Wednesday, September 30, 2015

In the news 09/30/2015

The Independent:  Sept. 30-Oct. 6, 2015 Vol. 17, No. 39

  • Torrance Co. website gets score of 52/100 (p. 1)
  • Fuelwood permits now on sale (p. 1)
  • I'm Losing It! Two steps forward, one step back (p. 2) 
  • Cash payments, liens on property and new insurance plan for Torrance (p. 3) 
  • OPINION: Conflicts are pervasive and accepted in our legislative system (p. 8)
  • LETTERS: [There are no letters in this week's edition.]
  • LEGAL NOTICES: The Town of Edgewood Governing Body has scheduled a public hearing on October 21, 2015 to consider the adoption of amendments to the Uniform Traffic Code. See page 14 of this week's edition for more details. 
[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable and the cost will be prorated at the time a subscription is purchased. I've found the service for e-subs reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy at most area businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version. For more information call 286-1212.]

Saturday, September 26, 2015

In the news from September 17 and September 24, 2015

The MVT sometimes uses a feature for the online edition similar to that used by the Albuquerque Journal in which readers are asked to answer 1or 2 survey questions and/or share the page via social media before going on to individual stories. Be sure to look for the new web format which is expected to debut in October, 2015.  To subscribe or renew a subscription, call (505) 823-7100
From the September 17, 2015  Mountain View Telegraph Volume 13, Number 5 
From the September 24, 2015  Mountain View Telegraph Volume 13, Number 6
[The MVT is published weekly in paper form, and is also delivered to subscribers to The Albuquerque Journal with Thursday's edition. You may also read news, sports, opinions and letters to the editor, obituaries, legals, and classifieds online at the website. If you're reading the online version, don't forget to check the links to shorter topics such as the calendar, upcoming events, milestones, news briefs, police reports and this weekend notes which are interspersed in the news headlines.]

In the news from September 16 and September 23, 2015

The Independent:  Sept. 16-22, 2015 Vol. 17, No. 37

  • Moriarty eyes more strict animal control; ups what city pays for trash (page 1)
  • Parvo at Woofstock (page 1)
  • I'm Losing It! Confronting Demons (page 2) 
  • Independent to launch new mobile-friendly website (page 7) 
  • Dispatch New Mexico: Americans and their vices (page 7)
  • Torrance County gives funding to EMWT Regional Water Association(page 10)
  • LETTERS: Various topics (page 8)
  • LEGAL NOTICES: The Town of Edgewood's Planning & Zoning Commission will conduct public hearings on October 6, 2015 to hear a request from Dollar Tree for approval of an outside storage container.  The Commission will also hear a request for a lotline vcation/replat on property located at 1601 Old Hwy 66 in Edgewood. The town council will conduct a public hearing on October 7, 2015 to consider amending the cell tower siting ordinance. See page 22 of the Sept. 16 edition for more details.  

    The Independent:  Sept. 23-29, 2015 Vol. 17, No. 38

  • Election: Tijeras council now 4 seats(page 1)
  • More trash talk on board legality (page 1)
  • I'm Losing It! Chasing an active lifestyle (page 2) 
  • Tijeras Library hosts a 'hootenanny' (page 3) 
  • LETTERS: Various topics (page 8)
  • LEGAL NOTICES: [Legal notices for this week appear on p. 14; there are no land use related notices in this week's edition.]
[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable and the cost will be prorated at the time a subscription is purchased. I've found the service for e-subs reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy at most area businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version. For more information call 286-1212.]

Listen to audio from recent town meetings:

Audio from the September 16, 2015 Town Council meeting is now available for listening/downloading at the town website. The re-hearing of the variance request for Marietta Court which took place at the September 22, 2015 P&Z meeting is available as well. I save copies which are stored offline to save space on Drive. 

Saturday, September 19, 2015

The latest town meeting and GRT information

The agenda and packet for P&Z's September 22, 2015 meeting is available for viewing/downloading at the town website, with a copy available on Drive. 

The audio of the September 16, 2015 Town Council meeting is also available at the town website; I have stored a copy offline for future reference, if needed. 

