Governor wants Red for green
Mayor says funding for recycfling plant axed

By Kevin Killough
Staff writer

GALLUP — It appears as if the move to build a green rubber tire recycling plant in Gallup has screeched to a halt. Gallup Mayor Harry Mendoza spoke with Gov. Bill Richardson recently up in Santa Fe during the McKinley County/Gallup legislative days. According to the mayor, the governor said Gallup would not receive the $2.9 million the state was going to pitch in to fund the plant because the city decided not to pass Red Rock Park to the state.

“I said, ‘Wait a minute. Those are two different issues,’” said Mendoza.

The city council decided to keep the park in the city’s possession last December, citing concerns over the state’s commitment to the park and potential loss of a city asset.
Allan Oliver, deputy communications director for the Office of the Governor, said in an e-mail he would not comment on Richardson’s private meetings, but did say the state was committed to the park.

“The Governor has been a long-time supporter of Red Rock Park and is disappointed that the city of Gallup reneged on over two years of negotiation aimed at saving that park,” Oliver wrote.

He added that the decision not to fund the green rubber plant had nothing to do with the park issue.

“The governor has also been a strong supporter of rural economic development across New Mexico — including the green rubber plant — and is concerned that several important economic development initiatives have not yet been funded by the Legislature,” he said.

At his meeting with the governor, Mendoza said he tried to explain to the governor that it was a previous administration that had discussed handing the park over to the state. The mayor said he never suggested or agreed to any such deal. Mendoza said he believes that the miscommunication on the issue may have come from the state’s parks department.

“I’d be willing to take a lie detector test on it. I never talked to him about giving the state the park,” Mendoza said.

Apparently, the conversation with the governor was tense.
“We got in to a little discussion,” the mayor said.

Mendoza also said that he asked Richardson why he needed the park. According to Mendoza, the governor said he didn’t need to know that information.

“I think the people of Gallup need to know we’re not going to get the money because of how the governor feels,” Mendoza added.

The green rubber plant was to create an estimated 140 jobs in Gallup. Funding was to come from the city and county with two-thirds of the needed investment coming from the state.

While there were many questions about the economic potential of the rubber recycling technologies the company was claiming to possess, the city was eager to replace jobs that will disappear when the Pittsburgh and Midway coal mine closes later this year.

Mendoza said that there are other possibilities for economic development that the city is considering and didn’t want to give specifics until plans were more detailed.