The properties Valley Improvement Association, Inc., have under contract to Cibola Land have been available for sale for years.
The properties held by the association have been sold to various buyers throughout the years. The decision to enter a contract with Cibola was a responsible, thought-out business decision, as VIA no longer has a funding mechanism to pay the taxes.
The sale would pay back taxes and continue to generate future taxes by the new owners, a benefit to the schools and our community. The premise of this contract, as with any other sale, was that the properties would continue to be governed by covenants and restrictions, covenants that have governed and protected the area for years.
Beyond the existing covenants, VIA cannot dictate future uses of properties sold; that is up to government oversight and regulations to do.
In all reality, the property that is in question is property that was sold in 1968 for $4.3 million (estimated $33 million in today’s dollars) to Horizon Corporation.
Now, a handful of the previous sellers from 1968 want their granted, sold, ancestral property back, using laws (2018 NM-HB88) and taxpayer funds ($750,000 to date) given by our local legislators to get these properties back in the hands of a few.
The actions by VIA to sell its properties, in the past or in the future, do not contribute to drilling in Valencia County — no more than selling the original grant will contribute to drilling.
It’s time that we place our energy in figuring a way to make positive things happen, like making N.M. 47 safer, building a bridge across the river to alleviate dangerous traffic issues and stop fighting the delivery of health care to Valencia County — issues that have been fought for years, causing so much harm; issues that affect the lives and safety of the residents of our community each day.
Richard Patrick Sweeney
Chairman of the board
Pam Cordova
Vice chairwoman
Teresa L. Scott
Secretary, vice president and COO
Paul A. Baca
Treasurer, president and CEO
Valley Improvement Association
Original source found here.
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