Do the Math

If "Been Around" is correct with that math maybe the Council and the Mayor should forget about doing economic development and instead look at encouraging subdivisions.

"Been Around" says it best when he/she says "There is something called economies of scale. We don't know at what point (#of homes) increases costs or causes a shift to loss."

But it seems that this could be figured out.

The chief could probably tell at what point would an officer need to be added and he should be able to give an accurate figure for all of the related costs (cars, insurance, equipment...)

The engineering firm could probably do the math and say at what capacity a new 'donut' would need to be added to handle the load for sewer and water. And they could probably do some estimations on repairs in the future and costs and how much savings would need to be put aside.

And then we could begin encouraging those vacant lots along the Boulevard to subdivide rather than be empty and do nothing financially for us or have a used car business on it that does nothing but drain us financially or have a business that brings in little.

It's a thought worth thinking about.

Previous Posts about Community Policing

COMMUNITY POLICING LINKS

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/05/more-about-community-policing.html


http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/05/community-policing.html

And if you read the second post very carefully you will see a quote from "Fuggettaboutit"
that says 'we should shake the officer's hands and say hi to them." Does that sound a little bit familiar?

Community Policing is two words as someone has pointed out. This blog will point out though that policing is the verb and community is the adverb. The adverb describes the verb- what kind of policing should be done? answer: Community policing.

Based on a response from "The Hog" in an earlier post is sounds as if there is going to be some action taken towards community policing. At least one open house, of sorts, and the officers are working on a biography about themselves. (Maybe this is for the new website?)

Community Policing, Another Response

In several posts one commentator has repeatedly stated that those of us who want community policing should begin that process by waving at the officers or talking to them.

There has been much debate among several commentators about the idea that community policing begins with the community.

Community policing begins and ends with the police. They are the officers. Someone waving down an officer to say hi is not community policing. It is one person who wants to say hi to the officer. There is much more to community policing than that. Each person can participate but each person needs to know what to do, and one or two of us waving at an officer is not it.

There are many components to community policing. But essentially it boils down to effective cooperation between the community members and the police to solve problems within the community.

It sounds like a great idea.

http://www.policing.com/index.html

http://www.communitypolicing.org/

A Little Bit More About Community Policing

A great primer about community policing.
http://www.communitypolicing.org/about2.html

Trust Is the Heart
Establishing and maintaining mutual trust is the central goal of community partnership.

Given the current climate of distrust in many of our communities... police chiefs and their officers will need to make a concerted effort to forge bonds of understanding and cooperation with community members. Building trust will require ongoing effort, but it is essential to effective community policing.

Getting Started
There is no single recipe for successful community policing implementation. The appropriate implementation strategy will depend, in part, on conditions within your law enforcement agency and your community.... The basic requirements include communication, cooperation, coordination, collaboration and change. Getting started requires a commitment to this community policing strategy.

This author can list several ideas right off the top of their head that would lend itself to a community policing model and would take very little effort or money.

1. Contact neighborhoods that have shown a problem, invite them to set up a neighborhood watch.
   
2. Hold public meetings at a set time each month. The police could lecture about a variety of topics (recognizing gang members, recognizing crack homes, neighborhood watch). Educate those of us who live here about ways to keep our community safe.
   
3. Begin basic training about community policing.
   
4. Introduce the new officers at the Council meeting
5. Have a monthly Police Meeting/open house.
   
   

A Few Suggestions

What Else Can the Average Joe Citizen Do

When You Believe You are Not Represented

In the Manner You Deserve

• Attend Meetings.
• Speak out in the Meetings
• Encourage others to attend meetings and speak out.
• Write to those that are representing you
• Don't vote for them again
• Speak with your friends and neighbors. Express your displeasure clearly and explain why.
• Write letters to your editor of the paper.
• Run for office yourself
• Speak with your Elected Officials.
• Encourage others to do these same things.
• Help by donating funds or services to those you do support.
• Gather facts to provide others supporting your opinions.

New Mexico Open Government Information

Here is an interesting site. It is the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government site.

On this website you can find the New Mexico State law that governs open meetings, provides the exceptions for when a meeting can be held behind closed doors, and what type of paperwork an average joe citizen can look at.

It is through an open government with residents clearly understanding what is being voted on, the reasons for the vote results and a chance to have a say in the process that everyone wins.

http://www.nmfog.org/

Something to Think About

Openness brings accountability to government,

promotes honesty in official dealings,

and above all,

assists citizens in making the informed choices that are necessary to a

democracy.

~Lamar S. Smith

Moving Mountains

"The man who removes a mountain

begins by carrying away small stones"

Chinese Proverb

This author believes it is time that the Council begin carrying away small stones and doing the work that needs to be done. This blog has mentioned many of those very items. The Councilors and the Mayor have mentioned the business they want to complete. They ran on a platform of getting work done for Bosque Farms.

Lets all list the one top item that each person thinks they need to accomplish before leaving office. Mayor Ake, Councilor Wallace and Councilor Knowlton will have one year left in office when March rolls around this year.

"The greatest use of life

is to spend it for something that will outlast it."

~William James

Another Thing Done Well in Bosque Farms

Took a drive around the other day and noticed something. The roads in the Village of Bosque Farms are well cared for and generally in good repair. This is the exact opposite of many of the neighborhood roads of Los Lunas and Belen.

Is this because the community is smaller so the money for road resurfacing from the state goes further? Or is this because the maintenance men (and women) are better organized and on top of the situation? Or some combination?

If it is, even in part, because the maintenance men (and women) are doing a 'bang up' job then they deserve a raise.

Either way, Bosque Farms does this well.

