Citizens for NDB Aquatic Center - Public Outreach Efforts (2024)

(9/7/23) IMPORTANT UPDATE:

1) We have asked CABQ (in the 9/6/23 City Council meeting) to quickly provide an updated timeline on the Aquatic Center due to their delays. Extreme interest in this project means the City must make this visible to us. We will post it here under the "Schedule" tab once the updated timeline is provided.

2) We are questioning the VERY HIGH $4.5m price tag CABQ is stating for the retaining wall & ground preparation (Phase 0). The City failed to send out an RFP to various contractors (which could happen with a 7-day turnaround) to get competitive bids on this. Instead, their plan is to use their "on-call contractor" without obtaining any bids. We are asking for a halt to this without an RFP. We do NOT believe Phase 0 should cost us 10% of available project funds.

3) Citizens citywide are showing up to every single City Council meeting to keep CABQ 100% focused on this project - we cannot let them get distracted, again. (See the 'Speak Up Now' flyer to sign up for the next meeting. You get 2-minutes to speak. Voice your thoughts and passion for this project!)

4) Councilor Bassan keeps going to bat for this project in the City Council chambers and beyond. Invest 30+ minutes to update yourself on the conversations happening in City Council & the citizens speaking out. (Please Note: City Council seems very supportive of this project. So, we are putting pressure on them to keep the Keller Administration focused on this and not allow distraction.)

• ABQ City Council Meeting (Sept 6, 2023) Click on this link at 33:45 mark to hear Councilor Bassan's questioning of the City Administration, and 1:23:00 mark to hear citizen comments regarding the project.

• ABQ City Council Meeting (August 7, 2023) Click on this link around the 11:00 mark to hear a huge conversation about this project.

5) We have made a records request on the funding sources for the Splash Pad recently installed at North Domingo Baca Park. The City Administration broadcast widely on Sept 1 (at the ribbon-cutting and elsewhere) that the Splash Pad was Phase Zero of the Aquatic Center (which it is NOT). This raises concerns that the City may be attempting to tap Aquatic Center funds for the $1 million splash pad. Only $792k was made available for the splash pad in 2019. We want to know where the rest of the funding came from. We do not want to see the City commingling funding for these projects.

(8/16/23) Distracted CABQ is not prioritizing what Citizens say they WANT: the Aquatic Center (click on this link to see 8/15/23 KOB News investigation)

URGENT UPDATE (7/31/23):

We are receiving reports that the CABQ Administration has failed to send out the RFP (Requests for Proposal) to construction companies who will bid on the Aquatic Center construction. The RFP should have been sent out many weeks ago as the design phase is now complete. We don't know WHY this is being delayed. But, we do know that the City is losing focus again on a hugely desired project with immense support city- and statewide. It seems the CABQ Administration is much more interested in making another attempt for building the United stadium and also the $80m neon tumbleweed/rail trail (another project to benefit the south side of the City).

IF YOU WANT THIS POOL, YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION ASAP...because these delays by the CABQ Adminstration are costing this project and taxpayers an estimated $200,000/month as inflation forces prices to rise.

HERE'S WHAT WE NEED CITIZENS TO URGENTLY DO:

1) Email CABQ's primary decision-makers: Mayor Keller (TKeller@cabq.gov) and Lawrence Rael (CABQ's COO) (LRael@cabq.gov) and copy ("cc") Parks & Recreation staff (who give advice on the project): Dave Simon Dsimon@cabq.gov , josh@cabq.gov , and Municipal Development staff (who are in charge of the construction): smaden@cabq.gov , patrick@cabq.gov .

2) Sign up to attend the next City Council Meeting - instructions on how to do so are shown on the "Speak Up Now" flyer. Additional meeting details, times and dates can be found by clicking HERE.

3) Complain to your zoned State Legislators (each person can find their Representatives AND Senators here). Tell them that CABQ is delaying what they helped to fund: https://www.nmlegis.gov/members/find_my_legislator

4) Submit your thoughts to the Albuquerque Journal: https://www.abqjournal.com/site/forms/online_services/speakup/

Let everyone you reach out to know that:

• You want to see FAST action and to get the RFP out to bidders now.

• These delays cost the project $200k/month.

• This project is the most desired and requested project in the entire city.

