An administration proposal to put a state Health and Human Services Department building in Las Soleras, the sprawling new development planned near Interstate 25 and Cerrillos Road, came in for tough questioning by legislative leaders Tuesday at a state Capitol meeting.

State General Services Secretary Arturo Jaramillo and others told the Capitol and Buildings Planning Commission that the state looked at 14 potential sites for the office building — including the College of Santa Fe property and state-owned parcels near the state prison, near the state National Guard armory and at Valdes Business Park — before choosing Las Soleras.

Jaramillo said a proposed purchase agreement has been drafted. The state would pay Las Soleras $6 million and give Las Soleras partners parcels of state land in the Valdes business park off south Cerrillos Road and the Galisteo Business Park, which is in southeastern Santa Fe.

Senate President Pro-tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, and Senate Republican Leader Stuart Ingle of Portales expressed skepticism.

"This stuff is going to have to be well-scrutinized," Jennings said. "This would enhance the value of the surrounding land a great deal. The state should be tough in negotiating (a contract.)"

Ingle said he wanted to be "damned sure" the state was making the right decision in reaching a deal with Las Soleras. "I want to be so damn sure we can all look at it and say it's OK," he said.

The price per acre has yet to be determined. Jaramillo said the state will have the land appraised.

According to a report prepared by planning consultants, the main deciding factor in recommending Las Soleras was the fact that a Rail Runner train station is proposed for the development. The Las Soleras train stop has received preliminary approval from the Santa Fe Metropolitan Planning Organization's Transportation Policy Board. The final decision will be made by the federal government.

Gov. Bill Richardson and the state Department of Transportation lobbied the planning board, comprising city and county elected officials and others, to put a commuter train stop at Las Soleras.

But Jennings questioned whether Rail Runner access should be a major consideration.

Only a small percentage of state employees will be taking the train, Jennings noted. That means most workers will be taking cars, which will add to traffic congestion on Cerrillos Road, he said. When fully developed, a proposed new state government campus would have more than 2,800 employees.

Jennings also questioned the wisdom of adding another Rail Runner station in Santa Fe. When the new stations on Zia Road and on I-25 at N.M. 599 just south of the city are completed, Santa Fe will have four train stops — more than the much larger city of Albuquerque.

Also speaking at the meeting was Alan Hoffman, developer of Oshara Village, a development off Richards Avenue south of I-25. His development also was considered for the HSS building and was ranked just behind Las Soleras in choosing the site. Hoffman, who also lobbied for the Rail Runner station for Oshara Village, argued that his development is further along than Las Soleras. But he said nobody from the state ever contacted him about negotiating a deal for the HSS project.

Las Soleras, recently annexed into the city after years of debate, is a 200-acre project on the southwestern edge of Santa Fe. Plans call for commercial, institutional and office spaces, as many as 2,500 homes, as well as a helicopter landing pad and a high-rise building on land owned by Presbyterian Hospital.

Two Albuquerque developers involved with the project, John Mahoney and Gordon "Skip" Skarsgard, both attended Tuesday's meeting.

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