Is anyone aware of any potholes around here that need to be fixed?

A Winning Solution

Otherwise Titled:

A Way For Higher Police Pay and A Way to Have Quality Cops Bosque Farms Deserves

One reader here has called for readers of this blog to find a solution to some of the problems the blog authors have brought to light. While the blog authors generally agree the solution is to get rid of the current elected officials who don't seem to realize they were elected by us to represent us; and vote in new officials who will represent each of us and work in our interests, here is one solution to one problem.

Bosque Farms deserves police officers of the highest quality. Routinely it has been said 'if you want better quality officers you have to pay more'.
This author doesn't disagree that this may be the case. And if this is the case there is a solution.

The Chief needs to Hold His Standards High. He needs to stop hiring officers with iffy backgrounds. Period.

And when the police force dips down in numbers and the officers are working over time the chief can turn this to his advantage. He can call the press and say 'see, we have high standards and we want quality officers but I'm going to have to lower the standards if we don't get more pay.' He can say 'see, no one applies or those that do have backgrounds of low caliber and Bosque Farms deserves better'.

Those of us who live here will read that and call the Mayor and the Council and demand that they fix this problem, pay the police more. The police will get more pay and then better officers will apply and everyone will be happy.

Right now though, it can't happen because as the chief and the Mayor say 'we have to pay more' they are settling for less than we deserve. And if they demanded more pay many of us who live here would cry foul! Especially in light of the fact that Councilor Proctor is currently speaking to many of us who live here making the argument that the budget is so tight a bond needs to be floated, essentially increasing our property tax. This author for one doesn't want to pay higher taxes for the current administration to continue settling.

Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to occur to the Council and the Mayor. If they hold high standards and refuse to hire subquality officers, when no one applies that meets the criteria, it provides a good argument that the public can support as a reason for increasing pay.

(This author thanks those that have discussed this possible solution with him.)

About Someone Who Lives Here

An interesting article about one of the people who live here in Bosque Farms.

As the sun drops below the horizon and darkness falls, Jesse Daves turns on his headlamp and starts harvesting crops. Sometimes under the stars and moon, the former computer animator has only his own thoughts as company. ...

...
He didn’t set out to be a farmer, but it suits him well, he says. “I enjoy the independent spirit farmers have, and it’s a little bit of a political statement about creating a more sustainable life.”

Those farms and fields provided wildlife habitat and open space, and returned water to the system. “It’s easy to pave over an alfalfa field and put a house there,” he says. “It’s easy to paint a picture that you’re saving water then. But it’s much more complex then that.”

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/49378.html

What has Been Accomplished in the Past

This author had attended the last Council meeting that Councilor Linthicum and Councilor Eldridge sat on the podium. It was a lovely meeting full of positive thoughts. Councilor Eldridge got up and read a list of what had been accomplished during her term. This author contacted her and asked her for a recap of some of the most influential or important accomplishments. With some editing for clarity and space, with permission, (in pink) here is what was provided:

- Decrease garbage rates.
- Each year we set up a balanced budget and tried to live within it.
- A new fire and police station was built.
- The walk path was completed.
- Many ordinances were written or updated: water conservation, exotic animals, updated the ordinance protecting the property values of our residents (This is sometimes referred to as the 10-1 ordinance)
- The police were driving old cars and buying used cars, we updated their fleet with new cars.
- The Community Center was provided new refrigerated air conditioning.
- We joined the United we Ride Program.
- Bought a new computer system for accounting and better tracking taxpayer money.
- The police officers have been given several raises.
- The Master Plan was completed.
- Bosque Farms was represented at almost every Council of Government meeting.
- Updated parts of the sewer plant
- Every home possible has a sewer line running in front of it.

And what they didn't do?
We didn't raise water rates,
We didn't raise sewer rates,
We didn't raise gross receipt taxes,
We didn't force an increase in property taxes (any increase was due to the County increasing the rates)
We did it by saving, careful budgeting and lobbying for state funds.

BF Watcher Explains

With some editing to make it a bit shorter, this is directly from "BF Watcher's" comments.

I do have to agree with you on some issues that you have stated with regards Bladwin v. Allen but let me put my input in please.

Allen was a hardliner no doubt about it but lets see some accomplishments:

Allen:

• Allowed the police department to grow the size it is today.
  
• Provided the water system. Provided the Sewer system
  
• Provided the library with extra funds to expand.
  
• Started the walking path design and funding process.
  
• Started the Community Center
  
• Had a Chief that worked for the village for 20 years, and officers that averaged 3 to 7 years of service.
  
• Won Keep America Beautiful Awards most every single year of his terms.
  
• Not one lawsuit from a former employee that was fired or told to resign.
  
• Allowed the police deparment to start a traffic safety fund so that the tickets they wrote would benefit them with top notch equipment.
  
• Had a backbone to say no. Could he be a jerk, heck yea! At least you knew where he stood. No nonsense!Now when I mean 'he got' I am also including his former staff.
  

Baldwins "accomplishments".

• Spent 10 of thousands of dollars in an attempt to Incorporate Peralta...Failed.T
  
• ried to get legislative funding for projects 2000-2001, showed up late, no funding...Failed
  
• Took 2 years to get a bike/walking path that was already, designed and funded by Allens administration.
  
• Went through 4 police Chiefs, Hutchins, Cordova, Baker, Burkhhart.
  
• Went through 3 admnistators.
  
• No national awards.
  
• Convicted of ArsonConvicted of Insurance Fraud.
  
• At least 4 lawsuits from prior employees.
  
• Did bring open government much more participation during council meetings.
  
• Lost the respect of local governments due to his shady deals and bad leadership. Including criminal activity.
  

