Rio Rancho council reviews election update and progress on new fire stations

City Clerk Noel Davis told the Rio Rancho Governing Body work session on Feb. 17 that early voting in the municipal election is outpacing 2022 while absentee voting has dropped sharply. Davis reported 343 voters in the first week of early voting this year compared with 143 in 2022, and 404 voters during expanded early voting beginning Feb. 14 versus 285 in 2022. Absentee ballots stood at 248 so far, down from 714 in 2022.

Davis offered context for the absentee decline, saying the downturn reflected that this election “is not being held in the middle of the pandemic” and voter confusion about the Permanent Absentee List, which she said applies only to statewide races. Mayor Gregg Hull, who said he cast his ballot Tuesday, described turnout as “not too bad” and urged action to “spruce that up” ahead of Election Day on March 3. “We’ll continue to push out information and try to get people to the polls,” Hull added as councilors discussed further outreach.

Public safety officials gave the council a construction timetable for Fire Station 8 during the same session. Deputy Chief Jake Bailey identified the planned site near Cabezon Boulevard and Veranda Road, south of Maggie Cordova Elementary School, and said contractor bids for Station 8 are expected to close on March 26. Bailey told the council the governing body is scheduled to consider and potentially approve a bid award at its April 9 meeting, with groundbreaking anticipated in mid- to late April.

Bailey also provided an update on Fire Station 3, though the presentation did not include detailed technical specs, a budget, or a completion timeline for Station 3. The lack of financial detail for Station 3 and the absence of a construction cost figure for Station 8 were left as open items for staff follow-up at future meetings.

Local agenda-tracking posts have flagged broader fire-EMS planning that may extend beyond the Station 8 work. A July 20, 2025 entry on a council-focused blog estimated roughly $32 million for a project to build new stations on the far west and east sides of the city and said bids would be opened on Aug. 27, 2025. Council materials and staff presentations at Feb. 17 did not explicitly link that $32 million estimate or the Aug. 27 timeline to the Station 8 procurement, leaving it unclear whether the earlier Station 8 timeline is part of a larger multi-station replacement program.

Other items on council agendas documented in local summaries include replatting 10 parcels on Roosevelt Street in Greenfield Reserve for duplexes, rezoning at East and Birch, updates on funding for the fire/EMS stations project, progress on hiring an IT specialist, a planned meeting with Morgan Salli, field representative for Representative Mark Pocan, and a one-year review of Administrator John Young in closed session. The council will return March 3 for Election Day matters and is set to review the Station 8 bid award at its April 9 meeting; cost estimates for Station 8 and detailed plans for Station 3 remain to be released.