Bob the Mayor

Visitors to this web site...my apologies for not keeping this site up to date. Not a lot happens here in Bosque Farms, but what does concern you I will try to keep you informed. I have kept most of the older postings on this site. So the chronology is: newest postings on top, older postings at the bottom of the page.

The Village was having some issues with some businesses on Bosque Farms Boulevard (highway 47) relative to violations of their conditional use permits and other concerns. We also heard that Bernalillo County was going to implement a new rule whereby used tire shop have to have their own tire shredder, a machine that costs about $10,000. We started receiving calls from Albuquerque businesses asking about our rules for used tire shops. The Governing Body placed a moratorium on new businesses for a few months in order to evaluate our commercial zoning ordinance and make changes as necessary. The Planning and Zoning Commission, as well as the Planning and Zoning Officer, Loretta Hatch, worked very diligently over several months to craft a new set of regulations that should give the Village more control over certain types of businesses that have been difficult to work with. The Council met with the Commission to finalize the proposed changes and then the Council passed a revised ordinance. This was completed in the summer of 2015.

After many years of meetings and a bit of a hiatus, the Village passed a comprehensive animal control ordinance. This effort was quite controversial. Previously, the Village had a set of three different ordinances that dealt with animal control. These ordinances were out of date. Many years ago a committee was formed, with Councilor Dolly Wallace and resident Judy Babcock co-chairing the committee. The committee wrote a whole new ordinance, after extensive research. Their effort took about 3 years to complete. Then the Council held workshops with the committee and the general public. During this time at least two individuals rewrote the existing 3 ordinances and suggested they be considered in lieu of the committee’s version of the ordinance. By late 2011 it was apparent that these workshops were not resulting in a version of the ordinance that was acceptable to the Council. The Council took a break from deliberating the ordinance until January 2015. Two workshops were held during 2015 that resulted in the Council passing a new ordinance in the summer of 2015. Several members of the committee publicly expressed disappointment with the version of the ordinance that passed, claiming that much of the protections they put into their draft of the ordinance were cut from the document, making it less protective. This is far from fact. For a more detailed account of the differences between the committee version and the one passed by the Council see my Opinion section.

Recreation Complex Improvements

In the 2015 Legislative session, the Village received Capital Outlay monies to rework the infields of the ballfields and replace the ground cover at the children’s play area. This is the third time I have asked the Council to support me in getting Capital Outlay monies for the park. These improvements will benefit all of our residents, but will also benefit our Yucca Little League participants that use the complex.

Additional Water System Upgrades

In the 2014 Legislative session, the Village received Capital Outlay monies to rehabilitate the storage tank at well number 2. This will likely entail some amount of resurfacing of the inside of the tank, repainting the inside of the tank, and some safety upgrades. The Village selected Forsgren Engineering to perform the engineering and oversight. A contract for the rehab has not yet been competed.

Water meter read system

The Village received Capital Outlay monies to purchase new water meter read systems for all of our water customers. These new meters allow our water department personnel to drive by a meter and read it wirelessly. This saves time and limits read errors. Most of the new meters have been installed as of the summer of 2015.

The Village Council has established a formal Intergovernmental Agreement with the Town of Peralta to provide sewer treatment for them when they establish a sewer collection system in their town. This was a bit of a contentious process, both between the two Councils and amongst some of the Village of Bosque Farms Council and the Mayor (see my Opinion section for more info on this topic). In the end, the Council decided not to charge on a per customer basis, but to monitor the amount of effluent delivered to the plant and charge on a rate basis. The rate agreed to was $0.473 per 100 gallons. This rate is consistent with the rate that Village residents pay for sewer treatment. The agreement in place with Peralta is only for their first phase of development. Not until the Village can upgrade the sewage treatment plant with an additional clarifier and sludge processing capabilities will the Village allow Peralta to expand past phase 1. The Village Council has been trying to get Capital Outlay from the legislature and the Governor for several years now to upgrade the sewage treatment plant. I have met with the Governor, her deputy chiefs of staff, the Secretary of the Environment Department, and our legislators in trying to get the backing for this upgrade. I estimate the cost of the upgrades to be about $1.8M. Let’s hope we get these funds, as it would benefit the Village immensely. As a side note, the Village’s sewage treatment plant was named the sewer plant of the year for 2015 by the New Mexico Rural Water Authority. That might help sway the Governor and the legislature to provide the funding!

