View of demolition on the Hilltop House Hotel Lobby Oct. 27 at 400 Trinity Dr. Photo by John McHale/ladailypost.com

View of the small pile of rubble that remained Nov. 20 captured from a drone above the demolition site of the former Hilltop House Hotel at 400 Trinity Dr. Drone photo by Nate Limback/ladailypost.com 

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

It was a whirl wind year for Los Alamos County! Just like a roller coaster, there were highs and lows, twists and turns. As 2022 closes and the County turns its attention to 2023 to see where this wild and crazy ride will take it next, let’s see where Los Alamos has been.

A New Facility Opens For Business
After a series of delays, the Leisure Lagoon opened to the public Dec. 20. The new facility, which is connected to the Aquatic Center, features a zero-entry area, child-friendly water features, a lazy river and water slide.

Los Alamos County Code Gets Updated
After a lengthy process, Los Alamos County Council approved updates to Chapter 16 of the Los Alamos County Code, which addresses development, during its Dec. 13 meeting.

Specifically, council approved:

• To repeal and replace the text of Chapter 16 as council amended Nov. 30.
• To direct staff to evaluate alternative increased building height requirements south of Trinity Drive in the Los Alamos downtown district and to address canyon protections. The proposed building height south of Trinity Drive is 45 feet. The height everywhere else is 86 feet.
• To evaluate the alternative parking mandates, which includes required off-street parking shall be allowed a 25 percent reduction of the amount in the current table for minimum requirements in the off-street parking, loading and queueing section. Furthermore, required off-street parking shall be provided at 50 percent of the amount required in the table for the minimum requirements in the off-street parking, loading and queueing section.
• Within 60 days staff will submit the proposed amendments to the Planning and Zoning commission for review and recommendation. After that, it will go to council for adoption.

Additionally, Chapter 18 of the Los Alamos County Code, which addressed nuisances, was updated during the Nov. 29 council meeting. Proponents argued that the code is more lenient, clearer and easier to understand. Opponents stated that more work is needed on the code and called for more public input regarding the revisions.

The updates include the following:

• Installing new sections: sidewalks/driveways, temporary structures, clarification of procedures and expanded definitions.
• Eliminating content such as: outdoor furniture, refrigerators, premise identification and building security.
  Reorganizing the structure of the code into five divisions for clarity such as purpose/scope, exterior property, exterior structure, administration and enforcement and definitions.
• To review the full presentation on the revised code, see the Nov. 30 agenda packet at https://www.losalamosnm.us.

Hilltop House Hotel Is No More
In 2021, Council passed a resolution condemning the Hilltop House Hotel as a hazard to public health and safety and ordering it to be demolished. Abestos removal began, and trash was hulled away but it wasn’t util around mid-September of this year, that the community started to see the former hotel get torn away. Originally, the owners of the hotel, New Mexico Innovation Triangle, LLC, were tasked with the demolition work, but the County took on the project and placed a lien on the property. Council approved a task order to demolish the building in June. The cost to do the demo work is $883,434 but council also approved a budget revision for the entire project in the amount of $1,325,000, this is partly due to the increased costs for the asbestos abatement.

Contract With TNJLA Terminated
In August, Council approved to terminate a contract with TNJLA to construct a hotel and conference center on County-owned property on 20th Street. In 2019, TNJLA LLC entered into a project participation agreement to transfer to TNJLA in exchange for constructing an extended-stay hotel as well as a conference center. According to the staff report in the August meeting agenda, TNJLA was unable to provide sufficient evidence to the County for securing a construction financing commitment. As a result, the company requested that the County terminate the agreement.

Decision Reached On Improving The Golf Course
After lengthy discussions on what should be done to the golf course and weighing the pros and cons of various design options, council approved during its Dec. 13 meeting to:
Prioritize maintenance of the golf course facility and select none of the Phase 2 design concept options at this time; and that administrative management controls continue to be used at the driving range for safety.
Add scope to the Phase 1 golf course site improvement project, prior to being re-bid, and address the additional safety and maintenance needs that remain unaddressed by Phase 1 as follows: deferred maintenance improvements for holes 1 through 3 and realignment of hole 7 for safety; driving range practice area improvements; cart path improvements for entire golf course; and return to Council with a budget revision required to accomplish all needed maintenance and improvements at the time of bid award.
Request separate bids for a high fence on the existing driving range that prevents balls from leaving the range.

Mari Mac Gets Sold
During the Sept. 29 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting, Columbus Capital, the new owners of Mari Mac Plaza shared their plans and received approval for a special use permit.

At the meeting, representatives said that they submitted a RFP to Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) to use portions of the old Smith’s, former Beals building and Auto Zone for storage. If the RFP is awarded, then the storage facilities would be in the rear of the old Smith’s, Beals and Auto Zone while retail space would be erected in the front. This would be for five years. Ultimately the goal is to demolish Mari Mac and construct housing, retail spaces and green spaces.

Changes In Leadership
The beginning of 2022 kicked off with Councilor James Robinson resigning from Council. Melanee Hand was appointed to fill his seat. Then in March, another seat on council became vacant after Sean Williams resigned and council appointed Keith Lepsch to the seat. The general election this year re-elected Councilors Randall Ryti and Melanee Hand as well as elected new councilors Suzie Havemann and Theresa Cull. They are not the only new faces in County leadership, voters also elected George Chandler as County Assessor, Catherine Taylor as Magistrate Judge and Jason Wardlow-Herrera as Sheriff.

What will 2023 bring? The future is hard to predict so strap in and let’s go on the ride!