Rising construction costs hamper repair projects

Sidewalks, curbs and gutters that are crumbling are the kind of thing that get citizens’ attention, because people encounter and use them every day. Getting them fixed is expensive, and takes longer with a tight budget.

So even though the city council   greenlit about $250,000 that was previously set aside for a design and engineering plan to fix curbs, gutters and sidewalks on five blocks around the city, only one of them will happen in the next year. That’s because each block will cost $400,000 – equal to the entire sidewalk budget for the 2023 fiscal year.

“Construction [costs] of these projects has gone up tremendously. I did originally request $2 million to construct the five blocks. Unfortunately, due to budget constraints,  I was only able to receive $400,000, so we will only be able to construct one block,” Public Works Director Robert Hamblen said. “The costs of materials are just skyrocketing. Not just materials, everything.”

The price of concrete has gone from $132 per yard before the pandemic to $174 per yard now. “Also the concrete companies are having supply issues getting fly ash and other components [which could push prices higher],” Hamblen said.

Fuel costs are also straining budgets across the board. “I’m hoping and praying that $400,000 will still be enough to do just that one block,” he said.

Sidewalks are only expected to last 10-15 years. Hamblen estimated that most of Gallup’s sidewalks date back to the 1950s – before the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that new sidewalks include ramps at corners to make them wheelchair accessible.

Many walks were laid with river rock, so they degrade faster because concrete aggregate doesn’t bind as well with the rocks’ smooth surfaces as with rougher rock shapes.

To make matters worse, parts of the city sit on a former lakebed. That, combined with the protracted drought baking water out of the clay-heavy soil, can cause sidewalks to shift and buckle in much less time. One area of Ciniza Drive is breaking down after just four years. The city has tried various solutions, including reinforcing some sidewalks with rebar, but it isn’t enough.

“The soil [underneath] is so dry that it’s shrinking and causing buckling on the sidewalks,” Hamblen said. “I’ve had streets lift up about 18 inches overnight.”

His budget includes $20,000 per year to repair smaller sidewalk issues, usually stretches between 10 feet and 30 feet, as they arise. If necessary he can draw from another $60,000 in Street Department funds.

“Sometimes we run short. Then the Council must approve more funding, however it’s not enough to take care of a whole block or the whole city,” Hamblen said.

Consumers know it costs more to pay for things over time, and big box stores are proof that buying in bulk can bring prices down. The same is true for sidewalks. “We might be able to get a better deal if we could contract out multiple blocks at one time,” Hamblen said.

Relief is not on the horizon, but Hamblen said he’ll apply for any applicable state or federal grants that come along. Even then, competition from other cities will be fierce.

Meanwhile, deteriorating sidewalks are scattered around the city about equally in residential and business neighborhoods, inconveniencing locals and potentially creating liability issues for the city.

“Not only do we not have sidewalks, we don’t have curbs,” Linda Sherman, who lives on the 1000 block of Mesa Avenue, said.  “I’ve been here for about 26 years and never had sidewalks. The curbs are there, but they are pretty much worn out.”

In heavy rain, that causes problems. Sherman’s home is on a hill, and water runs into her garage during storms.

“I have to put sandbags in front of the garage to keep the water out,” she said. “A few years back I complained. I was able to get them to come and redo the street, but they said they weren’t doing the sidewalks, curbs or gutters because of the steep hill.”

So far liability hasn’t come up, but it could. Last year, one member of a vacationing couple tripped on a Kachina Street sidewalk.

“A couple from out of town went out to eat and went back to their motel. There was a section of sidewalk that had heaved that someone tripped on,” Hamblen said. “The individual tripped and they were sore, but did not need to go to the hospital.”

A 2016 “pavement distress survey” included observations on a total of 372 sidewalk sections, which vary in length (an average block is 1,000 feet long). The tally rated 156 segments good, 186 fair and 30 poor. Curbs and gutters were rated separately. Of 403 sections, 138 were rated good, 214 fair and 51 were poor.

“The majority of the conditions they rated as fair. Next would be good. They also looked at the existing curb and gutter, because some have a curb and gutter but no sidewalk,” Hamblen said.

