This is my space to offer my opinions on issues that affect the Village of Bosque Farms. I decided this would be a good forum to inform the residents of the Village about past, current, and possibly future actions taken by me and the Governing Body. This is just my viewpoint, others may have a different take on things. I hope you find this informative.
Index
The Village has come a long way in the past several years since I became a Councilor, and Mayor Wayne Ake and Councilor Dolly Wallace joined me on the Governing Body. Two years later, we welcomed Bill Kennedy and Virgil Proctor to the Council. When I took office in March of 2004 the Governing Body had inherited the following:
I mention this not to complain about the actions of a prior Governing Body per se, but to make the residents of the Village aware that it takes a lot of work to make this Village run efficiently, and when you start this job with a number of legacy issues to deal with, then it takes time to get on the right path. Well, it took us about a year and a half to get the right staff members in place and to work the budget issues, but we did it, and did it right. The result is that we have accomplished much in the last several years for the residents of Bosque Farms.
Today we have a very stable, competent staff. We have a Governing Body that is working quite well together and accomplishing much. When the Village is in the news these days, it's for positive things that are happening, The budget looks really good. We have unprecedented success in getting money from the legislature to fund things in the Village (more on that below). We've come a long way!
I wrote a proposal to the legislature to get funding for a library addition a few years ago when the legislature was still funding capital improvement projects. We estimated at the time that we would need about $400,000 to put a 2,000 square foot addition on the library for reading and special event programs. The legislature gave us $260,000 toward the addition. The Village hired an architect to design the addition. They have developed a complete design and have the construction bid documents ready to be sent out for a Request For Bid. The architect thinks that with the economy the way it is right now that we may be able to build the addition for less than the original amount that was estimated. The funding we do have is intact until the end of 2012, at which time the money would be taken back by the State if it is not spent. I plan to seek the additional funding from the legislature, but in the current economic situation it does not look promising. It would be good for the Village and good for the economy to complete this project.
The legislature funded a $1.5 million dollar pilot project to develop a regional water and wastewater plan for the next 40 years. I participated on the committee that developed the plan. The County was given the money and hired CDM, Inc. to facilitate the development of the plan. Recommendations for future projects were also included in the plan. The number one ranked project was to extend the Bosque Farms sewer system into Peralta, and included in that is to construct an additional clarifier at our sewage treatment plant. This would be beneficial to both the Village and to Peralta. Funding is an issue, as you might expect. We tried to get some stimulus monies but were unsuccessful.
After several years and many public workshops, the Village Council adjusted the water and sewer utility rates during 2009. We had a modest participation from the public during these workshops. Most people who attended the workshops agreed that the Village was being very thorough in their analysis of the rate structure. I know there are a lot of Village residents that are not pleased that their water and sewer bills have gone up. This decision to increase the rates was a difficult one, but inevitable. A lot of time and effort went into justifying the rate increase. There are a number of points to be made that came out of the workshops and the rate analysis.
- The water system has been in operation for 20 years. There has NEVER been a rate increase during that time. During the past 20 years the cost of living and the cost of goods and services has gone up on average 3% per year. That means that the wages of the utility workers have gone up and the cost of replacement parts and such have gone up as well. Utility authorities recommend that a 10 to 15% reserve fund be on hand for repairs. Given the age of the system we expect repairs to increase with time. For some anticipated work, like rehabilitating water tank number 1, we can sometimes get funding from the legislature to do major repairs. But as of last year and this coming year, the legislature is so strapped for dollars that they are not giving out any new capital improvement dollars. So repairs are going to have to come out of the Village's budget. Major repairs would come out of a reserve fund. When the rate analysis was done it was determined that the Village was basically zeroing out the reserve fund as of this year. This is not a good situation to be in. Building up the reserve fund is a prudent thing to do, which means the rates need to be increased.
- The Council heard from the Village residents that many of our seniors are on fixed incomes. According to census figures there are about 500 seniors out of 4000 residents in the Village. There was a desire not to increase the rates for the seniors. We cannot by law offer them special rates. We would not be able to have the computer program that does the billing do that anyway. So the solution the Council came up with was to keep the $20 per month rate that we have been charging for the past 20 years for any water users that use less than 5,000 gallons per month. The previous minimum usage for rate increases was 7,000 gallons per month. We had to lower the usage to 5,000 gallons per month for the minimum in order to make the budget goals work. Most of our seniors and small households should be able to stay under this amount of usage. The rates were increased for all users above 5,000 gallons per month.