Mayor Ake:T

• he only capital project completed so-far is the police/fire department in which a council member did most of the work securing financing and planning.
  
• High Turnaround within all departments.
  
• Hired a Chief with a horrible background. Police Department averages five lost officers per year.
  
• Has stabalized the Clerks position.
  
• Has not secured any state or federal funding for the water problem or other capital outlay.
  
• No new, tax contributing business's in the Village.
  

If I missed any accomplishements please add them, I am not biased at all.

Articles about Flood Plains

Here is a link to some terms commonly seen in flood plain ordinances or articles. It is here that you can learn the definition of any word you might not understanad as it relates to flooding and the flood plain.

http://www.floodplain.org/glossary_of_terms.htm

Additional articles about the flood plains or flood insurance.

http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_local/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19858_4918399,00.html

What would be interesting and maybe helpful in the quest to get Bosque Farms removed from the Flood Plain Maps would be to look at some of the major floods in New Mexico and see how many of them have impacted our community. And why those floods occured and what has been done since those floods to mitigate the situation for Bosque Farms specifically.

Some of the major floods would include the flood of 1904, Sept 23, 1941 and Sept 1, 1942 and June 17, 1965. In addition there have been other smaller floods that have impacted parts of New Mexico, for example in 1978.

http://nm.water.usgs.gov/drought/New_Mexico.html

The Conservancy Today

Did anyone else get this mailing in their mail recently?

In their special newsletter they say
"Even properties in our boundaries that are not irrigated benefit from the District's works, and that's why all benefitted properties in the District pay an MRGCD property tax."

So you pay a tax, even if you will never ever deal with the MRGCD. Why?
"Those taxes help us maintain levees and drainage ditches that provide flood control and drainage."

Once again their own literature talks about how they were formed and what they do, and part of that is flood control.

Yet now they are asking for a flood plain management entity that could most likely also tax us and develop more laws and regulations about how we use our own property.

Does this make sense to you?

A note to "My Turn" (original posting Sept 11, 06)

There has been some interesting discussion going on here:

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/09/take-home-police-cars-original-post.html

The authors had decided to allow the discussion to continue on this thread without posting more about the police issues and instead concentrating on the flood plain until "My Turn" took his or her turn. Now it is our turn.

"My Turn" had this to say:
...Why doesn't the village, and its' residents, ask for a different type of hiring process? ...

...If you want a Chief with "clean" record, then you're going to pay for what you want. Although, even an increase of pay will not always bring in the better persons for the job. ...
(You can read the whole discussion at the link above.)

It seems "My Turn" was not at the meeting the night the current Chief was hired. It was a long long meeting. This author sat through much of it. Based on the discussion that night there is much you need to know.

This author knows that there were qualified people who had experience but wanted to work in a small community that applied for the position of chief.

This was brought out in the LONG meeting the night Stidham was hired. There was not one application, there was not three applications, there were 17 or 18 or 20 applications. Can you believe that out of those every single person made a mistake? Are you saying that NOT ONE person was qualified and capable? Doubtful.

Councilor Linthicum implored the Mayor to consider the other worthy applicants. He didn't say "What the heck, these all have problems so hire Stidham." He said "Please, look at these other qualified applicants!"

Councilor Knowlton hired the chief even against the paperwork he, Councilor Knowlton, provided to the Council. He sat up there and tried to reread and reinterpret his own documentation, against what it said. DUH.

Councilor Knowlton voted for and hired the chief against the suggestion of Moriarity (where Stidham worked) and against the suggestion of the head chief of cheifs organization here in New Mexico. DUH.

Councilor Wallace, this author has heard (no proof mind you) that she spoke with the Chief to see if she could support him. Oh that works, talk to the guy and forget what those who have worked with him think. See if you like him but overlook the paperwork that shows he has had repeated problems with authority.

Mayor Ake overlooked all of that and ignored everything and voted for the chief because 'everyone deserves a second chance'. Really? This blog has published many posts about second chances and stands by the opinion that the Mayor is here to represent us, he Village People. He is NOT representing the Police or the Chief. It is his job to think of OUR best interests and he did not do that. He does not do that when he gives people second chances 'on our backs'.

Again, the problem is that there is a hiring process and there is a background check and the Mayor and the Council choose to not pay attention to those things. In the words of one famous commentator DUH!

The Case Against A Flood Plain District

This article explains one additional reason to be opposed to another government entity being in charge of the flood plain.

At the state and local levels of government, there are thousands of government boards, “authorities,” special districts, and other entities that issue non-voter-approved revenue bonds for everything from dormitory construction to small business loans. Taxpayers never get to vote on the issuance of this debt; the expenditures of these entities do not appear on governmental budgets; and their activities are largely shielded from the public.

http://mises.org/freemarket_detail.asp?control=395&sortorder=articledate

Remember, some additional reasons to be concerned about the idea of another government entity include:

• More meetings that residents will have to attend in order to stay on top of where their tax money is going, what new laws will be passed etc.
  
• The flood plain management districts seem to have a large amount of power including buying things and land, control real estate development, regulate anything that might impact the flood plain (which would be all of Bosque Farms, with very little exception.)
  
• There will be less representation for those of us who live in Bosque Farms because there will be one vote for Bosque Farms with possibly or six or seven other representatives.

• There is a governmental entity (The MRGCD) that is partly in control of this.

Maybe the solution is to enforce the laws currently on the books rather than making a new governmental agency that would be in charge of flood plain management.

Because:

If everyone did as the flood plain law requires and keep the water run off on their own property then there would only be the problem of what actually overflows into the ditches or falls in the ditches.

