Long-term plan in place for center

A long-lasting retail center on the north side of Gallup is now in the hands of a new ownership group that has ideas to reinvigorate it.

Legacy Alliance Holdings, a real estate company based out of Addison, TX, recently finalized a deal to purchase El Mercado Plaza, 819 N. Hwy. 491, Gallup, N.M. Legacy first identified the plaza as a business opportunity about three years ago.

El Mercado Plaza, which is comprised of the Harbor Freight building, the former Payless store, and Little Caesar’s, was first developed by Munoz Properties, a Gallup-based company that provides commercial and residential real estate and construction services.

Three members of the Legacy Alliance executive team, Brad DeYoung, Fred Hopkins, and Chris Leavell, were in Gallup July 11 to meet with Mercado Plaza tenants.

“We want everyone [at Mercado Plaza] to know we’re accessible to meet with,” DeYoung said.

“Each member of the trio hails from Dallas, and they each studied real estate at the University of North Texas in Denton,” DeYoung said. They all met at an alumni function in 2011, and formulated a plan to start a business to own and develop retail and multi-family properties.

This idea led to Legacy Alliance, which specializes in the development of multi-family residential and retail properties, according to their website. Their goal is to bring high-quality properties to their chosen market niches and locations.

The firm incorporates extensive market research, a thorough feasibility analysis, and cutting-edge project development and management systems, to identify and develop multi-family properties.

Hopkins, formerly of Albuquerque, said he had the idea to acquire retail space north of Interstate 40 in Gallup for more than a decade, but could not get the location for it until now.

Leavell said Gallup is a misunderstood market, and real estate operators have to study and know the market to succeed, something DeYoung also mentioned.

“To most [real estate operators], it doesn’t make sense,” DeYoung said. “Gallup is a unique economy.”

DeYoung said what drew Legacy Alliance to Mercado Plaza was its long-term ownership of stable tenants. The plaza had not been aggressively maintained or managed in recent years, he added.

To that end, DeYoung pointed out, they have identified national retailers and other opportunities to restore Mercado Plaza to the status it held when it was owned by Edward Munoz, Sr. “We are thrilled to death some of his kids and the local community have joined us as partners,” DeYoung said.

DeYoung wanted to voice his appreciation to some of the local investment partners who are collaborating with Legacy Alliance on this project, including Edward Munoz, Jr., Connie Munoz-Bennot, Elizabeth Munoz-Hamilton, Terry Hamilton, Ron Hamilton, Bill and Natalie Overton, Mary Lou Hamilton-Casper, Michael Mazel.

“They look forward to continue honoring [Edward Munoz, Sr.’s] legacy and keeping it in the family,” DeYoung said.

The reception from the local community has been very welcoming, DeYoung continued. The tenants at Mercado Plaza are encouraged by the new direction Legacy Alliance wants to take. “It is amazing how pro-development and friendly everyone is in Gallup,” he said.

Leavell said this positive reception was shared by city officials. “We met with the mayor, and it is very obvious the current city staff is pro-business and development,” he said.

The ideas of Legacy Alliance have already begun to be implemented, DeYoung said, and the developers have started negotiations with multiple new tenants and national retailers to take some of the space at the plaza.

Some of these tenants will have their deals in place by the end of the year, DeYoung added.

“I see us having a long-term approach [to the plaza] and we hope to be good stewards of the community,” he said.

Leavell said they are always looking for new opportunities to develop and succeed, and reaffirmed DeYoung’s words.

“This is a long-term hold. We’re not going anywhere,” Leavell said.

By Cody Begaye
Sun Correspondent

The region’s champions began descending on Santa Fe this week to lobby for funding at the state’s month-long legislative session, which started Jan. 16.

It’s an annual ritual of supplication, as local officials and business leaders go with their hands out seeking money for priority projects. Local governments depend on state funding for many local infrastructure projects, which sometimes opens the door to federal matching funds.

The City of Gallup has a tiered list of items it needs, many of them water related. The top tier is large capital projects, starting with $15 million for wastewater treatment plant improvements and $12 million for a reverse osmosis system.

While the description “toilet to tap” will need some workshopping to get most consumers on board, Interim City Manager J.M. DeYoung believes communities across the Southwest will have to find ways to make wastewater clean enough to drink.

“The governor did request a lot of money, $500 million from the federal government, to try to do reverse osmosis on brackish water or water used in fracking. We want to see if that is also a possibility for our area with our effluent. The purer the effluent, the greater the opportunities for reuse,” he said.

