Senate Bill 182 holds childhood education hostage for NM grant land Fracking

At stake, 6.6 million acres of state land,  Much of the mineral rights in Placitas are federally owned split estate. How much of the mineral rights in the Alb. Basin are federally owned?

SB 182 EARLY CHILDHOOD LAND GRANT ACT Mary Kay Papen [4] SEC/SCONC/SFC-SEC

https://www.nmlegis.gov/Legislation/Legislation?chamber=S&legType=B&legNo=182&year=17 

K. the federal government holds a vast amount of

unleased federal subsurface mineral acreage beneath private

land within New Mexico; and

L. this unleased federal subsurface mineral acreage

beneath private land within New Mexico could be transferred to

the state of New Mexico and managed by the state land office to

be held in trust for the purpose of raising revenue to

specifically support and fund early childhood services.

“Seize federal mineral rights under private property (SB182): This bill would somehow take federal split-estate lands (federally owned oil and gas rights under private land) for the New Mexico Land Office to lease for drilling. It is a wolf in sheep's clothing that claims to benefit pre-schoolers.”

8 out of 10 children in my Art Class last year were on asthmatic inhalers and that is without fracking within 300 ft of schools. If Dunn gets his way sites can be within 300 ft of homes and schools and drilling through the aquifer that will contaminate our drinking water. 

The First of the committee meetings to discuss the transfer of 6.6 Million Acres of State Land to OIl and Gas Industry for Fracking in NM. In a de-regulated state with industry lobbyists and CEOs overseeing the oil and gas convservation division and the State land office they will have unfettered access to polute. Especially when we are faccing 8,000 fracking wells on the West Mesa, the state land there could be used for all types of infrasturucture for the oil and gas industry, gas fiaiclities refining pipelines, frack well and strage contaimant within 300 ft of an elementary school. Locally, during the Sandridge application we indentified several acres of the State lands in ABQ and Rio Rancho Area, these areas are on the main drinking water aquifer that drilling and fracking, spills and explosions would destroy the water supply

​ and air quality​

 for over 1,000,000 people in the Rio Grande Valley or 

​in ​

more rural areas in the state where working class people and indigenous populations are the most vulnerable to industry's streamroll tactics. 

Ask them to table the bill. No More False Promises. 

​

(See Attachment for talking Points on Bill) ​

Https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/DunnPlanFrame%20.pdf?token=AWzUV2YL6DeIbpYmvghZi2sN4bhnZ-lJKTSiyyL-HJxTqzYqD3WS_z97vQzmN4lV0KT23MN_n4fabDC7qxez009bSYgRaEXZ4sXfQVCd744Wt6Dx2Qrbiqd-U1zf_MuOh7icScBfBd1upU0aq4LW-nx8

A

​sk them to consider evaluating the direct and indirect, long and short term, and broad-scale greenhouse gas climate change impacts through an EIS process on how the turn over of such a vast amount of land 6.6 M acres to the oil and gas industry would continue to drive climate change​.​

 

• Approving this bill would increase GHGEs significantly. 
• The emissions and production activities would have a significant impact on air quality, water quality, human health, and wildlife and would not occur if this bill were denied. 
• Please see that these issues are evaluated and include these impacts as part of the Education Committee review in any further consideration of the bill. 
• NM is the #1 per Capita Emitters of methane in the lower 48 states and is one of the main drivers of climate change, prior to consideration of such a bill and its potential impacts. 

​YOU CAN DO ONE OR ALL OF THE FOLLOWING TO HELP: ​

1. Please come to this committee meeting and voice you objections to this bill.
2. Download the PDF on the Dunn Plan
3. Write the Legslators and
4. Call them We need to flood their Lines.
5. Show up to the next committee meeting

Email, Call and Show up at this meeting. FEB 8th 8:30 am Rm 311

Urgent actions needed at the Roundhouse to protect our children and land ( 6.6 million acres) our drinking water supply and health. Public safety cannot be the chip to be gambled on especially with our children's futures. 

​We need to keep these phone busy! ​

Contact list for Senate Education Committee 
Monday, Wednesday & Friday - 8:00 a.m. (Room 311)

District: 37 Bill Soules
County: Doña Ana
Service: Senator since 2013
Occupation: Teacher
Address: 5054 Silver King
Las Cruces, NM 88011
Capitol Phone: 986-4834
Capitol Room: 328C
Office Phone:
Home Phone: (575) 522-3521
Email: bill.soules@nmlegis.gov

District: 17 Mimi Stewart
County: Bernalillo
Service: Representative from 1995-2014; Senator since 2015
Occupation: Retired Educator
Address: 313 Moon Street NE
Albuquerque, NM 87123
Capitol Phone: 986-4267
Capitol Room: 416F
Office Phone: (505) 275-2355
Home Phone:
Email: mimi.stewart@nmlegis.gov

