Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, October 2022 Edition

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Virginia Jordan, ESCA Board of Directors

You may have noticed a nip of fall in the air and that should bring to mind the General Election that is looming on the horizon. November 8th is the date so please mark your calendar and plan to VOTE. Note that Early Voting begins as soon as October 11th at the County Clerk’s Office. Sandoval County will begin early voting on October 22, and it will last until November 5.

If you are interested, for whatever reason, in voting absentee, go to nmvote.org, scroll down to Request Absentee Ballot Application Online and take a couple of minutes to fill out the necessary information. You will receive your absentee ballot application in the mail. Complete the application and return it in the mail using the free postage. You will receive an official envelope with your ballot. Vote and either return it in the mail or place it in the official drop box. Absentee ballots must be received before 7:00 pm on election day, November 8.

All Placitas residents will be voting at the Placitas Community Library. For your convenience there will be an Absentee Drop Box in front of the library.

Another Fall happening is the semi-annual ESCA Highway Clean Up effort on October 23 beginning at 9:00 am. Meet at the rest area at the start of the first mile of Hwy 165. We welcome all comers! Bring gloves, sunscreen, and trash bags.

Please note that the ESCA Annual Meeting will be held on October 2, 4:00 pm at the Placitas Community Library. Members are welcome and encouraged to attend. We will enjoy a social half hour with speakers and a short meeting to follow. We ask that you RSVP to president@es-ca.org.

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, September 2022 Edition

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Jean Roberts, ESCA Board of Directors

ESCA members are invited to attend our annual meeting, and please note that the date has changed. The meeting will be on Sunday, October 2, in the Gracie Lee Room of the Placitas Community Library. We will have a brief social gathering and registration at 4 pm, and then we’ll start the business meeting at 4:30. We look forward to seeing you!

If you are not yet a member of ESCA but would like to have a voice in issues that affect our community, please take a look at our website at www.ES-CA.org and join us! Our mission is to maintain the quality of life in our community, which runs from I-25—including Algodones—to the eastern border of Sandoval County. ESCA is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, and we are not linked to any political party.

Also mark your calendars for our next biannual cleanup of the first mile of Highway 165 on Saturday, October 22, from 9 to 10:30 am. Through the Adopt-a-Highway Program, ESCA is helping to keep the “main street” of Placitas clean and beautiful as residents and visitors enter our area. ESCA members will receive an email reminder, but everyone is welcome.

The next monthly ESCA meeting will be Monday, September 12, 4 pm, in the Gracie Lee Room of the library.

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, August 2022 Edition

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Jean Roberts, ESCA Board of Directors

Protection of the Buffalo Tract has moved another step forward in the long process to protect the area from gravel mining. On July 19, the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources met to consider oral and written testimony concerning House Bill 5805, the Buffalo Tract Protection Act. The bill, as well as a similar version introduced in the Senate (Bill 180), is supported by Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Rep. Jerry McNerney. Both bills would also protect the Crest of Montezuma and several smaller parcels of land within Placitas.

Oral testimony to the subcommittee explained that “gravel mining is simply not compatible with residential development as acknowledged by BLM’s own 2010 Mineral Resources report. As residential development has grown, the adverse impacts on the area’s character have increased. Gravel mines damage the land, pollute the air, defile the cultural heritage, and deplete the scarce water supply.”

Written testimony included a letter submitted jointly by the Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) and Las Placitas Association (LPA). The letter provided details from “Land of Enchantment…or Gravel,” a white paper on the impact of gravel mining on our community. The white paper is available to the public on ES-CA.org, and includes findings on a broad array of topics by subject matter experts, such as the impact of gravel mining on public health, the environment, the economy, and cultural sites.

The House bill will next move to “markup,” which is the procedure for adding and discussing any amendments.

ESCA members, please mark Sunday, October 23, on your calendars to attend the ESCA annual meeting. We will gather in the Gracie Lee Room of the Placitas Community Library at 4pm for a brief social period and registration, and then we’ll start the business meeting at 4:30. We look forward to seeing you!

The next monthly ESCA meeting will be Monday, August 8, 4 pm, in the Gracie Lee Room of the library.

Vulcan Placitas Facility
Mining Activity Update to Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
June 30, 2022

In August 2017, a settlement agreement was reached between Sandoval County and Vulcan Materials. Before extraction of materials in the north and northeast sections the agreement required Vulcan to construct a protective berm. The berm is required to be within a 100’ wide buffer area running parallel to Vulcan’s property line.