In 2014 the Village celebrated it’s 40^th anniversary since incorporation. This same year was the 75^th anniversary of the Bosque Farms Community Fair. The Bosque Farms Rodeo Association (BFRA) celebrated it’s 60^th anniversary. The Village teamed with the BFRA and the Community Fair to celebrate these anniversaries as part of the Community Fair in August 2014. A publication that recounts the history of the three organizations was produced.

The Village received Capital Outlay funding from the legislature to resurface the Village tennis courts. This was completed in 2014.

The Village upgraded the pumps and added a generator backup system to well number 2 to improve service to the Village residents and save money. Variable speed pumps replaced the direct drive pumps that existed at the site. Variable speed pumps are more economical. A remote control and data access capability was also added.

The Village passed an ordinance that prohibits accessing pornography on the computers in the Library. Library staff had reported at least one individual accessing pornography on these computers. Other communities, such as New York City, have created adult-only computer access areas in their libraries. The Village does not have the space to put in an adult-only content area, and should not even have to given our emphasis on community support. This ordinance took effect in the fall of 2013.

The Village completed the Library addition in the spring of 2013. It is a wonderful annex to the facility, containing a large meeting room with visual media capabilities, a conference room, and bathrooms. Special thanks to the legislature for funding this addition with Capital Outlay monies.

Community Center Renovations Completed

The Village completed renovations to the Community Center. Improvements included numerous Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades to the bathrooms and the front entrance, as well as a new roof, new flooring and paint. These improvements were well received, especially by our seniors.

The Village had a municipal election on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. This was a completely uncontested election. A big thanks to the voters of Bosque Farms for electing me Mayor! Wayne Ake and Dolly Wallace were elected to the Village Council. Lar Thomas was elected Municipal Judge.

The Legislature and the Governor signed two very important pieces of legislation for the Village of Bosque Farms in the 2012 State Legislative session. An extension was granted for the use of the existing library addition funds through FY14. Our request for additional funding to build the library addition was also granted. We are going to receive $130,000 to finish the addition. Thanks go to Representative David Chavez, Representative Kiki Saavedra, and Senator Ulibarri for their support in providing the capital outlay monies for this new funding. Thanks to the Governor, as well, for signing the legislation. The Village hopes to have this project completed by the end of the calendar year.

The Village has purchased the "old Woodall place", that run-down property adjacent to the recreation park and the Community Center. The Village contracted to remove some hazardous materials from the property. The Village demolished the rundown structures and sent them to a landfill. Some of the trees have been removed. The Village has no specific plan for what to do with the property over the long term, but ideas are being kicked around. All of which cost money that we do not have at this time. We hope to make the east side of the property into additional parking for the recreation site and the Community Center for the time being. Cleaning up this property will be a good thing for the Village. I plan to have a workshop to update the Village's Comprehensive Land Use Plan (sometimes known as the Master Plan) in the next several months. A key topic of discussion will be ideas for development of the Woodall property.

The Village recognized a couple of years back that there were 3 separate ordinances on the books that covered different aspects of animal control. A committee was formed to look into combining the existing ordinances and making sure that they provide proper safeguards for animals. This committee put in a significant effort to craft a proposed ordinance. Several workshops were held with the Governing Body to discuss the proposed ordinance. The Village attorney also reviewed the proposed ordinance and recommended some changes. There are several key issues that have not been resolved, including the potential need for registration of all dogs and registration of breeding kennels. Stay tuned to the Village website for future meetings to discuss the finalization of this important ordinance.

The Bosque Farms Fair is one of the longest running, if not THE longest running, town fairs in the State and possibly the nation. It's a wonderful little fair. There are all kinds of agricultural exhibits, contests, food, a car show, a parade, a toad race, an auction, horseshoes, a 4-H horse show, and a Queen's contest, to name but some of the events.

The Fair is scheduled for the first weekend in August every year. Please mark your calendars and support the Fair. Volunteers are needed. Please get involved!

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