ABIQUIU — The Rio Arriba County Rural Events Center was silent Friday, except for the cawing of crows and the occasional hum of motorists on nearby NM 554.
The compost piles in the vast rodeo arena have been roasted by the sun and are almost completely rotten, with weeds sprouting from the hard, crunching soil beneath cowboy boots.
The ground is dotted with hoofprints, but they are far from fresh.
Some residents say the signs of quiet and lack of activity are a sign that the Rio Arriba County government has made rents too high and recently began locking gates after regular business hours, making taxpayer-owned facilities less attractive to young people, especially young people. This indicates that it is hardly used. .
“The Rio Arriba County Rural Event Center was originally intended to benefit the county’s youth and promote agriculture,” said Michelle Cole, president of the Rio Arriba County Rodeo Association. “However, challenges such as high fees for renting facilities and limited access have prevented us from fully fulfilling this objective.”
Cole claimed the rental fees for the facility were “exorbitant and unacceptable.”
For example, a one-day rental of the entire venue, including the rodeo arena, announce box, and multipurpose room, costs $1,800, plus an $800 damage deposit.
“Rental costs at the Rio Arriba County Rural Event Center have become prohibitive, making it difficult for individuals and groups to use the facility for events,” Cole said. “This issue is concerning because it discourages community participation, limits youth activity opportunities, and limits the promotion of agriculture in the county.”
County Manager Jeremy G. Maestas said it is not unusual for counties to charge citizens for the use of government-owned facilities.
“The price list is [for the events center] “I believe the last time it was updated was in January of this year by my predecessor,” said Maestas, who has been county manager since February. Rio Arriba County also charges similar amounts when it comes to rental fees, sometimes lower than other counties. ”
Sage Faulkner, who was part of the committee that first started developing plans to bring an amusement park to Rio Arriba County about 20 years ago, said government officials are working with the community to make the facility more accessible. He said we need to find ways to make it easier. For young people.
“Rio Arriba County doesn’t always come out in a good way, right?” she said. “But we have state champion rodeo kids, national champion rodeo kids from this county. That’s something to be proud of, and we feel like we should come together as a county and do the best we can.” I guarantee you other counties are doing that, so these kids definitely have the tools and resources. ”
Faulkner, who grew up in Bloomfield, cited Farmington McGee Park in San Juan County as an example.
“Maggie Park is a large, beautiful facility that has hosted the national high school rodeo finals,” she said. “There are days when horseback riding is open, so if my child gets off the school bus on Tuesday and wants to go ride, he can go to that arena and ride until 9 p.m. The parameters are fine. Prices are fine, but you have to set them.” Bounce back in a way that works for most families, rather than an extreme situation that drives everyone away. ”
The Rio Arriba County event center has been rented 42 times since January, Maestas said.
“It’s rented out for private parties. It’s rented out for conferences. It’s used for various 4-H activities for the county fair,” he said, adding that rates vary depending on which facility you rent.
Terry Warner, who operates Santa Fe County’s Stanley Cyclone Center, which has an indoor arena, said the facility is always fully booked.
“When the hours change from next week until April, it will be non-stop as different groups will use it twice a day, for example during the day and in the evening,” she said. “We are an indoor facility, so people like to ride their bikes outdoors. [cold] weather. “
Santa Fe County 4-H groups use the facility “quite frequently,” Werner said, and don’t have to pay for it.
Santa Fe County officials wanted to give young people a place they could easily access, she said.
“It’s safe and it helps the community,” she said. “But to rent it, it’s open twice a week for open rides and costs $5 per horse for two hours.”
Werner said people come from as far away as Corales and Otero counties to use the facility.
“They come from everywhere to ride,” she said. “A lot of people came from Abiquiu.”
Julie Williams-Hill, a spokeswoman for Los Alamos County, said the county has indoor and outdoor equestrian arenas that are free to the public, but those who want exclusive use of the arenas will have to pay a fee. Stated.
“The facility is used every day,” she wrote in an email. “We don’t know the exact number, but she could have had anywhere from three to 10 people infected in a day.”
Maestas argues that Rio Arriba County is obligated to collect rental fees under the state’s anti-contribution clause, which prohibits government agencies from making donations to private companies.
“We also want to ensure that the facility is available for its intended purpose of providing the area to county residents,” he said. “But since the anti-donation law was passed, we have to be very careful…because we don’t want to find ourselves in a situation where we’re violating that law.”
Maestas said the county only recently began locking the event center gates after regular business hours.
“We’ve had a lot of problems with people coming in and out and illegally dumping liquid waste and solid waste,” he said of the event center, which provides RV parking spaces. “We’ve seen some vandalism, etc., and that was one of the reasons we cut off the connection during off-hours.”
Maestas, who also serves as president of the Española Board of Education and is seeking re-election, said the county will work to make the event center accessible to young people who want to practice barrel racing or horseback riding.
“But it all depends on having the personnel and if something happens while they’re there,” he said, adding that the county is concerned about financial liability if someone gets hurt.
“We’re just trying to get a better idea of who’s out there and what they’re doing,” Maestas said. “If people want to get out there and practice riding, we’re not against it. But we need to know who’s going to be there and for how long.”
Maestas said Rio Arriba County offers discounted rates to nonprofits and other organizations that promote the community, and expressed a willingness to work with residents to make facilities more accessible.
He said the county’s recent decision to close the facility during after-hours appears to be contributing to residents’ concerns about the facility.
“I think that bothered them because they used to be able to go in there freely,” he said. “I think it was, for lack of a better word, free for everyone. … I’m willing to listen and discuss ideas and possible solutions.”
County Commissioner Moises Morales said he has received complaints from several residents and plans to speak with Maesta about ways to resolve residents’ concerns.
Faulkner said that following personnel changes at the county executive level, the county is becoming more strict about public facility use.
“If we need to get together and have a meeting about moose, grazing conditions, fires, anything, we can all come together and do that,” she said. “Then the staff changed and now we had to pay for everything and we moved away from the heart of the community.”
Faulkner said Rio Arriba County is missing out on tourist attraction and spending by not making its event center more accessible to the public. She said a family wanted to host a clinic for young people who wanted to learn rodeo and goat tying. When the county informed her it would cost her $1,800, they went elsewhere, she said.
“They approached another facility south of here, and that facility said, ‘Sure, we’re not going to charge you. Please come down,'” she said.
Faulkner reiterated that residents are not opposed to the fees, but they must be “reasonable.”
“The bigger benefit is not the fees they receive, but the economic activity that occurs as a result.” [event] “This is happening in this county,” she said.
“And that’s a positive [for youth]It’s like kids going to learn how to jump off a horse or hitch a goat,” she added. “That’s a good thing. We need more of this kind of thing to happen here, but the county is absolutely closing the door on it.”
Faulkner said all he wants is for Rio Arriba County to make the facilities more accessible to young people.
“I want every child in this county, if they need a place to practice with their horses, to have access to that facility so they can do it without having to jump through 47 hoops,” she said. Told.