The post LCVA News – April 8, 2016 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

LCVA Annual Meeting
10:00 a.m. to noon, Saturday, May 7
La Cienega Community Center
Board and President Nominations
Details at lcva-nm.org (by April 10)
Community Breakfast, 9 a.m.

La Cieneguilla Open Space

From:
Maria Lohmann
Senior Planner—Open Space and Trails
Santa Fe County Planning Division
102 Grant Ave, Santa Fe NM 87504
505-995-2774

La Cienega and La Cieneguilla Community Members,

The third and final community meeting regarding the management plan for La Cienguilla Open Space will be Saturday April 16, 2016 at 4:30 p.m. at the conference room at Las Golondrinas (334 Los Pinos Rd, Santa Fe, NM 87507). Please join us to review the proposed plan and hear about the next steps for the property.

(Please note that the LCVA is aware of the interest of a site visit of the La Cieneguilla Open Space. The LCVA is working to arrange a tour of the Open Space.)

Please feel free to forward this invite to anyone who is interested. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Proposed La Bajada Mesa National Monument

At the request of the County Commission, the Coalition to Protect the Gateway – La Bajada Mesa National Monument Group will be holding two community meetings to solicit input and comment on the proposed National Monument. The dates, location and times for the two meetings are below. These meetings are the result of the County Commission meeting in January when the County’s resolution to support the National Monument was tabled for four months. The tabling of the measure was in response to a concern that the Coalition had not done enough to solicit community and resident input and agreement.

April 23, Saturday, 10 a.m. – noon at the La Cienega Community Center
May 12, Thursday, 6-8 p,m, Genoveva Chavez Center, class room 1

Lucy Moore will be facilitating the meetings. She explained that there will be information presented on the La Bajada National Monument proposal, and time for questions, discussion, and comments from the audience. The results of the meeting will be passed onto the County by Ms. Moore in the form of a meeting summary.

County Transportation Advisory Committee

Below is a request from Santa Fe County and an opportunity to address transportation needs of every type in Santa Fe County. Please consider volunteering.

Santa Fe County is Seeking Transportation Advisory Committee Members
Santa Fe County is seeking residents to serve on the Santa Fe County Transportation Advisory Committee. The Board of County Commissioners (BCC) will appoint a total of 13 members, with multiple residents from each Commission district and one at large member. Santa Fe County needs residents from all areas of the County to serve on the Transportation Advisory Committee. To view a map of Commission Districts, visit www.santafecountynm.gov/county_commissioners.

The primary purpose of the Transportation Advisory Committee is to review and make recommendations on all elements of transportation, including roadways, trails, bikeways, transit and pedestrian facilities. Make recommendations on road operations and maintenance policies, including road acceptance/abandonment process.
The Transportation Advisory Committee will hold at a minimum quarterly meetings on the second Wednesday of each quarter at 5:30 p.m. in the Public Works Facility Conference room. Meetings will commence once the committee appointments have been made.

Anyone interested in being appointed to the Transportation Advisory Committee should submit a letter of interest and resume to:
Santa Fe County Public Works
Attention: Robert Martinez
425, New Mexico 599 Frontage Road
Santa Fe, NM 87507
(505)992-3010 or robmtz@santafecountynm.gov

County Santa Fe River Resolution Clarification

I wanted to clarify my previous statement about the comments form the Sierra Club representative regarding the problems with beaver on Santa Fe River.

There are three points I want to make.

The Sierra Club representative made the following claims.

There has been no damage to County infrastructure. The Calle Debra bridge is a County bridge and has been repaired three times over the last two years from damage caused by the beaver. The bridge will have to be replaced by the County at a cost of $750,000 to $1,000,000. Other damage to County infrastructure, at the Paseo Real bridge and roadway where beaver activity has forced the river to run along both sides of the road, has not been assessed.

The drought is the cause of the lack of water for farmers in villages along the river. Since the river flow, below the City’s Treatment Plant, is wholly dependent on treated effluent, any drought has minimal impact on the flow of treated waste water. It is most impacted when the City uses that effluent to water parks and golf courses ignoring the senior water rights of farmers and ranchers.

The article also implied that the resolution has been indefinitely postponed. Not the case, the County intends to consider the resolution in June.

More details to follow.

