Espaolas

Comprehensive Plan
7 December 2016

Tonights Agenda

Welcome back and Hello new folks

How did your Kitchen Table meetings go?

Overview of what you heard: 1.Change Direction?

2. Core Values? A. Scenario Exercise

Reminder of what the Community Open House

revealed

Data Dive

What Did You Hear?

Kitchen Table Meetings

Kitchen Table Discussion #1

Talk about the "status quo" in Espaola. Do you

think Espaola needs no course correction, a minor
course correction, a major course correction, or a Uturn? Why?

Kitchen Table Discussion #2

List and discuss the core values of Espaola. What

makes Espaola different than other places? What
must Espaola preserve and/or improve upon to
make it stronger?

What We Heard
Community Open House

I am NOT proud of my Espaola Community

Challenges of drugs, gangs, addictions crime

Close-minded community
School system is shit
We come in first place for bad things: drop-out
numbers, drug addiction, income, crime
City is dysfunctional
No priorities and no investment in anything

I AM proud of my Espaola Community

I am proud of the foundation, not the structure

Family values and connection to past
Good people/hardworking
History, heritage, traditions, culture
Survivors

Resident < 10 years

Resident > 10 years
Non Resident

Espaola DOES NOT have any clear priorities

Lack of leadership
Change with the election cycle; citizen input
not valued
Vary from city councilperson to city
councilperson
Legacy of corrupt politicians
Feels like we have no government
No communication
No change in city in 30 years
Politicians here for themselves
Always in survival mode; no direction

We DO have clear priorities

In spite of this place, some people make an

effort to do good for this community

Resident < 10 years

Resident > 10 years
Non Resident

Espaola DOES NOT have enough resources

Corruption makes money scarce

Need a clear budget
Attitude of residents needs changed
Cant grow wealth in our community
Need economic development plan

Espaola has enough resources

Yes, but need direction from council/mayor

We have cultural capital, historic capital,
human capital

Resident < 10 years

Resident > 10 years
Non Resident

Espaola IS NOT as good as it can be

Can be good, but lacks drive/direction/

fortitude
Lack of collaboration
Tough place to work
No cohesion within the community
Crime and unemployment scare away
possible investors
We only elect good ol boys; nothing changes
Economic development is non-existent
Poverty is high

Espaola is plenty fine AS IS

The City can be better and it will be better

Limitless potential

Resident < 10 years

Resident > 10 years
Non Resident

Business as Usual WILL NOT be valuable

Cant continue this way

City has gotten bigger, not better
Corruption is thick in Espaola
No trust in current leadership
Need cooperation of Counties, City, Tribes

No one thinks business as usual

means anything good for Espaola
(but there is yet to be a consensus on what
constitutes business as usual)

Resident < 10 years

Resident > 10 years
Non Resident

It will be important to resolve the issue of pride (in what specifically) as it is a source of
strength and constructive tool for progress on one hand, and pride as a crutch on the other;
and also to square this with virtually zero faith and confidence in the systems in place in
Espaola to manage day to day life (capacity). This tension makes clear that
capacity building and resident leadership are absolute keys for implementation of anything
meaningful

Kitchen Table - Scenario Planning

New Life Homes is an Albuquerque-based nonprofit housing development

organization. In a partnership with the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Corporation
Authority and HUD, it is a finalist to receive syndicated tax credit equity to develop a
120 unit low-income housing apartment complex off of La Joya Street where it
seeks to complete an option on 15 acres, obtain zoning variances, and proceed.
The project is a largely self-financed $14M endeavor proposed to consist 20 onebedroom/lofts, 80 two-bedroom, and 20 three-bedroom apartments with rents
ranging from $395 to $495 to $680, respectfully. New Life proposes to function as
developer and property manager, opening an Espaola office in the process. They
are in the process of obtaining additional lender commitments, but at this stage, the
project is short $1.25M. New Life Homes seeks a grant from the city of $250,000
and a $1M low-interest loan to make the project work. They are aiming for an
October 2019 opening if they can obtain favorable financing and necessary zoning
for the increased density needed at the site.You are on the city council.Do you
approve as is?Why?Why Not?Or if you want to approve on a conditional
basis, what are your conditions and why? What other information would you need
in order to make a decision if thats the case?

Scenario Planning #1

Thoughts Moving
Forward
Base Date: December 2016

Power Centers of the Region

WHAT IS OUR RELATIONSHIP? ONE DIRECTIONAL?

Population Trends

Chili Line Railroad

Los Alamos (1943)

GROWTH
What happened?
Chasing SF growth
from 1940s-1970s?
SF +23% (2010 - 2015)

Challenges Moving Forward

Poverty at 29%

Decline in higher paying jobs (-32% over 5 years)

Back turned on physical environment/attributes

(river)

Highway DEFINES and DIVIDES the city (through

not into)

Powerful regional centers/cities surrounding City

Choices Moving Forward

Do nothing - maintain fiscal capacity and prepare

for shrinking population/economy

Improve upon what we have now - using existing

bones, look for stability or 1 - 3% growth

Attract people and businesses - aspire to be

something different than we are today
Ability to reinvest (yes); willingness (?)

See you in February!