I’m writing in regard to the clip on the news a couple of weeks ago about Rio Rancho roads being in such disrepair.

Former Mayor Jim Owen used words about the citizens of Rio Rancho which were extremely disrespectful and quite impish.

I’d like to inform the former mayor Rio Rancho citizens pay taxes to ensure a safe and smooth infrastructure. The residents of Rio Rancho have every right to complain about their roads and Rio Rancho’s failing infrastructure.

Most residents have to get alignments on a regular basis because of the Rio Rancho roads. Thank goodness a well-known tire business in the area offers a lifetime warranty for your car as long as you own the car. When in Rio Rancho, frequent alignments are required. I highly recommend residents research the tire business which offers this service.

I have lived in Rio Rancho over 24 years. I have a right to complain. At this juncture, it appears Mayor Hull hand-selects the roads he wants to fix. There are so many neighborhoods with terrible potholes, degrading pavement, gouges out of the pavement every 15-20 feet which acts more like a speed bump. Even speed bumps have rules in regard to placement.

The mayor is getting ready to pave Northern, a road with hardly any defects, fairly smooth to drive upon and I don’t chip a tooth when I take a sip of water. However, the residential areas that have the ridiculous pavement failures receive no attention, only paving entry roads to make it “look” as though he cared.

In addition to failing roads, Rio Rancho underground water utilities are failing. I write reports every single day reporting water gushing down one street or another, oftentimes, two or three streets at a time. The amount of water waste is beyond absurd.

Mayor Hull, overall, has done a pretty decent job. Unfortunately, he hasn’t addressed the roads, the underground utilities and the giant chemical plant that sits in our midst, Intel.

To Mr. Owen, please retire. To Mayor Hull, please prioritize. The amount of money you put into the street and underground utility repairs has far exceeded what would have been spent had you done it right the first time.

Until these long-term issues are addressed in Rio Rancho, the roads, infrastructure and a chemical plant operating under a minor source permit places all homeowners at risk of losing property value and according to EPA-generated cancer maps, possibly their good health and lives.

Marcy Brandenburg
Clean Air For All Now
Rio Rancho