近距离内射合集

MORA 鈥� After more than 20 years of delays, lawsuits and uncertainty, a new courthouse in this northern New Mexico village is finally set to be completed. 

The State Board of Finance voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $12.6 million plan to finish work on the 44,000-square foot Mora County Courthouse, which has sat largely empty for years. 

The board鈥檚 approval came after state lawmakers approved $13 million in state capital outlay funding for the Mora County Courthouse over the last two years. A portion of that money will be used to pay taxes and other expenses.

鈥淭his has been a sore point for our community for two decades,鈥� board member Paul Cassidy, whose family used to run a mill in the county, said during Tuesday鈥檚 hearing.

During a recent tour of the building, county officials acknowledged the courthouse project has stoked cynicism of government among some local residents.

But County Commissioner Johnny Trujillo said current county leaders have sought to be as transparent as possible about the status of the project, saying, 鈥淥ur books are open for anyone who wants to look at them.鈥� 

The Mora County Courthouse saga began in 2004 when country voters narrowly approved a bond issue to help pay for a new courthouse.

But the project was undertaken without the full funding necessary to complete it, after county officials opted for a larger building than some local residents thought necessary. As a result, the building sat unfinished for years until more money could be secured.

In the meantime, the county filed a lawsuit against the project鈥檚 architect after the courthouse鈥檚 shell was found to be structurally unsound and not safe for occupation.

The developments prompted KRQE-TV investigative reporter Larry Barker in 2017 to the 鈥淩olls-Royce鈥� of courthouses and describe it as a monument to government waste.

The Mora County Courthouse has also frequently been cited as evidence of the flaws with New Mexico鈥檚 capital outlay system, which allows legislators to earmark funding for infrastructure projects in their district. While some changes have been made to the system in recent years, an for more than 6,400 projects around the state remained unspent as of July, according to Legislative Finance Committee data.

With a new round of funding and necessary state approval now in place, work to complete the courthouse could begin in October, said state General Services Secretary Anna Silva. After a formal bidding process, Bradbury Stamm of Albuquerque was selected by the agency as the project鈥檚 contractor.

Once completed, the courthouse will house not only courtrooms, but also the county clerk鈥檚 office, a local Motor Vehicle Division field office and other public-facing services.

鈥淭his has been a long-awaited project,鈥� said Silva.

For Mora County residents, that might be the understatement of the century.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com.