Coming soon: A look back at the Campbell Ranch Annexation Part 2

[Part 1 (below) sets the stage: The May 8, 2002 edition of The Independent serves as a time capsule for looking at the municipal government’s early years.]

A few things have changed, mostly the dramatis personae, but the fundamentals have not. Meanwhile, I suggest a visit to EMPAC’s homepage featuring a slide show where one image shows Edgewood’s Great March North along with the Bride and Groom at the top of the wedding cake: Campbell Ranch.  

While looking for something else, I found an old paper copy of The Independent (May 8, 2002 Volume 4, No. 19). The front page (above the fold) features the headline Campbell price to leave Edgewood: $1.1 million followed by a detailed story on the offer written by Theresa M. Oderman. Bracketing the Campbell headline is a larger one Drought, export imperil water under which Kevin Bean outlines Export on the left with Drought on the right. One of the best things about reading The Independent in those days was venturing into lower Edgewood, picking up a paper copy, and analyzing how the staff employed all of the classical rhetorical canons week after week. (The advent of the e-mail pdf version was still several years in the future.)  

Edgewood Cargo Cult meets tonight!

For those readers who found my description of  Cargo Cults difficult to accept: A group which has been described by EMPAC as “ghosts” will presumably de-cloak at this evening’s meeting which has been announced for: 

June 11, 2025

6:00 pm

171-A NM 344 Edgewood

The published meeting location is at Edgewood Town Hall. The choice of meeting place again raises questions of whether or not one or more town officials are embedded in the organization. 

There is no mention of water in the group’s communique nor is there any discussion of who will pay for ongoing provision of services after the PID expires. The email announcing the meeting concludes with another rant against outsiders…and then points to an address on the west coast.

Short term gain often leads to long term pain: The sad “Truth about Edgewood” is that the town many residents hoped to achieve in 1999 died not with the formal annexation of Campbell Ranch in 2001, but with the prior shoestring annexations which made it possible. Since public prayers and declarations of religious “values” are now fashionable in Edgewood’s official discourse, I would invite those who are so inclined to meditate upon the truths expressed in Matthew 24:28. Vultures or Eagles? Take your pick, but the stench is getting harder to ignore.  

Special Meeting Posted: Roads (Re-arranged with additional information included)

The Town Commission will meet on May 5, 2025 to consider one item: A request for an extension on LGRF grants for Horton Road from (1) Venus to Frost, (2) W. Venus from Horton running east for approximately 0.75 miles, and (3) Nugent Road from Horton to NMSR 344.  

History, Details and Precedent Matter: 

West Venus: In the town government’s early years there was talk of having the developer of Stone Mountain Estates pave W. Venus from NMSR 344 past Horton as far as the ingress to the proposed development. However, that project has been delayed for many years over zoning issues. [ETA a clarification suggested by one of the blog’s original readers: The first section of W. Venus (approx. 0.25 miles) was eventually paved as part of the improvements agreement which was required by Santa Fe County of the developer who built the Hermosa Montaña Subdivision across from Edgewood Middle School.]

A town paving project for paving more of W. Venus to Horton was suggested by former Mayor Bob Stearley in 2011, in order to mitigate dust generated from heavy traffic coming from Horton Road on the way to Edgewood Middle School. There had been numerous complaints from parents about the poor condition of the road and the fact that large amounts of dust was settling on students during early morning and afternoon practice sessions on the athletic fields. 

The Town Council chose West Hill Ranch Road instead even though three of the four Council Members at that time stood to benefit from the project (Brad Hill, Rita Loy Simmons, John Abrams). The argument in favor of choosing Hill Ranch over W. Venus was that this would benefit more residents while the worst effects on W. Venus were only of limited duration on week days. 

[ETA: I checked with former Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem, John Abrams, who was able to offer more information. He gave permission to use his name and added the following additional considerations which influenced his choice of W Hill Ranch: (1) A petition bearing >300 signatures gathered from people who used the road by volunteers who stood at a stop sign at the intersection of Horton and Hill Ranch. (2) A traffic counting machine survey showing an average of just under 500 TPD on the road. (3) Complaints by the road crews that they could not keep up with maintenance due to heavy traffic. Abrams also added that the paving on W Hill Ranch is beginning to fall apart and that if not repaired soon the remediation costs will only increase.] 

My note: Councilors Abrams, Simmons and Hill all disclosed at the time that they stood to benefit. However, it was clear that many more residents also benefitted. Former Mayor Stearley believed that the three had conflicts of interest, and therefore insisted that W Hill Ranch should not have been chosen for that reason. One person who collected signatures asked Stearley a good question: why she should be penalized simply because two of the three (Abrams and Hill) lived in the area and a third (Simmons) owned land there? 

East or West Venus? In 2013, Mayor Brad Hill waved off the option given to the town by former Governor Martinez and the late State Rep. Stephen Easley to spend its 2013 Capital Outlay funds to complete the remaining 0.75 mile paving of W. Venus to Horton instead of Hill’s preference to pave just under a mile on E. Venus.

The E. Venus project ran through the Hillcrest Master Plan. At that time, members of the Hill family were still responsible for property taxes, and the OSE showed that the family-owned corporation (Highland Stock Farm) retained 50% of the original water rights.) 

The remedy for a questionable decision in this case was political as reflected by results of the 2016 town elections. People who were eating dust in their neighborhoods were not amused by the finished project  nor were they impressed with the quality of work which failed to address the poor drainage where E. Venus meets NMSR 344. (See also Town Council minutes from February 6, 2013.)

Horton and Nugent? The paving of Horton from the I-40 Frontage Road to Frost has been listed in a succession of Comprehensive Land Use Plans as a priority in order to establish an alternate evacuation route, and also a means for relieving congestion along NMSR 344.  Nugent Road has long been identified as a generator of “fugitive dust” and residents in the area will benefit from improvements as will the owners of vehicles who use the road.           

Today, the current projects listed on the agenda lie in the town’s “Shoestring/Bridge” annexation. Does the fact that a few current and former town officials stand to benefit from these projects make them in any way illegal? The answer is no unless it can be objectively demonstrated that there was a failure to properly disclose potential or actual conflicts of interest, or that the projects solely (or primarily) benefited one or more town officials at the expense of the wider community.  

Something the current town government might want to keep in mind is that for over 25 years, the town has established a body of legal precedent in such matters which may serve to undermine its arguments for the propriety of Edgewood’s intervention in current litigation.