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The post LCVA News – April 3, 2016 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The Blue Bus

Here’s a link to the Blue Bus information and we encourage all residents to spread the word about the service. There are a number of stops in the community and the bus has morning, noon and afternoon runs that include connections to the Rail Runner. Please note that El Rancho de las Gollondrinas has graciously offered part of the museum parking lot for a “Park and Ride” opportunity for residents.

This is a six month trial to see if our community has the ridership to support regular bus service so it is essential that we inform all of our residents, neighbors, family and friends of this no-charge service. The new bus service has been made available by the folks from the North Central Rural Transportation District with special thanks to Jim Nagle.

Bylaws Amendments and Proper Notice

The LCVA Board will not be reviewing the proposed amendments to the LCVA Bylaws at the Board meeting tomorrow. The reason is that LCVA did not provide the 10-day notice required by the bylaws. At present our notice system includes an email distribution (about 200 homes/residents), posting at our four community notice boards (not sure how many residents read them), Next Door notice (about 55 residents) and posting them on our web site.

We got the email out but were not able to pull together the other three sources of notice. We apologize to our bylaws amendment committee for not acting on their careful and considered proposed amendments to the bylaws but I want to assure everyone that their work is not lost. The LCVA bylaws requires a well noticed “special” meeting later this year. So the proposed amendments aren’t lost just delayed.

This brings up an important question of how the LCVA provides “proper” notice for a community of 1,300 homes and some 3,500-4,000 residents. As noted above, in our current noticing process we may reach 250 homes on a good day, when proper notice would have been to ensure that every house in our community received the proposed amendments.

As Carl Dickens time as the president of the LCVA winds down, he remains committed to bringing back our community newsletter and would like to offer those services to the LCVA moving forward.

Shooting Range

Sarah Schlanger, the BLM Field Manager for our area, has assured our community that the BLM will hold an open process with community meetings to solicit community comment and input regarding the Department of Game and Fish’s proposed 150 acre shooting range and facility above Hipico Santa Fe in La Cieneguilla. The meetings are tentatively planned for June.

Please rest assured that the LCVA, with our residents support, will do everything it can do to move the shooting complex away from our community and other residential areas.

Proposed National Monument

The LCVA has recently learned that facilitator Lucy Moore has been hired to facilitate two community meetings (the County has apparently requested these meetings) for community input on the proposed National Monument. Ms. Moore is currently working on scheduling the meetings. The LCVA Board will be discussing our community expectations for meetings at the April Board meeting. We will keep you posted.

County Resolution

If you read the New Mexican, the day after the County Commission decided to table the Resolution designed to address the problems beaver have created on the Santa Fe River, you read some knee-jerk and uninformed comments from a representative of the Sierra Club. I can assure you that the Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative will respond with a detailed, informed and complete recounting of the problems created by locating beaver in an artificial wetlands with its sole source of water being treated waste water from the City of Santa Fe. Those are all facts.

Town Hall

Pending the availability of the La Cienega Community Center, Representative Stephanie Garcia Richard will be holding a “Town Hall” at 10 a.m. on Saturday May 21 to provide a summary of the last legislative session and solicit resident input on future legislation and funding requests.

Please expect more notices on the Representative Richard’s “Town Hall”.

Bob DeYoung

Finally with the posting of this email and a notice later this week of the LCVA Annual Meeting, Bob DeYoung is concluding his work of managing the LCVA web site and our Next Door community communication. The LCVA Board would like to express our sincere and lasting gratitude to Bob for his service to our community. This included helping us out for over a year after he moved to Albuquerque. Thanks Bob

The LCVA has identified a possible community resource to take over the management of the web site and will provide residents other opportunities to help support community communication.

La Cienega Valley Association Board Meeting
April 4, 2016 – 7:00 p.m.
La Cienega Community Center
Preserving Our Rural Way of Life

AGENDA
Call to Order
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Approval of March Minutes
3. Matters from the Public
4. President’s Report
 a. Ideas for Funding for Water Monitoring – Goal of$3,000
 b. Community Meetings on National Monument
 c. Response to Proposed Shooting Range in La Cieneguilla
 d. Time Frame for LCVA to Submit Application for County Community Organization Recognition
 e. Getting the Word Out About Bus Service
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Committee Reports
7. Newsletter Plans
8. Matters from the Board
9. Adjournment

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The post LCVA News – March 1, 2016 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

Don’t forget the Community Breakfast this Saturday 9-11 a.m. at the Community Center. The kitchen crew of Keir, Carol, David, Rebecca, Basile and Lisa will be handling the food and as always there will be great conversation and community news to share.

