The Tano Road Association

Board Meeting Minutes

26 September 2007

4:00 pm

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Board Members

Present: Melinne Owen, Chrys Fisher, Frank Pytko, Jim Borrego, Mary Helen Follingstad, Barb Jeffe,

Pamela Preston, Doris Longhurst

Absent: Sylvia DuLaney, Louis Erhard

Guest: Howard Gershon

Quorum: Yes

Proceedings

Meeting was called to order at 4:00 pm by President, Melinne Owen

• Minutes from TRA Board Meeting of 23 May 2007 were approved

• Nominating Committee Report provided by Barb Jeffe

• Nominees for the 2008 TRA Board are:
• Sylvia DuLaney – new two year term
• Frank Pytko – new two year term
• Barb Jeffe – new two year term
• Howard Gershon- new member, two year term
• Katy Glenn – new member, two year term
• The Officers and board members for 2008 would be:
• Melinne Owen, President
• Chrys Fisher, Vice President
• Frank Pytko, Vice President
• Sylvia DuLaney, Treasurer
• Doris Longhurst, Secretary
• Jim Borrego
• Howard Gershon
• Katy Glenn
• Mary Helen Follingstad
• Barbara Jeffe
• Pamela Preston
• Thanks to Barb Jeffe, Hal Ashby, and Sylvia DuLaney for their wonderful work drafting new members for the 2008 TRA Board. 
• Melinne expressed appreciation for the service of Bob O’Connor and Louis Erhard who are retiring from the Board this year at the end of their second two-year terms.

• President’s Report provided by Melinne Owen, President

• The Annual Meeting of the General Membership will be held on Thursday, 15 November 2007 at    6:00 pm at the Unity Church in Santa Fe. The membership will be notified by mail after 15 October but before 9 November. The notification will include the Nominating Committee slate for board members and officers, minutes from the 2007 General Membership Meeting, and the 2008 proposed budget.  
• Melinne also proposed that the agenda for the Annual Meeting include a discussion on the topic of lands conservation easement and trust in the Tano Road neighborhood. She noted that the lawyer for the Santa Fe Conservation Trust, Matthew McQueen, will be invited to speak to the board about the advantages and disadvantages of putting land into a conservation trust, lands that qualify for trust, how the land can be subsequently used, conservation easements and the tax laws that govern them.
• Margaret Alexander will be invited to give a La Tierra Trails report and update at the Annual Meeting.
• Mary Helen Follingstad will give a report on the Santa Fe Northwest Advisory Council neighborhood plan, specifically targeting the TRA area.
• Budgets: There was a brief discussion about how surplus monies are distributed at the end of the year. There is no rule about whether the money should be put into a savings account or remain in the checking account, so this will be decided at the first board meeting of the new year.
• A MOTION was made, seconded and passed to accept the 2008 budget, which will be presented at the meeting of the Annual Membership in November. 

• Water Report provided by Chrys Fisher, Vice President

• Chrys reports that the Monitoring Agreement with the City of Santa Fe to monitor Buckman Wells    10 – 13 has been ratified by the Santa Fe Basin Water Association (and its partners, including the TRA), the City of Santa Fe, and the Office of the State Engineer. The city has agreed to drill a monitor well at its expense and develop a larger Monitoring Program to protect private wells in the area and mitigate any impairment caused by their usage. The TRA devoted its efforts to help craft this agreement and paid for much of the negotiation costs, an agreement that the Office of the State Engineer calls the best monitoring program in the state! It also sets a precedent standard in dealing with the county. 
• Pam reports that per our TRA hydrologist, Maryann Wasiolek, the new monitor well would be best situated in the LaTierra Nueva neighborhood. The well has no infrastructure but requires a 4 foot by 4 foot (4x4) concrete pad covered by a manhole. It will be solar powered and should be accessible by car. It will be read monthly and the results will be recorded and shared with the TRA, the OSE and, as a public record, available to any interested individuals. The City of Santa Fe will assume the legal expense to create an easement for the well. 
• Chrys reports that the TRA has been a member of the Santa Fe Basin Water Association (SFBWA) for a number of years but their bylaws do not permit the TRA, as an organization, to vote or sit on the board.  Only individuals are allowed to sit on their board. The SFBWA wants the TRA to continue its active participation in the Association, particularly since it is undergoing leadership changes and has several new members. It is agreed that we have a successful history and good working relationship with the SFBWA and that Frank Pytko will join them as an individual member and sit on their board, representing the interests of the TRA. 
• There was a brief discussion about retaining another water lawyer since Jesse Boyd moved out of the area. A MOTION was made, seconded and passed to retain the legal services of Kyle Harwood and to authorize $ 1,500.00 for the retention of his services in the TRA protest of the county water rights transfers. 

