A rape crisis center; an opera rehearsal hall; a bridge over the Santa Fe River; senior and community centers; road and sewer projects.

These are just some of the Santa Fe-area projects recommended to be chopped as state lawmakers struggle to find ways to balance the state budget. They are on a list of hundreds of capital-outlay projects recommended for delay or cancellation by the staff of the Legislative Finance Committee.

Most of the projects appear to be those that somehow never got off the ground. The list also includes long-completed projects — park renovations, building repairs — that have cash balances amounting to thousands of dollars.

But at least one of the Santa Fe projects is under construction.

"We're a third of the way finished," said Karen Rowell, executive director of the Santa Fe Youth Shelter and Family Services on Airport Road. Rowell heard about being on the "Capital Changes for Solvency" from a reporter Monday.

The LFC is recommending voiding a $450,000 appropriation for the shelter. A notation on the lists says, "Not on active projects list for Santa Fe County, no survey received for project."

But Rowell said, "We've laid the foundation, we're all framed in, they're digging (to install) the utilities. If they take away our funds, we'll have a vacant building." The shelter houses seven homeless children, Rowell said. The new building would double the capacity. State money is only a part of the funding for the $1.5 million project, which includes federal and private foundation money.

But the shelter shouldn't worry, Rep. Jim Trujillo, D-Santa Fe, chairman of the Capital Outlay Committee, said Monday. "That money's safe," he said. "It was just a mistake." Trujillo said he met several hours Monday with legislators who had projects on the cut list that were already in the works. But he said he wasn't aware of any other active Santa Fe projects on the list.

One local project on the list that definitely won't be funded is a proposed open-air rehearsal hall for the Santa Fe Opera. In recent years, the Legislature appropriated more than $1.2 million for that project. But in January, when the state began dealing with its budget crunch, a measure that would have authorized a land transfer between the opera and the state failed to pass the Legislature. The House, in a close vote, passed the legislation, but it died in the Senate — and the state still has the money allocated.

"We're not going to build a state-funded rehearsal hall," said opera spokeswoman Joyce Idema on Monday.

The LFC list also includes:

• $1.4 million for Santa Cruz Dam/Reservoir improvements
• $1 million for a Pojoaque Valley area water/wastewater system.
• $665,999 for a Pojoaque Valley Community Center Project. The project, authorized in 2005, would require an additional $825,000.
• $534,909 County Road 501 improvements in Los Alamos County.
• $520,000 for the Santa Fe Rape Crisis & Trauma Center. A notation on the list said "City will not be moving ahead with original plans for the project."
• $500,000 for Santa Fe water/wastewater treatment.
• $400,000 for the Eldorado Water District
• $364,280 for the Agua Fría Children's Zone
• $350,000 for a Sombrillo sewer system
• $250,000 for Santa Fe County wells.
• $250,000 for a pedestrian and bike crossing over the Santa Fe River at Camino Rael.
• $250,000 for a water system and equipment for the Stanley Fire Dept.
• $247,500 to build the Santa Fe Desert Sage Affordable Housing project.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com