The newsletter of the Vineyard Estates and Surrounding Subdivisions Neighborhood Association is published four times per year. Past newsletters may be found at http://www.venaabq.org. A plain text copy is mailed out to our E-mail list and a graphical version with photos is posted on the website. We do not sell advertising, but welcome informational articles from local businesses and organizations. Please let know about neighbors who are not computer users so that we can give them a paper copy. Contact Lee Ann Riesen (lafisk@swcp.com, 280-5792) for any newletter related business.
Back to the top.The quarterly meeting of the Vineyard Estates Neighborhood Association occured on Thursday, November 19, at 7 PM at Desert Ridge Middle School. VENA will no longer be able to hold general membership meetings at Covenant United Methodist Church because they are using their sanctuary for another group on Thursday nights.
Sergeant Eric Jordan from the APD Northeast Substation spoke and answered questions. He said the main thrust of their work in our area is the reduction of property crime. He reminded residents to know their neighbors, and know what is normal on their street. He told us not to hesitate for a moment to call 242-COPS of something doesn't look right.
The general membership voted to authorize Tony Huffman, VENA Treasurer and resident weed-fighting expert, to get two bids for treatment of our sidewalks, medians and entrances with a pre-emergent weed killer in March. This will be the first year in a long time that VENA has launched an all-out attack on the unsightly weeds. The pre-emergent prevents weeds from coming up for the rest of the year.
Tony will report back at the February general membership meeting, at which time the general membership can approve the expense.
Due to the dangerous nature of the traffic on Ventura, a motion was made and seconded to work on getting a crosswalk across Ventura at Corona. This route is taken by many children walking to school.
Another motion was made and seconded to create a committee to review the bylaws of the association and make recommendations for changes to the general membership when we meet again in February.
The members present seemed to like meeting in the Desert Ridge Library, so we will see if it is available for our future meetings.
Back to the top.On October 21, the City's Development Review Board (DRB) heard a request from land owners north of Signal to vacate Signal from Carrington Road to Ventura Road. The rumors of a possible closure of Signal have been around for a long time, and you can read more information about this issue at the construction notes
link on our website (http://www.venaabq.org).
The DRB ruled that to grant such a request, the petitioners would need to show that there was some benefit to the community. Since this was not shown, they did not grant the request.
The petitioners do not plan to appeal, and so work will be begin soon to improve Signal between Carrington and Ventura so that it is a proper road.
In particular, Hope Episcopal Church will improve the north side of Signal from Carrington Road to a point 100 feet west of Mendocino. This point is the location of the fence that is east of the church. D. R. Horton (developer of Desert Vista) will improve the south side of Signal along Desert Vista. Someday the land north of Signal and between Hope Episcopal and Ventura will be developed. At that time the developer will improve the north side of Signal east of the church.
Signal between Carrington and Ventura at this point in time has no curbs, gutters, or sidewalks. There is also no underground drainage. Water in the road drains down to Barstow. The only plan for underground drainage is from the drainage pond along Mendocino (between Hampton and Vallejo) to the arroyo north of Alameda.
Hope Episcopal will build sidewalks, curb and gutter along their frontage that looks very much like that to the east in front of Tierra Morena. Roadways are built with a crown
in the center, which is a few inches higher than the edges of the road, so that water will drain to the gutters. Hope will build the road out to the crown, and then for about four feet to the south of the crown.
The City of Albuquerque will complete the south side of the road with pavement, gutter and curb. Because of the requirements for the width of the road and the lack of space for it, the curb will be only four feet from the homes along the south side of the road. There will be no sidewalk on the south side. Any trees in the back yards of Carrington homes that are growing past the rear walls will be cut back by the City.
Hope Episcopal expects to finish construction on their portion of the road (the north portion) by March of 2010.
D.R. Horton will do similar work along the portion of Signal that is north of Desert Vista. They will put in curb, gutter and pavement rising to a crown, and then add four feet of pavement to the north side of the crown. Due to a previous ruling, D.R. Horton must complete their improvements within the next four months.
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The traffic committee is focusing on issues surrounding Hampton in Desert Vista and Carrington, and will report back at the February meeting. Two issues under consideration are moving the City bus line from Signal up to Alameda, and asking for a traffic study along Hampton to see if it warrants traffic slowing devices such as speed bumps.
Back to the top.The leasing agents for Ventura Place are in discussions with both a children's bookstore and restaurant that would serve breakfast and lunch. We should know soon if these tenants will be moving in.
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Walgreen's opened three weeks ago. There were several hearings over the last two months regarding the size of the letters in the Walgreen's
signs that are on the building. Our primary planning document, the La Cueva Sector Development Plan (which you can find at http://www.venaabq.org/city_of_albuquerque.html), states that letter heights may not exceed 2 feet. The sign that they requested would have been larger, but still smaller than the typical Walgreen's sign. The Heritage Hills neighborhood to the south of Ventura Plaza fought this request and won, resulting in the smaller sign that you see today.
The other two owners in Ventura Plaza (Mountain America Credit Union and Adil Rizvi) do not plan to build at this time. The Credit Union plans a free standing building some day, and Mr. Rizvi plans a small shopping center.
