Coss lauds convention center, backs transfer tax

Mayor also praises redevelopment of Railyard

Tom Sharpe | The New Mexican

9/3/2008 - 9/4/08

Mayor David Coss spread around credit for the accomplishments of his second year in office during his State of the City address Wednesday.

Some 300 people in the stately lobby of the still-unfinished Santa Fe Community Convention Center applauded Coss almost as many times as Republican delegates did their vice-presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, in St. Paul, Minn., a few hours later.

Coss, a liberal Democrat and former state employee union leader who was a city councilor before he was elected mayor in 2006, said the $50 million center, due to open Sept. 25, and the development of the 40-acre Santa Fe Railyard, opening weekend after next, are "the largest public-works projects in modern Santa Fe history."

He was careful to credit former Mayor Debbie Jaramillo (1994-98), the Santa Fe Land Use Resource Center, the Trust for Public Land and the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corporation or their vision in purchasing and getting the Railyard started. He also credited former Mayor Larry Delgado (1998-2006) and Tesuque Pueblo for their collaboration that allowed the new center to be built atop a prehistoric settlement with human burials.

Coss lauded each of the eight councilors for their own recent accomplishments as well as City Manager Galen Buller, Public Works Director Robert Romero and all of the 1,629 city employees.

"City workers fix potholes and maintain our parks," Coss said. "When your water meter freezes, it's a city employee who shows up regardless of the hour or temperature to fix it." Then, in a departure from the written text, Coss ad-libbed, "It's OK to call me, but it'll be a city employee who comes out."

Coss did not shy away from the more controversial aspects of his administration. The city's "living wage" has survived despite court challenges and "naysaying," he said, noting a recent compromise held the minimum wage at $9.50 an hour while expanding it to businesses with fewer than 25 employees.

Also getting special attention in the speech were the city's affordable-housing programs and the proposal to levy a transfer tax on higher-end homes. Both have drawn fire from business groups.

But on Wednesday, Coss made it clear he remains committed to such measures. Recently, Coss said, he saw an old neighbor in Casa Alegre sitting in his pickup.

"His family had moved to Rio Rancho, and now they wanted to move back. But they couldn't afford it," he said. "Santa Fe is one of the most desirable cities in the world. While we are proud of this, there is also a downside. As more people come to know the beauty of our city and culture, property values rise, pricing native residents out of neighborhoods and then out of town."

Contact Tom Sharpe at 986-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.