With so many unanswered questions, tax is premature

This is the eighth in a series of guest columns debating whether Doña Ana County voters should approve a 1/4 percent gross-receipts tax increase to help fund Spaceport America.

By Karen Perez

I will vote “no” on the spaceport tax.

As an engineer with more than 18 years of experience in the development of large capital projects, I have three primary concerns:

• Should we invest public money in what is essentially a private venture, and what kind of precedent are we setting by making this investment?

• Is this a viable capital project worthy of a $7 million annual investment?

• Should this project be a priority for Doña Ana County?

I am particularly concerned about the precedent set by providing so much supporting infrastructure in order to encourage private investment in our region. This infrastructure will require substantial, on-going maintenance by Doña Ana County for roads and drainage structures, at a minimum.

Is this project ready to be built? I worry that we have no idea about long-term sustainability. Who will be paying the ranchers in the area for the continued co-occupation of this land? This cost has been negotiated at $87,500 annually. Who will pay to maintain the road and drainage infrastructure? Who will pay to relocate the power lines? Who will pay to mitigate environmental and archaeological issues? Are there sufficient water rights?

Why do these questions remain unanswered?

The draft Environmental Impact Statement will not be available until June, yet will identify critical environmental and archaeological resources (such as the Camino Real), groundwater and air-quality protection, land preservation and potential drainage issues. This election could have waited until these issues were settled. What’s the rush?

As Commissioner Oscar Vasquez Butler recently stated, “the devil is in the details.” Why are those details not resolved after so many years of planning? How many jobs will be generated? Will additional support industries be developed? When will this project come to fruition?

We have been provided with comparisons to other speculative projects and enticed with the proposition of instant success, but industries that developed in Huntsville, Ala. and Wichita, Kan. were not, to my knowledge, financed by a gross receipts tax. They were financed, just like White Sands and NASA, primarily by federal monies.

Finally, there is the question of whether this project should be a priority for Doña Ana County. It is not a question or whether one shares the “vision” or whether one believes in the marketability of space travel or whether one is in favor of increased revenue and additional jobs. I will vote “no” because I think the tax is premature and too many important questions remain unanswered, but not because I don’t support the spaceport concept.

As the Web site of Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance states, Doña Ana County has much to offer private investors, so why aren’t they investing? If they want to take advantage of our beauty, climate, high altitude and educational resources, then we should negotiate accordingly. Meanwhile, we should focus on improving our roads, historic areas, schools, water systems, drainage and other infrastructure. Those are our priorities, as I see them.

Perez is the District 3 Doña Ana County commissioner and the chairwoman of the board.