Public Outreach Efforts

KEY VOTES, EVENTS, and DATES

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.

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.

KEY EVENTS & DATES - MASTER CALENDAR: Click HERE to see the calendar of events that are key to our Citizen efforts to get the Aquatic Center built. 

KEY CONTACTS AND MESSAGING POINTS TO MAKE & EXAMPLES

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 - Use to promote a "Yes" Vote (November 2021 ballot) at Swim events in the ABQ area