Water Committee Report

The LCVA Water Committee met recently to discuss funding for the first two years of the comprehensive water monitoring study being conducted by the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources. We are about $3,000 short of our goal to fund the project. The LCVA will be exploring options to raise the additional funds.

The Committee learned that the monitoring program will be needed until the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) updates the water “modeling” for our area. Committee member Kyle Harwood compared the current modeling to the OSE using the 1980s brick phone when I-Phones are available. This updated technology would allow the OSE and our community to have a much better picture of what is happening to the aquifer that feeds our springs, streams and ponds. The Committee suggested writing a letter to the OSE to support their using current modeling technology.

La Cieneguilla Open Space Meeting

The County’s La Cieneguilla Open Space planning meeting held on February 11 was well attended, well managed and from my perspective quite successful. The facilitators kept things on track, organized group activities based on their continued research and the input and comments gathered at the first planning meeting last fall. The group discussions allowed residents with similar interests to refine their ideas for the La Cieneguilla Open Space.

There were well-thought out plans for a park, ideas about trails and other community based activities. Farming and related agricultural activities would be difficult but there was clear indication that restorative grazing might be of benefit to the open space. Restorative grazing utilizes goats, sheep, and yearling calves for prescribed periods of time to improve the quality of the earth and for weed control.

There were so many good ideas that the County has decided to hold another meeting sometime in March which may include a tour of the La Cieneguilla Open Space. Please look for notices of that meeting.

A special thanks to all the La Cieneguilla residents who participated in the meeting. It was a great turn out appreciated by both the County staff and the meeting facilitators.

Alonso Rael Property

On Saturday, February 20, a small group of residents, at the invitation of the BLM field office, toured the Alonso Rael house and farm in El Canon. The group, which included a number of Rael family relatives, spent the afternoon in the Community Center talking with BLM representatives about the future of the property. There was a general agreement that the property and home would maintain its agricultural heritage, there will be limited access to the farm and the possibility was raised that it might be used to share the history of our community’s farming/ranching history.

BLM has cleaned up and painted the interior of the house. In addition they have pruned fruit trees and cut back branches that were threatening the house. Down the road there is the chance that BLM may be looking for a caretaker – tenant farmer to manage the property. The stories of Alonso Rael and his brother Leo were insights into a community character, who loved, and was loved, by many.

LCVA Bylaws Amendments

Due to a presidential oversight the required 10-day notice to the community (you) was not met in time for the bylaws to be considered at the March 7 LCVA Board meeting To remedy the oversight the Board is considering the following options

• Rescheduling the March Board meeting.
• Holding a special Board meeting
• Considering the proposed changes at the April Board meeting.

Please look forward to an official and “timely” notice of the LCVA Board meeting to consider the changes. A special thanks to Elliot Eisner, Kathryn Becker and Holly Bostwick for their detailed work on the bylaws.

Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative

The SFRTCC is looking for a facilitator for their next meeting tentatively scheduled for the morning of Thursday, March 10. This will be a 2-3 hour facilitation as the group identifies the priorities for protecting the river’s flow and preserving agricultural traditions of the villages along the river

SFRTCC has budgeted $100 for the facilitation which is negotiable.

Newsletter Person

This a pet project for Carl Dickens, reinitiating the newsletter into a regular and fully funded community communication. We are looking for someone to be able to receive the newsletter content put it into a well-designed format then print, copy and mail the newsletter. Please let Carl know if you are interested in being paid for this service.

Carl needs an estimate of the cost so he can start looking for sustained funding for the newsletter and is committed to making this happen.

President

Finally as Carl Dickens is winding down his ten-year tenure as president he wants to thank you all for allowing him to serve our community. It has been an honor and a pleasure and please don’t think he is disappearing. He plans to stay involved and have some specific projects, like publishing the newsletter that he wants to be part of.

We should all look forward to a previous Board member stepping forward to become president providing new energy and new perspectives for our community.

Now for some personal news, if you attend the breakfast on Saturday you will notice Carl has what appears to be a bad sunburn. It isn’t, it is dermatologist prescribed treatment for his face

Palliative Training

The following comes from the folks with Clinica La Cienega

We are excited to invite La Cienega Valley residents to the complete Palliative Care Volunteer Course. This comprehensive curriculum spans three days and provides intensive training for this growing medical specialty nationwide. This training is designed and facilitated by Janet Smith RN, a recognized expert in the field. Along with her team, they represent a broad range of education and professional experience tailored to help us understand how to interact and navigate New Mexico’s complex medical system and advocate for our vulnerable loved ones.