The water in the street goes into holding ponds. You can see these in various places. The water that falls on our property we take care of that, or we are supposed to.

Which leaves only what the MRGCD is supposed to take care anyways, it's own ditches and the rain that falls into them.

Second Chances Recapped

These are just some of the previous posts about providing second chances. For those of you who missed it the first time.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/03/results-of-second-chance.html

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/03/second-chances-part-two.html

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/04/it-is-more-than-that-part-three.html

Another Letter to the Editor About FEMA

A well thought out letter that can be supported by documentation. It is well worth reading. It is this type of problem, as stated in this letter, that supports this blog's stance that Bosque Farms needs to do what it can to get out from under FEMA.

Parts of this letter have been edited for space.

Saturday, September 16, 2006
I'm relieved to see the MRGCD and City of Belen addressing flood issues and a proper plan. ...

My concern however, is that, for a period of years, many of us have felt FEMA had it wrong when they designed their flood maps and purported inundated flood locations. It concerns me when downtown New Orleans, which is under sea level and obviously below the level of both Lake Ponchartrain and the Mississippi, is rated as Zone B (not required to carry flood insurance per FEMA) and, prior to Katrina, was not re-evaluated since 1984 ...

.... At the same time, downtown Los Chavez is reported to be a flood inundated location, per Feb. 9, 2000, FEMA maps.

Of those areas which did flood as a result of the wettest monsoon season on record, most are stated to be in Zone X, which is also not an area required to carry flood insurance per FEMA. ...

... Perhaps our local engineers, surveyors and planners can get it right and alleviate this apparently inaccurate and ineffective FEMA program? ...
Caterina PlattTomé

And maybe the local engineers and surveyors and planners just need to survey and engineer and figure out where the drainage structures are and how much water they can hold and where the water will drain into them at and what homes this will impact and demonstrate to FEMA that Bosque Farms does not need to be buying flood insurance.

Complete letter available here:

http://www.news-bulletin.com/opinion/64803-09-16-06.html

MRGCD And What They Do

This author has heard much about the MRGCD. The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District.
So this author visited their very own website and read up on this entity that controls the ditches and Bosque here in Bosque Farms.

And what did this author discover? Something interesting.

Read this, and for the record, all of these quotes came from their very own website.

Here they are telling you what they do now, they work to prevent the Rio Grande from flooding.

This 80-year-old organization diligently maintains and rehabilitates the intricate systems of ditches and canals and levees that prevent the Rio Grande from overflowing its banks while also allowing for irrigation, agriculture, recreation, and environmental sustainability.

And here is information about when they began. Oh, look, it was to provide flood protection and make the surrounding area hospitable. It says this all over their website.

The MRGCD was created to provide flood protection from the Rio Grande, and make the surrounding area hospitable for urbanization and agriculture.

And here are their plans for the future. Oh, again, they will help maintain flood control facilities.

In the future, the MRGCD will continue to maintain the Rio Grande’s irrigation and flood control facilities ...

But look at this recent article from the newspaper. This is the same article that started this blog on it's course of research about the flood plain and flood plain management authorities. And what is the official MRGCD stance now? Look:

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/64243-08-30-06.html

This is what they want, a flood plain management authority who will take over the job of management of flood control.

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District is asking governmental entities in Valencia and Socorro counties to form a flood control authority and design system to control rainfall runoff instead of relying on the irrigation ditch system.

And this is why they say a new authority needs to be developed. This the why behind forming another government entity in charge of another portion that impacts Bosque Farms.

"Through the years, our ditch system has acted as a flood control system during heavy rain runoff," said Subhas Shah, MRGCD executive director. "Our system was not designed and structured for that use...

Does this make sense to you?

Something To Think About - A Quote

There's an alternative. There's always a third way,

and it's not a combination of the other two ways.

It's a different way.

~David Carradine

"My Turn" What Can We Do?

"My Turn"
To the author of the blogspot, I wanted to thank you for all of the information. I wasn't aware of all the details, and now things seem to make more sense.

You are Welcome and Thanks to you as well.
So, my response. Who do we complain to when our mayor and councilors are not looking out for the best interests of the village and its' residents?

No one and everyone. You can't recall your vote or change the results of the election. But, you can follow the advice of "Just Here": Who do we complain to? Each other! Our neighbors and our friends and the lady in the store we just met. You tell them that you don't like what you know about how the Village is being run. You tell them who you are voting for and tell them you hope they vote for people who will be accountable.

"My Turn" also commented:
Let's start putting the "heat" on the councilors and mayor regarding the decisions they make on the behalf of the village. It seems to me the biggest problem we have is that no one is held accountable for the decisions they make.

This blog agrees! There are many things that can be done to help the Councilors and Mayor make the decisions that

And "Just Here" had one solution. Thanks "Just Here" for your comments and telling others about this blog.

"Just Here"

I tell people about this blog and I hope they read it and learn some of the truth about what is going on and what has gone on in the past. I hope they read it and decide to do something about the poor voting practices of the current Council.

This is one (out of many) of the very reasons this blog began, as an effort to keep people informed. Informed debate is the first step to compromise and consensus. Information leads to educated voters.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/09/note-to-my-turn.html

A Thought for "City Boy"

"CityBoy" had this to say in a recent posting:

A lot of people that have nothing to do with your village read this just to get a good laugh and to thank their lucky stars they don't live there. Sounds like a Peyton Place to me.

Unfortunately many communities have these types of problems. Some of the problems in surrounding communities are not as obvious because there is not someone watching and commenting.

In fact, the County of Valencia spent itself into being just about bankrupt with no one the wiser.
That is but one example.

