Latest news with #JoaquínBaca
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
City of Albuquerque ready to begin noise camera pilot program
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Speed cameras are now all over the metro, but a city effort to make a noisy car monitoring program has been years in the making with no solid results. Now, the city says it's ready to try again with a new company. Story continues below Crime: Parent speaks out after gun found on Albuquerque Public Schools campus Don't Miss: Which ABQ restaurants has Guy Fieri visited on 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives'? National: Pope Leo XIV celebrates first Mass, calls his election both a cross and a blessing The longtime, engine revving nuisance has left neighbors asking for change, including former downtown Albuquerque City Councilor Isaac Benton, who passed a resolution nearly three years ago directing the city to create a noise camera pilot project aimed at using cameras to help catch and ticket loud drivers. While some technology was tested, nothing has been installed until now. At a meeting last week, City Councilor Joaquín Baca hammered the city over why no noise camera program has been finalized. 'I know government takes a while, but I'm still waiting for my pilot program. Not my pilot program, I'm sorry, Councilor Benton's pilot program,' said City Councilor Joaquín Baca, District 2. This comes after Baca even started his own pilot project with a University of New Mexico professor last year, after the Albuquerque Police Department did a first one. Amid the pushback, the city now says it's ready to launch a Dutch company's noise cameras for another pilot by the end of the summer. 'The group they want to use, I think, has a little bit more of a track record and has been used in other localities, and data has stood up in court,' said Baca. Although it's not his first choice, Baca said he's glad to finally see progress. 'It shouldn't have had come to me. It should have happened with my predecessor, to be honest, but that said, let's just always move forward, and I'm glad it's happening,' said Baca. The city said this latest test will include three noise cameras, and they're still looking into how much it will cost. APD is also again expected to be involved in this latest project. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Quality-of-life tax hike dies after Albuquerque City Council dust-up
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways May 6—A proposed tax increase to help fund quality-of-life projects in Albuquerque was torpedoed on Monday night after numerous amendments were made to the bill. The initial measure, proposed by City Councilor Joaquín Baca, would have created a ballot measure asking voters if they wanted to raise gross receipts taxes by 0.375%, which would generate an estimated $80 million to $86 million for the city of Albuquerque. "A truly thriving community requires an approach that goes beyond just addressing problems and must also actively invest in growth, culture and opportunity," Baca said when he introduced the bill. The measure would've restricted the money as the Quality of Life Enhancement Fund, requiring the tax dollars to be used for the $40 million North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center and a Downtown performing arts center before they could be used for other quality-of-life projects. After 20 years, the tax would come to an end. The two projects are in very different development phases. Construction has started on the North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center, but the project faces a $20 million funding gap. Voters will have a chance to amend the city charter to allow Albuquerque to spend more than $10 million of public money on a performing arts center. "This bill asks the people of Albuquerque to invest in themselves," Baca said. Opposition was immediate. Councilor Dan Lewis said the bill "picked winners and losers" and sparred with Council President Brook Bassan about procedural norms. Councilor Klarissa Peña attempted to amend the bill to spread the money among all the districts but, when that failed, she proposed a second amendment to send the funds to another project. Baca said that he'd never seen such a drastic change in his time as an elected official and called the move "ridiculous." "Might as well cross my name off as sponsor and put Peña," Baca said. That measure failed, too, but not before Peña said she felt strongly that Baca's bill was flawed. Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn put in her two cents and said Baca's bill "favors one project over another project, one council district over another council district." She then proposed her own amendment that would send the money to the city's general fund instead of initially going to specific projects. "The idea that we would be allocating $80 million to $86 million to one council district over another is pretty shameful," Fiebelkorn said, adding that she'd be happy to send the money to the North Domingo Baca Aquatic Center, but this was the wrong way to do it. That change narrowly passed on a 5-4 vote. Lewis, Bassan and Councilor Louie Sanchez joined Baca in opposing the amendment. Fiebelkorn then tried to pass another amendment restricting the money to affordable housing efforts, but that, too, failed. The final vote, now on a bill that would raise taxes by 0.375% and send the money to the general fund and not toward specific quality-of-life projects, failed on a unanimous vote. In an interview after the vote, Baca said he thought he had the votes to pass his measure going into the night. Still, he knew some of his colleagues on the dais opposed it. "I figured they'd be against it, but I didn't think they'd go that far," Baca told the Journal, adding that he may consider bringing the proposal back. Fiebelkorn told the Journal that her opposition stemmed from a concern that another tax on the public would be unnecessarily burdensome, given the current economic uncertainty. "We have quite a few taxes on our community right now," she said. Fiebelkorn added that if a new tax were to be raised, it should be focused on uplifting all of Albuquerque and not just two council districts. Five members of the public who stayed in the council chambers or online until about 9:30 p.m. were then given a chance to speak. They all voiced dismay that the measure had failed, calling on the City Council to find a way to fund key quality-of-life measures. Albuquerque resident and health care professional Jordon McConnell said he was disappointed in the way the debate unfolded. "I don't know why many of us stay here when our council doesn't want to give us the types of opportunities to succeed, to make our Downtown vibrant, to keep people here, create good jobs — all these things work in an ecosystem," McConnell said. McConnell, who is also the communications chair of Strong Towns Albuquerque, a nonprofit that advocates for density and walkable cities, said that quality-of-life investments make the city a better place to live and more attractive to young professionals. "I'm kind of flabbergasted. That's all I can really say," McConnell said.