This training is specifically designed to teach us how to avoid the need for frequent hospitalizations associated with chronic medical conditions. It allows our loved ones or our clients who face a life threatening medical condition, to remain in their homes during a crises – if that is the patient’s stated preference. Palliative Care is not just for health care workers.

It engages the family and trained volunteers to understand and focus on a broad range of struggles as they arise: physical, emotional, psychological, social and spiritual. Addressing these human needs during brief or extended illness has been overwhelmingly demonstrated in the medical literature to improve outcomes and quality of life.

Please reserve these dates and add to your calendar:

Saturday March 5 11 – 1 PM overview and introduction to Palliative care curriculum and providers
Sunday March 6 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM LUNCH PROVIDED
Saturday March 12 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM LUNCH PROVIDED
Sunday March 13 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM LUNCH PROVIDED

Join us Saturday, March 5, 2016 at the La Cienega Valley Community Breakfast at the Community Center on Camino San Jose from 9 – 11 AM.

Please forward this announcement to other community members who may be interested in this exciting, comprehensive training.

RSVP to:
Ellen Wittman, PA-C, Director
Clinica La Cienega
Lemail@earthlink.net or
Elaine Graves, Associate Director
Clinica La Cienega
elaine-bluesage@msn.com

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The post LCVA News – January 3, 2016 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

If you didn’t make it to yesterday’s community breakfast, here is part of what you missed.

Find out what Hipico means and what it means to our community.

Hipico means equestrian center in Spanish and Hipico Santa Fe is the new name of Santa Fe Horse Park in La Cieneguilla, which was purchased one year ago by Brian Gonzales and Guy McElvain.

Mr. Gonzales attended the December LCVA Board meeting to discuss the plans for the facility. The focus will be on equestrian competitions but Mr. Gonzales explained they have come to view the property as an event center and will make the site available for other purposes including the possibility of holding concerts on the polo field.

Mr. Gonzales and Mr. McElvain are accomplished equestrians and compete in Grand Prix Jumping. This is the highest form of competitive jumping for horses and brings together great riders and incredible horses making their way over highly decorated jumps and obstacles. Please look forward to notices of the Grand Prix Jumping events to be held at Hipico Santa Fe this summer. Hipico Santa Fe is an established equestrian facility with the ability to hold a complete range of western and English equestrian events (and polo). They are planning to add a cross country course which will allow them to hold three-day events (Olympic style competitions).

When asked, Mr. Gonzales addressed water concerns by saying that they are reducing the acreage of turf/grass by 5 acres and in working with the folks at New Mexico State they identified a volcanic sand that they have applied to their fields which maintains moisture better than regular sand. In addition they have installed gutter systems so they can collect rainwater coming off their stall and indoor arena areas and use it for other purposes. Mr. Gonzales pointed out Hipico Santa Fe has access to three sources water, city water, city treated water (for irrigation) and wells.

Mr. Gonzales made it very clear that they want Hipico Santa Fe to be a part of our community and said there are a number of volunteer opportunities for young people to be involved and learn about horses. When asked if they would be willing to be included in the La Cienega La Cieneguilla Planning Area (the previous owner had declined to be included), Mr. Gonzales said they would need to understand what that means to their property but are willing to consider the possibility.

The latest on La Bajada Ranch.

This wasn’t meant to be a trick question. The problem is that the LCVA has no new information of what is happening with the County owned 470 acre La Bajada Ranch. Several months ago when the County issued a “Request for Proposals” for the property there was only one proposal that meet the established deadline. That proposal was submitted by Frank Mancuso, the gentleman who purchased the other 840 or so acres of the former Santa Fe Canyon Ranch development.

The LCVA understood that the County may have requested more detail to Mr. Mancuso’s proposal but we have heard nothing since. The only activity in the last few months was the County’s technical formality of extending the property’s master plan.

The LCVA will let you know as soon as we have any new news on the future of La Bajada Ranch.

Do you know about the National Monument effort?

This effort, by a group, led by Diane Strauss started in 2007 but it wasn’t until December of 2013 that the group arranged to meet with local community members regarding the proposed National Monument. All LCVA Board members attended the presentation at the community center in 2013.

