Las Vegas, pulling ahead

New Mexico Business Journal, July-August, 1997 by Wally Gordon

Then in 1996 forest fires and severe drought ravaged Northern New Mexico. The drought was particularly severe in Las Vegas, which remains dependent on the fickle trickle of the Gallinas River. But throughout it all, growth never entirely stopped. Population in the city and surrounding San Miguel County has increased about 10 percent during the decade. Lodgers taxes, although down substantially from the 31 percent surge of 1993, grew 2 percent even in the midst of last year's natural disasters. And New Mexico Highlands University, one of the two bulwarks of the economy (the other is the state hospital), has added some 600 students in the last several years.

During the 1990s, too, under the auspices of La Plaza Viejo, the Plaza has again become a vital center of Old Town, and redevelopment is beginning to take hold on adjacent Bridge Street. Even nature is being kinder to the city. Last winter's good snows have at least temporarily erased worries of a new drought and given the town a breathing spell in which to search for new water resources to supplement the Gallinas. David Dillard, executive director of the Las Vegas-San Miguel County Chamber of Commerce, says Storrie Lake, a reservoir and recreation area just outside town, is at the highest level he's ever seen it, and his experience of Las Vegas goes back to the 1940s.

Over the last year, Las Vegas tried to secure additional water rights. It sued the state to gain the same status that American Indian pueblos have, but it lost the court battle in February and is now searching for alternatives. It asked the Legislature for money to explore the possibility of sinking several wells thousands of feet below the surface, but the funds were not forthcoming.

Meanwhile, says Dillard, "They've put all their eggs in one basket, that basket being the Gallinas."

Las Vegas employment has always been heavily focused on the public sector. But the largest private employer, Wal-Mart, is seriously contemplating construction of a superstore, which would have approximately two and a half times the area and workforce of the present 65,000-square-foot store with 206 employees. The store's manager, Doyle Jenks, says the company has approved blue prints for the company has approved blue prints for the new store but has not selected a new site or made a final decision to proceed.

"Rumors that we've made a decision are wrong, he says. But Martinez says Wal-Mart has submitted plans to the city to expand its present facility into a superstore.

The town is still recovering from the loss of Medite, a fiberboard manufacturer and, until it closed last year, the city's largest industry. It blamed two factors. One was the drought. The other was a state Environment Department fine for air pollution. With the help of Lt. Gov. Walter Bradley, the fine was halved, but apparently Medite still found it too onerous. Martinez says, "A couple of companies have shown genuine interest in taking over the Medite location, although the building is being demolished.

Dillard says that he and Jeff Herrera, executive director of the Las Vegas Hispano Chamber of Commerce "are working closely together, coordinating our efforts and marketing plans to increase tourism, which is a major part of the economic development effort in this community.

High unemployment rates have long be deviled Las Vegas and San Miguel County, but there has been some recent improvement. Joblessness in the county dropped to a low of 7.5 percent during the 1994 boomlet, then peaked at over 13.7 percent with Medite's closing last year. Now it has started to drop again and reached 9.7 percent in April, nearly 2 percent lower than the same month a year earlier.

The slower growth now taking place has been greeted with a sigh of relief by some residents. New subdivisions sprouting north and south of town alarmed some longtime landowners who were afraid that escalating real estate taxes and development pressures would force them off their land. But the drought gave rise to moratoriums, and a moratorium in the transitional zone adjacent to the city. continues in effect "while we look for a solution to the water problem," says Martinez.

In the meantime the city is striving to cope with new realities. A new city master plan has gone through the planning and zoning process and is scheduled to come before the City Council this summer. Its 14 points notably include sections that appeal mightily to Las Vegans: preserving "cultural diversity and integrity" and "historical and physical character."

At the beginning of June the city was searching for a new economic development coordinator. Efforts were under way to recruit several new businesses, particularly service-oriented chains. One recent success has been a new Long John Silver.

Martinez says that interest is finally being shown in the city's industrial park, and several sites have been sold - to an auto body shop, a welder and a window manufacturer.

Highlands University, has renovated its historic auditorium with the goal making it into a regional arts center. The school is anticipating additional growth centered on its controversial plans for a large branch campus at Rio Rancho.