The Gross Receipts Tax distribution information for September, 2015 was published yesterday, and can be viewed/downloaded from the Local Government Reports page of the New Mexico Taxation & Revenue Department. A summary is printed below; for full details see the spreadsheet at NMT&R.


Total Food Deductions: $2,830,421.35
Total Medical Deductions:    $330,778.60

             Total
Gross GRT Distribution:    $ 293,372.52
Food Distributions:      $77,130.16
Medical Distributions:        $9,013.86
Municipal Equivalent Distribution:        $1,595.85
Municipal Eq Contracts:                0.00
Total Administrative Fees:        ($6,294.98)
Total Contracts:      ($21,999.10)
Total Paybacks:                 0.00
Total Distributed:     $352,818.31

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Campbell Ranch update

After observing an unusual amount of traffic entering the Portal from "Campbell Ranch" and related search terms for the past several weeks, I decided to look further into what might be the cause. This is what I found:

Santa Fe Ranch and Farms (a portion of Campbell Ranch) launched a promotional website earlier this year with an accompanying press release, but it has only been in the past few weeks that the project has been noticed by the general public. There is only a rudimentary area map on the official site, but several things indicated to me that the land being offered for sale lies entirely in unincorporated Santa Fe County.

I was able to confirm my impression using a map which shows the general location and several landmarks located at a commercial real estate website called Commercial Connected. By comparing landmarks on their map with those on a draft zone map of Edgewood's official boundaries, I concluded that the land being offered for sale does appear to be located entirely within Santa Fe County, but outside of Edgewood's present boundaries. It appears likely that the two southernmost parcels (Tract 5 and Tract 6) are adjacent to the northernmost boundary of the town's lands in Santa Fe County. 

In addition, the area map at Santa Fe Ranch and Farms shows plans to add a second phase consisting of 8 similar parcels east of North 14 and south of NM 344. Two of those parcels, tentatively numbered Tract 11 and Tract 12, are shown directly to the west of Tracts 5 & 6 and immediately north of Edgewood's boundary line. 

A shared water system, with its attendant complications, would not be needed for this project as a domestic well permit for each parcel should suffice. However, the question of obtaining sufficient water rights to serve a shared system proposed for the Master Plan development which is located inside Edgewood boundaries has proved elusive, and has held up development in that portion of Campbell Ranch for more than a decade.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Council agenda and packet for 09/16/2015

The information for the September 16 Council meeting is now available at the town website in the form of a 52 page PDF, with a copy stored on Drive.  The September Gross Receipts Tax distribution amounts will be be available on or near the middle of this month. I will post a link to the NMT&R page as soon as the information is available. 
1.    Agenda
3.    Draft minutes regular Council meeting of September 9, 2015
9.    Library Advisory Board draft minutes for August 20, 2015
11.  Librarian's Report for August 2015
17.  Parks and Recreation draft minutes for August 10, 2015
19.  Municipal Court Report and information for August 2015
23.  Edgewood Police Department report for August 2015
41.  Animal Control Department report for August 2015
42.  Budget Resolution 2015-17 budget adjustment request
43.  Treasurer's Report as of August 31, 2015
44.  Bills paid in August 2015

Thursday, September 10, 2015

In the news September 10, 2015

From the September 10, 2015  Mountain View Telegraph Volume 13, Number 4

The MVT has announced that a new online version, including a subscription option, will be ready on or about October 1, 2012 For more information, see this week's story about the changes: 
[The MVT is published weekly in paper form, and is also delivered to subscribers to The Albuquerque Journal with Thursday's edition. You may also read news, sports, opinions and letters to the editor, obituaries, legals, and classifieds online at the website. If you're reading the online version, don't forget to check the links to shorter topics such as the calendar, upcoming events, milestones, news briefs, police reports and this weekend notes which are interspersed in the news headlines.]

