Peralta approves community center renovation, enacts burn ban
Peralta cleared $923,441.24 for a community center overhaul and imposed a drought burn ban that Chief Cody Kersey said could last until the end of July.
Peralta Town Council unanimously approved a $923,441.24 renovation contract for the former J&L’s Country Kitchen building and adopted a drought-conditioned burn ban.
The renovation work will transform the 8,605-square-foot property at 2500 Bosque Farms Blvd., which sits on 1.706 acres and was bought by the town in late 2024 for $850,000 after officials abandoned earlier plans to build a new center near the town park. That earlier concept had been estimated at more than $10 million, a price that pushed the council toward reusing the former restaurant site instead.
The council awarded the contract to 3B Builders of Bosque Farms, accepting a base bid and two alternates that brought the project to roughly $855,000 before taxes. Town clerk Kori Taylor said the village has $900,000 available for the work, including drainage and parking-lot improvements, backed by capital outlay money, general funds and a New Mexico Department of Transportation Local Government Road Fund cooperative agreement. Four companies were invited to bid and three submitted proposals.
The work will build on a preliminary study completed in July 2025 and presented to council in August and October. That plan called for a multi-purpose room that could hold 150 or more people, along with a game room, an exercise room, a computer lab or multimedia area and an outdoor patio or portico. Earlier council discussion also raised the possibility of a full-time community-center director to schedule youth and senior activities, lease events and senior lunch programs, and members had also discussed naming the facility the Flower-Strickland Memorial Building.
The contract award was contingent on written clarification about the complete removal and replacement of the parking lot, including whether asphalt would be reclaimed and whether floor coverings inside the building would be removed. The council also approved a storage container for the center and the sale of old booths, tables and chairs left over from the building’s restaurant days.
On the public safety side, councilors adopted Resolution 2026-009, which put a drought-conditioned burn ban in place as fire danger climbed early in the season. Peralta Chief Cody Kersey told the council the risk was already high, especially in some areas along the river where a fire could be catastrophic, and said the ban could remain in effect until the end of July.
The town’s action followed similar restrictions already adopted by Valencia County and the New Mexico State Forestry Division. In April, county fire officials tied earlier burn limits to the 300-acre Unified Fire south of Rio Communities.
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