The first 45 minutes of the 2013 meeting was taken up by residents, ranchers and farmers complaining of not being informed of the proposed Monument and being excluded from the process. After the meeting the LCVA Board voted to oppose the National Monument as it was laid out. In that letter the Board explained they would reconsider their proposal if they reduced the monument size and lessen its impact ranchers and farmers. The LCVA also encouraged Ms. Strauss to meet with ranchers and farmers who would be impacted by the National Monument.

There was and has been no response to our letter in the two years since that meeting until Ms. Strauss arranged to attend the December Board meeting, accompanied by Matthew McQueen, the group’s legal counsel. After discussing a range of issues it became clear that Ms. Strauss’s purpose in attending the meeting was to gain LCVA’s support for a resolution that would be presented to the County Commission. Once adopted the resolution could be used with other agencies and organization to gain their support for the monument.

Simultaneously, the LCVA engaged Ms. Michele Jacquez-Ortiz of Senator Udall’s Office as we had heard the National Monument had reached the Senator’s desk for action. In response to our inquiry she requested that the LCVA arrange a conference call of concerned parties to ensure everyone got the same understanding of the Senator’s position. The call included Darrin Muesnberg and Patricia Montoya, representing the La Bajada Acequia and Village Associations, Jose Varela Lopez, a local rancher and Kathryn Becker and Carl Dickens representing the LCVA.

Ms. Jacquez-Ortiz explained that the Senator does not get involved in community politics or disputes; that any National Monument effort needs to have a grass roots base actively supported by local communities and to consider a National Monument the Senator wants a completed package with a ribbon on it. The complete package needs to have addressed and settled any and all community concerns and gathered resident support.

Ms. Jacquez-Ortiz said that in 2007 she had pointed out to Ms. Strauss the need for the National Monument to have a grassroots foundation. You can sense the LCVA Board’s response to the request to support the resolution that is absent a grassroots foundation.

Missing Dog

Moose is a brown brindle boxer who has been missing since the evening of December 11 from Calle de Carlotta in La Cieneguilla. He was not wearing a collar. He is very sweet and slobbery. Please call Kelsin at 425-377-5997 if you have any information about Moose. His family misses him very much.

Moose has been sighted recently in the Los Pinos- Entrada la Cienega intersection and transfer station road areas.

La Cienega Valley Association Board Meeting
January 4, 2016 – 7:00 p.m.
La Cienega Community Center
Preserving Our Rural Way of Life

AGENDA
Call to Order
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Approval November and December Minutes
3. Matters from the Public
4. President’s Report
 a) Schedule LCVA Annual Meeting – Establish Nominating Committee
 b) LCVA Meeting Schedule and Fee
 c) Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative Resolution and Update
 d) National Monument Update
 e) Water Monitoring Funding Update
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Committee Reports
7. Newsletter Content
8. Matters from the Board
9. Adjournment

The post LCVA News – January 3, 2016 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The post LCVA News – December 29, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The signs may not be up, it has been a bit breezy but that doesn’t mean Keir and crew won’t be cooking this Saturday. Please join us and bring in the new year at the community breakfast this Saturday, January 2 from 9-11 a.m. at the community center.

There is much to share with a lot of things happening in the community.

Find out what Hipico means and what it means to our community.

The latest on La Bajada Ranch.

Do you know about the National Monument effort?

The latest of the Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative’s efforts to protect the Santa Fe River and preserve our area’s agricultural traditions.

Thanks to the efforts of resident Suzanne Chavez we may be on the verge of cleaning trash from our roads on a regular basis.

What’s the latest on the water monitoring program?

There is a lot to share, so join us for the great food and great conversation.

The post LCVA News – December 29, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The post LCVA News – December 6, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

Hipico Santa Fe
Monday’s agenda includes Special Guest Brian Gonzales who is one of the co-owners of Hipico Santa Fe, formerly the Santa Fe Horse Park. This a complete equestrian facility and from all indications Mr. Gonzales and his partner Guy McElvain have invested in renovations for the property. Mr. Gonzales has asked to attend the LCVA Board meeting so he can discuss plans for Hipico Santa Fe. Please join us if you would like to learn more about what is happening at this beautiful equestrian event center.

La Bajada National Monument
Also on the agenda is an update of the proposed La Bajada National Monument. The LCVA arranged a community meeting two years ago in which the Coalition to Protect the Gateway National Monument responded to resident concerns regarding the project. Much of that meeting was taken up by area ranchers and farmers complaining about being ignored and left out of the process, . The group had worked to secure the support of private and public entities while neglecting to communicate with established ranchers, farmers and communities most affected by the establishment of a National Park.

