Northern NM has a number of pressing infrastructure needs, including water rights, water and wastewater systems, transportation, telecommunications, affordable housing and facilities that improve the quality of life. Infrastructure is one of the best areas that governments can invest in because it attracts new investment and improves the quality of life for all. Furthermore, infrastructure is the responsibility of governments, so it is a natural area for governments to invest in, regardless of the degree to which they want to become involved in economic development.

The table below lists the infrastructure projects mentioned by stakeholders in the meetings conducted in December 2007 and January 2008. A more comprehensive list is currently being developed from capital outlay requests. Because infrastructure projects are capital projects, they will have to be prioritized and funded over a number of years, based on the priorities identified at the May Day Consensus. In some cases, regionalization or packaging of projects may improve the likelihood of having several projects funded at one time. 

Water Rights

The availability of water is a crucial issue which is often ignored in discussions of economic development. Quantification of water rights is currently underway in the Aamodt and Abeyta settlements. Industry clusters identified in this plan, and those pursued for the region, must address the ultimate scarcity of water in northern NM as a limiting factor. 

Water and Wastewater

Water and Wastewater projects have been a priority for decades in northern NM. After a comprehensive effort to regionalize wastewater in the Espanola Valley failed in the early 2000s, smaller components of the regional plan are being implemented individually. As these components connect to each other, they form the basis of the regional system originally conceived in the plan. Several years of funding to complete phases of the regional system will likely be a priority for REDI. Efforts to regionalize mutual domestic operations are currently underway in the New Mexico Environment Department, which is working to obtain funds to contract for an operator and bookkeeper. The bookkeeper will help the jurisdictions establish appropriate rate structures to sustain their systems. After two years of various levels of funding, the mutual domestics should be self-sustaining and able to operate from fees. Regionalizing operations, so that one or two operators serve the entire region, will provide better service to mutual domestics, which currently rely on volunteers as operators. Through the North Central Economic Development District, REDI could play a role in this process by educating communities about regionalization and its benefits. It could also help establish mutual aid agreements among systems for equipment sharing and similar projects.

Transportation

Transportation involves improvements to existing roads and bridges, new construction of transportation facilities, and public transportation. Currently, Los Alamos County and other entities are helping to fund the North Central Regional Transit District, which provides public transportation throughout the region. Taos is interested in creating a similar regional transit district to serve the Enchanted Circle and connect with the North Central District. This district will need planning before funding for implementation is sought. Public transportation is seen as an increasingly important issue as gas prices rise. It is also an important issue for high-cost communities, such as Los Alamos County, that are developing service sector jobs and cannot affordably house service labor families. Such communities will be dependent on their workforce commuting to work, many through public transportation.

Road and highway improvements and construction are suffering nationwide due to declines in revenues and increase in construction costs. As a result, new sources of funding are being considered. Northern NM projects will have to be painfully prioritized given the lack of funding.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications is a significant priority for northern NM. Significantly, broadband access was rated 45th in the nation in CFED’s 2007 Development Report Card for the States. Northern NM has numerous gaps in its broadband infrastructure which should be inventoried and addressed. One of the responsibilities of the Regional Expert Team for Infrastructure will be to make recommendations about reaching currently unserved areas with broadband.

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing is a high priority in the high-cost areas of Taos, Santa Fe and Los Alamos, where new housing is currently being planned. Los Alamos County will also provide new mixed-income housing at its Trinity Place project, and the Village of Questa is considering a workforce housing project to serve its residents and those of Red River, Taos and Angel Fire.