- The Council also put a provision in the water and sewer ordinances to automatically increase the rates each July by 2% to keep pace with inflation.
- The Council did not analyze the sewer rates yet. I have asked the Mayor and the Village Administrator to start working on the sewer rate analysis this spring, 2010. The sewer rates are currently tied to water usage and the water rates.
Thanks to our State Legislature and the Governor
Since I took office, the Governing Body has taken a very proactive approach to working with the State Legislature and the Governor to acquire funds for projects in Bosque Farms. We routinely fund a lobbyist to help us with our interactions at the Roundhouse, and it pays for itself. The Governing Body has hosted dinners with our legislators to speak candidly about our needs and to foster relationships. In addition, I have attended the legislative sessions and committee meetings in Santa Fe multiple times each year, along with Mayor Wayne Ake and Police Chief Joe Stidham. When seeking funding from the legislature I have personnally prepared proposals for various funding projects, which goes a long way toward getting the funding the Village needs. I have also testified before legislative committees regarding the Village requests for funding. In 2005 the Village received $1,117,000 from the legislature, in 2006 it was $515,000, and in 2007 it was $881,000, plus over $400,000 in GRIP2 funding to put a new asphalt overlay on the Loop Road. Some of the projects funded over the last several years by the legislature within Bosque Farms are the police and fire complex, money to rehabilitate one of Bosque Farms water supply tanks, a new baseball field, new equipment and infrastructure for the baseball fields and recreation complex including a shade structure, money for an EMS first responder vehicle, money for a new maintenance building, money for computers for the police cars, and money for arsenic compliance.
In the 2008 Legislative Session the Village once again did well. We will receive over $450,000 next fiscal year for an addition to the library, EMS equipment, a police car, and some funding for the sewer plant.
I want to offer my thanks to Mayor Wayne Ake. The Mayor puts in countless hours supporting this Village. He spends a great deal of his time at the Village office, performing administrative duties. He has developed an excellent relationship with members of our State Legislature, the Governor, the Secretary of Transportation, our U.S. Representative, Congressman Steve Pearce, and our U.S. Senators, Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman. Mayor Ake has been a key factor in lobbying for funds with the Legislature. He works with and volunteers his time with the Mid Region Council of Governments (MRCOG). The Mayor was honored with a Leadership Award from the MRCOG in 2007. Congratulations, Mayor Ake! He has developed a good working relationship with our neighboring communities, such as Los Lunas, Belen, and Isleta Pueblo. The Mayor regularly visits many of the businesses in Bosque Farms. He recognizes the accomplishments of people in the community through awards and proclamations. He prioritized the building of the police and fire complex and had it built in a very timely fashion. Mayor Ake has had much controversy from some previous Councilors, but always worked things out without putting the Village in a bad way. I have had differences of opinion with the Mayor, but that's to be expected from time-to-time. Most of the time we see eye-to-eye. If we always agreed, there would be no reason to have a 5 member governing body with a majority-wins voting system! Mayor Ake does all this for a paltry $5,000 per year. He doesn't seek attention for all that he does. But we all owe him a debt of gratitude for all that he does for this Village. Thank you, Mayor Ake!
The New Police and Fire Station
One of the biggest accomplishments that the Village can be credited with in the last several years is the building of the new police and fire station complex. We desperately needed this facility. The volunteer fire department, who does such a outstanding job for the residents of Bosque Farms, was quite cramped in their old fire station on Esperanza Road next to the Bosque Farms Elementary School. The police department was crammed into the back of the Village office complex. They now have wonderful, spacious quarters in the new police and fire complex.
In 2003 and 2004 the Village received $200,000 and $250,000 from the legislature toward funding a new complex. At this rate it would have taken 10 years to save for the building. In the next two years, 2005 and 2006, through our increased efforts to work with the State Legislature and the Governor, the Village received about $1,400,000! A total of over $1,800,000 for the complex! That's phenomenal! The Village residents should be very appreciative of our Legislators and the Governor for stepping up and funding this project at the level they did and in a timely manner. Show your appreciation and drop them a letter of thanks. The relationships that have developed between the current Governing Body and the State officials is working quite nicely. Let's hope that continues for quite some time into the future.
