News & Updates: December 28, 2009

The revised documents for the ABS lease agreements were posted today. There is a "clean" and a "red line" version so that the reader can view what revisions were made.

The County is also seeking to hire a development advisory firm to spearhead efforts to find a new developer for Trinity Site.

Previous Posting: Dec. 17, 2009:

State Board of Finance Approves Schools Lease Agreement for Trinity

Los Alamos County officials joined the School District on Tuesday at the State Board of Finance (SBOF) monthly meeting held in Santa Fe, when the Board considered the County/Schools Trinity Site lease agreement that had been approved by both entities last month. Members of the School Board, Council, Administration and Staff attended the meeting. Presentations were made by Board President Joan Ahlers, Council Chair Michael Wheeler and County Administrator Anthony Mortillaro. The agreements, which are favorable for the Schools to gain long term benefits from the lease of the Trinity Site for retail and other mixed-use development, was an emphasis.  The State Board of Finance has broad statutory responsibilities for general supervision of the fiscal affairs of the State, in addition to other regulatory and oversight functions. 

The SBOF staff offered only minor suggestions to the lease agreement. Their contingency approval was solely related to provide the SBOF with a signed version of the document, as revised, after the two entities have approved it. The County plans to update the documents with the suggested changes and take the revised documents back to the School Board and Council in January to approve.  

County Administrator Anthony Mortillaro announced in late November that he planned to hire an Economic Vitality Administrator who would assist with efforts to find a new developer for the Trinity Site. See the related News Story here.

Previous Postings:

Council/Schools Approve Lease Agreements:

Council Ends Exclusive Agreement with The Boyer Company:

After two months of discussion and public comment, the Council voted on Sept. 29, 2009 to end their exclusive agreement with The Boyer Company. Much of the discussion that evening centered on the last two years of negotiations with Boyer and whether or not Boyer's proposed lifestyle center ("The Trinity Place") was a site plan that the Council wished to pursue. They discussed differences in what was first proposed by Boyer in 2007 versus the site plan that is being proposed today, which had been downsized as the project has progressed. Here is the motion from the Clerk's office: 

A.           Moving Forward on Trinity Site Redevelopment Project:  Whether to move forward with Boyer Company as the developer or direct another path forward. 

Councilor Gibson moved, seconded by Councilor Phelps, 1) Council  affirms its objective of bringing a substantial increase in competitive retail opportunities to Los Alamos; 2) The County immediately discontinue exclusive negotiations with the Boyer Company for the redevelopment of the Trinity Site; 3) Council directs staff to explore with interested and capable parties, including Boyer Company, further interest in developing a lifestyle center or other retail opportunities on Trinity Site.  Staff may propose to employ an agent to assist this endeavor.  Staff should consider broadening community involvement in its advisory committee; 4) Council directs staff to initiate discussions with the owner of Mari-Mac Shopping Center about coordination of plans for it with those for Trinity Site; and 5) Council expects any proposal to develop the Trinity Site to be economically viable on its own, not requiring taxpayer subsidy unless part of an economically beneficial public-private partnership, and to maintain or improve retail market competitiveness in Los Alamos County. The motion passed 6 – 1, Councilor Chiravalle was opposed.