In response to the meeting the LCVA wrote a letter to the National Monument. Below is the body of the letter that was sent in February of 2014. There has been no response to the letter from the Coalition and the LCVA is unaware if they have made an effort to engage the impacted, farmers, ranchers, communities and landowners. The LCVA’s realization that the National Monument’s effort may have reached the desks of our US Senators and Representative came as the result of Board Member Linda Grill.

Dear Ms. Strauss,

At the December 2 meeting the La Cienega Valley Association Board (LCVA) discussed the proposed La Bajada Mesa National Monument project you and other members of the Coalition to Protect the Gateway presented at the La Cienega community meeting on November 7. All nine LCVA Board members attended the community meeting.

It was apparent by the response from residents, private land owners, farmers and ranchers in the audience that the Coalition to Protect the Gateway did not contact and consult a number of individual property owners who would be directly and indirectly impacted by the proposed National Monument.

As a result of this and other concerns the LCVA Board voted to oppose the Coalition to Protect the Gateway’s current proposal to create the La Bajada Mesa National Monument but would remain open to considering a modified and downsized National Monument proposal in the future.

La Cienega Valley Association Board Meeting
December 7, 2015 – 7:00 p.m., La Cienega Community Center
Preserving Our Rural Way of Life

Special Guest: Brian Gonzales, Hipico Santa Fe (formerly Santa Fe Horse Park)
La Bajada Mesa National Monument Update: Diane Strauss, Coalition to Protect the Gateway

Call to Order
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Approval November Minutes
3. Matters from the Public
4. President’s Report
 a. Water Monitoring Program Fund Raising
 b. Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative Grant Application
 c. Community Park
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Committee Reports
7. Newsletter Content
8. Matters from the Board
9. Adjournment

The post LCVA News – December 6, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The post LCVA News – November 18, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

A Community Congratulations to the winners of the 2nd annual LCVA photo contest.

The winners are:

Grand Prize Winner
Golden Sunset ~ Ernie Buenafe – Two night stay at Buffalo Thunder Resort

Community Choice Winner
JJ and Princess ~ Elizabeth Cabot $50 plus Family Membership to El Rancho de las Golondrinas

Altered Images Winner
Gonzales Ranch #2 ~ Jeremy Gonzales – $50

Experience Winner
Shadow Jester ~ Kathryn Becker – $50

Living Off the Land Winner
Mother Goat and Baby ~ Amata Boccella – $50

Natural World Winner
Great Horned Owls ~ Elise Pollard – $50

People Winner
First Year Gardener ~ Carolyn Kavanagh $50

Please take the time to check out the photos on the LCVA web site lcva-nm.org and look forward to a community calendar featuring photos from the contest produced by the volunteers with the Clinica La Cienega.

The LCVA would like to offer a very special thanks to Bob De Young, LCVA Photo Contest Manager and to our judges, Conni Horne, Maureen Scott and Mary Winter for all of their work.

Not all of the prize winners were able to attend the award ceremony at the breakfast so Carl Dickens will be mailing their prizes later this week.

Thanks to all of our photographers who participated in the annual event. It is a special moment to see our community from so many interesting and fascinating perspectives.

Family Lot Splits

There have been a lot of questions about all the yellow County Land Use notice signs that have popped up over the last week. There are four proposed Small Lot Family Transfers going before the County Land Use Administrator for approval on November 27. One is located on Paseo de Angel North, two (by the same family) are on Courtney Place and one on Las Estrellas.

These are administrative decisions that do not go before the County Development Review Committee or the County Commission unless the Land Use Administrator’s decision is appealed. The reason that these land use decisions are made by the Land Use Administrator is that they have met all the county requirements for the lot split. This makes any type of appeal difficult because it would not have a legal foundation or reason for the appeal.

The LCVA will write a letter ensuring that all water restrictions and conditions are met and that the La Cienega Watershed Conditions are imposed on the lot splits. The concept of a family lot split is a good one, unfortunately lot splits are too often used to benefit landowners monetarily with no connection to providing a place for a family member to live.

In the racetrack area this process has allowed a lot split subdivision of over 400 homes avoiding all subdivision water, waste water and traffic requirements.

La Cienega/Cieneguilla Halloween Carnival

The 2015 Halloween Carnival was a roaring success with some 200 residents enjoying the food, fun and entertainment.