Not to belittle this big accomplishment, but I do have a couple of concerns that I want to share with the residents of Bosque Farms. When the Governing Body decided to hire an architectural firm to design the new complex there was a split vote on the choice. Two previous Councilors wanted Rohde, May, Keller, McNamara Architecture PC. Their proposal had many examples of award winning designs, all of which appeared costly to me. The firm that I wanted, and Councilor Dolly Wallace also supported, showed an ability to build facilities for some smaller budgets, but also did quality work. I stated at the time that I was concerned about cost, and said that the Village didn't need to be seeking an award winning design. We needed functionality with a reasonable appearance. Mayor Ake broke the tie vote to award the bid to Rohde, May, Keller, McNamara Architecture PC. A building committee was established, made up of Mayor Ake, Councilor Linthicum, the police chief, and the fire chief. These four individuals put in countless hours negotiating requirements with the architect and the building contractors. They did an awesome job. But I do take issue with one aspect of their work. I understand they did not tell the architect how much money was in the budget from the legislature to build the facility, in the hope that they would come in at a lower price. The architect made a preliminary conservative cost estimate just prior to the legislative session in 2005 at around $1,400,000. As noted, we received over $1,800,000 from the legislature in all. But the final cost of the facility ended up over $2,100,000! The architect missed their own conservative cost estimate by almost 50%! That's terrible, in my opinion! Any other time that the Village has managed a project they have set a budget and tried to stay within that budget. Sure some cost over-runs may occur, but being off by 50% is huge! The Governing Body was forced to take money from a sewer reserve fund and a land purchase fund to cover the over-run of about $300,000. Interestingly, the architect received an award for the design of the facility! One might say that the Village paid over $300,000 to get an award winning design because we were $300,000 over the amount granted us by the Legislature and the Governor! This was not an optimal set of circumstances. On top of that, there are some design issues regarding the heating system in the facility that could arguably have been done more efficiently by the architect. In time, these issues will be addressed. In addition, the police department did not have enough storage space in the new facility and requested the purchase of a storage shed in October 2007. Police Chief Stidham said he asked for the space during negotiations with the architect, but it wasn't forthcoming. So now the facility was not even two years old and wasn't meeting their needs. Another deficiency on the part of the architect, in my opinion. The Governing Body is now putting money back into the land purchase fund and the sewer fund to replenish what was used on the new complex.
Don't get me wrong, the Village has a wonderful new police and fire facility. I just think the process could have been more cost effective if it had been managed differently.
Link to some photos of the Police and Fire Station Complex
Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
When the Village built the police and fire complex, we made accomodations for Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The EMS is intended to be the first response to a call for medical help in order to stabilize potential patients prior to the arrival of the ambulance service. The Living Cross ambulance service has a lot of area to cover in the County and is not always able to have immediate response in Bosque Farms. Minutes count for some emergencies such as heart attacks and asthma attacks. The EMS will not be a transport service to bring potential patients to the emergency room, that's the job of the ambulance service. The vision for the EMS is to start it with trained volunteers and eventually get paid staff to perform the duties when the Village finances can afford it. This is a separate service from the fire and police departments. Also, my thanks to Village Administrator Gayle Jones for taking the initiative to organize the training.
The legislature awarded the Village about
$150,000 to purchase an EMS vehicle. We originally asked
for $75,000 to purchase a used vehicle, but the legislature said they would
rather see us buy new, so they gave the Village the higher amount. That's
awesome! We have an excellent working relationship with the legislature
and it is paying off big-time for the Village!