Back to the top.When we learned that Walgreen's was going to take up residence in our neighborhood there was not much excitement. It's convenient, it's nice that they are taking a chance on us in this economy, but it is really hard to get excited about a Walgreen's. We've heard the same reaction to the opening of other businesses.
I would like to suggest that you tell local and national businesses that they would be welcome in our neighborhood. Their decision will be based on economics, but it might help to let them know. Always an optimist, I've already asked Michael's, Wolfe's Bagels, Panera, and Glazed Hams and More to move in. Michael's came close to moving into Ventura Place, but changed their mind.
I visited Scojo's, Flying Star's neighbor, last week and I thought that personally, this is the type of store that I want to encourage to move into our area. It is a small, one-of-a-kind gift and card shop with an emphasis on unique high quality gifts and personal customer service. It was a pleasure to shop there for a few minutes out of a hectic evening. I mentioned to the owner, Jo Creange, that she had many items I had never seen in another store or in a mail order catalog. Her reply was that when she sees it in a catalog, it is time to stop carrying it. I asked her to tell me about herself and her store. She wrote the following:
I opened ScoJo's in November 2001. I have worked in retail for most of my life and that seemed a natural fit. I love to help people find the perfect gift or card and so became ScoJo's.
Our goal is to help every customer find the perfect gift (no matter how big or how small) and to make every customer feel special. We pride ourselves in our customer service. Too often we find that is a lost art and we know our customers appreciate the fact that we still know what great customer service means. We continually look for new and exciting gifts that will keep our customers coming back and gain new customers. We strive to have gifts for every occasion and every price range and personality.
Almost 9 years later, I am still standing strong. The economy has had its ups and downs for all of us and sadly many locally owned retail stores have closed in recent months but our loyal customers and word of mouth keep us thriving. My daughter has recently joined me in the business and together we look forward to the next 9 years. At times it is difficult to compete with the big box stores but we love what we do and we love our customers and hope that they will continue to support locally owned businesses like ours and tell their friends about the unique, fun store they have found in ScoJo's. So please come visit and visit frequently as we are always getting new inventory. We would love to meet our neighbors and hopefully you will find a new favorite place to shop!
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Please join VENA now if you have not joined or renewed since August 1. You can download a membership form from http://www.venaabq.org/2009Membership.pdf, or if you are reading this in a paper copy of the newsletter, you will find one attached.
VENA's only source of funds (in addition to income from recycling aluminum) is the $20 that you pay each year for membership. Joining VENA allows you to vote in elections and share in the decisions that will determine how our communities grow in the coming years. Joining VENA supports our beautification efforts, primarily weed removal. Joining VENA also supports the printing and postage costs we incur in trying to keep all residents informed of developments.
Please join today. The membership year runs from August 1 2009 through July 31, 2010. For all of you have joined since August, thank you very much!
Back to the top.Mario's Pizza will be moving in to a new shopping center that will be just west of Paseo Village Shopping Center. Paseo Village is the small center that is at the northwest corner of Paseo del Norte and Wyoming. There will be two access points from Paseo Village into the new shopping center. There will also be an entrance from Holly Avenue. The 8000 square feet of retail space will be in a building that is separate from the restaurant.
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Hope Episcopal Church would like to share the following announcements:
Wednesday, November 25, Thanksgiving Eve day, 12:00 noon: Hope-in-the-Desert Episcopal Church (http://www.hopepiscopal.org), 8700 Alameda N.E., will celebrate a traditional service of praise and confession, with Holy Eucharist (The Lord's Supper). All are welcome.
Thursday, December 24, Christmas Eve, 5:30 p.m.: Hope-in-the-Desert Episcopal Church, 8700 Alameda N.E., will celebrate the Savior's birth with a service of music and prayer, with Holy Eucharist (The Lord's Supper). Don't miss the charming children's pagaent. All are welcome.
Sunday, January 3, 2010, 10 a.m.: A family-centered service of Lessons and Carols, traditional Christmas stories and songs everyone can enjoy. Holy Eucharist will be celebrated. Child care and a cry room for infants are available. All are welcome.
No service on Thanksgiving Day or Christmas Day.
Back to the top.VENA only has two sources of income. The most important is the $20 per year that each VENA member pays. The other source is our income from recycling aluminum cans. There are two places where you can drop off aluminum for recycling, 8415 Vintage in Vineyard III, and 9036 Village in Ventura Village.
Back to the top.If you have a property near your home which is covered with weeds, or has a dog barking at night, or is storing toxic chemicals outside, you have a problem property. If you have spoken to the neighbor without success, or if you are not comfortable speaking to the neighbor, please call 311
to report the problem.
They will give you a tracking number for your issue. Save this number, and call back four weeks later if the issue has not been resolved. By this point the neighbor has probably received a citation, but not complied with the citation. Tell the 311
operator that a final notice is needed.
If you still see no progress four weeks after your second call, then call 311
again. Tell them the neighbor has ignored the final notice.
If you find that nothing has improved within four weeks of your third call, please contact the neighborhood association. We will contact the zoning compliance office for our area and stay in touch with her until the problem is resolved.
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