District: 10 R Candice Gould
County: Bernalillo & Sandoval
Service:
Occupation: Executive Director
Address: P.O. Box 10030
Albuquerque, NM 87114
Capitol Phone: 986-4266
Capitol Room: 415F
Office Phone:
Home Phone: (505) 269-7711
Email: candace.gould@nmlegis.gov

District: 13 Bill ONeil
County: Bernalillo
Service: Representative from 2009-2012; Senator since 2013
Occupation: Development Director- PEP
Address: 343 Sarah Lane NW
Albuquerque, NM 87114
Capitol Phone: 986-4260
Capitol Room: 300C
Office Phone: (505) 450-9263
Home Phone:
Email: oneillsd13@billoneillfornm.com

District: 14 Michael Padilla
County: Bernalillo
Service: Senator since 2013
Occupation: Business Owner
Address: PO Box 67545
Albuquerque, NM 87193
Capitol Phone: 986-4726
Capitol Room: 120
Office Phone:
Home Phone: (505) 977-6247
Email: michael.padilla@nmlegis.gov

District: 3 John Pinto
County: McKinley & San Juan
Service: Senator since 1977
Occupation: Tribal Government
Address: 509 W Morgan Avenue
Gallup, NM 87301
Capitol Phone: 986-4835
Capitol Room: 301B
Office Phone:
Home Phone: (720) 357-9275
Email:

District: 19 R James White
County: Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe and Torrance
Service: Representative from 2009-2014; Senator from 2017
Occupation: Retired
Address: 1554 Catron Avenue SE
Albuquerque, NM 87123
Capitol Phone: 986-4395
Capitol Room: 415G
Office Phone:
Home Phone: (505) 271-4746
Email: james.white@nmlegis.gov

District: 40 R Craig Brandt
County: Sandoval
Service: Senator since 2013
Occupation: Clergy
Address: 7012 Tampico Road NE
Rio Rancho, NM 87144
Capitol Phone: 986-4385
Capitol Room: 414C
Office Phone:
Home Phone: (505) 503-5001
Email: craig.brandt@nmlegis.gov

Who We Elect Matters!

APS elections are just over a week away and Gov. Martinez is teaming up with the local Tea Party targeting four more seats – enough to give them a majority on the APS board – and the tactics they are using are right out of the national Tea Party playbook. Now we get the first chance - in the first election since Trump's inauguration and our resistance marches - to show local organizing power. Across the country, conservatives are using their new organizing power to take over school boards to force schools to teach their brand of history and destroy public education. In 2013 in Colorado, the local Tea Party elected 3 new members as part of a wave of conservative “reformers” taking over Colorado school boards. They formed a majority on the five-member Jefferson County School Board. During their two years in office, “they imposed merit pay, diverted public-school funds to charter companies, and tried to make the curriculum more “patriotic.” (Labor Notes News) In North Carolina, the election of four Tea Party conservatives to the Wake County school board led to a 2010 vote abolishing long-standing school integration measures, and other major changes are expected. In May 2010, the [Tea Party-majority] Texas state board of education (SBOE) was garnering national attention as it considered – and eventually approved –  new social standards that were designed to neutralize the perceived liberal bias in the teaching of U.S. history. In D.C., Donald Trump has nominated a billionaire private school advocate, Betsy DeVos to be education secretary, and progressives have overwhelmed Senate offices with calls and letters to stop her. We need that same power here in ABQ. Locally, candidates for APS Board have promised to rollback anti-bullying and anti-discrimination rules protecting LGBT students, to end "political correctness" in teaching and push through  "moral" minded education policies. [Read more] ProgressNow's researchers dug into each candidate, researching their education history, campaign platforms and endorsements (from teachers and tea parties) to bring you our 2017 APS/CNM Progressive Voter Guide. Get your voter guide Get the voter guide online at progressivechampions.com Help someone else vote Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Because these elections only turn out a few hundred voters in some districts, taking over is easy. That's their plan and they've shown they can. Find out if your APS or CNM Board member is up for election using district maps here. - Pat Davis Progressive Champions PAC an election project of ProgressNowNM In 2015, after an APS board member started organizing parents to opt-out of Gov. Martinez and Hanna Skandera's new testing scheme, Governor Martinez used her personal Super-PAC, “Susana PAC,” to fund more than $15,000 in contributions, robocalls and attack ads against her.  The Gov’s Tea Party candidate won. We won't let them take over these elections, but we need your help. Donate to help us spread this voter guide to 8,000 households most likely to vote in these races. Click to view this email in a web browser or to share on Facebook Paid for by ProgressNow New Mexico.        ProgressNow New Mexico • 625 Silver Ave SW #320, Albuquerque, NM 87102 You can unsubscribe from this mailing list at any time.

