Santa Fe council advances ICIP amendments, approves airport design work and moves funds to housing trust

The Santa Fe governing body approved a package of amendments to the city’s Infrastructure Capital Improvements Plan and several administrative and budget actions Tuesday, while also addressing smaller but consequential items ranging from airport design to insurance renewals.

ICIP and amendments: After debate, council approved several district and facility‑focused amendments — including deferred maintenance projects and parks and restroom items — and adopted the ICIP resolution as amended. Staff advised the body on vetting and constitutional (anti‑donation) issues for some private‑property projects; where necessary the administration recommended removing projects pending additional vetting.

Airport and capital projects: Council approved a professional services contract with FBTN Louise Vidal Architects joint venture for design and engineering services for a terminal expansion at Santa Fe Regional Airport (total $1,160,000, four‑year term). Staff said FAA funds support the work and phase‑2 design advances a western terminal addition with future parking structure plans.

Budget and trust fund moves: The council approved a $400,000 budget transfer to support the city’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) work. In a separate action the council moved $7,641,910 from the community development fund into a segregated Affordable Housing Trust Fund to isolate housing dollars and facilitate future allocations.

Grants and other approvals: The council ratified about $11.28M in federal assistance from the U.S. Department of the Interior to the city and confirmed a series of ICIP priority amendments and appointments to boards including the Santa Fe River Commission.

Insurance and risk management: Staff and AJ Gallagher brokers presented FY27 insurance renewals and highlights: a 6.5% reduction in property premiums, increase of the city’s property policy limit to $300M (from $100M), two‑year rate guarantees on key lines, reduced self‑insured retentions on liability coverages and the addition of terrorism coverage as an affordable enhancement. Council acknowledged the improvement in coverage and the continuing work to lower retentions.

What’s next: Staff will return with implementing budget adjustments, due‑diligence results for flagged ICIP projects and additional operational measures for homelessness response following a June 29 homelessness summit. The council scheduled follow-up items and public meetings to finalize priorities before state ICIP deadlines.