That may be further into the future, but for right now the city also wants $3 million for another well to tide it over until the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project begins delivery, which is projected around 2029. Then there’s $2 million for replacement water and wastewater lines and $1.5 million for a well pump assembly to deliver the water.

GALLUP MUNICIPAL AIRPORT

The city is asking for $25 million to overhaul the Gallup Municipal Airport terminal to accommodate larger planes for passenger and cargo service.

“We have passenger service now. We are very interested in pursuing a Foreign Trade Zone and using our rail spur and connecting that with our airport,” DeYoung said.

OTHER PROJECTS

Some of the ongoing projects that citizens notice most need funding: The city is asking for $860,000 to put artificial turf on the fourth field at the Joe Vargas Veterans Sports Complex and $500,000 for ongoing road maintenance in the city.

The city supports a proposed change to how motor vehicle excise tax revenue pays for state and local road infrastructure funding.

“Right now 60% goes into the state general fund, 22% goes to the state road fund and 18% goes into local transportation project funds,” DeYoung said. “We’re asking them to allocate 60% to the state road fund and 40% to the local transportation project fund. This would free up a lot more money for infrastructure for roads.”

It would generate about $140 million for road infrastructure statewide.

The city plans to support legislation that would expand workers compensation coverage into retirement for injuries or illness that result from work, and asking for change in the health premium tax to expand coverage for medics.

The state set up a public safety radio network to keep communities connected even if the local capability goes down. The cost ranges from $20 to $30 a month per radio and those costs have been passed on to local communities. Gallup is among cities that are asking the state to pay those bills.

Finally, the state charges local governments a fee to administer their taxes, and cities think it’s too high.

“It generates about $50 million for the state,” DeYoung said. “The Tax and Revenue Department’s entire budget is $65 million. Local governments are paying for 85% of their budget. We think they should lower that or bring the services up.”

COUNTY BRIDGES BECKON

Ask McKinley County Manager Anthony Dimas for his funding priorities and there’s a good chance he’ll say, “roads and bridges.” This year is no different as the area’s aging infrastructure wears out bit by bit. Many of the county’s bridges are Vietnam-era military surplus.

The county is asking for $6.6 million for bridges: $3.3 million for the Annie Clanni bridge, which the state condemned in November. It connects Bread Springs (Baahaali) to the wider world; and another $3.3 million for the last bridge on the Superman Canyon corridor.

“We’re almost done with that corridor and ready to move to another corridor,” Dimas said wearily.

Another important road project is extension of County Road 1. The $1 million Dimas is seeking would let the county link Carbon Coal Road with a loop so motorists can go from the north side of town to the west side without going through neighborhoods.

Nearby, the county owns two parcels of land, one of 40 acres about a mile from U.S. Highway 491, plus another 640-acre parcel about four miles from the first, that the county wants to turn into an industrial park. The ask is $5 million to put in utility infrastructure for it.

Dimas is also asking for $4.5 million to renovate the RV Park at Red Rock Park. The project is in the design phase now, thanks to a tourism grant from the state.

“The decades-old facility isn’t made for 40-foot campers with sides that pop out,” Dimas said.

CHAMBER MEANS BUSINESS

Although the session is mainly focused on budget matters, there is a mechanism for the governor or House to bring in policy matters, Gallup McKinley County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bill Lee said. The chamber is concerned about a Family Medical Leave bill that has failed in the last two sessions but is on the call to return unchanged for another try.

Last year, it was Senate Bill 11.

“We are not opposed to paid family medical leave, just to that terrible bill,” Lee said.

It’s possible a business-backed family leave bill will be proposed this year in response. The chamber is part of a coalition with the New Mexico Restaurant Association and others “to fight the bad bill and support the good bill.”

Another bill coming back for another try would impose a 25-cent tax on alcoholic beverages. The chamber opposes that and any other new tax.

“We are against any new tax that the legislature wants to propose,” Lee said. “The $3.8 billion in surplus again this year would indicate to us that there is no need for new taxes of any sort on personal or corporate incomes to be put on the business community or the citizens of New Mexico.”

Oil and gas revenues have built up the reserve, he said, and the state would be more prudent to put something – specifically about $1 billion, or 30% of the surplus – aside for a rainy day.

