• The $400,000 grant — $250,000 from the state, $75,000 from Sandoval County and $75,000 from Rio Rancho — will help Deluxe Design with construction costs and expansion plans, including increasing the company’s workforce from 24 to 54.

 

The mood of Thursday’s special meeting of the Rio Rancho Governing Board was downright festive as it approved an ordinance making the city fiscal agent for a Local Economic Development Act (LEDA) grant awarded to Deluxe Design, a local signage company.

Several factors contributed to the board’s mood, including this being the first time the city’s been involved with a LEDA grant.

City Manager Matt Geisel reminded Mayor Greggory Hull of 2014 and 2015 when the LEDA account was zero.

“But we’ve been able to grow it and we can now help our local companies,” he said.

Another factor that accounted for the lighthearted mood was Deluxe Design, a company that Geisel referred to as “almost as old as Rio Rancho,” and one which has been quite successful.

Geisel provided a bit of background on the company: It began operation in a garage in 1986, then moved to a storefront on Southern Boulevard, and now will have its own facility on 528, where the J&R Vintage Auto Museum used to be.

Deluxe Design owner Norm Ruth, wearing construction clothes, addressed the board. Pulling a tan work shirt out of a box, he joked: “I did bring my dress Carhart if the board would like me to dress a little better.”

The mood continued when Economic Development Representative Lorraine Ruggles thanked the councilors for agreeing to a special meeting, and everyone who’d been involved in the LEDA grant.

The $400,000 grant — $250,000 from the state, $75,000 from Sandoval County and $75,000 from Rio Rancho — will help Deluxe Design with construction costs and expansion plans, including increasing the company’s workforce from 24 to 54.

Deluxe Design, which has already begun construction on its new facility, will provide a surety bond to protect the money the state, county and city are contributing.