Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association

The ES-CA board of directors met on August 1, 2016. Board members present:  BG; Chris Daul (CD); Susan Fullas (SF); and John McNerney(JM).  Lynn Koch  (LK)  A quorum was present.

Monthly reports were presented.

1. Treasurer’s Report.  SF reported ES-CA had a balance of $18,227.67 as of July 31, 2016, reflecting income from dues of $296.50, interest income of $0.76, and no expenses for the month of July. The LPT balance was $46,714.48, reflecting interest income of $1.97 and no expenses for the month of July.
2. Membership:  Jerry Saxton was absent.  He did send a report to the board after the meeting showing 144 paid members, and 382 current contacts.
3. Communication:  CD reported that the Signpost had published the ES-CA submitted article in the August edition.  He noted that ES-CA would be placing an advertisement in the September issue of the Signpost about the Candidate’s Forum, scheduled for September 10.
4. IT:  No report.
5. Political/Legal:  JM reported that Jodilynn Ortiz was following up on the pipeline issue and had submitted an email to the board.
6. Watchdogs:  LK reported that she had two volunteers ready to attend the last County P&Z meeting.  She noted that calling volunteers was a more effective method that emailing.
7. LPT:  Dick Ulmer reported that the court had scheduled a hearing in order that the judge could reiterate her decision that LPT be joined as a party to the lawsuit by Sandoval County against Vulcan.

Current issues were discussed.

1. Proposed County Ordinances:  BG reported that there has been no public news regarding the proposed oil and gas drilling ordinance.
2. BLM:  BG reported that Senator Heinrich has introduced a bill in the US Senate that would prohibit mining on BLM lands.  He does not know if the bill will ever become law, but it is hoped that the bill may influence BLM to prohibit or severely restrict mining on the Buffalo Tract.
3. Hospital Mill Levy:  CD referenced his Forum post about the work session held by the County Commission on July 20 to discuss this matter.   The Commissioners had instructed the County Manager to prepare a resolution calling for a continued tax of 4.25% for an eight year period.  If approved by the Commission at their August 4 meeting, the question will go on the ballot in November.  Significant discussion ensued led by Steve Barro and Mike Neas, who both oppose any continuation of the tax.  Steve had prepared a document detailing his position.  BG suggested that he submit that document to the County Commission and to the press, prior to the CC meeting and that he and Mike attend the CC meeting to express their views.  Steve was also asked to submit his document to the board and it was subsequently posted in the ES-CA forum.  BG responded to questions about ES-CA taking a position of the tax by noting that ES-CA’s role for now is to monitor governmental actions and note if they are in compliance with existing laws, following procedures, including transparency, and endeavor to inform Placitans of the issues.  Before the November vote, ES-CA may want to put this and other issues to a vote in order to raise awareness and understand the opinions of the membership.
4. Zoning Amendment Request – Placitas Senior Co-housing:  BG reported that the P&Z meeting had been cancelled and this matter will be rescheduled.  BG referenced a poll that was conducted by ES-CA concerning high density zoning and the zone change process.  His opinion is that ES-CA should not take a position concerning this specific application, other than to insure that the process includes interested citizens.  Further, that ES-CA should work with the County to make the zone change process more inclusive and public.
5. Bernalillo and SC Government Update:  CD referenced prior discussion items and noted that he had no new information from Mayor Torres of Bernalillo.
6. Oil and Gas Assoc. Educator:  JM referenced the email from Jodilynn Ortiz and noted that this issue will be followed up on at the next meeting.

Upcoming events include:

Candidates Forum:  Scheduled for Saturday, September 10, from 2-4 pm at the Placitas Senior/Community Center.  Six of the eight invited candidates have responded in the affirmative.  We are following up with the remainder of the candidates.

Member Appreciation Day:  This is scheduled for Sunday, October 16, at the Placitas Community Library.

Next Meeting:  The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, September 10, 2016, beginning at 6:30 pm at the Placitas Fire Station, 463 Highway 165.

By Mike Neas- On August 4th the Sandoval County Commissioners will decide if the Hospital Tax Question will again be asked of the voters in the upcoming November election. This is a very important Ballot Question and Public Comment from now to the election should be encouraged. 480 votes swung the other way on the 2008, 4.25 Hospital mil levy and Sandoval County property tax payers would not have committed to paying over 104 million dollars over an eight year period to one public teaching hospital and one private hospital.