Support for Yucca Little League
I was involved with our local Yucca Little League during the years that my children played baseball in that league. I have managed and coached a number of teams, including an 11-year old tournament team. I was an umpire for many years. I served on the Board of Directors for two years. During those two years I was the vice-president and then the player agent. I took the initiative to write a proposal to the legislature to try to get funding for the league. Yucca Little League has been around since before the Village was incorporated but had never received any money from the Legislature for ball-field improvements. The Legislature gives out over $1,000,000 a year to various communities to improve their sports facilities, and more specifically to help out their local little leagues. All the money goes to the municipality and the equipment is owned by the community, not the little league. Several Yucca Little League officials helped me with lobbying the Legislature and in 2005 the Village received their first-ever allotment of money for ball-field improvements. The amount was $50,000. This happened at a most opportune time, because the Village had to use the land behind the Village complex for the new police and fire building which meant that the ball-field behind the Village office had to be demolished. So most of the money was used to build a new field at the recreation complex. It was also used to purchase portable equipment for the Tee-ball division. Now Yucca Little League has four of their divisions playing at one park, something that brings most of their players and families together. In 2006 the Legislature gave the Village $75,000 for additional improvements. Bleachers, shade structures and fencing are being purchased with this money. Yucca Little League provides a wonderful venue for the youth of our community to participate in an activity that stimulates sportsmanship and athleticism. I will continue to support the League and hope that the Legislature will too.
I began an initiative in 2006 to support the youth of our community during their summer break from school. My thanks to the rest of the Council and the Mayor for their support in this effort. The summer youth program is proving to be a real success for our kids. The program works like this. There are two recreation supervisors at the park each weekday from the beginning of June through the end of July. Parents sign a waiver of liability to allow their children to participate at will. Kids between the ages of 6 and 16 can participate. The recreation supervisors provide oversight and participation in various activities, including sports (e.g., kickball, basketball, etc.), board games, playing billiards in the community center, playing on the recreation equipment, etc. They make trips to the library. This year the Los Lunas School District has been providing free lunches to the kids every day. What a wonderful program to complement our youth program. Thanks to the School District!
One concern came up during the Summer Youth Program. There is not enough shade at the park for the kids. They were going to the small park area behind the Community Center for some relief from the sun or rain, but that wasn't ideal for some of the activities the kids wanted to do. The Village received $20,000 for park upgrades in a previous legislative session. I asked the Governing Body to consider installing a permanent shade structure adjacent to the playground equipment. They agreed and I did the organizational effort to purchase it and install it through existing State contracting options. The shade structure was completed in the summer of 2007. This should benefit all our residents who use the park as well. For the next legislative session in the spring of 2008, I asked the Governing Body to put some money in our request to the legislature to build a shade structure over the playground equipment at the recreation park, something that a lot of residents have expressed an interest in. We received $30,000 toward an estimated $60,000 shade structure. However, when the economy took a down turn the State rescinded the $30,000.
This youth program gives our kids a venue to get away from their computers and video games and get some excercise and play with their peers. I hope to continue this effort in the future.
Bosque Farms has the best Library in Valencia County! I think our Library is the most used in the County. I believe there are over 7,000 card holders! That's great when you consider that there are only about 4,000 residents in Bosque Farms! I have been serving as the Council representative to the Bosque Farms Library Board since taking office in March 2004. At that time we had an appropriation from the Legislature toward building an addition on the library. The amount was $55,000. Hardly enough to build an addition. We went to the Legislature and got them to agree to change the language authorizing the money to be used for renovations. The first time the language was reworded it was incorrect, and the Department of Finance said we had to change it again. So the next year it was changed appropriately. The Library Board met and prioritized the needs for renovations. The Village installed UV screening on the upper windows to protect the books from sunlight. Much needed air conditioning was installed. The front door was made handicapped accessible. Still to be done is the potential to replace the windows on the first floor, given that the window frames are quite worn, and installing new carpeting.
I wrote a proposal to the Legislature for the 2008 session to add a meeting room on to the Library. Both the Librarian and the Library Board consider this a top priority for the Library. The Council voted to put the request for a Library meeting room higher on the Capital Outlay request to the Legislature for this coming year. The plan is to use this space for special functions, such as youth programs. There is not enough space in the Library to do these type of programs and to have patrons using the facility without distraction. The legislature appropriated $260,000 for the addition (see update above). It's a wonderful Library and deserves some enhancement for the good of our residents.
Economic Development Initiatives
With approval of my fellow Councilors, I set up an Economic Development Committee in the fall of 2005. There are a lot of vacant properties on Highway 47, our business district. Bringing new businesses to Bosque Farms would offer additional jobs, more places to shop, and additional gross receipts tax revenue. I also want to support our existing businesses through expansion and retention programs. My plan is to have this committee work on various initiatives to stimulate economic growth. If successful, this committee would work itself out of a job. The next step would be to create an Economic Development Board. This would be an entity with a little more clout to perform economic development activities. The ultimate goal is to have a thriving business district that can support the establishment of a non-profit economic development corporation. Many communities in New Mexico have non-profit economic development corporations, such as Belen. Such an organization would likely employ a full-time person to pursue economic development activities.
