Mayor Ravi Bhaskar: “Socorro, where we are now”
April 24, 2013
Mayor Ravi Bhaskar addresses The Socorro Rotary Club
Mayor Bhasker started off by telling us about the Soccer Field/Rodeo Arena area that is just off U.S. Highway 60 southwest of Socorro. It is about a year away from completion and is being paid for by the Lodger’s Tax ($1.4 million) and about $295 thousand from last year’s legislature and $400 thousand from this year’s legislature. The city is trying to get the National Guard Armory, which isn’t used very much, so that it can be used for indoor events. There is to be a 1-mile walking path around the new sports complex as well as a road to the Socorro County fairgrounds. The city is using the Grefco water well to service the complex. They also want to widen U.S. 60 and have turnoffs, maybe double lane turn offs to accommodate large events and more facilities. The basic idea is to turn this all into the Central New Mexico Sports Complex.
The recent upgrade of city water to meet federal standards cost about $4.5 million, of which about 75% came from the federal government. A current project to upgrade the city sewer system is going to cost about $5 million. The mayor mentioned the problem of septic systems having to meet new federal standards. This has meant that many old septic systems will have to be abandoned, and residents, like those on Evergreen, will have to be on the city sewer system.
There is a plume of the solvent TCE from a spill in the 1970s at the Eagle Pitcher plant on the north side of town that is moving south. The Daniel B. Stephens environmental company is drilling wells to find out more about the plume. The possible cleanup is estimated in the $30 million area.
Mayor Bhasker finished his presentation by talking about the transportation system operated by the city at minimal cost to users. This includes movement around town, bringing people to town from outlying areas like Magdalena, and going to the Roadrunner in Belen. The newest effort is to provide low-cost transport for dialysis patients to and from the treatment center in Los Lunas.