In May 2022 Vulcan began construction of the berm. The requirement was to follow the contour of the land and the berm must be 10’ high not accounting for the slope of the land. In some areas, the actual berm plus natural slope rendered the berm taller than 10’. The construction of the berm is nearing completion and should be finished by the end of June. The berm has not satisfied everyone along its path. No flexibility was provided in the settlement agreement to adjust the berm along individual properties. That was unfortunate.

Culverts have been located along the berm and Vulcan is in the final phase of installing riprap and wattles on the Sundance side of those culverts.

The remaining item is hydro-seeding the entire berm. While I do not have an exact date, I am told it will be soon.

Mining continues in the western sections until early 2023. Reclamation of that area known as (Reclamation Areas 1 & 2) will begin at that time with completion by August 2023.

Mining will move to the north and northeast sections in early 2023 and will continue until August 2026. When mining is complete reclamation will begin in the areas known as (Reclamation Areas 4 & 5) and finish no later than May 2027.

The Settlement Agreement, including a map of the Reclamation areas, is on the SMHOA website in the Member Access area under Committees. The agreement is also on the ESCA website.

Gravel mining activity is dependent on the economy and the need for material. As such, conditions may change and if they do so in an impactful way, I will let everyone know. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,
Ron Overley
ESCA – LPT

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, June 2022 Edition

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Jean Roberts, ESCA Board of Directors

Efforts to preserve the Buffalo Tract adjacent to the northern edge of Placitas are making progress. A letter dated May 3, 2022 requesting administrative withdrawal of the Buffalo Tract and related parcels was sent to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland by Sen. Martin Heinrich, Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Rep. Jerry McNerney in support of pending legislation, Senate bill 180 and House bill 5805. 

Administrative withdrawal is an important tool in situations like ours to protect land while relevant legislation is pending in Congress. According to rules and regulations, the Department of the Interior is expected to publish a notice of the request soon in the Federal Register. Further opportunity for public comment also will be forthcoming soon.

A few neighborhoods in Placitas have seen some improvements to our roads, and more work is afoot throughout Sandoval County. If you want to be sure the county is aware of needed road repairs, County Commissioner Katherine Bruch has reminded us that the county maintains an online portal where you can report a road maintenance issue. Go to www.sandovalcountynm.gov/departments/public-works, scroll down to Report Road Issues, and select Request Road Maintenance Service. You can also email Commissioner Bruch at kbruch@sandovalcountynm.gov.

And just a reminder that the next ESCA meeting will be June 20, 4 pm, at the Placitas Community Library. After June, we will return to our regular schedule of meetings on the second Monday of every month, 4 pm, at the library.

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, April 2022 Edition

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Jean Roberts, ESCA Board of Directors

Ready for spring cleaning? ESCA is looking for volunteers to help with our biannual cleanup of Highway 165 on Saturday, April 23, from 9 to 10:30 am. Through the Adopt-a-Highway Program, ESCA is responsible for removing trash from the first mile of the “main street” of Placitas so that it is clean and beautiful as residents and visitors enter our area. Volunteers will meet in the parking lot off of 165, immediately east of I-25. ESCA members will receive an email reminder, but everyone is welcome. If you would like to help, contact Phil Messuri at philmessuribot@gmail.com.

Spring is also bringing a welcome change for ESCA meetings. After two long years of meeting on Zoom, the ESCA Board is happy to announce that we will move to a hybrid format, with monthly meetings in person in the Gracie Lee Room at the Placitas Community Library, as well as on Zoom for those who are unable to attend in person. The next meeting will be Monday, April 11, at 4pm. Residents of the area that ESCA serves, east of I-25 to include Placitas and Algodones, are welcome to attend.

Future meetings will be held on the second Monday of every month, 4 pm, at the library. The only exception is June, when the meeting will be on the third Monday.

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, February 2022 Edition

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Jean Roberts, ESCA Board of Directors

ESCA is continuing to pursue protection from gravel mining for the Buffalo Tract and other Placitas area parcels of land. As of this writing, ESCA President George Franzen, ESCA representative Mary-Rose de Valladares, and representatives from the Las Placitas Association and the Santa Ana Pueblo are planning to meet with key officials from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in late January to urge protection of these lands while the Buffalo Protection Act is moving through Congress. The legislation provides protection only where mining rights have not yet been established, so BLM administrative action is critical during the lengthy legislative process.

