-Clinton asked about the expected timeline for the whole project.

Oberdofer said he wasn’t sure since the project is scheduled to be done in phases but he could see it stretched out over 20 years.

In an unrelated matter, council discussed the possibility of forming a Metropolitan Redevelopment Act (MRA) commission.

County Manager Anne Laurent reported that the discussion of MRAs goes back to 2020 to address blighted areas.

She said the County created two masterplans, had code revisions and then created a MRA. The first step was to pass an ordinance, Laurent said, then the County worked with a consultant and Los Alamos MainStreet. Finally, council adopted a plan based on the masterplans.

“We are at a point where the Metropolitan Redevelopment Act also has a concept of creating a Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency … so what that does is it basically says that the governing body has the authority over the decisions made or applications of any tools in the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area,” Laurent said. “The governing body, which in this case is the Council, has all the authority to make those decisions.”

She said the council can delegate authority to a board. In looking at different MRAs in different communities, “What really struck me … they’re set up based on the situation and the goals the community is trying to achieve.”

Laurent said when it was discussed to give authority to the council, the conversation surrounded being efficient and knowing that any public/private partnership would need to be done by ordinance by the council. She further noted that right now, two or three applications for MRA funds are anticipated.

Herrmann, who requested this agenda item, said the biggest concern is transparency. She asked what opportunities there were for the public to engage in this process.

Laurent noted that any council decision requires public notice. All property owners in the MRA also could be notified directly. She further noted things do not need to be approved in one meeting; council could hold additional meetings.

Herrmann said another concern is how much time would be consumed forming a citizen board. She said she worries about efficiency.

Laurent said efficiency is a concern for County staff, too. Filling a board would be complicated, she said because it would need expertise and there are a limited number of people with limited time available to serve on the board. Looking at other County boards and commissions, it is a challenge to keep them filled, Laurent said.

Councilor Theresa Cull asked if there was a County review commission that meets to review MRA applications.

There is no staff review committee, Laurent said, adding that when an application is received, staff review it for completeness and then work with the finance department and the attorney’s office to ensure the County is in compliance.

Several Councilors might imply more explicitly in the future their support for the MRA Commission.

Councilor David Reagor said, “I feel we need another board or commission that acts as a source of public input … and also consists of business people in the community that have some experience in contracting.”

He added that while it may be hard to staff, people with experience would be useful.