The chamber is also opposing an environmental rulemaking that would force dealerships to sell only electric vehicles within five years. The chamber wants to leave EV adoption to consumers.

“We think about our neighbors on the Navajo and Zuni reservations and throughout rural New Mexico who don’t have the infrastructure to charge these vehicles. If you live in Yatahey, I don’t know that there’s a lot of charging stations out there. Or in Window Rock or Prewitt,“ Lee said. “Let’s be realistic about this.”

On a brighter note, Lee will be looking for $5 million to spend on celebrating the Route 66 centennial. He chairs the Route 66 committee that would distribute the money to eight of the state’s Mother Road communities.

“Tourism is a shining star among state departments,” Lee said.

Additional items are likely to come up at a chamber board meeting later this month.

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent

The 30^th Annual Down Under Sports competition announced their selection of Miyamura High School junior student Elijah Begay, 16, to represent New Mexico on the 2018 Cross Country Team in Queensland, Australia.

So what is Down Under Sports?

The organization, based in Utah, provides exceptional athletes “with the opportunity to experience the culture, beauty and grandeur of the land down under all within the framework of spirited and intense competition,” according to a press release.

Begay, of Gallup, said, “It’s a real special honor to get invited [by Down Under Sports] and to represent New Mexico.”

Growing up, Begay never thought he would be a runner. His father, Emerson Begay, was a basketball coach, and while he ran himself he preferred to teach his son basketball.

“I always thought I would play basketball throughout high school. But I stopped and tried cross country,” Begay said. “I never stopped since.”

At first, running was just a sport to him. But recently, Begay has found himself turning running into a lifestyle.

“He [Emerson Begay] always used to tell me stories of how he competed in high school in running. It motivated me to try and be like him,” Begay said.

In his years as a freshman and sophomore, he heard of other athletes being selected to participate in the Down Under Sports.

“I always thought it would be cool to go,” Begay said. “I always talked to my mom if I ever got invited, would she let me go.”

Sure enough, his dream came true when he received his letter.

FUTURE GOALS

Begay plans on attending college and hopes to receive a scholarship for running. Undecided of where he would like to attend, he said any college would be great for him.

Begay also plans on becoming a professional runner and hopes one day he can compete in the Olympics to represent the United States.

In preparation for Down Under, track and field will help keep his momentum high. Daily runs will also hone Begay’s self-discipline, increasing the mileage and speed of his workouts.

INSPIRATION TRAIN

Begay’s parents are Eunice Begay, mother, and Emerson Begay, father. They are originally from Jones Ranch, N.M. and Pinon, Ariz., respectively. Begay is the second youngest out of seven children.

Coming from a big family, Begay’s older sister, Dianna George, and their father both played a huge role in Begay’s life as a runner. Both have experience as runners and are always there motivating, supporting, and pushing Begay to become a better person and athlete. Not to mention his mother, who is proud of her son and glad he chose to run.

Begay will be leaving the country, and though his mother is nervous about him departing, she would like her son to experience the world. She hopes for Begay to meet new people and to run with other nationalities, and to explore a different part of the world that she might not get to see herself.

George, who ran track and field during her years in high school, said she’s very proud of her brother’s accomplishments for the past two years he has been running.

“He [Begay] put in a lot of work, especially this past year,” George said. “We’ve talked with him about being serious with his running because it will take him places, so him being able to go to Australia, it will add to his accomplishments of ‘I did it.’”

Begay is certainly blessed with an enormous support system behind him and has definitely set an example for his siblings and the younger generation.

From his parents and sister’s experience, they encourage other families to be very supportive with their own children and siblings in whatever they are passionate about.

“We’re really proud of him and excited he was selected,” Eunice Begay said.

Even though Begay’s parents and sister have been his inspiration, there is another person he admires. That person is Steve Prefontaine, a long-distance runner who ran for the University of Oregon and competed in the 1972 Olympics.

“I look up to him because he was an amazing runner,” Begay said of his idol.

Begay encourages aspiring runners to keep working hard. Keep putting in the miles. Keep the mind set on getting faster and stronger. And sooner or later, goals will be accomplished.

FUNDRAISE, DONATE

The opportunity to travel is an exciting one ­– and a rare one.

Begay said the farthest he’s been away from home was to San Diego, Calif. He is thrilled to have the opportunity to travel overseas, to try new things and meet new people. If all goes according to plan, Begay will depart for Australia this summer, leaving June 26.