Typically, developers are required to build streets and sidewalks when they construct a tract. In a few places there have been exceptions where the developer installed curbs and a street, but no sidewalks. That’s what happened on Elva Drive.

The replacement list approved June 14 includes two projects set for District 4 and one each for districts 1, 2 and 3, ensuring the city’s resources are spread fairly among neighborhoods. Councilor Fran Palochak’s District 4 gets two blocks on the list because those neighborhoods have gotten short shrift in prior projects, Councilor Sarah Piano, Dist. 3, noted.

The blocks on the approved list for sidewalk improvements are:

Country Club Drive from Hill Avenue south to Logan Avenue (District 1, Garcia)

Ciniza Drive from Toltec Avenue west to the drainage bridge (District 2, Schaaf)

Mariyanna Avenue from Nizhoni Drive south to Anton Street (District 3, Piano)

Elva Drive from the water tank to the southern end; and Stagecoach Drive from Aztec Avenue south to Escalante Road (District 4, Palochak)

Palochak put in a word to put Elva Drive at the top of the list.

“I want to advocate for Elva Drive because they do not have sidewalks and they really need sidewalks. That is why I really pushed hard to get Elva in there,” she said. “It’s only going to be from the tank to the residential area at the end of the street.”

Mayor Louie Bonaguidi pointed out that “all the streets are in dire need.”

Piano lamented the rising costs but said that doing the design and engineering for all five blocks means, “They’ll be shovel-ready, so when we do find funding, hopefully they will be ready to go.”

By Holly J. Wagner
Sun Correspondent

It’s not the “good ol’ boys’ club” that gets you promoted at the Gallup Police Department. Promotions are based on the scores of tests presented to each candidate and to their responses.

For the recent open slot of lieutenant, three candidates vied for the promotion, and  Rosanne Morrissette was the chosen one. Chief Franklin Boyd summed up the process with a simple, declaratory statement and noted how important it is for the department to embrace women and minorities to step into leadership roles, but officers have to work toward the next step.

“This department prides itself on its diversity,” he said. “Your performance dictates where you go in this department.”

Boyd also remarked on how tough this job is as officers nationwide are continually viewed and described in the media as “bad cops.”

With those words behind him, the promotion of Morrissette was no surprise.

The veteran of 15 ½ years with the GPD has a degree in Criminal Justice from UNM-G. Morrissette worked patrol until she was made a detective in 2005. She earned her Sergeant stripes in 2014 and will now command the Detective Division of eight and will also be the Public Information Officer for the department.

“I feel very proud and honored by the promotion. I’m ready to do the job. I really like the direction the department is going,” Morrissette said Apr. 5, a few days after the announcement was made of the promotion. “I’m still taking courses in PIO and Leadership. I love being a police officer and want to see how far I can progress in my career.”

Chief Boyd had her back as well, commenting about Morrissette.

“She scored well,” he said, referring to her answers to promotional oral board’s questions. “We are extremely confident in her leadership ability in the detective department.”

Captain Rick White was also complimentary about Morrissette’s promotion.

“It’s great that she’s being promoted,” White said. “She will do well for our department and for our citizens. Morrissette leadership role in the detective unit has brought about positive changes. The greatness will continue.”

By Tom Hartsock

Sun Correspondent

It’s in the nature of emergencies that they’re unexpected and generally demand a response when there’s no time to think. Who do you call? Where do you go? What happens to your pets or livestock if you’re displaced?

Authorities in Gallup and McKinley County want to have answers for as many of those questions as possible before an emergency arises. Now, those answers include pets and livestock as well as people.

Counties are required to have emergency operations plans so they don’t have to figure out how to handle emergencies on the fly. That plan is broken into smaller components, including a Joint Shelter and Mass Care plan. It’s an agreement to respond and coordinate across jurisdictional boundaries in case of an emergency or disaster.

“It just allows us to play well in the sandbox, so to speak, ”Gallup Fire Chief Jesus “Chuy” Morales said.

One need only look at the headlines to see how entire lives can change in a minute: A mass shooter event like the one in Uvalde, Texas. A flood like the one that just in the last week forced closure of Yellowstone Park after washing away roads and at least one bridge. A wildfire like the Marshall Fire that swept through Superior, Colo., over the holidays and forced evacuation of 30,000 people – and their animals.

