Title
Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 23-33: A Resolution Authorizing the Utilities Manager and The Deputy Utilities Manager - Finance and Administration, to Execute Documents with the New Mexico Environment Department on Behalf of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Relating to the Jemez Mountain Fire Protection Project Pipeline Construction, Special Appropriation Project SAP 23-H2437-GF
Recommended Action
I move that the Board approve Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No. 23-33: A Resolution Authorizing the Utilities Manager and The Deputy Utilities Manager - Finance and Administration, to Execute Documents with the New Mexico Environment Department on Behalf of the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Relating to the Jemez Mountain Fire Protection Project Pipeline Construction, Special Appropriation Project SAP 23-H2437-GF and forward to Council for Adoption.
Utilities Managers Recommendation
The Utilities Manager recommends that the Board approve Incorporated County of Los Alamos Resolution No.23-33 and forward it to Council for adoption.
Body
The 2023 New Mexico Legislature awarded $7,000,000 to Los Alamos County for construction of the Jemez Mountain Fire Protection Project. The project will convey water from the existing potable water system in Los Alamos to Pajarito Mountain to provide domestic water to the Pajarito Mountain ski facilities, Pajarito 10-million-gallon Reservoir, Camp May campground and provide a reliable water supply for regional fire protection and snow making. The existing 240,000-gallon non-potable water tank located in the vicinity of the Ski Lodge will be re-purposed to a potable water tank and will be able to be refilled as needed to provide domestic water and fire protection to the Pajarito Mountain ski facilities and refill the 10-million-gallon mountain top Pajarito Reservoir available for fire protection. Currently, the existing water tank and reservoir configuration is only filled with snowmelt runoff and never reaches its capacity because of drought conditions and lack of runoff. With this new waterline, the existing 10-million-gallon reservoir will remain full year-round as a water resource for firefighting in the Jemez Mountain region. This will be a valuable fire-fighting resource and improve response times, as opposed to further away water resources located at Cochiti Lake and Abiquiu. The new water system will also provide a reliable water source for the Pajarito Ski hill snow making operation. This will allow the ski hill to have a consistent opening date with man-made snow and operate every year within a scheduled season which will help with recruitment and retention of ski area employees. Finally, the community will benefit from the thousands of skier visits contributing to the local economy.
The project will include a new 500,000-gallon water tank, four water booster stations and 23,000 feet of 10" waterline that will be constructed along Camp May Road. The existing overhead power line will be replaced with a new underground system that will eliminate the risk of fires resulting from downed power lines, which is a concern in the arid west as a cause for a number of recent forest fires. The new underground power line will not only support the four booster stations, it will support planned ski hill upgrades which include new quad lifts, additional snow making, and base area improvements. The project design is nearly complete, the easements on DOE property are finalized and the environmental clearance is complete on U.S. Forest Service property. The special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service is the last outstanding authorization required for the project and it is in review. The project will be bid for construction in early 2024 with multiple bid packages to speed up the construction by having the resources of multiple contractors working concurrently and allow flexibility of phased bid awards since the project is not yet fully funded.
The final grant documents have been received and will be signed and returned to NMED for execution immediately after Council approval.
Alternatives
If the resolution is not approved, the $7 million grant will be lost.
Fiscal and Staff Impact/Unplanned Item
The total project cost is estimated between $15 to18 million.This grant will fund $7 million of the construction cost. Los Alamos County and Pajarito Recreation LP have mutually agreed to funding $2 million dollars each towards the construction of the system, refer to in the attached Executed Term Sheet. DPU is actively pursuing additional grant opportunities to fund the remaining balance of $4 to $7 million.
Attachments
A - Resolution No. 23-33
B - Grant Agreement SAP 23-H2437-GF
C - Executed Term Sheet 3-10-2023