But travel, as much as it is exciting, is also an expensive opportunity.

Begay’s family encourages anyone who can to help donate to his adventure, which would not only represent New Mexico, but Gallup as well.

So far, the main source of funding has come through the generous contributions of family, friends, teammates, and community.

Pizza 9 in Gallup will contribute their sales towards Begay’s fundraising on Feb. 7. His parents encourage anyone and everyone to help make it possible for their son to compete in Australia.

OTHER WAYS TO DONATE

Pay online at https://DownUnderSports.com/payment/CFD1-0075-9B73

Make check payable to “Down Under Sports” and mail to:

Down Under Sports

PO Box 6010

North Logan, UT 84341

Along with sponsorship letter

Or, pay by phone, by calling (435) 753-4732

For more information on donating, contact Dianna George at  (505) 879-4135 or email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

By Boderra Joe

Sun Correspondent

Management at Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital has met its Jan. 15 deadline to meet a list of demands that McKinley County made back in November, averting potential eviction.

Fed up with the lack of information from former management, the county put RMCH on notice that consequences could be dire if the hospital didn’t meet a short list of demands that included greater transparency, some overdue accounting for mill levy funds and producing $1.5 million in back rent.

The notice came on Interim RMCH CEO Bill Patten’s second day on the job and set off a scramble to meet the conditions.

McKinley County Manager Anthony Dimas said he and the county commission are satisfied with the efforts Patten has made so far. Those include getting an accounting of mill levy funds to the county for review and a number of communication measures.

“I’ve been working very well with their new CEO. It’s on track so far,” Dimas said. “He’s very open with the employees and with the community. He’s really open, the dialog is great. The only thing [outstanding] is the money.”

BUILDING ACCOUNTABILITY

Patten had his first series of all-hands meetings with staff to keep them apprised of the hospital’s status and initiatives in December. The next series is scheduled for Jan. 23 and followed by another series in February.

“Normally I do this once a quarter, but because there is so much going on and so much concern, I am doing it monthly just as a way to make sure the employees know what’s going on,” he said.

On each date he holds four-in person meetings to make sure staff can attend regardless of their schedules, and a video of one session gets posted to the hospital intranet so anyone who can’t attend in person has access to them.

By way of community outreach, Patten has been recording videos and posting them on the RMCH website to introduce himself and keep the community informed of the hospital board’s activities; and giving press interviews.

The one big thing the hospital has not been able to do yet is pay the back rent to the county, which owns the hospital building.

“We don’t see that coming any time soon. They just don’t have the money,” Dimas said.

In fact, so far money has flowed the opposite direction. The county and City of Gallup have each agreed to put up $2 million – one month’s payroll – to guarantee the hospital can stay open and buy some wiggle room for Patten to chip away at the hospital’s $38 million in outstanding debt. With those contracts signed, the hospital will ask the Navajo Nation to do the same.

“We’re only able to do this because of the support we are getting from the city and the county,” Patten said. “We completed the agreement with the city [the week of Jan. 8]. They provided money for payroll.”

SQUARING UP

Meanwhile Patten is working to make sure all local vendors, including contract staff, are paid in full as soon as possible, with the goal of having medical staff caught up by the end of March.

“Local vendors are being paid at 100%, because they are local,” Patten said. “We have worked really hard to get local vendors caught up and ideally paid off. That was our first focus and we’ve made a lot of progress there.”

He’s also negotiating with other vendors large and small to reduce the amounts owed so they can be paid off. Examples he gave were an outside staffing company with an outstanding $165,000 invoice that agreed to accept $61,000 to clear the debt; and another vendor that was owed $100,000 but settled for $30,000.

Further out on the horizon, some bills expected to come up in the legislative session that began Jan. 16 may also bring some relief. None had been filed by press time.

One proposal would give the state’s smallest hospitals, with fewer than 35 beds, a one-time payment of $3 million each.

“That would be great, but that’s three and a half payrolls for us,” Patten said. “I would say ‘thank you,’ but we need more than that to get out of the hole.”

The Healthcare Delivery and Access Act, a plan written by the New Mexico Hospital Association that has gained some support from Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham’s office, would create a new tax on hospitals that is expected to generate $350 million a year.

“The bill would not cost the state any new money,” Patten said.

The act would  make RMCH eligible for federal matching funds that could double Medicaid reimbursements. If it passes, the end result would be another $11 million per year for RMCH, starting in 2025.

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent