BY LYNN HANRAHAN
Los Alamos

I have been meaning to go to the library and look up New Mexico’s Anti-Donation Clause.  A few years ago in the early stages of what would be the Rec Bond election I had a long conversation with former Councilor Susan O’ Leary about it.  My family loved the local pools and couldn’t imagine they would be able to compete with a new and improved county facility.  I felt there had to be some way the County could lend a hand to shore up the non-profit neighborhood pools but she assured me this was impossible because of the Anti-Donation clause.

This has come up again and again through the years.  It is an issue again with the County’s charging large amounts for non-profit youth sports organizations to use practice fields.  It is causing unhappiness out at the stables.  Not that breaking state laws is the answer but there has to be some way to get around all this legally.  Have other counties found solutions?  Instead of fighting local restaurant owners could we maybe put our County’s legal team on an actually useful project — a Spring Break road trip of sorts to bond and discover how to make Los Alamos a little more fun after the pandemic?

Couldn’t someone, anyone come up with a plan to reopen the Reel Deal too?  There really has to be a way to build a better future for local kids.