For more information on what the Committee has been up to I have created another web page specifically for that topic: Economic Development Initiatives
There is a lot of concern about raising the water and sewer rates. Let me give you some information so you can understand the need. The water system was put in some 18 years ago. At the time it was set up, the users were allowed up to 7,000 gallons per month water usage for $20 per month. Every 1,000 gallons over the 7,000 base rate was charged at $2 per 1,000 gallons. The rates have not gone up in all that time. The cost of living and the cost of goods and services has gone up on average about 3% over this same time period. If you compound that interest rise over 18 years it comes out to 70%. So over the lifetime of the water system the cost of equipment, services and wages has gone up about 70%. The Village residents can't expect the rates to stay the same and to keep the system fully functional. The water and sewer systems are run as enterprise funds, meaning that the money they generate for revenue should balance the expenses to keep it going. The only outside funding for the water and sewer funds is that which we get for capital improvement (like the $200,000 we received from the Legislature to rehab tank number 1). So the water users are the source of the revenue by paying their water and sewer bills. More maintenance is needed and should be budgeted for. Reserve funds need to be funded in order to provide a source of money to pay for things that need to be replaced or get broken (like pumps). Some of these things are expensive and we couldn't afford to buy them in any one year, or be able to go to the Legislature when something fails unexpectedly. So we must save for certain things.
I did some research and found out that New Mexico Tech has a free service to advice municipalities on performing utility rate analyses. They gave us a free spreadsheet developed by the State of Missouri that is very detailed in analyzing utility rate structures, for both water and sewer. With this software the user can put in all their expenses and play around with setting the rates at different levels to see what the balance of revenue and expenses are over a five year period. Ms. Sandi Blanton of New Mexico Tech has reviewed our analysis of Bosque Farms rates. Quite a few Council workshops were held during 2007 to analyze the water rate structure. There was excellent public participation at these meetings. A number of potential scenarios were evaluated. One scenario that received a lot of positive feedback was to keep the base rate for water usage the same (i.e., $20 for up to 7,000 gallons per month), but to increase the rates step-wise for additional water usage. By doing this the high-end water users would pay more, but the folks who use the base amount would continue to pay the same. This would also encourage water conservation. In the end, any proposed changes in water rates will be supported by a thorough analysis and finally by a change in the ordinance that governs the water and sewer system usage.
The EPA and the new Arsenic Standard
for Drinking Water
The Village just received some most excellent news...we are now in compliance with the new arsenic standard! Amazing! For the past several years we have had a heavy load hanging over our head in the form of a new requirement for arsenic in drinking water (read more about our past actions on this below). We were faced with some daunting compliance issues. But for the time being the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has given the Village a reprieve. The NMED samples water supply wells every 3 years for arsenic. The last time they did in 2004 we were slightly above the new legal limit. They sampled again at the end of 2007 and the Village is now at 10 parts per billion (ppb) on the nose. There is natural variability in the distribution of arsenic within groundwater, and one would expect to see some variation with time. We are fortunate that the variability was in our favor with this sampling round. So we can breathe a sigh of relief for 3 more years when the NMED will once again sample the wells. If we are above the limit in 3 years then we will be back on a compliance track. But for now, this is excellent news! For a historical perspective, please read the rest of this section.
The EPA decreased the allowable limit for arsenic in drinking water from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb effective in January 2006. The Village has two water supply wells that have to comply with the EPA drinking water regulations. When the wells were officially sampled by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) in 2004 I believe the levels were 13 and 11 ppb. Just a few ppb over the limit, but that means we had to do something about it. The Village paid Molzen-Corbin Engineering to develop an exemption request. The NMED granted the request so the Village would have until the end of 2008 to comply. It is possible to get additional extensions, but the Village would have to show that they are working in good faith toward compliance. If the Village does not comply, then the NMED could fine the Village each day that the Village is out of compliance. This could be financially devastating to the Village. At some point the NMED would then take over the system in order to assure compliance if the Village did nothing. Then they could force the residents to pay the added expense of a treatment system. If people refused to pay they could put liens against their property. That's the way I understand it. Some folks have talked about taking the EPA on with a class-action lawsuit because they view this as an unfunded mandate. Well, first off, the EPA did a cost-benefit analysis in support of lowering the arsenic level, as required by law. They claim the benefits outweigh the cost of implementation, so the new limit is justified in their eyes. Some have criticized the legitimacy of the cost-benefit analysis. To enter into a lawsuit of this nature would be quite expensive, and the Village can't afford that. I doubt that the Village could win such a case and in the end would be forced to comply with the new limit.