The authors of this blog have just taught themselves a little bit about government and have devoted themselves to following Bosque Farms Government. The authors of this blog take the time to go to meetings, read minutes, ask questions, and do some searching for facts. This blog tries to put the events into a bigger picture and tie it all together, something the paper says it can't do because of ethics.

The newspaper can only print so much in the limited space they have chosen to devote to any given topic. Bosque Farms gets a limited amount of the limited space and generally that is after something 'big' happens or the monthly Council meeting.

This author could comment on some of the things that happen at the County level or even in other communities but has chosen, with the rare exception, to focus on Bosque Farms. But one only has to look at the recent lawsuits against state employees or the situation the county was in just two years ago to see problems there too.

Don't fool yourself that Bosque Farms is the only one with problems. It isn't even the only one that has residents that are concerned about what is happening.

Having said that, this blog appreciates your comments and thoughts, even if you thank your lucky stars you don't live here. Your comments provide insight from a different perspective.

The Judge

In more than one post many commentators have asked about the judge taking a ride from the police into Albuquerque to deal with personal business. Obviously this is not something that should occure. It is wrong on many levels. Police can not give rides in their cars, to anyone, even their wives without permission. It also calls into question the court's integrity. The Court is supposed to be a place to be judged in a fair manner. If a judge gets 'favors' from the police can this truly occur? Not to mention the myriad of other questions that arise from this one event.

Did it occur? You bet!

"Just Amazed" had the time and did a little digging and found this:
Case #04-555017 Date: 05/0/2004Uniform Incident Report, Supplemental Report, "Dispatch was able to contact the van's owner, name Mr. Richard Wilke, and advised him of this incident. A Bosque Farms Police Department unit picked up Mr. Wilke at his residence and drove him to this scene. Mr. Wilke, the City of Bosque Farms judge, advised that Mr. Cerno was an employee of his."
The police in fact DID escort Wilke. He even threw around his official title to boot.

You can find his or her complete comments at here.
http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/08/comments-deleted-and-explanation.html

But it has not taken care of the question, why? Why would an officer give a judge a ride? And what was the end result of the 'situation'? "The Hog" had this to say:

Here is the answer to the officer giving the judge a ride to Albuquerque.The Judge called the officer to his home. He then told the officer that he was to give him a ride into Albuquerque because of the issue with his truck. The officer did as he was told... (and was) reprimanded for doing it.The officer was a rookie. ... he believed that when a Judge told him to do something, he was supposed to do it. He did not know that he could say no.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/09/take-home-police-cars-original-post.html

So there it is, if the "the Hog" is correct it was Wilke abusing his crossing the lines of authority and respect. He demanded a police car take him to Albuquerque, against all rules and laws and ethics to take care of personal busines. Then once there he began throwing around his title of judge.

Let's vote this man out

Take Home Police Cars (original post July 31)

"BosqueMom" had this to say:
Strange..I saw a Bosque Farms Police Car at Eubank and I-40 about 5:00 going towards Los Altos Park. I was going to Target after work. I wondered why a Bosque Farms Police car was that far out of Bosque Farms. Does anyone know if the officers take thier cars home?

The short answer to that question is yes.

The police are allowed to take their cars home, within a certain limit. Some communities have a 25 mile range, others have a 60 mile range and so on. It depends on the community and how far away it is from town. Bosque Farms used to have a 25 mile take home car range. It seems this has been changed to 50 miles. However, if this author is wrong, some other commentator will post and let us know.

There are advantages and disadvantages of having a take home car program.
Advantages include:
- it is a perk for the officers and as such is good for moral.
- it makes the neighbors who live by the officer feel safer

Disadvantages include:
- it is expensive, added gas, higher chances of accidents on the road,
- the officers do not live in our Village for the most part.
- and so on.

This is a highly controversial subject in many communities. The problem with the program here in the Village is that there was NEVER any study done or any serious consideration of the long term ramifications of this program.

When Mayor Baldwin was elected he quickly changed the long standing policy of no take home cars to a policy of take home cars for 15 miles and since then it has changed to 25 and under Mayor Ake 50 or more miles that officers are allowed to drive out of the community to their home in their car.

Here is one community and their lengthy report about how they decided what to do:

"An assigned vehicle program evaluation should start with a clear, comprehensive cost-benefit review. The review will provide an estimate of how large non-measurable benefits have to be, or how small the other costs can be, before the program would be justified. A cost-benefit study provides a benchmark around which the decision making process can proceed and alternative arguments can be framed."

It..." depends on program finances, local political and community objectives, as well as the operational needs of the department. Many of the dollars involved can be measured with only moderate difficulty. However, calculating values of some benefits and costs is complex due to their indirect assessment or their subjective nature. Citizen perceptions of safety, the deterrent effect of police visibility, morale effects, and the value of alternative uses of funds all need to be considered in any assigned vehicle program evaluation."

http://www.policedriving.com/article48.htm

"Been Around" Looks at it Another Way

Directly related to the previous post, "Been Around" had some questions about the whole incident that came from a different tact than this author.

(And please note "The Hog" in light of your comments this author wants it clear, this is not an attempt to bait you, but rather another way of looking at one situation. This author is merely pulling it out for the general reader, who may not read the comments, as more to think about.)

Well, I would like to say that I feel better with The Hog responding to the incident with the judge. ... I would have to say his response created more questions that it answered.
...2. Where was that all important supervision we keep hearing about? Did the supervisor get reprimanded too for letting the officer do this? Or just the little 'ol officer who made the bad decision? What about the Chief - did he get a talkin' too? I must say I find it hard to believe the officer left the Village without telling ANYBODY.