• Security Report provided by Frank Pytko, Vice President

• Local Theft: Frank reports the Santa Fe Police Department may have caught the thief who has been targeting the Tano Road area, an individual working alone. There have been several “home invasion” type crime incidents in Santa Fe this year, but none in the Tano Road area. 
• Neighborhood Watch: Howard Gershon reports that Sundance now has a Neighborhood Watch Program and their “watch captain” comprised an email distribution list and sends out relevant security news and information every two weeks. In a Neighborhood Watch Program, neighbors agree to share their phone numbers with each other and to watch each others homes, so it’s suggested that “captain to captain” information sharing would be useful as well. In this case, Sundance and Tano Road watch captains should share information about security issues. Frank Pytko will contact the watch captain for Sundance to open the discussion.
• Security Patrol: Melinne met with representatives of the Los Dos neighborhood to discuss the TRA Security Patrol and to explain how it works for the Tano Road neighborhood. Los Dos has 35 properties with 16 homes and they do not feel ready to hire a professional security firm, as their neighbors in La Tierra are proposing. 

• Security Cameras: Frank proposes that the Security Patrol have access to a camera phone to record suspicious behavior or unusual events. There was a lengthy discussion about the efficacy of cameras in deterring criminal activity in the neighborhood. It was noted that according to the Sheriff’s Department, cameras are the most effective deterrent to criminals and that they are relatively inexpensive to purchase, install and maintain. Jim Borrego states that he and his neighbors are installing cameras in their development. It is suggested that the TRA consider cameras as an additional security option and a MOTION was made, seconded and passed to put the question before the membership. Melinne will add it to the agenda.

• Traffic: There was a brief discussion about speeders on Tano Road. The Sheriff’s Department is not staffed well enough to station an officer on Tano Road with a radar gun, nor do the electronic speed monitors work well in deterring speeders. The monitors get vandalized as well. It was also agreed that there is little local residents can do to curb bad behavior by some rude bicyclists. 

• Trash and Bash Report provided by Pam Preston

• The latest Trash & Bash event is organized and ready. The invitation is being mailed out this week. Pam notes that Bob O’Connor is providing burritos again this year but will not do so next year. Since Bob is retiring from the board at the end of the year, Pam will need help with the Trash and Bash next year. 

• Northwest Quadrant Meeting Report provided by Melinne Owen, President

• Frank noted that Chrys gave an excellent protest on behalf of our TRA against the development of  the Northwest Quadrant at the Northwest Quadrant meeting last month. The issues of expansion and infrastructure were debated among those attending the meeting and there was general agreement that the City of Santa Fe does not have the capacity to build the infrastructure to support the continued development of the NW Quadrant. Despite these obvious limitations, the city appears to do nothing to stop or slow the progress of development in this area. 
• Sylvia DuLaney, per Melinne, suggests the formation of a Northwest Quadrant Committee to examine the issues related to development in the NW Quadrant. The TRA board will work on this the first of the year.

• Other Business

Meeting was adjourned at 6:00 pm

• Minutes submitted by Doris Longhurst, Secretary