A sincere and genuine thanks to all the volunteers who have contributed to making this a community tradition. Led by Kathleen McCloud and Carol Cooper the volunteers included Linda Grill, Iska Sargent, Ele Harwood, Dolores Martinez, Becky Dickens, Mary Winter, Elliot Eisner, Bonnie McGahee, Ellen Wittman, Keir Carrecio, Paul Murray and Mary Dixon.

A very big thank you to our community friends at El Rancho de las Golondrinas led by Dawn St. George and Mike King, for allowing us the use of the museum. It is a perfect location with wonderful people.

Carl Dickens extends his apologies if he left anyone out and promises next year to wear a costume.

The post LCVA News – November 18, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The post LCVA News – October 31, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

Please take the time to check out the great community photos on the LCVA web site – lcva-nm.org and make you community choice selection today and tomorrow and every day through Thursday.

Community choice voting will end at 11:59:59 pm on Thursday, November 5, 2015.Voting will be at http://lcva-nm.org/lc2-photo-contest-finalists/ and can be done once per day. We encourage you to share that link with others who may want to participate in voting.

Please note that controls in place to limit voting to once per day per browser. In the event more than one person in a household is voting, that can be done via a different browser or different computer/phone/tablet.

Community Breakfast

Please join us for the Community Breakfast, November 7 from 9-10:30 a.m. Great food, great conversations, community news and photo contest winners announced. Please note we are ending a little early because of another scheduled event.

La Cienega Valley AssociationBoard Meeting
October 5, 2015 – 7:00 p.m.
La Cienega Community Center
Preserving Our Rural Way of Life

Call to Order
1. Approval of Agenda
2. Approval October Minutes
3. Matters from the Public
4. President’s Report
 o Water Monitoring Program Update
 o Photo Contest Update
 o Santa Fe River Traditional Communities Collaborative Update
 o Community Park Update
5. Treasurer’s Report
6. Committee Reports
7. Newsletter Content
8. Matters from the Board
9. Adjournment

The post LCVA News – October 31, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The post LCVA News – October 27, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

Put on your costume and join us on Saturday October 31, 1-4 PM
El Rancho de las Golondrinas, near the Gift Shop portal
Games, cake walk, costume parade, story telling, fire truck, face painting, frito pies and more, FREE!

Photo Contest

Time to make your choice, winners announced at the November 7 Community Breakfast.

Community choice voting will end at 11:59:59pm on Thursday, November 5, 2015.Voting will be at http://lcva-nm.org/lc2-photo-contest-finalists/ and can be done once per day. We encourage you to share that link with others who may want to participate in voting.

Please note that controls are in place to limit voting to once per day per browser. In the event more than one person in a household is voting, that can be done via a different browser or different computer/phone/tablet.

Torcido Loop Drainage and Road Improvement Project Meeting

Residents of La Cieneguilla, the County will be holding a public meeting on the Torcido Loop Drainage and Road Improvement Project this Thursday, October 29, from 6-8 p.m. at the La Cienega Community Center. Please see attached flyer for details.

Clinica La Cienega

Clinica La Cienega is scheduling a brief follow up meeting for attendees of the Palliative Care Training, after the community breakfast 11/7/15. Palliative Care trainer, Janet Smith, RN, will speak about and assist participants in filling out the new and improved NM State advance directive form. We did not have time to complete this activity at the one day training last Saturday. Janet also invites any other breakfast attendees who are interested, to come to this meeting.

Also, Clinica La Cienega is pleased that Janet is offering our community the “full length” two weekend palliative care volunteer training in March, 2016. This will be two full days (Saturday and Sunday) on consecutive weekends. Dates: TBA.

Community Breakfast

Photo contest winners announced and great food, great conversation and community news. Look forward to the Community Breakfast, November 7 from 9-10:30 a.m. Please note we are ending a little early because of another scheduled event.

The post LCVA News – October 27, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

The post LCVA News – October 21, 2015 appeared first on La Cienega Valley Association.

Time to vote for your favorite photo.

Community choice award voting has begun and will end at 11:59:59pm on Thursday, November 5, 2015. Voting will be at http://lcva-nm.org/lc2-photo-contest-finalists/ and can be done once per day. We encourage you to share that link with others who may want to participate in voting.

The Community Choice winner receives $50 and a family membership to El Rancho de las Golondrinas.