3. If there was no supervision, and he really did this all alone - why wasn't there?

4. If there was no supervision and no one to tell and this officer was the only officer on duty in the Village - why the hell did he leave the Village at all? ...

"The Hog" did answer many of these very questions in his follow up comment. You can find the complete discussion here.

http://bfgovernment.blogspot.com/2006/09/take-home-police-cars-original-post.html

With out speaking for "Been Around " this author believes that it comes down to a few important thoughts.

Because the Council has hired some of the people it has; people with inadequate background checks and very little experience, there has been questions. The questions that have been asked about the hiring practices and employees are valid and will continue to be asked until the Mayor and Council changes the hiring practices. Because history repeats itself and nothing has seemingly changed many people with in the Village are asking questions like the ones "Been Around" has asked here. And really, the questions "Been Around" is asking boil down to this: Are we safe? Are we being protected? Are the employees being hired, being payed with our tax dollars, coming into our community the type of employees Bosque Farms deserves?

The Village and those of us who live here need and deserve strong quality leaders in every position of authority.

Change the Flood Plain

It is time to change the flood plain.

Let's define what a flood plain is first:
FLOOD PLAIN
Level land that may be submerged by flood waters.

http://www.weather.com/glossary/f.html

In light of the fact that surrounding communities flooded and Bosque Farms didn't it is time to change the flood plain. Belen flooded, Bosque Farms didn't. Hatch flooded, Bosque Farms didn't. Even Albuquerque flooded in parts and Bosque Farms didn't.

Maybe in the past Bosque Farms has flooded, but here we are talking about the hundred year flood in some communities and no floods. What has changed between the last flood and these floods should be taken into account and the flood plain should be changed.

This author understands that FEMA is the governing body controlling this. This author also understands that the Councilors could do something about it!

It seems they should be able to petition to have Bosque Farms flood plain area changed (even if it was only changed to what it was ten years ago, that would be a start). They can petition to have the flood plain area reevaluated. They could direct the attorney to do this work. They can direct the attorney to begin the process and do the research about how to get out of the flood plain.

In Memory

There is nothing this blog can say that will convey the authors' deep sorrow and regret for the events that occurred on this day five years ago.

The prayers and thoughts of the authors of this blog are with every one who was impacted by that terrible day.

A Question for "The Hog"

"The Hog" has chimed into a recent discussion about take home police cars and some of the perks that police appreciate and shop around for when considering where to work.

We can't offer you a bunch of money, but look at the equipment that you will get in your car. I know this will be a question later, so I'll answer now. A huge portion of the equipment is obtained through Federal Grants.

http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21274246&postID=115431797847730117

"The Hog" Thanks for your input. You are correct about the grant money paying for some of the equipment. People who sit in Council Meetings can hear about some of those grants. Why don't you expand on that?

What types of grants are there and what do they pay for?

Good Luck

Several people in Bosque Farms have entered their 'creations' in the Bosque Farms fair and then gone on to enter them in the Valencia County Fair and now the State Fair.

Good Luck to those brave souls who have entered their hard made 'creations' in the State Fair.

Take a minute to post and let us know how you did when it's over.

Another Govermental Agency for Flood Plain Management?

It seems the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District does not like the fact that when it rains water goes in their ditches and wants to develop yet another governmental agency to control flooding.

The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District is asking governmental entities in Valencia and Socorro counties to form a flood control authority and design system to control rainfall runoff instead of relying on the irrigation ditch system.

This would be similar to Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority. (AMAFCA)

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/64243-08-30-06.html

So what is AMAFCA?

They were set up by the State Government with the specific task of controlling flooding problems in Albuquerque. In their words:
AMAFCA’s purpose is to prevent injury or loss of life, and to eliminate or minimize property damage. AMAFCA does this by building and maintaining flood control structures which help alleviate the problem.

Is this a good idea to set up a Valencia County Flood Control Authority?
It ads one more government entity and that means more jobs funded with our tax paying money and maybe higher taxes!? But maybe it will begin to make the three main communities down here in Valencia County work together to mitigate future flooding.

However, if you visit the SSCAFCA site you will see this paragraph right up front:
Established by New Mexico Statute Section 72-19-1 through 72-19-103 in 1990, the Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority (SSCAFCA) is an independent corporate political body with an elected board empowered to undertake the acquisition, improvement, maintenance and operation of flood and storm water control facilities on streams and watersheds which enter, originate or cross the Authority's facilities. SSCAFCA regulates activities which may affect those facilities such as drainage control from proposed real estate development.

They can acquire land? They control facilities on streams and watersheds? The regulate anything that impacts drainage control? None of that sounds too promising to this author right up front.

What impacts drainage control could be a whole range of things from how high homes are built to get out of the flood plain to

It sounds like they have a lot of power. And it sounds like it's one more government agency in control of our small community. And it sounds like one more government agency that will hold meetings, take actions that impact us but won't think about each one of us who lives in Bosque Farms and the impact they have on us directly. Rather they will be thinking about flooding and everyone in the County and if Bosque Farms gets lost in the mix then so be it.

This author hopes that everyone thinks long and hard and understands the complexities before voting for something of this nature.

NAIFPM

No Adverse Impact Flood Plain Management (NAIFPM) might require more or tighter restrictions in some cases, but as presented in a previous post, it many ways it makes more sense than just following FEMA guidelines and calling it 'good'.

This might include requiring everyone to maintain an area on their property for storm water and water overflow (from ditchbanks for examle). This area might be larger than current requirements since it should be able to handle flood water.

It might require the Village expending some funds and building some levees along the ditch banks. Or it might mean the Village works with the surrounding communities and entities to enlarge the ditches to better hold flood waters.

