New Magistrate Court Building to be Constructed in Village of Ruidoso

RUIDOSO, NM – October 12, 2020 – The Village of Ruidoso was successful in obtaining approval from the New Mexico Finance Authority (NMFA) for financing of a new Magistrate-District Court building. Having the court building centrally located in Ruidoso will be beneficial and convenient not only to residents of the Village of Ruidoso and out to other surrounding areas of Lincoln County.

The Court building is estimated to have a construction cost of approximately $5.5 million, and the building will be leased to the Administrative Office of Courts for an initial term of 30 years. This financing is beneficial for the Village of Ruidoso because they did not have to encumber any other revenue sources to secure the financing which preserves their financing capacity for future projects.

“We are very pleased with this agreement and are looking forward to having the Magistrate and District Courts located here in the Village,” said Mayor Lynn Crawford. “The NMFA has stated that the structure of this agreement between the Village and the Administrative Office of Courts should be a model for other state agencies, and we take that as quite a compliment.”

Construction on the project is set to begin by mid-2021. It is expected to take ten to eleven months to complete and has a projected completion in early 2022. Design and construction drawings are being prepared and should be complete in the late spring of 2021.

District Judge Dan Bryant echoed the comments of the Village and noted that this new facility will improve access to justice for the citizens who live in the mountains and in the Eastern parts of the county. The District Court is looking forward to expanded operations and the jury trial capability that this facility will bring to the Community.