Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article
November 2020
Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By President of ESCA, George Franzen
Now that the election is over, the Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) is looking forward to 2021. We will be reaching out to newly elected officials at the State and Federal levels, as well as officials at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to ensure a strong working relationship and to press for issues that are important to our community.
In particular, we will ask our Washington representatives to reintroduce legislation that would prohibit gravel mining on the BLM’s Buffalo Tract. This legislation affects the BLM land immediately north of Placitas neighborhoods, and it has consequences for the air quality and home values of all of Placitas. ESCA will also continue to monitor developments with the Vulcan gravel mine that adjoins several Placitas neighborhoods between Camino Barranca and the I-25 frontage road, including compliance with the 2017 agreement to complete mining and land reclamation no later than May 2027.
ESCA is also looking at ways to work on behalf of our Eastern Sandoval communities as the COVID-19 pandemic extends into 2021. We plan to survey our members for their priorities for the community, and we welcome ideas from the community at large that are in keeping with our mission. ESCA is an all-volunteer, non-partisan watchdog group that works with all levels of government to protect your interests, and your support is critical to our efforts. We invite you to visit our website at www.es-ca.org.
And speaking of elections, ESCA recently conducted an election for our board’s At-Large Directors. George Franzen, Wayne Gaede, Jacques Ramey, and Richard Reif were re-elected, and Jim Wiesner was newly elected. District Directors Peter Adang, Jim Harre, John McNerney, and Jean Roberts will continue on the board.
As we move into the holiday season, all of us at ESCA urge everyone to stay safe and healthy while we work together to end this pandemic.