To begin with, the Village needs to speak with FEMA about what a full build out of Bosque Farms might look like and what the current FEMA maps show, in detail. Some communities have found that their maps are tens of years old (or older). FEMA needs to be able to explain where the flooding might come from, if there ever was a flood.

Just knowing where the threat comes from and where the flood waters might go would help when making planning and zoning decisions and laws.

Personally, this author believes that more than spending more money to be able to write more local laws Bosque Farms needs to look at removing itself from the Flood Plain entirely; either by considering the benefits and disadvantages of withdrawing from the program or by digging a moat around Bosque Farms as a mitigation measure.

This author, and it seems others, would be willing to grab a hoe andbe a hoer for Bosque Farms to help dig a moat to get us out of the flood plain !

A Letter To The Editor - FEMA Disbanded

This is a letter to the editor from a person who lives here in Bosque Farms. This author supports this stance. With the belief that FEMA won't be disbanded the next best step might be for Bosque Farms to refuse to participate in the FEMA program.

FEMA needs to be disbanded as a waste

FEMA sucks! We have had several incidents in New Mexico with millions of dollars of damage and not one dollar of relief has come forth from FEMA. None. Go east. They get relief. Katrina?
FEMA, go home. You need to be disbanded. You are a waste of taxpayers' money.
We, us, the homeowners, property owners, et al, pay for flood insurance. When and if a flood occurs, the insurance companies will not pay. All you have to do is listen to the stories of Katrina — no pay!

Richard M. Winters Bosque Farms
(Editor's note: Mr. Winters notes that he is retired from the fire and rescue profession.)

http://www.news-bulletin.com/opinion/64338-09-02-06.html

Economic Development.

There was an article about Belen and a grant they won. They won a grant for some money that will go towards advertising. Belen will be able to use this money to update their webpage and hopefully attract new businesses.

It is called economic development.

And if you were wondering what the Village of Bosque Farms is doing about this very issue, here is a little tidbit from the newspaper.

The Village of Bosque Farms also submitted an application to become a certified community, but to date has not heard if it has been approved.

In other words, the Village is looking to be a certified community so it too can win grants and 'do economic development'. Just as this blog has mentioned previously, this includes a long list of actions: not holding businesses to the same standards as homes, paying businesses to set up shop here, not billing businesses for water or sewer and so on.

What does it take to be a certified community?
... Riley explained that, in order to be a certified community, municipalities have to show that they have all the economical development tools that would make the area business-friendly and ideal for business recruitment and expansion.

What is the money for economic development spent on? Attracting Economic Based Businesses. Which, of course, is done via advertising, websites, economic incentives, and so on. And traveling.
A lot of the projects that we use the funding for is to attend trade shows," Riley said. "The conferences are amazing. There's over 5,000 vendors and hundreds of thousands of people attending them. We make a lot of contacts there."

This article also talked about economic based businesses. Belen has nine it seems. Does Bosque Farms have any? Let's see, here is the definition:
"An economic-based company is a business that manufactures a product in New Mexico with 60 percent of its revenue coming from out of state."

Who sells their products out of state? Maybe Roger Baldwin sells his cabinets out of state? Maybe his wife sells her products out of state? (Did you know that lasers and such are often used by businesses for very intricate detail work, not just engraving plaques?) Is there anyone else?

The businesses in Belen that fit this mold are generally industrial and generally take up space.
Lets see if we can help and think up a list of possible types of businesses that might be able to set up shop in Bosque Farms and sell 60% of their product out of state, or get 60% of their revenue from out of state.

http://www.news-bulletin.com/news/64490-09-06-06.html

Flood Insurance and Something to be Mad About

If paying for flood insurance frustrates you, particularly if you were not in the flood plain ten years ago but have since been put into the flood plain by the 'new maps'. Consider this information:

For many areas of the West, the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS) overestimate the amount of land area within the 100-year floodplain. New research suggests a way to improve the maps.

http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/1/wa/SRStoryDetails?ArticleID=11742

Much of the research for this story was completed in Arizona rather than New Mexico but it seems what is valid for Arizona is also valid for New Mexico, and this article confirms that in a later paragraph.

Newer studies and better maps may help parts of New Mexico get out of the flood plain, and that could be good news, should FEMA ever consider this information.

To create a computer model to predict flood intensity, Pelletier used very detailed maps of alluvial fans, data from stream gauges and a mathematical analysis that predicted how the water flowed through the numerous small channels on a given alluvial fan during a given storm.

This needs to be turned over to our Village attorney and he needs to be given direction to work on this. Or, since we can hire special water rights experts maybe we can hire this guy to fight with FEMA.

Some BS on the FEMA WS

There are some tutorials here so you can, (in their words):
gain knowledge on reading Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) and Flood Insurance Studies (FIS). And... the use and application of FEMA FIRMs, while the FIS tutorial focuses on FEMA FIS texts.

You can also learn more about LOMA and LOMR and NFIP. If you read and follow some of these links you will be able to read about LFDs and LOMCs and BFE's. If we were all lucky everyonein Bosque Farms might be send an LFD and declared ANI based on ERMs. And all of this and more is on the FEMA website which falls under the FOIA.

And it seems somewhere in among all of the acronyms you can find out how to request a flood plain change for your property.

http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/hm_main.shtm

No Adverse Impact Flood Plain Management

Here is an interesting concept, Local Accountability! You, and everyone else will control the floodplain so that there is no adverse impact on those around you.

