July Meeting Minutes

6:30pm | Preservation Station | Bonnie Anderson presiding | Prepared by Secretary Howard Dobin

Neighborhood Safety

Brittany Martinez, a civilian employee of APD was asked to remain after her report to bring concerns back to her superiors on the first three items of this month’s agenda which Bonnie titled Neighborhood Safety.

APD Report

Brittany gave the crime statistics for June 2024. There was an auto burglary, two residential burglaries, and two auto thefts. The reported APD crime statistics do not include trespassing offences or violent crimes. Moises Gonzalez asked her to provide more information regarding a shooting at the EDo ART bus stop at the next meeting. Kevin reported that there was a car window smashed in the Arno garage, possibly because the entry no longer required a fob due to a lack of maintenance. Its omission from the statistics could indicate that the crime went unreported by the car owner.

119 High St. Fire

Ben Sturge relayed that the DA no longer has this case, possibly because there were no direct eyewitnesses to the start of the fire. There was a “dangerousness hearing” at which the alleged perpetrator was deemed a danger to himself and/or others due to a reported assault. He was sent to a psych facility in Las Vegas, NM.

In a recent incident Ben stated that he had to wait two hours for APD to respond to a trespasser who had broken in. He was told by the 911 dispatcher that a shift change delayed the police response time.

Speeding on Edith

Bruce Redford has observed speeding traffic on Edith NE from MLK to Central Ave. Cars and trucks have been exceeding the speed limit by 15-20 mph. Lauren Austin shared that there had been two recent car accidents at Copper and Edith. Bruce believes a traffic circle at Edith and Copper could improve safety at that intersection. Terry Brunner directed us to contact Tim Brown of Traffic Engineering at the Metropolitan Development Association (MDA) to initiate the traffic circle request. Brittany promised to get back to us on these issues and to relay Bonnie’s request for an officer to attend meetings.

Assessing Vacant Property

Damian Lara, Bernalillo County Assessor since January 2023, shared his new approach to assessing the abnormal number of vacant properties. New tax assessments will be based upon the value of the property at highest and best use. This will also impact assessments of vacant lots and vacant mixed-use space, such as the first floor of the Manual Arts building of Old ABQ High. The hope is that this will get current owners to renovate or sell. In addition, a “cost to cure” will be deducted for property owners who can document vandalism to their property. Bonnie thanked Lauren for her help on this issue.

Central At-Grade Crossing

Terry Brunner of the MDA reported on a variety of projects his department is working on. They are planning festoon lighting from Edith to Broadway, on Central. They are hoping to repeat last year’s successful block party this September. His department has been involved in the renovation of the Imperial Hotel, which includes three new restaurants and a bar. He asked us to give him ideas on spending two million dollars he has available for projects in EDo.

Demolition has begun for the Central at-grade crossing, which is part of the larger Rail Trail project. Current projections are completion of the crossing in late summer of 2025, and the rail trail at the end of 2027. The crossing will consist of three ramps. A proposed northwest ramp was prevented by existing pump infrastructure. The project had been complicated by there being five property owners impacted.

The pedestrian crossing of the rail tracks will be controlled by a series of gates, and the trains will be limited to 5 mph at the crossing. The rail authorities bought into the project in part because of additional security to their tracks. Once the crossing is completed, attention will turn to two planned legs of the trail: Along Mountain and Bellamah Avenues to the Sawmill Market and from the Rail Yards to Lomas Avenue. They are also involved with CNM in the “building within a building” construction of a film school at the Rail Yards. A complicating factor in construction is that all removed items are contaminated and must be disposed of as prescribed.

I-25 “S” Curve Letter to Politicians

Bonnie proposed composing a letter from our association to local, state and federal politicians. She thanked Bob Elwood for his permission to use his brilliant letter as the core backbone of ours. The letter will go to Mayor Keller with a copy to Council member Baca, to Governor Lujan-Grisham with copies to our state representatives, and to Pete Buttigieg of the Federal Department of Transportation and our members of Congress. A motion for Bonnie to compose and send the letter as proposed was passed.

Annual Meeting

A motion was made for the usual and customary costs for our annual meeting/election with the inclusion of a possible tent to mitigate the heat as suggested by Bruce. After our brief meeting and election, Bonnie will be available for a “community conversation” for any and all residents who have questions or issues to discuss. The date will be determined by the availability of our established band, Pawn Drive. (Subsequently the board set the date as Saturday August 24th from 6 to 9 PM).

Other Funding Requests

The board approved a motion to support those involved in the organized, volunteer park landscaping/cleaning in our neighborhood with breakfast at the Range Café limited to $200 for the summer. The Welcoming Committee asked for an annual budget of $150 to purchase gift cards for new neighbors. Both motions passed unanimously.

Holiday Hijinks 2024

Fiona Cooke is seeking anyone who can to put their services and skills up for auction, big or small. She also reported that at the ABQCore meeting, they have lent support to our “S” curve stance.

Filling Vacant Board Position

Based upon her work, energy and enthusiasm, Bonnie recommended Krista Smith for the vacant board position. Krista has worked tirelessly on re-establishing our social media presence and was instrumental in introducing this year’s Jane’s Walk, where she also was a guide. In addition, she is a member of the newly re-constituted Welcoming Committee. A motion was passed whereby Krista became a member of the board.