The New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration announced this week that Taos and San Miguel Counties have each been awarded $500,000 each in Community Development Block Grant-Economic Development (CDBG-ED) funds. CDBG-funded opportunities provide long-term benefits to communities, people’s livelihoods, and an economy’s resiliency.

Both projects will partner with the recently established Workforce Integrated Network (WIN), a new partnership between NCNMEDD, Regional Development Corporation and Santa Fe Community College that will focus on formerly incarcerated individuals and individuals recovering from substance use disorder to create pathways for workers into high-paying jobs in healthcare and construction.

The Taos County project will support the transition of the former Days Inn Hotel in the Town of Taos into a substance abuse rehabilitation and health treatment facility. The project will convert the 10,000 square foot, 37-room building into an in-patient center with approximately 70 beds and a commercial kitchen providing 300 meals per day. Proprietor Do Good Industries (DGI) has committed $1.5 million to the project and will create at least fifteen new jobs. DGI envisions an inviting environment where community members can receive necessary substance abuse services as well as access computers, enroll in workforce training and connect with other services needed to support their recovery.

In San Miguel County, CDBG-ED funds will help to purchase heavy equipment needed to remove and process the burned timber from the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon wildfires. San Miguel County is partnering with Barela Timber Management Company (BTMC) to invest in equipment such as tree harvesters, excavators and tree peelers. BTMC will become a forestry management partner with the County, working to rehabilitate the forest by removing forest fire damage, processing timber for public and industry use, and returning the forest to a healthy condition.

The San Miguel project will address the 534 square-mile area of burned timber on private, state and federal lands, lessen future fire danger in the region, and turn out value-added lumber products, wood chips, and even compost. BTMC will contribute at least $500,000 to the project and hire a minimum of fifteen new employees. 

The New Mexico Broadband Collective is pleased to open an online application for Broadband Technical Assistance Grants. The Broadband Technical Assistance and Grantwriting Fund is managed by Groundworks New Mexico. This fund will award grants of up to $7,000 to nonprofit organizations, Tribes, Nations, and Pueblos, organizations with a fiscal sponsor, and eligible local government entities for technical assistance and grantwriting needs related to broadband expansion in the state of New Mexico.

This Fund prioritizes applications from rural communities, Tribes, Nations, and Pueblos, and other hard-to-connect communities. Established in March, 2021, the New Mexico Broadband Collective supports a statewide approach to ensuring broadband services for all New Mexicans, especially in rural communities, Native communities, and other hard-to-connect communities most impacted by the lack of sustainable digital equity and affordable broadband solutions. The Collective is managed by a steering committee and includes representation from foundations, nonprofits, government, and private providers.

Please visit the link to the Broadband Technical Assistance and Grantwriting Fund Application to learn more and apply for funding. Questions? Contact Danielle LaJoie (danielle@groundworksnm.org). Applications are due at 5:00 pm on Nov. 11, 2022. 

North Central New Mexico Economic Development District was recognized by the Planning Track Subcommittee for its comprehensive approach to assisting communities in disaster recovery from wildland fires and flooding in the counties of Mora, San Miguel, Colfax, Taos, Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Los Alamos. The picture at left is actual flooding that took place in Mora County in the summer of 2022.  

With the onset of the Calf Canyon Hermit’s Peak fire, and other fires across the state, the Non-Metro Area Agency on Aging (NMAAA), a program of NCNMEDD, made thousands of well check calls to the households of seniors to ensure their safety and provide information about evacuation notices and protocols. NMAAA staff identified seniors with special needs--such as those needing oxygen, prescriptions, help evacuating, and assistance with transportation, meals, and utilities. In many cases, NMAAA provided key support to senior centers whose staff were not able to respond to these needs because they had been directly impacted by the fires. The NCNMEDD staff and board of directors donated funds to non-profit New Mexico Cares, to purchase cash cards for seniors and senior center staff who lost their homes in the fire.

In July 2022, FEMA asked NCNMEDD to apply for FEMA funding to develop a multi-jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) for Mora and Colfax counties. Mora and Colfax currently lack Hazard Mitigation Plans, which prevents them from applying for FEMA Public Assistance grants. With final confirmation of the FEMA grant award, NCNMEDD will start work on the HMP, using a firm selected through the RFP process.

Also in July 2022, NCNMEDD submitted a Technical Assistance grant application to EDA to fund one Disaster Recovery Specialist position to support recovery work in Mora and San Miguel counties, and two Financial Specialists to help the counties with the overwhelming amount of procurement and reporting activities required by recovery programs. The EDA grant was awarded in September 2022. NCNMEDD has already hired Disaster Recover Specialist Loren De Azevedo, who is working directly with the impacted communities several days each week. The EDA grant will provide funding for these positions for a minimum of 2 years and a maximum of 3 years.

NCNMEDD’s non-profit arm, New Mexico Cares, has obtained $80,000 in rental and housing assistance from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas. New Mexico Cares is using these funds to pay rent, utilities, and home repair costs to rehouse those whose homes were destroyed or made unlivable by fire or flooding. Plese read more about this program in the article below.

NMDOT is preparing two new calls for federal funds: a special call for FFY 2024 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP), and the new Carbon Reduction Program (CRP), which is similar to the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Program. Between these two programs, more than $12 million is expected to be made available statewide, through a competitive process coordinated by the Regional Transportation Planning Organizations (RTPOs) and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in the state. As with many federal transportation funding programs in the state, there is a match requirement of 14.56% of the eligible project costs. Look for these notices of funding opportunities to be published in November, with applications due through the RTPOs in late Winter 2023.  Contact Paul Sittig with questions.  

NM Data Users Conference November 16, 2022

This is New Mexico's premier conference for beginner and professional data users. Anyone who is working on a grant, doing economic development, working with Census data, or conducting research will benefit.

This year’s plenary session will feature Census Bureau speakers on continued release of 2020 Census data products and New Mexico population demographic data issues. UNM Geospatial and Population Studies will address the annual population estimates and state projections. BBER’s acting director, Michael O’Donnell, will present a review of New Mexico's recent economic performance and a short-term economic outlook.

The conference will take place in person at the CNM Workforce Training Center at 5600 Eagle Rock Ave NE, Albuquerque. Conference registration is $80.  

Learn more and register here.  

Plus, US Census Bureau solicits your feedback to improve the 2030 Census. Respond HERE.  

USDA Presents "Locating and Applying for Federal Grants Workshop" on November 17

USDA and other federal partners will discuss how to locate federal grants, share tips on completing applications, and give an overview on federal grants management. Learn More and Register.

Counties:  Please sign up for the NM DoIT/Connect New Mexico Council Broadband Connections Newsletter

New Mexico Broadband Connections newsletter will bring you broadband news specific to New Mexico. This service is a collaborative effort between the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion, the Connect New Mexico Council, and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. This is a bi-weekly (every other week) news service.

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