Vineyard Estates Neighborhood Association
General Membership Meeting Minutes
Date: 23 Aug 2007
Location: Covenant United Methodist Church
Chaired by: VENA Board of Directors (BOD) President Pat Verrelle
Minutes taken by: BOD Secretary, Hank Happ
Time: Called to order 7:13 PM
Attendance: Present: BOD, Residents of Vineyard Estates (~20), Guest Speakers: Esther Tenenbaum, GM of the city’s 311 service, and Ben McIntosh, from the city’s Zoning Enforcement Dept.
Introduction of Attendees
Pat Verrelle welcomed all attendees, and introduced all present board members.
Approval of Agenda
Duke Winsor moved to approve the agenda. The agenda was approved with no additions/deletions by Unanimous Consent (UC).
Guest Speaker
Esther Tenenbaum, general manager of the city’s 311 information program, spoke about the history and services available through 311. It was begun in 2004, with 4 people and 70 – 105 daily calls. Now over 70 are involved, handling 3500 – 4000 calls daily. It is available 24/7. The highest category of calls involves animal care. The service will address any city government issue, either directly or by notifying the appropriate agency. Some services are provided, e.g., city conference registrations and luminaria tour tickets. If you call about barking dogs, they will need two addresses, yours and the dogs’, as well as your name. Operators are trained for 6 weeks. 80% of calls are answered in 7 seconds or less, and 75% of the calls are handled directly, with no forwarding necessary.
Ben McIntosh of the city’s Zoning Enforcement department spoke. He commented that if you ever see someone dumping illegally, write down the license number of the vehicle and/or any other identifying markings, and call 911. 911 is the proper number to call.
Public Comment
Joe Bunce of Vineyard 4 asked if there could be a crosswalk at Corona across Ventura. Pat Verrelle suggested that he contact City Councilor Brad Winter.
Mike Gibson of Vineyard 3 commented on the problem with the entrance to Albertson’s, and people trying to make a left turn into the store. He wants a traffic engineer to come to our meetings to hear our concerns. He talked about the parking problems at Trader Joe’s, with people parking in the street, and mentioned that there could be a safety issue because fire trucks cannot get through. Pat Verrelle responded that we requested and received traffic studies. We asked for a traffic light, that had the support of Councilor Winter, but the city said no. Board member Mike Brewer commented that from the point of view of the city, the problem is that there are two undeveloped lots north of Holly and west of Ventura. The city has plans for completing Ventura, but until those lots are developed, the city plans for the roads will not be implemented. That is the way the city works. As Mike recalls, the plan is for Holly to be displaced to the north so that it will not enter Ventura across from the entrance to Albertson's, but nothing will happen until the plans for developing those two empty lots are submitted and approved. Pat asked Mike Gibson if he would head up a committee on these issues, and he agreed.
Don Farmer asked what is going up next to Bed, Bath and Beyond. Pat said that 11 smaller shops of a “miscellaneous” nature were going in, including Saxby’s Coffee, a hair salon, and a jewelry store. Pat mentioned that, years ago, we were faced with the possibility of these stores being built in the middle of our neighborhood. Thus the Sector Plan was born, with very painful meetings among the City, developers and organizations.
A resident wanted clarification on what will be on the Hope Episcopal Church property between Signal and Alameda off Carrington. Pat said that there will be two office buildings and a church that will share parking. Access to that parking area will be off Alameda only. There will be a small hospice with 9 parking spaces with access off Signal.
Lucy from Carrington asked about the plans for the development of Hope Episcopal Church and Alameda Blvd. Pat does not know, and suggests anyone interested call the church (ask for Howie Tischler) and/or call developer Don Hoech (821-4440) and ask about his building plans.
A resident asked about trash and weeds. Pat said that the best approach is to call 311, report as much information as you can, and identify yourself as a member of VENA. If this identification is done, the city must inform VENA about the result of the complaint.
There were miscellaneous questions, with answers from Pat. There are four general meetings per year, and board meetings held roughly monthly with the public invited to attend. Councilor Brad Winter, while invited to all the general meetings, only attends some. However, either he, or his representative, attends all monthly District 4 (D4) Coalition meetings (he is our D4 representative). D4 consists of 22 subdivisions and 26 neighborhood associations. Our concerns reach him either via e-mail, letters or phone calls. Pat commented that he is very accessible and that we are pleased with our representation.
President’s Report
Pat reported that the developer of Ventura Place shopping center informs the VENA board of any new tenants. He has become a commercial member of VENA and will encourage his tenants to follow suit.
D.R. Horton, builder of Desert Vista, indicated that agreed-upon improvements, including a sidewalk along Signal, have been postponed (again). Had the sidewalk improvement been made, the chances of Signal closing would be greatly reduced. Bob Keeran, a developer who wants to build 90 homes between Signal and Alameda, wants to close Signal and replace it with a footpath. He has spoken to us about this. Concerns have been raised about drainage. Letters concerning this to Councilor Winter would be appropriate. Mr. Keeran will develop only 2 lanes (of the 4 planned) of Alameda. The 2 northern lanes will be the responsibility of the developer of the land directly north of Alameda.
There has been more vandalism in the neighborhoods. We need more block captains, and neighbors need to acquaint themselves with each other, so there will be a general knowledge of who are residents and who are not.
New Business
Nominations were taken for board members. Mike Gibson was nominated, seconded and approved with no opposition. When asked for information, he commented that he moved here in 2005 from Louisiana, and works with building contractors and the Chamber of Commerce on transportation. He also works closely with Governor Richardson, the Legislature and the City Council, on transportation infrastructure. He lives on Greenarbor with two children -- one goes to Desert Ridge and one to Dennis Chavez.. No one else volunteered to become a board member.
Mike Gibson moved to request that Councilor Winter and/or Mayor Chavez come to a general meeting to address the Greenarbor barricade issue, whether it goes or stays. Mike Brewer seconded. Motion was approved by UC
Committee Reports:
Aluminum Recycling:
Architectural:
Median:
Refreshment: Refreshments are not permitted in the Covenant UMC sanctuary area.
Newsletter: The newsletter is available on the web site (www.venaabq.org) or via e-mail.
Sign: Regina Barela and her family put the signs announcing this meeting in place.
Vineyard Park: None.
Website: The web is maintained by Lee Kann. The web address is www.venaabq.org.
Welcome: None.
Neighborhood Reports:
Vineyard I and II
Discussion: None.
Vineyard III
Discussion: None.
Vineyard IV
Discussion: None.
Carrington
Discussion: None
La Cueva Tierra
Discussion: None.
Adjournment: 8:55 PM
Passed by Unanimous Consent
Next General Membership Meeting: Scheduled for ?? at Covenant United Methodist Church.
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