.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque Rapid Transit is headed to voters.

But the vote won’t be binding, it won’t be on the merits of the project, and it won’t come in time to influence the start of construction.

Bernalillo County commissioners narrowly agreed late Tuesday to ask voters this fall whether they think the project should be scheduled for a public vote in the future. The idea passed on a 3-2 vote along party lines, with Democrats in the majority.

Commissioner Debbie O’Malley, who sponsored the question, said a project the size of Albuquerque Rapid Transit – about $119 million altogether – should go before voters.

ADVERTISEMENTSkip

................................................................

“I think this is a worthwhile question,” O’Malley said.

Albuquerque Rapid Transit is a city project, so county commissioners don’t have authority to delay it while a vote is held.

The project is a priority of Mayor Richard Berry, a Republican, and it has bipartisan support from the City Council, which approved it on a 7-2 vote.

The Berry administration has said construction could start Sept. 3. The project would create a nine-mile network of bus-only lanes and bus stations in the middle of Central Avenue, roughly between Coors and Louisiana.

In favor of adding the ART question to the Nov. 8 ballot were Democrats O’Malley, Maggie Hart Stebbins and Art De La Cruz.

Against it were Republicans Wayne Johnson and Lonnie Talbert.

Johnson said the city should have sent the rapid-transit project to voters but that the advisory question proposed by O’Malley isn’t the right way to do it.

“I don’t like advisory questions that don’t have any real function of law,” he said. “I think a ballot is the place for decisions and choices, and not polls.”

Here’s how the question is phrased: “Are you in favor of giving voters residing in the city of Albuquerque municipal limits the chance to vote in support of or opposition to the proposed Albuquerque Rapid Transit project?”

Supporters say ART will provide fast, reliable transit service in a crucial city corridor filled with major employers and destinations, including the University of New Mexico, and encourage redevelopment.

Opponents say the project will damage the car-friendly charm of what was once Route 66 and choke traffic to local businesses. To make room for bus-only lanes, there will be one lane fewer for general traffic in each direction throughout much of the corridor.

“I think there are people on both sides who really want to be heard,” Hart Stebbins said.

The Berry administration remains undeterred.

“The project has already started, there is a multiple million dollar contract in place and federal commitments and authorizations to proceed have been received,” the mayor’s office said, in a written statement. “To put a baffling, advisory only question on the ballot that asks voters for an opinion as to whether they think there should be another vote at some point in the future is confusing, misleading and frankly doesn’t make sense.”

More ballot questions

The rest of the ballot is also taking shape.

Bernalillo County commissioners agreed Tuesday to ask voters this fall to consider a $36 million bond package, a charter that grants the county government expanded powers, and renewal of a $93 million tax that supports the University of New Mexico Hospital each year.

The fate of two other ballot questions remains unclear. The commission plans to decide in about three weeks whether to add measures that would change the public financing system for Albuquerque mayoral candidates and require city employers to provide paid sick leave to their workers.

Here’s a look at what was approved for the ballot on Tuesday:

⋄ An urban county charter that would grant Bernalillo County the same powers enjoyed by cities in New Mexico. The charter is like a constitution of sorts for the county, though it would maintain the basic structure of the government: a five-member County Commission and an elected sheriff, treasurer, assessor, clerk and probate judge.

⋄ About $36.3 million in bond questions that would provide money for roads, library materials, parks, county buildings, public housing and other capital projects.

The proposals include $1.5 million for an animal shelter, $1 million for a public safety radio system, $2 million to redevelop the South Valley pool and about $12.7 million for roads, sidewalks, bikeways and trails throughout the county.

Approval of the bonds wouldn’t result in a tax increase because new bonds would be issued as old ones are paid off.

⋄ Renewal for eight years of a property tax that supports the operation and maintenance of the University of New Mexico Hospital. It generates about $93 million a year.

The tax amounts to about $213 a year on a home valued at $100,000, or about $320 for a $150,000 home.

The County Commission:

⋄ Agreed to accept two applications for industrial revenue bonds, a financing mechanism that usually conveys tax breaks.

One proposal is from MCT Development Inc., which wants to renovate and expand an industrial park. The other is for CCC & S Family LLC, which wants to build a corporate headquarters and distribution center.

Final action will come later.

⋄ Authorized the formation of public improvement districts within the Santolina Master Plan.