Pricey garden not so easy to access

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The state just spent a good chunk of money on a new garden, but taxpayers won’t be able to enjoy its meditative atmosphere very easily.

The $16,000 Centennial Memorial Garden sits inside the Department of Public Safety. But before anyone can enjoy the garden, they’ll have to get security clearance from the front desk. After that they’ll receive a visitor pass and be escorted to the garden.

Two monitors digitally display photos of local fallen officers and military men and women. The garden is made up of river rock, a stream a few fake plants.

The new garden replaces an old display, filled with house plants.

"We had mold coming up all the way to the bottom of the window sills," said D.P.S. Cabinet Secretary Gorden Eden. "I think it was time for a renovation."

Eden says crews found bugs and other critters in the old plants, mice droppings in nearby offices and dead mice in the display.

"Several years ago they brought in exterminators to try to take care of the rodents. We ended up having to send people home because they had a reaction to the chemicals," said Eden.

The $16,000 price tag is not sitting well with some DPS employees who are troubled with the high cost given when so many of them have not received a raise in nearly six years.

"When you look at the cost, you don't have employees going home sick, we're not trying to maintain an area that is just full of rodents and insects and for us, we just thought it was a good investment," said Eden.

The state is putting the finishing touches on the memorial garden. It's expected to be completed and unveiled on Veteran's Day.