No Adverse Impact floodplain management represents a way to prevent worse flooding in your community---right now! ... most local governments have simply assumed that the federal approaches are an acceptable standard of care, perhaps not realizing these very approaches could induce additional flooding.... Instead, No Adverse Impact offers communities an opportunity to promote responsible floodplain development through community-based decision making.... No Adverse Impact floodplain management is a step towards individual accountability by not increasing flood damages to other properties. (This) is about being proactive in understanding potential impacts and mitigation before the impacts occur.

And adopting a policy like this is actually better for everyone, even if it requires more work for everyone.

First it encourages personal accountability. Second, by building homes higher we are simply extending the flood plain into neighbors property or onto other communities. That is not the most responsible method of flood plain management, (help yourself but hurt those around you). This is about being a good neighbor. Third, it lowers the risk of the Village being sued if a flood did occur. The Village is still held liable if they allow any building to occur in a flood plain that results in an adverse impact, even if it meets FEMA standards.

http://www.floods.org/NoAdverseImpact/whitepaper.asp

More About Changing the Flood Plain and Mitigation

The city of Austin, Texas has some information about the flood plain and how it is set up and managed. While this is from a different city and a different state, some of the information may be helpful in considering the flood plain. Because it deals with federal regulations, it seems portions of this information may still be relevent. Obviously in reading it you will notice that some portions are specific to Austin.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/development/flood_plain_const.htm

Here is an interesting bit of information:

The changes in flood plain maps reflect changes in land use (such as increased building activity), changes in the waterways, and flood control improvements (such as detention ponds or other flood control measures).

As more lots are covered with more buildings and parking lots, the amount of water that flows into creeks and lakes increases because there is less vegetation to absorb the water when it rains. This is one reason why buildings that were not originally built in a flood plain are now in the 25-year or 100-year flood plain.

If the City or private property owners install flood controls or detention ponds, the amount of water going to creeks and lakes is reduced. Certain flood control measures have caused the 25-year or 100-year flood plain to be removed from some lots.

Now isn't that interesting? It seems that if a community installs flood control measures the flood plain has the potential of being removed from some pieces of property. What could the Bosque Farms Government do with this information?

If this is allowable surely other communities have done this, figured out a way to mitigate the flood and then ask for a map change.

Wisconsin
http://www.floods.org/NoAdverseImpact/whitepaper.asp
The revised 100-year floodplain map boundaries are the result of the Lincoln Creek Environmental Restoration and Flood Control Project, a massive multi-year effort by the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District... The project's major components are two huge storm water detention basins...

An Early Start

As you have probably noticed, this blog is getting an early start on the week. Tomorrow at work promises to be busy and so tomorrows posts are being posted today.

Happy Labor Day

(Labor Day) grew out of a celebration and parade in honor of the working class by the Knights of Labor in 1882 in New York. In 1884, the Knights held a large parade in New York City celebrating the working class. The parade was held on the first Monday in September. The Knights passed a resolution to hold all future parades on the same day, designated by them as Labor Day.

In the late 1880's, labor organizations began to lobby various state legislatures for recognition of Labor Day as an official state holiday. The first states to declare it a state holiday in, 1887, were Oregon, Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. Then in 1894, Congress passed a law recognizing Labor Day as an official national holiday.

http://wilstar.com/holidays/laborday.htm

The Flood Plain

Even if we do not like it Bosque Farms is in a flood plain, at least most of it is in a flood plain.

A search on New Mexico Flood Plains came up with this interesting site:

http://www.nmfma.org/commCFM.htm

But what is even more interesting, or disturbing, is the fact that Bosque Farms is breaking a state law. Unless this webpage is old and something has changed and this webpage has not updated the information. Here it is:

In February 2001, Governor Gary Johnson signed into law a provision that New Mexico communities with floodplain management ordinances must have a Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) review all floodplain development permits. All NM communities should have had a CFM on board by December 31, 2002.

In cooperation with the NM Department of Public Safety, the NMFMA developed a nationally accredited certification program. The NMFMA has administered the examination at least twice each year since 2000.

And who is included in the list of communities that do not have a CFM? Bosque Farms.

And when was this page last updated? This page last updated April 2, 2006.

So why is this important? The first few paragraphs of this article give a monetary reason this is important and it will hit you right in the pocket book.

Mount Pleasant is now not only in good standing with the NFIP, but it is an active participant in the Community Rating System which has reduced the flood insurance premiums in the Town because of its exemplary floodplain management program.

And even though this is from Wisconsin doesn't it seem that it would hold true for New Mexico as well? After all FEMA and NFIP are federal programs, not state programs.

http://www.apwa.net/Publications/Reporter/ReporterOnline/index.asp?DISPLAY=ISSUE&ISSUE_DATE=022005&ARTICLE_NUMBER=988
Be on the watch for more flood plain thoughts in the upcoming months.

The Flood Plain, A little Bit of Information

What are flood maps and why have them?

Floodmaps are the tool FEMA uses to determine the flood risk homeowners face. Prior to the enactment of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), homeowners had no mechanism to protect themselves from the devastation of flooding and in many parts of the United States unchecked development in the floodplain was exacerbating the flood risk.

http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/hm_main.shtm

How does communities decision to participate in the Flood Insurance Program affect a homeowner?
Communities, i.e., local governments, decide to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If a community does not participate in the program, property owners can not purchase federally backed flood insurance. Also, other monies are not going to be given to a community that has not participated in this program. If you borrow money to buy a home, even if the community does not participate in the NFIP the bank or lender may require a borrower to obtain flood insurance even in the absence of a federally mandatory requirement.

(paraphrased from: http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/fq_gen15.shtm)

So the opening question to this information is this:

What if Bosque Farms Government simply refuses to participate in the National Flood Insurance Program? What if the Village withdraws effective yesterday?

This author doesn't know the answer but it might be worth consideration.