Until now, McKinley County’s plan didn’t include what to do about animals in an evacuation event. That’s more than a detail in a county with an estimated 15,000-plus pet-owning households, along with thousands of horses, hundreds of cows and calves and other livestock on ranches, and a variety of wildlife.

“It’s becoming a more and more important piece of sheltering in evacuations,” McKinley County Fire Manager Adam Berry said.

Morales cited as an example the Calf Canyon Fire that has already burned 345,000 acres in northern New Mexico and is still only 85% contained.

“With the wildfires up north, a lot of evacuations occured [and] those residents and communities [have] lots of large animals and pets,” he explained. “Having facilities that are pre-designated that can accommodate that type of evacuation, such as Red Rock Park, is important for our community in the event of a large fire. The potential is there.”

Fires aren’t the only worry. The plan assesses threats as high, medium and low probability and frequency. Infrastructure interruptions, wildland and urban interface fires, drought, severe weather and flash floods are all high threats in McKinley County. Public health emergencies, hazardous material spills and active shooters are on the medium threat tier. Terrorism and geological activity are comparatively low risks here. But every day the news provides reminders of the importance of advance planning.

“We as a country learned a lot when the levees broke in New Orleans and they had to house all these people. There was no rhyme or reason to anything they were doing. Buses got stuck up on a bridge. The water was coming in. You had people inside a stadium that didn’t have enough food, enough heat,” Dist. 4 Councilor Fran Palochak, who has sat on emergency preparedness committees, said. “Being on a main interstate [highway] and having the railroad, if a car with hazardous materials overturned, we’d have to evacuate this city. It’s really crucial that we have all these plans in place and don’t try to figure it out when the emergencies happen.”

Mayor Louie Bonaguidi compared the plan to an insurance policy. “We go through the process of ‘in case,’ and hope this disaster never happens,” he said. “It’s kind of like insurance. We buy insurance hoping we never have to use it.”

The new JSMC is part of the county’s longstanding emergency operations plan, which is periodically updated. It was updated in 2016 and 2018, and items were added when COVID-19 swept the country to include the threat of a pandemic, Berry said.

“Ideally we get it reviewed once a year. Every two years it has to be reviewed and updates completed,” he said. The larger emergency management plan, which he describes as “a toolbox or playbook,” includes annex modules, like the JSMC, to address specific issues.

“If we wrote a super specific plan for everything that could happen, it’s not going to work when the next one happens because there are so many variables in emergencies,” he said. “This puts all the pieces of the puzzle together to accomplish the task at hand when an emergency happens.”

The county offers an emergency alert program called Code Red that will automatically contact local landlines, but people must sign up to receive alerts via cell phone or text.

“The other day Gallup had a power outage and dispatch sent out an alert on Code Red,” Berry said. “We encourage people to sign up for cell phone or something they have with them the majority of the time.”

Even though the city and county have emergency management plans, it’s a good idea for individuals to have their own plans for contacting family and friends in an emergency.

McKinley County residents can find information on how to create emergency plans for their homes and businesses, and a link to sign up for Code Red emergency cell phone alerts, at http://mcoem.com.

Plan for your pets!

A Pet Emergency Kit should have the following items:

Three to seven days’ worth of food

Bottled water

Medications (two weeks supply)

Copy of pet’s medical records and vaccinations (in waterproof container)

Food and water dishes

Extra leash and harness

Pet carrier or kennel

Kitty litter and tray

Extra toys/blankets

If you become separated from your pets

In many instances people are forced to evacuate without their pets. Getting reunited with your animals during a disaster situation can be complicated, and the task is much easier if you take steps in advance, such as:

Have your pets licensed with your local municipality so details of your animals are established and on the record.

Have up-to-date ID for your animals including a tattoo or microchip and an ID tag with the animal’s name, urgent medical needs and your phone number.

Keep recent photos of your pets with you.

– Tiffany Hubbard, Gallup Animal Protection Manager

Senator Tom Udall spent March 24 and the morning of March 25 at the Veterans Helping Veterans meeting at Don Diego’s. Veterans asked an assortment of questions, from legalizing recreational marijuana to what Udall is doing to help improve local VA services.

Photos by Tom Hartsock