• Delaying this project denies people of all ages, income levels, abilities, and backgrounds the chance to improve their health and well-being.

• The City needs to adhere to the timeline for groundbreaking.

State Legislators will be deciding mid-January how to spend nearly $100 million in Capital Outlay funding. During this VERY SHORT January window, all interested parties begin outreaching to their Legislators to ask for support of their desired projects. This is where YOU come in! We need you to let your Legislators know that you want them to help fund the long-overdue North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center. (Find your NM Senator and NM Representative and their contact info by clicking HERE.) (This takes just 10 minutes to do - and your efforts could help provide the final leg of funding to break ground on the Aquatic Center!)

Here's what to include in your BRIEF email message or phone call to your Senator AND Representative (be sure to see the list of Legislators (below) who most need to hear from you):

1) Let the Senator or Representative know if you are in their district (if you are one of their "constituents"). (We can't emphasize the importance of this enough!)

If you are outside of their district, you can tell them that Representative Marian Matthews suggested you reach out to them.

2) Tell the Legislator that you are reaching out to ask them to help fund the long-overdue North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center project. ("LCS#1395 - NDB Aquatic"- you can refer to this official filing in the state's Capital Outlay Request system) (Be brief and to the point.)

3) Tell the Legislator WHY you believe this project will matter to both their District AND the entire City of Albuquerque. (You can get some ideas here. Share one or two reasons.) (Also, see helpful information on some of these Legislators below.)

3) Tell the Legislator WHY this project matters to YOU. Tell a 3 to 5 sentence story.

4) Ask them to help us cross the finish line with this project by providing as much funding as they can. (Senators get more $$ to spend than Representatives.)

5) Thank the Legislator (or person who takes the call/reads the email) for their time.

REMEMBER! Be Brief and to the point. Everyone and their dog is coming at them right now to ask for funding. So, be succinct and impactful in your request.

IN ADDITION TO REPS. MATTHEWS AND HOCHMAN-VIGIL, THE LEGISLATORS WHO MAY BE MOST WILLING TO HELP (and who need to hear from you by 1/17) ARE:

Rep. Deborah Armstrong

deborah.armstrong@nmlegis.gov

Many constituents on the eastern edge of this House District are of lower income and will greatly benefit from the use of a long awaited public pool for both health and safety benefits.

Rep. Natalie Figueroa

natalie.figueroa@nmlegis.gov

The new boundaries of this House District will be further north and in order to obtain re-election, many of these constituents will be much happier knowing their Representative will advocate and help fund this project.

Rep. Bill Rehm

bill.rehm@nmlegis.gov (01/12/22 UPDATE: Rep. Bill Rehm has confirmed that he will AGAIN contribute to this project!!! The contribution amount is TBD. But, we are SO appreciative of his continued support.)

This is a long awaited project which Rep. Rehm has contributed funding towards. He will likely be supportive of the full funding completion and project implementation.

Senator Moores

Mark.moores@nmlegis.gov

Sports analogies will be strong. When approaching any finish line, we do not slow down, we push harder and fight for the win. He has contributed significant funding so now is not the time to move onto funding other projects. Even if he gives us a smaller amount…something is better than nothing. Senator Moores gave his entire allocation to this project in the last legislative session. We still need his help.

Senator Ivey-Soto

daniel.ivey-soto@nmlegis.gov

Many of his constituents will use the pool.

Senator Tallman

bill.tallman@nmlegis.gov

Many of his constituents will use the pool.

Senator O’Neill

oneillsd13@billoneillfornm.com

Many of his constituents will use the pool.

Senator Duhigg

katy.duhigg@nmlegis.gov

Many of her constituents will use the pool.

Ordinance #O-21-84 - FAILED

• • Councilors Pat Davis, Isaac Benton, and former Councilor Diane Gibson did not work with the other Councilors and/or request amendments to the Ordinance/City Council Bill proposed by Councilors Pena & Bassan. As a result, they did not vote in favor of this proposal that would benefit LONG NEEDED projects across the ENTIRE city - including the Aquatic Center. (This Ordinance failed as a result, but would have fully covered the gap in funding to finally allow this long-awaited, massively-desired project to built.) (Note: Some of these Councilors still got funding for their OWN pool projects, while North Domingo Baca got nothing.) You can learn more about this failed proposal HERE (KRQE news coverage) AND the press conference that Councilors Bassan and Pena held that covered this topic IN DEPTH. (Cliff Notes version is HERE. Important to Note: This would NOT have raised taxes!!!)

BOND votes - Early voting starts 16 Oct and election day is November 2, 2021

• • A YES - for the 27.3 MIL for Parks and Recs = 3 MIL for the NDB Aquatic center. A YES vote will not raise your taxes and detailed information is available at 2021 GO Bond - program-by-purpose. The specific text:

Shall the City of Albuquerque issue $27,265,000 of its general obligation bonds to study, map, plan, design, develop, construct, rehabilitate, renovate, expand, furnish, equip, enhance and otherwise improve, and to acquire property, vehicles and equipment for park and recreational facilities, including public parks and facilities within those parks, swimming pools, tennis courts, sports fields, other recreational facilities, open space, medians, bikeways, bosque lands, and trails?

• • A YES for the Albuquerque Public School BOND and MILL Levy = 2 MIL for the NDB Aquatic center.

  • The 2021 Albuquerque Ballot will include several bond votes, odd City Council districts, and the Mayor's position. Click the following link to get the most up-to-date information on the vote.

• Messaging:

  • In order to get the information out please talk to as many people as possible. There is a flyer below that discuss the APS vote in detail. Additionally, the ABQ Journal has a good editorial on the APS bond and MILL Levy. Example flyers are included at the bottom of the page.

  • The 2021 GO Bond - program-by-purpose has a great FAQ section - some of the examples are below:

What are General Obligation Bonds?

General Obligation Bonds (G.O. Bonds) are bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the City of Albuquerque and regulated by the Federal Internal Revenue Service. They may be redeemed by any regular source of City funding, but as a policy matter are generally redeemed by property taxes paid to the City.

Will my property tax rate go up to pay for the General Obligation Bonds?

NO! The City property tax rate will not increase. New bonds are issued as older bonds are retired, thus keeping the City's property tax rate essentially constant. In fact, due to low interest rates, the cost to the taxpayers for the issuance of bonds has been at historically low levels, enabling the City to pay down bond indebtedness in an average of six to seven years rather than the planned 13 years. The City receives about 26% of the property taxes paid by the typical Albuquerque homeowner. The remaining 74% is allocated to other governmental and educational entities which include the State of New Mexico, Bernalillo County, CNM, AMAFCA, APS, and UNM.

But my property taxes are going up. How come?

Governmental entities other than the City of Albuquerque have increased the tax rate over the years and/or the assessed taxable value of the property has increased. As noted above, it is the policy of the City of Albuquerque to keep the City's property tax rate essentially at a constant level by paying off old bonds before issuing new ones.

When City voters approve one purpose, can the money be used for another purpose?

NO! Occasionally, however, money for projects identified within one purpose may be reallocated to another project within the same purpose, provided that the City Council holds a public hearing and then gives their formal approval to the reallocation. Stated another way, funding approved for the Streets purpose may not be reallocated to the Parks purpose, or funding approved for the Library purpose may not be reallocated to the Storm Drainage purpose.

Why are you allowed to move money between projects within a purpose?

Projects that are listed within a particular purpose constitute a plan, approved by the City Council, to spend capital money after it is authorized by the voters. Most projects within the plan are well known and understood, but in some cases planning may happen well in advance of execution. Precise costs may be difficult to predict, or a particular project may not be feasible after closer examination. Without the ability to reallocate money between or among projects within a purpose, management and implementation of the capital program would be hamstrung. But, remember. this money may only be reallocated after the City Council has a public hearing and gives its formal approval.

ALBUQUERQUE PUBLIC SCHOOLS

• The APS Board voted on Wed, 8/25/21 to approve placing a $2M bond (for the Aquatic Center) on the city's November 2021 ballot. This is monumental because APS has never contributed to the aquatic facilities in the past but has been an avid user. If you are an APS student, parent, teacher, swim coach, etc., please thank the Board but let them know more funding would be greatly appreciated.

APS BOARD MEMBERS:

• Dr David Peercy - President, peercy_d@aps.edu

• Elizabeth Armijo - Chair of Capital Outlay, elizabeth.armijo@aps.edu

• Lorenzo Garcia - VP and Audit Committee, garcia_lore@aps.edu

• Candelaria Patterson - District Equity & Inclusion, candelaria.patterson@aps.edu

• Peggy Muller-Aragon - Finance Committee, peggy.mulleraragon@aps.edu

• Yolanda Cordova - Secretary, yolanda.cordova@aps.edu

• Barbara Petersen - Policy & Instruction Chair, petersen_b@aps.edu

Messaging:

• APS Board: The Board holds the power to approve or deny all funding proposals. Every single board member needs to hear from the public about why this aquatic center would be a game-changer for their students, APS swimmers, and their families - no matter their economic status. If you’d prefer to attend an APS Board meeting, be sure to sign up early so that you can comment at the meeting.

• Focus on how APS and the kids will benefit from this. How APS students will have greater access to aquatics facilities for fitness, sport and well-being. We are recovering from a pandemic and need facilities to help get us back on track. Other states like AZ, UT and TX have pools that are affiliated with schools that are collocated or near by. The following links are examples of some of the aquatic complexes that Albuquerque with the help of APS can build:

  1. https://www.mesaparks.com/parks-facilities/pools/skyline

  2. https://www.mesaparks.com/parks-facilities/pools/kino

  3. Phoenix Day School Pool

  4. https://www.sprung.com/case-study/kearns-oquirrh-park-fitness-center/

  5. https://www.comaquatics.com

• If you have an APS competitive swimmer, let APS know the costs (time, energy, money) to your family to have to ferry your student across town multiple times a week to train/practice...or how your swimmer had to QUIT because of the lack of facilities and commute burdens.

STATE GOVERNMENT:

• Governor's advisory council

• Lobbying for the 2022 NM State Legislative Session

  • Current Caucus for NDB Aquatic Center (Individuals commited to helping complete the project)

    • Mr. Mark Moores, Ms. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, Ms. Marian Matthews, Mr. William “Bill” Rehm

  • Potential additions to NDB Aquatic Center Caucus (Who we need to call and email)

    • ???

• State Senators

  • District 21- Mr. Mark Moores, (505) 681-1975, mark.moores@nmlegis.gov

  • District 13 - Mr. Bill B. O’Neill, (505) 450-9263 oneillsd13@billoneillfornm.com

  • District 15 - Mr. Daniel Ivey-Soto, (505) 881-4475, daniel.ivey-soto@nmlegis.gov

• State Representatives

  • District 27 - Ms. Marian Matthews, marian.matthews@nmlegis.gov

  • District 1 - Ms. Deborah Armstrong, deborah.armstrong@nmlegis.gov

  • District 15 - Ms. Dayan Hochman-Vigil, (505) 948-2320, dayan.hochman-vigil@nmlegis.gov

  • District 31 - Mr. William “Bill” Rehm, (505)259-3398, bill.rehm@nmlegis.gov

CITY GOVERNMENT:

• Mayor's Office 505-768-3000,

  • Mayor Tim Keller, tkeller@cabq.gov

  • Lawerence Rael, Chief Operating Officer lrael@cabq.gov

  • Issac Padilla, Director of Government Affairs iepadilla@cabq.gov

• City Councilor for District #4 (where NDB Aquatic Center would be located): Brook Bassan

• Other Albuquerque City Councilors

• Albuquerque Parks & Recreation

  • Mr. David J Simon, Director of Albuquerque Parks and Recreation, 505-768-5353, dsimon@cabq.gov

  • Mr. Josh Herbert, Aquatics Division Manager, 505-768-5368, josh@cabq.gov

• North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center

COUNTY GOVERNMENT:

• County Manager Morgas-Baca, jmorgasbaca@bernco.gov

• Chief of Staff Campbell, ccampbell@bernco.gov

• Commissioner Benson, district4@bernco.gov

• Commissioner Barboa, district3@bernco.gov

Hand Fans to Promote Voting YES for the $3 Million Bond on the November 2021 Ballot

(Black & White)

*Print, fold and glue to a hand fan stick

Hand Fans to Promote Voting YES for the $3 Million Bond on the November 2021 Ballot

(Color)

*Print, fold and glue to a hand fan stick