Please note that controls are in place to limit voting to once per day per browser. In the event more than one person in a household is voting, that can be done via a different browser or different computer/phone/tablet. We will be monitoring the voting process related to IP address, equipment, browser and other means and if we determine anyone is attempting to spam/hack the voting process, a photo’s votes may be reduced or the photo may be disqualified.

Water Monitoring Program

For those of you interested in hearing the story of how our community water monitoring program came to be, The LCVA encourages you to attend the following presentation.

Water: A Precious Resource
Tue, Oct 27, 2015
7:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Los Alamos Nature Center
2600 Canyon Road
Admission: Free

How do we protect our aquifers? The La Cienega region is already seeing diminishing flow from their local springs. Fortunately, they noticed, and they are taking action. Kyle Harwood, water attorney and La Cienega resident, will share the challenges facing his community along with their efforts to protect their aquifers.
The community of La Cienega recently launched a fundraising campaign to finance comprehensive research into what impacts climate change and drought are having on the aquifers that feed the springs, ponds, wells and acequias in the area. The goal is to gather scientific data that will provide insight to La Cienega and communities across the arid Southwest about the effects of pumping, drought, groundwater recharge, climate variability and land use changes. This unusual privately funded research and proactive effort is crucial to protect aquifers that feed the water supplies. Without it, the water sources and farms dating back to the 1600s will disappear in the next 20 to 30 years. The following is the web site for more complete information on Kyle’s presentation: http://peecnature.org/events/details/?id=10793

Community Party at The Downs

It was best described as a small but appreciative crowd and it was fun.

The young and rhythmic Hoop Dancers from the Pueblo of Pojoaque began the afternoon followed by a series of musical acts. Michael Sheppard, Executive Director, Big Sky Learning served as the master of ceremonies and added his blend of folk and soft rock to the event. One of the real highlights was the La Cienega teenage group, the “Salt and Pepper Shakers” whose renditions of Johnny Cash -Buddy Holly-Zach Brown and La Bomba were right on. Anyone wanting a fun band for a party should contact them.

Another highlight was making ice cream in baggies. The trick is to put the ice cream ingredients in one plastic bag and seal it. That plastic bag and ice are placed in a larger bag and start tossing and shaking and after about 15 minutes you have soft ice cream. Ice cream makers included kids and adults.

The location was wonderful and we are already talking about what we can do next year to encourage a better attendance.

A sincere thanks to Michael Sheppard for all that he did including providing the sound system and we owe a special thanks to Vincent Marchi who brought his food truck and provided free drinks.

Carl Dickens offers a personal and community thank you to resident Bonnie McGahee our master event planner. She was amazing, she has the ability to anticipate and solve problems before they happen. A correction on Bonnie’s background, she ran the founding festival, the Telluride Bluegrass (not jazz) Festival. It was the largest bluegrass festival in the world for 8 years.

Sufi Community Meeting

The Sufi group who purchased the Pierson home met with a group of residents in September. The meeting was led by planner Jim Siebert and was simply an introduction and an opportunity to meet the local leaders of the group. Mr. Siebert informed the attendees that after the first of the year when the County’s new code and zoning map is in place the group will come forward with a formal master plan for the property. The plan will include a request for a zoning change and will address issues regarding parking for their religious gatherings.

La Cieneguilla Open Space Meeting

The facilitated meeting was an interesting exchange about how the County’s La Cieneguilla Open Space might be planned. There were a variety ideas and feelings that were shared and documented by the facilitators who did an excellent job of recording the wide-range of opinions and feelings. The information will be put together and brought back to the community for further discussion and comment. This will likely take place after the first of the year.

Don’t forget the La Cienega/Cieneguilla Halloween Carnival

Saturday, October 31
1-4 P.M.
El Rancho de las Golondrinas

The annual Halloween Carnival will be held, Saturday, October 31. Games, cake walk, costume parade, story-telling, fire truck, face painting, frito pies and more, all FREE!

We need volunteers to help with set-up/decorating on the 31st at 10AM for an hour or two. Also need volunteers to serve frito pies (1 hour shift) and with help in cleaning up at 4 (1 hour max). Prior to the event, we need help spreading the word!

We will accept cash donations before and during the event to help pay for food and as seed money for next year’s event. Make checks payable to LCVA and send to Paul Murray (LCVA treasurer) at 137 Las Estrellas Rd. Santa Fe, NM 87507 Donation boxes will be on site at the event as well.

Please contact Kathleen McCloud if you would like to help with the event – kathleenmccloud@msn.com

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