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

In the news 09/09/2015

The Independent:  Sept. 9-15, 2015 Vol. 17, No. 36

  • Signs mark salt trail (page 1)
  • Hiker's remains found in Sandias (page 1)
  • I'm Losing It! Going with the flow (page 2) 
  • Third human plague case, in Bernalillo County (page 4) 
  • Ask the Bugman: Common pests and non-toxic solutions (page 5)
  • Home solar installation nearly complete (page 9)
  • LETTERS: [There are no letters in this week's edition.]
  • LEGAL NOTICES: Moriarty-Edgewood School Board of Education has published a revised version of its annual Open Meetings Act: Policy #130.  The Town of Edgewood's Planning & Zoning Commission will re-hear a set of variance requests on September 22, 2015. See page 14 of this week's edition for more details. 
[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable and the cost will be prorated at the time a subscription is purchased. I've found the service for e-subs reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy at most area businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version. For more information call 286-1212.]

Sunday, September 6, 2015

In the news from August 27 and September 3, 2015

The MVT sometimes uses a feature for the online edition similar to that used by the Albuquerque Journal in which readers are asked to answer 1or 2 survey questions and/or share the page via social media before going on to individual stories.  To subscribe or renew a subscription, call (505) 823-7100

From the August 27, 2015  Mountain View Telegraph Volume 13, Number 2 
From the September 3, 2015  Mountain View Telegraph Volume 13, Number 3
[The MVT is published weekly in paper form, and is also delivered to subscribers to The Albuquerque Journal with Thursday's edition. You may also read news, sports, opinions and letters to the editor, obituaries, legals, and classifieds online at the website. If you're reading the online version, don't forget to check the links to shorter topics such as the calendar, upcoming events, milestones, news briefs, police reports and this weekend notes which are interspersed in the news headlines.]

In the news from September 2, 2015

The Independent:  Sept. 2-8, 2015 Vol. 17, No. 35

  • New Torrance road policy gets a test drive (page 1)
  • I'm Losing It! Zumba, rumba & cumbia (page 2)
  • LETTERS: Various topics (page 8) 
  • Can small domestic water associations survive? (page 17)
  • Legal Notices: EMWT Regional Water Association has published its annual OMA Resolution No. 2015-02. Full details in the 09/02/2015 edition of The Independent. 
[The Independent is locally owned and operated.  It is published weekly and appears on Wednesdays; the front page of the current edition appears on its website.  The price for an email subscription is reasonable and the cost will be prorated at the time a subscription is purchased. I've found the service for e-subs reliable and convenient.  The e-version includes ads and legal notices in full color with the added benefit of adjustable print size. You can also purchase a regular mail subscription or pick up a single copy for fifty cents at most local businesses if you prefer the paper and ink version.]

Town Meeting Information

The September 15 public (re)hearing for several requested variances initially considered by P&Z on August 18, 2015 has been rescheduled to September 22, 2015.  The change was made in order to allow sufficient time for advertisement and notification of the hearing.

The agenda and packet for the September 9, 2015 Town Council meeting is available at the town website. I have placed a copy on Drive.  The numbers below refer to page numbers of the packet which is supplied as a single PDF:
1.    Agenda
2.    Draft Minutes Town Council August 5, 2015
9.    Draft Minutes Town Council August 19, 2015
17.  Draft Minutes Town Council August 22, 2015 (Special Meeting)
19.  Draft Minutes P&Z August 18, 2015
25.  Draft Minutes P&Z September 1, 2015
29.  Document from Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee concerning appointment of new members.
30.  Town of Edgewood proposed ordinance 2015-07 concerning an economic development project for a Comfort Inn; providing for infrastructure and associated costs.
33.  Project Participation Agreement pursuant to Ordinance 2015-07
43.  Section from the Personnel Ordinance 2003-5 regarding hiring procedures
44. Section from August 6, 2014 Council minutes regarding hiring procedures
45. Letter regarding the hiring of Ms. Rebecca Sanchez as town Secretary-Receptionist
46. Letter regarding a recommendation to hire Saul Urbina as a police officer.
47. Letter from Rick Lopez, Director of the Local Government Division of the State of New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration.  Note the cautionary paragraph near the end of the letter: "Due to estimated expenditures and transfers exceeding estimated revenue, the General Fund cash balance is being depleted. Careful monitoring and aggressive revenue collections is recommended to avoid financial problems in the future."
A preliminary Town Council Agenda for September 16, 2015 is also available with packet information to follow at a later date. A copy can be found on Drive. 

The audio from the September 1, 2015 P&Z meeting is now available for listening/downloading at the town website.