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bill aims to bring more community events to downtown Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –An Albuquerque City Councilor says there's an opportunity to bring more cultural enrichment to downtown Albuquerque, while also letting fewer buildings sit empty. The KiMo theater is one of a few venues mentioned in a new bill that looks to bring more activity to performance spaces the city already owns. 'Right now, both those theaters aren't open very often,' said Albuquerque City Councilor Joaquín Baca. Story continues below Trending: ABQ family defies all odds after their fetus received a rare diagnosis Breaking: Pope Francis dies at 88 Crime: Repeat International District murder suspect facing new charges The KiMo and South Broadway Cultural Event Center are among those, city councilor Baca wants to see get used more. A bill he's introducing on Monday is looking to do just that. 'Now it's, you know, typically big shows, all of them great, but very, very few shows. I mean, it's closed most of the time, and, you know, as a public space, it's part of our community,' said Baca. The bill would be specific to a handful of performance spaces downtown, requiring them to hold a total of at least 12 events a month, which would triple the number they currently hold. 'The community is asking for the ability to put on performances to use these spaces. You know, these are public spaces. They should be used by our community,' he said. This bill is also looking to simplify how the community can rent the space. 'It would help up the price, lower the barriers to putting out a performance. You know, a lot of these communities can actually put on performances that generate revenue, but it's really hard for them to get the space rented without paying up front, even though they rely on ticket sales to pay for it,' said Baca. Baca said this could include uses besides typical shows. 'It doesn't have to just be performances. I mean, the idea has been floated through the years of having it like a museum gift shop or a place to get wine. This is more about like, let's activate those spaces. Let's not just leave them,' he said. As Baca hopes to bring the life and community engagement Baca said the KiMo used to be known for. 'I live downtown, and I used to go to the KiMo pretty regularly with my kids. There was always something going on, whether it was just the screening of a movie or a play, or there was always something. They had a big calendar over that town. That doesn't happen anymore now,' he said. If the proposal passes, the city's Arts and Culture Department would be responsible for coordinating those events and simplifying the rental process for those spaces. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Could a performing arts center be coming to Downtown? Here's what we know
Mar. 16—Albuquerque voters in November will decide whether to scrap a section of the city charter in order to pave the way for building a performing arts center. City councilors voted unanimously on March 3 to place a measure on the ballot that would eliminate Section 7 of the city charter, which prohibits allocating funds exceeding $10 million to a performing arts center without voter approval. If voters choose to remove the section, they will open the door for the city to fund a performing arts center without requiring residents to vote on it. "It's such a weird novelty — to have this essentially in our city's constitution specifically pointing out one type of project," Councilor Joaquín Baca said at the last council meeting. He said he introduced the measure because it is an odd clause to have in the charter, and he feels a performing arts center could benefit Downtown. "If I had my way, king of the day and plenty of funds, I'd throw up a high-rise with a performing arts center there," Baca told the Journal, referring to a parking lot just north of Civic Plaza. History of the charter Voters added Section 7 to the city charter during a special election in March 1991. "There were people who opposed the idea of a performing arts center anywhere because it was seen to be elite and an unnecessary public expenditure," said David Campbell, who served as city attorney from 1989 to 1993. The idea for a performing arts center was floated around the same time as the quarter-cent quality of life tax, which helped fund the city's zoo, balloon museum, aquarium, botanic garden and the Explora Science Center, he said. "However, the notion of a performing arts center was mired in controversy, both the need for it as well as any potential location of it," Campbell said. "As a consequence, one of the opponent groups circulated petitions to put this charter amendment on the municipal ballot to assure into the future that their view to not build a performing arts center would prevail." On Aug. 5, 1991, the charter was amended on a unanimous council vote accompanied by the signature of Mayor Louis Saavedra, according to records from the city clerk's office. Three and a half decades later, Campbell is hopeful a performing arts center is coming to Downtown, adding he's a board member of the New Mexico Philharmonic, which is hoping the project comes to fruition. "I think it is long overdue, frankly. We should have done it 34 years ago," Campbell said. "I believe that a great town like Albuquerque needs to have a great venue for showing its performances, and better that it be Downtown and be a catalyst for the Downtown redevelopment that we're all hoping for." Alan Armijo served on the City Council from 1989 to 2001 and recalls the performing arts issue as partisan. "It broke down to the Republicans being against it, and finally, one of the Democrats also ... just because of a lot of the pressure," Armijo said. He believes that the charter can be repealed this year. "From what I gather, it's hard to say, but I think there are a lot of people, especially in the arts community, that would be in favor," Armijo said. There are several performing arts venues in and around Albuquerque, including the Albuquerque Little Theatre west of Downtown, Rodey Theatre and Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus, the African American Performing Arts Center on the state fairgrounds and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. "I joke that ... the only thing people in Albuquerque hate more than the status quo is change," Baca said. "I think we're past that. I think people are ready for more; just through my interactions, talking, the status quo isn't OK anymore." When it comes to recently built performing arts centers across the country, the cost has often surpassed $10 million. The Kirkwood Performing Arts Center opened in suburban St. Louis in 2021, accruing some $24 million in costs. In Greensboro, North Carolina, the Tanger Center opened in 2020 with a $93 million price tag, and in San Antonio, Texas, the Tobin Center opened in 2014, costing over $200 million.