So I started working this issue. I volunteered Bosque Farms as a participant in a project that Sandia National Labs was conducting. They offered us free water analyses for any samples that we gave them. Cliff Hibdon, the utilities director, Councilor Virgil Proctor, and myself collected water samples from a number of private wells throughout Bosque Farms in search of a zone that might have lower arsenic concentrations. It turns out that the southeast part of the Village has lower arsenic levels, on the order of 5 ppb. It may be possible to drill a new well in this part of town and blend it with well 2 on the Boulevard in order to get compliance for well 2. That would mean a lower operating and maintenance cost compared to putting in a treatment system. Senator Pete Domenici has helped authorize money through the Bureau of Reclamation to drill new wells. I wrote a letter of intent for the Village to apply to this program. Let's hope we can get approved so we can drill one new well and not have to treat water for arsenic in at least one of our wells. Even with the new water results being right at the limit, it would probably make sense to pursue drilling one or more new wells to get water that would be more likely to comply with the standard over time. Right now there are no guarentees and the Village should work toward the lowest cost solution.
I have also been in contact with the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). They have a federal program for assistance with arsenic compliance. In that program they split the cost 75/25 between them and the Village for all design and construction activities. If things change 3 years from now, and we need to investigate the construction of a treatment system, I would recommend working with the ACOE to get federal monies for the design and construction of such facilities.
I feel strongly that this is an unnecessary requirement for the Village. But it is a requirement. So if the Village must comply in the future, I will work hard at trying to secure State or Federal monies to pay for as much of this as possible.
Taking care of our Water/Sewer System
When I took office, the Village had been neglecting some of the maintenance issues associated with the water system. I believe the American Water Works Association (AWWA) recommends that water supply tanks be tested and rehabilitated, if necessary, every 5 years. Tank number 1 was something like 15 years old and never had anything done to it. Why? I think because the previous Councils were too busy penny-pinching and not allowing maintenance costs. So I initiated the testing of the tank. It wasn't in danger of collapsing or anything like that, but it did have significant corrosion. So I wrote a proposal to the Legislature based on what the testing firm said needed to be done, about $100,000 worth of work. We got the funding from the legislature and hired an engineering firm, ASCG, to oversee the work. Our contract engineering firm, Molzen Corbin, had never done tank rehab work before, so they didn't qualify to do the work. ASCG advised us that the cost would be double what the original estimate was because they didn't account for sand-blasting the inside of the tank. So we asked the Legislature for another $100,000 and they graciously gave us that. We also received an additional $200,000 from the Governor last session for water and sewer related work. We made need to use some of this money to complete the tank rehabilitation. This work is underway and will hopefully be completed by the spring of 2008. Then we will plan to look at tank number 2, which isn't as old but needs to be tested.
The previous Council put a halt to sewer construction prior to my election to office. I supported the completion of the sewer system within the first couple years of being on the Governing Body. Now the whole Village has both water and sewer service available for hookup. This is a great thing for the residents of the Village. It means the potential for a better quality groundwater supply for the Village.
Another thing that has been neglected is our water rights allotments. It wasn't clear how much water rights the Village owns and the return flow credits from our discharges of sewer effluent to the Rio Grande hadn't been filed for in many years. Again, things were neglected. So I asked the Governing Body to contract out a study to research how much water rights the Village has and to put the necessary paper work together to file for return flow credits. The return flow credits give us the ability to pump more water from our wells than we have actual water rights for. So this is an excellent thing to have. The Village needs to preserve all the water rights we are entitled to. But we have to take the initiative to file the proper paperwork to get it done. This should be complete in the fall of 2007. Then the annual filing of the return flow credits should be relatively easy.