The wording in the tax question itself is arguably responsible for the difference in the 2008 vote count. That question confusingly misrepresented the mil levy duration as not less than 4 and not more than 8 years. The difference being a whopping 52 million dollar additional tax burden and the County Management never even considered the four year possibility when it signed the eight year Sandoval County Health Facilities Agreements.

How long should we supplement the operations of both of these hospitals with more than one million dollars a month of the property tax potential? The hospitals are not available to “…all Sandoval County residents.” as recited in each of their Sandoval County Health Facilities Agreements. Presbyterian Hospital accepts only certain insurances, of which my own Blue Cross Blue Shield is not one. And Presbyterian Health Care has no contract with Sandoval County Regional Medical Center. Can we afford to commit another 104 million dollars over the next 8 years while important Bond Issues fail to pass and County infrastructure and our education system are underfunded?

We now have two modern, well-staffed, medical institutions which are major assets in the future of our County. The hospitals are now established and are important aspects of our Sandoval County health and economic future. The taxpayers have made an important and considerable contribution to a much needed cause. But, we cannot afford another eight years and 104 million dollars to two “most favored” tax money recipients. The money must be spread around. Vote “NO” on the Hospital tax question and vote yes on something else that we need.

These hospitals should not be joined at the hip in a single all or nothing Ballot Question. We might also consider supporting only our public teaching hospital with a 2.125 mil tax levy.

The Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association held its annual meeting on Saturday, June 25, 2016, at the Anasazi Winery.  Board members attending included, Ed Majka, Bob Gorrell, Susan Fullas, Chris Daul, John McNerney and Lynn Koch.  Elected officials attending were State Representative Jim Smith and Sandoval County Commissioner James Dominguez.  There were approximately 60 residents in attendance.

The first speaker was Danita Burns, who is the Albuquerque District Manager for the Bureau of Land Management.  John Brenner, the BLM Field Manager for the Rio Puerco Office, was also in attendance.  Ms. Burns explained how large the BLM land area is in this District and the difficulties in managing the land wherein one half of New Mexico’s population resides.  She stated that technical issues have kept the Resource Management Plan from being issued yet but that she expects it to be issued within the next two months.

We will have 30 days in which to submit comments after the RMP is released.  ES-CA and the Las Placitas Association are coordinating notification of residents as soon as the document is released.  It is expected that the RMP will recommend sand and gravel mining in part of the Buffalo Tract and it is important that all residents submit their comments in a timely manner and that we make our position known to all of our elected officials.

BLM has stepped up its requirements on reclamation of mining sites by requiring that the companies secure sufficient bonds to cover the costs, should they default.   BLM does receive remuneration from any private company that utilizes BLM land for business operations and they do strive to balance land protection with other uses. 

The next speaker was Valerie Espinoza, who is the chairwoman of the NM Public Regulation Commission and the representative for our area of the State.  She provided an overview of what entities the PRC regulates, which includes utility companies, telecommunications and public transportation companies.  She noted that the PRC does not regulate private trucking companies.

Ms. Espinoza also discussed pipeline safety and had an inspector from the Pipeline Safety Bureau of the PRC discuss in detail about the pipelines that run through Placitas.  Information on the pipelines is posted in the Forum.

Dick Ulmer, chair of the Land Protection Trust discussed sand and gravel mining and how it has a negative effect on homeowners in the area.  He noted that as soon as the LPT was added to the lawsuit against Vulcan, they began settlement talks.  Dick also commented on the new air monitoring station that NMED has installed in Placitas and that NMED has issued violation notices to Vulcan for air violations.

ES-CA vice president Bob Gorrell spoke about Sandoval County ordinances and how ES-CA is trying to work with the County to adopt an ordinance that would regulate oil and gas drilling.

John McNerney, ES-CA’s director of political and legal affairs spoke about the pipelines in Placitas and his information sheet is posted on the Forum.

Chris Daul, ES-CA’s communications director spoke about the hospital tax and what the hospitals and the County are looking for as the tax expires at the end of this year.  Sandoval Regional Medical Center has met with ES-CA and provided information as to their operations and cost.  They have not made a formal request to continue the tax but it is expected that they will ask for a continuation at the present rate of 4.25.  ES-CA will be meeting with RUST Medical Center to discuss this issue as well at the next ES-CA board meeting on July 11.

ES-CA has not taken a position on the tax question at this time.  ES-CA has asked SRMC and will ask RUST if they would both make a joint presentation to the Placitas Community early this fall. 

ES-CA president Ed Majka closed the meeting by reminding everyone of the important role that residents play in getting our voices heard by the County, the State and the Federal government.