ESCA would also like to extend a big thank you to the staff of the Sandoval Regional Medical Center (SRMC) for their hard work during the pandemic. The ESCA representative who attends periodic SRMC Community Advisory Committee meetings reported that as of mid-December, SRMC had to cancel over 100 surgeries because of the overwhelming number of Covid-19 patients. SRMC representatives said that 99 percent of patients on one floor and 75 percent on a second floor were diagnosed with Covid-19. More than 90 percent of these patients were unvaccinated, and 70 percent were under the age of 40.

Care for the large number of Covid-19 cases instead of performing the canceled surgeries affects SRMC’s revenues. Moreover, the hospital has had to beef up its staff by using 50 traveling nurses, usually from out of state. Temporary use of non-staff nurses is very costly for the organization.

We deeply appreciate that the SRMC staff is taking care of our community under such trying circumstances. Thank you!

ESCA also welcomes a new member to the board, Virginia Jordan. Virginia hails from Beaumont, Texas, where she served on the City Council after a career in the refining industry. She was involved in city beautification and animal rescue efforts there. Since moving to Placitas, she is a volunteer at Casa Rosa Food Pantry and Watermelon Ranch Animal Rescue. Virginia will be an At-Large Director, while Tony Hull will move to the District 4 Director position.

John McNerney is leaving the board. We appreciate his long service to the board and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA)
Signpost article, January 2022 Edition

Eastern Sandoval Citizens Association (ESCA) Report
By Jean Roberts, ESCA Board of Directors

ESCA volunteers recently completed our biannual cleanup of Highway 165. Through the Adopt-a-Highway Program, ESCA is responsible for removing trash from the first mile of the “main street” of Placitas so that it is clean and beautiful as residents and visitors enter our area. The ESCA Board of Directors would like to thank the 17 volunteers who helped out this time, and in particular, we thank Irene Gale for her many years of organizing this effort for ESCA.

Phil Messuri will organize our next cleanup in the spring, tentatively set for April 23 at 9am. The more volunteers, the faster we’ll finish, so please consider helping out.

Also, please remember to renew your ESCA membership if you haven’t done so, or join us if you’re not yet a member. You can find information on our website, www.es-ca.org.

The ESCA Board of Directors wishes happy holidays and a healthy and fruitful 2022 to all!

EASTERN SANDOVAL CITIZENS ASSOCIATION
Virtual Board Meeting Agenda

December 13, 2021
4:00 PM
By a Zoom invitation

IF ANY ESCA MEMBER WOULD LIKE TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING SEND YOUR REQUEST TO president@es-ca.org THE PRESIDENT OF ESCA WILL SEND YOU AN INVITATION VIA EMAIL

1. Call to order

2. Roll Call

3. Acceptance of minutes

4. Introduction of Guests

Placitas Bike Path Project – Sarah

5. MONTHLY REPORT

1. 1. Treasurer’s Report – Wayne
   2. IT Report – Jim
   3. LPT Report – George

6. OLD BUSINESS

2022 Annual Budget – Board

7. NEW BUSINESS

A. Meetings in Person for 2022 – Board
B. Develop a presence on “Next Door” – Board

8. OPEN DISCUSSION

Items from Tony Hull email of Nov 29, 2021 – Board (See page two)
Article for January 2022 Signpost – Board

9. Adjournment

Next meeting January 10, 2022 Virtual zoom meeting, AT 4:00PM

For Open Discussion from Tony Hull

On new business, two things.  Might we think of a community meeting in the Spring, probably at the library…  The intent would be to widen membership and community engagement.

Some meeting agenda ideas…

• What ES-CA sees as present issues challenging Placitas and status
  o Mines
  o Buffalo Parcel disposition
  o Pipelines
  o Road erosion (at least on west side)
  o Water use, permits and development
  o Taxes and Levies
  o Etc.
• What ESCA does… ESCA processes
  • o Engagement with elected officials
  • o Monitoring County meetings
  • o Support the County with Placitas perspective
• Open the floor to hear concerns

It would be nice to aim at a 50% increase in membership!

Another idea would be to have a monthly 1/2-hour spot on Placitas Radio… talk about the present and future here. Invite all to join!