In 2008, a county-wide Water and Wastewater Master Plan Committee was formed. The Legislature appropriated over $1,000,000 to pilot a planning study to look at regional water and wastewater needs over the next 40 years. I am serving on this committee and representing the needs of Bosque Farms. The Legislature wants to prioritize funding to those government entities that have looked at regional needs and integration issues.
I have a background in water and sewer engineering, as well as hydology. I feel strongly that the water and sewer system in Bosque Farms needs to be maintained to the best of our abilities. These are vital resources to the residents of the Village. I will continue to work hard to maintain these facilities and to get the money we need to support this work from the Legislature.
A few years back, the Village put out a bid for waste management services (i.e., garbage service). Waste Management, Inc. had been an exclusive franchise within the Village for many years. When the bids came in they were the only real competitive bid. Previously the residents had unlimited trash pickup at the roadside. We also had spring and fall dumpsters for cleanup down at the Village office. This was all for a reasonable price. When we started negotiating the terms with Waste Management for the new contract they gave us several options. They increased the cost of unlimited pickup. They gave us a cheaper price for container-type pickup. But that came with a catch. With container-type pickup the residents could only put out that amount of trash that would fit into the container. If you couldn't fit your trash into one container you have to rent another. Mayor Ake, Councilors Linthicum and Eldridge all wanted the container option. What was their primary reason? They didn't like the fact that some people had a lot more garbage than they did and were paying the same price. They wanted those that generated more garbage to pay more. To pay their fair share, so to speak. They also wanted to say that they were decreasing the fee for garbage disposal for the average customer. But that meant they had to take away some of the dumpster capacity. It also meant that if you needed more than one container that you paid more. A good deal for Mayor Ake, and Councilors Linthicum and Eldridge. But not so good for others. Waste Management said that under the old system, with unlimited pickup, that Bosque Farms generated more garbage per capita than any other community. That's a good thing, considering our rural nature and the fact that we wanted to keep our Village clean. Think about that for a second, even if we paid a little more under the new contract for unlimited pickup, it's still the most cost effective option. Unlimited pickup! The price per ton of garbage is a lot less under that scenario than with the container option. Now the difference is made up by those with multiple containers. But then again, I was told by quite a few businesses in town that have dumpsters that people started dropping garbage off in their dumpsters when they couldn't fit it into their containers. That's not fair to these businesses. So this container option caused an additional burden on our local businesses. I'll say one positive thing about the containers, they are neater than the hodge-podge of garbage cans and bags that people used to put out on collection day. But it's still not the best option from a cost-effectiveness standpoint. The Village residents now pay more per ton of garbage than they did before, and more than if we retained unlimited pickup as the option.
Another side note regarding the negotiations with Waste Management. When the Council was trying to get several trash pickup options evaluated, Councilor Linthicum, Village Attorney Mark Jarmie, and myself had a meeting with Waste Management representatives to discuss the options. Waste Management told us they were very concerned about the length of the term of the contract. They wanted an 8 year contract, and in turn would be able to offer the Village better rates. I was very clear in our discussions that I felt an 8 year contract was too long. I was explicit in stating that a 4 year contract with another 4 year possible extension would be more appropriate. I told them that the makeup of the Governing Body might change over the next 4 years and that the new Governing Body might want to evaluate their alternatives. They said they understood. When Waste Management presented the different pickup options and prices to the Governing Body they said that it was all predicated on a 4 year contract with an AUTOMATIC renewal for 4 additional years. The only way the Village can get out of the contract with Waste Management is if they haven't performed satisfactorily. I told them that this was contrary to my stated position that the contract would be evaluated at the end of 4 years for POSSIBLE renewal, not an AUTOMATIC renewal. They said the rate quotes would go up substantially if the contract were changed to my specifications. But they didn't know how much they would go up because they didn't have those rates at the Council meeting. But that's what I asked for! They either ignored my input or deliberately tried to manipulate the proceedings. I do not think Waste Management was playing fair on this. But then, that's the nature of big business and their negotiations with the little guys, like the small Village of Bosque Farms. Also, neither Councilor Linthicum nor Attorney Jarmie backed me on this. We are stuck with an 8 year term. I hope the Governing Body that is in place when this contract is up and a request for bids goes out is able to force Waste Management to meet our needs. I was very disappointed in this contract negotiation process. Lessons learned!
