The victim here was UNM who had wanted to buy this land for the last two years. While in negotiations on this transaction, Lyons secretly made a deal with a west side land developer that will give that developer a five year lease on the property
and a three million dollar gift if the land gets sold to UNM or anyone else for that matter. Well, now that it has been exposed they say UNM wont have to pay. This lease was not put up for open bid. These five year leases are usually done for less than five acres. This 439 acre lease in a rapidly growing area should not have been issued at all, or at the very least it should have been put up for open bid by to interested parties. As UNM Regents said, this is a 'sweet heart deal.' I feel it should be investigated by the Attorney General's Office or at least be given an approval by the AG.Stop and do the math here, 439(acres) times $32,000. That is what Lyons says the land is worth...that comes to over $14,000,000. He will turn over $3,000,000 to the developers for 'master planning' it. He leased it for $5,000 a year and will turn over 20% of the total value to the business lease owner when the land is sold. Sweet Heart deal. The lesee says he has expended $140,000 on the master plan and engineering studies. Is there proof of that? Maybe there is but, Sweet Heart Deal!
I have been saying we need some Constitutional Amendments that would allow the Commissioner to work with local govenrments and the beneficiaries on providing land to them free of charge for their facilities. This is a case in point. Lyons said last month there should not be any changes. We can see why here.
One last note, rumor has it that Pat Lyons, in fear of losing votes in Lincoln County, will offer a municipal lease to the the Ruidoso Village Council on Moon Mountain. He had never offered that lease before or informed the good people of Ruidoso that it was available until I told them they should ask for such a lease. Lyons and a land developer were trying another end run around the locals on this piece of open space and watershed.
7 comments:
Seems to me that UNM must have an engineering dept or planning dept. that has students and professors who would love the real-world opportunity to master plan a tract of land for a proposed campus--Seems to me that would be a great way to save lots of money and to train NM students for the future--Did the State Land Office pursue this avenue as a option?
How on earth can something like this be put out with no bid. Lyons is always saying he wants to make money for the kids, but this looks like the opposite.
I wonder if this is similar in anyway to land and or water deals headed up by Marty Chavez??? Is this how we ran out of water and the building goes on and on?
Sounds like jimmy is writing this story like he ran the convention center...from his hip...only this story did not cost the taxpayers $3 Million like the suit won by the former African-American, Ms. Hardaway.
Is Ms. Hardeman no longer african american? Last time I saw her she was.
Are there any economists working at the Journal. If Lyons made such a good deal how could he have leased the land out at such a low price based on his valuation of it in September of last year, and now say it is worth twice as much and that UNM has to pay that. Shouldn't he have leased it out for more? He is just used to subsidies as a rancher I guess...and wants to pass them around to his republican developer friends too.
Calling AGs Iglesias and Madrid--move over Vigil, make way for Lyons--
The Santa Fe New Mexican seems to have a "whiff" of something here---
See page C-3, August 9th edition, under headline "Developers Contributed to Lyons Campaign" by Steve Terrell
You know what they say "Where there is smoke, there is often fire"!!!
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