I want to set the record straight on my stance on the multi-use path that runs around the Loop Road. This path has caused great controversy amongst some parties. I have been misquoted on a number of occasions as to my involvement and my stance on the path. That is why I am writing about this topic.
The path was first conceived back during Carl Allen's last term as Mayor. He commissioned a design for the multi-use path by Grace Engineering. When Roger Baldwin took office as Mayor he set up a committee to facilitate getting the path built. I was on that committee, along with Dolly Wallace, Lee Wharton, Richard Wilke, and Brad Fitzgerald. The committee was chaired by then-Councilor Gordon Killough. The committee didn't like the design. They entertained the possibility of running the path on the inside of the Loop Road, instead of the outside, as designed. One of the reasons for this consideration was there would be less side streets that the path would have to cross. There were issues regarding the design of the path at the inside corners of the Loop Road, both where the North and West Loops meet, and the South and West Loops meet. At some point information was obtained from the American Association of State and Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) regarding safety considerations for multi-use paths. It was at this point that I felt strongly that the path design should be changed. Not that we shouldn't have a path, but that we could have a safer path. The main concern pointed out by AASHTO was the close proximity of a path to the road coupled with cross streets. There are at least 15 side streets that cross the path. These are dangerous intersections for pedestrians and bicyclists, but mainly the bicyclists. AASHTO recommends having dedicated bike lanes adjacent to the roadway prior to constructing a multi-use path adjacent to the road. This was put forth in committee, along with a recommendation to put a path of compacted crusher fines adjacent to the bike lane that pedestrians, bicyclists, and horse riders could use. The current design does not allow horses on the outside of the Loop Road. Horse riders are supposed to use the inside of the Loop Road, which is problematic where the irrigation ditches pass under the road because the horses have to go out into traffic to get around. So you see, an alternative design could have been safer. Gordon Killough would not agree with his committee. He decided not to take their recommendations to the Council and to let the new Council members elected to office in 2002 to take up the issue.
So in the spring of 2002 Councilor David Linthicum took on the task of planning the multi-use path. He got the Council to approve a new committee. They rubber-stamped the design by Grace Engineering. When it came up for consideration at a Council meeting I presented the safety information and the recommendations of the previous committee. This input was totally ignored. No one has yet shown any supporting information to show that having 15 cross streets poses a safe condition. So much for public input.
Before Councilor Linthicum left office he was able to have the multi-use path paved and signage put up along the path. He purchased several shade structures to put in around the Loop Road, complete with benches and drinking fountains, but didn't get them installed before he left office. My thanks to Councilor Virgil Proctor, who took office in 2006, for taking on the completion of the shade structures, benches and water fountains. Good job, Virgil!
In conclusion, I support the idea of facilities for walking, biking, horse riding, roller blading, etc. It's very good for our residents to get out and excercise. I just think there could have been a safer design, and that's supported by a nationally recognized design group, AASHTO. Enjoy the multi-use path, but please be careful at those side streets!
There were several accomplishments in the Planning & Zoning area during the last four years that are worth mentioning.
First, after several years of committee meetings and Planning & Zoning Commission involvement, the 10-1 Zoning Ordinance was updated. There were a number of changes made to the ordinance, quite a few of which help reorganize the ordinance to make it easier to implement. Some changes were made to the commercial zoning requirements, as well as the special use overlay category. This was a big effort, but well worth the time and energy spent.
Second, with the help of a committee and the Planning & Zoning Commission, a Comprehensive Land Use Plan was written. This Plan outlines what our existing infrastructure and demographics look like, and makes recommendations for future land use development considerations.
Third, the Planning & Zoning Commission made recommendations for some changes to the 10-2 Subdivision Ordinance in order to organize topics more consistently and to make it easier to implement.
Fourth, a Nuisance Abatement Ordinance was reworked in order to deal with any potential drug labs that may be encountered in the Village.
Also, a committee has been looking at Property Maintenance issues. They are in the final stages of making a recommendation to the Council for an ordinance covering this topic.
Another committee is currently looking at Animal Control issues.
Thanks to all the members of the committees, the Planning & Zoning Commission, the Governing Body, and to the members of the public that helped make these efforts a success.