DAPL Is On Our Doorstep

As the country celebrated MLK day I heard no one referring to the #noDAPL water protectors, perhaps there were and it was not covered. Similar to the March on Bloody Sunday In Selma Alabama, our country witnessed the bloody Backwater Bridge Sunday. We continue to witness, even on the day the celebrate MLK Day (last night), the brutal attack using fascist tactics to support corporate greed that is supported by taxpayer dollars. These authoritarian actions are designed to break and beat down the protectors. The protectors are standing up because they believe they have a moral responsibility to protect their lands, waters and children's futures.

MLK would be leading actions all over this country in support of the water protectors. There are 10states that have active protest happening to stop this production for overseas profits.

These are the coalitions and allies that must be formed to make systemic changes in our system.

It was discuss in ABq City council in October 2016 that Mayor Berry and Brad Winters were Looking into hiring BlackWater (WhiteSwan) to privatize the ABQ police force. These leaders know that this oil drilling and property taking is on the near. Horizon and instead of working to protect our water and rights, they are looking to hire the same security force that are committing all these civil and human rights violations at #NoDAPL. See pics

Rocket launchers aimed at the camp that holds woman, children, elders, with rubber bullets and tear gas in the middle of the night, in the middle of Amerikkka, in the frozen snow covered deep north, against the unarmed, against youth, against the indigenous, against the future. This is what they do for oil, fuel of hatred, fuel of greed, fuel of delusion.

In Dec over 4,000 Veterans answers the call to stand up to DAPL, a paramilitary mercenary police force.

They are on our doorstep. It is that bad.

Unarmed water protected shot in the face with rubber bullet so far over 500 water
Protectors have been arrested and over 300 have been injured. Today report of DAPL security running over a woman water protector she was transported by police we are waiting to hear on her condition. This young man was shot in the face on Monday Evening.

Follow the news on Facebook StopFrackingtheRioGrandeValley  or stopthefrackattack.blogspot.com

What can we learn from Denton Texas

Denton Texas had over 270 wells that were polluting water and air, it was already very dirty and the oil industry wanted to drill more. Denton Texas has oil and gas rigs in the city limits. So does Dallas and many other cities in the US. I am working on pushing this organizing in order to help protect the entire Alb. Basin. In Denton, Only after the despoiling of the water, air and health effects started hitting the residents did the town , in 2014, voted for a Fracking ban. Do we have to wait for that to happen here before people wake up and standup to protect their supply? We all drink from the same pond, the County commission must make the decision between water or oil. They cannot have both. Water is life!  .  In response to the 2014 city referendum prohibiting hydraulic fracturing (fracking) that passed with 59% of the vote, Texas enacted a law specifying "the exclusive jurisdiction of this state to regulate oil and gas operations in this state and the express preemption of local regulation of those operations", though it allows some "commercially reasonable" rules. Denton says it will "continue to enforce our current regulations to protect the health and safety of our residents, but we do not know how the operators or courts will react". The oil and gas industry is working with the association of counties to preempt regulations in New Mexico in this legislative session. Meaning, if allowed this will be a taking of our property rights and resources for the drilling nearly 5,000 wells (including within the city limits) from the AMREP mineral leases that were sold in 2014 to Thrust Energy. Multinational banks in Japan have purchased those Rights. Not sure if you know this but when the Sandridge application came up last year at the county they wanted to drill another well in the RR city limits as well. Are you willing to stand up for your water supply? There is a Trainwreck heading our way and we need a moratorium to discuss the water protection safeguards.”

YATES PETROLEUM CONFLICT OF INTERESTS IN THE STATE LAND OFFICE

YATES PETROLEUM CONFLICT OF INTERESTS IN THE STATE LAND OFFICE

DESERVES INVESTIGATION 

Jack Yates, employee of the NM State Land Office, is now in charge of minerals, oil and gas Leases.

The Pump jack that was installed in front of the State land Office is a donation to the State of New Mexico By the Yates Family Foundation.

"After a couple of dry wells nearly sent his partners packing in 1907, New Mexico wildcatter Martin Yates Jr. decided to take one last shot at striking oil. With help from his wife, Mary, who selected the site, Yates' third well, the Illinois State #3, became the first successful well in southeast New Mexico. The family has been on a hot streak ever since. The Yates operate more than half a dozen independent companies, some of which are direct competitors. Its flagship business, and the source of most of its money, is Yates Petroleum Corporation, reportedly one of the nation's 10 biggest privately held oil and gas producers. The family considered selling the company in 2012, but decided against it on the grounds that the $3 billion offers that the firm attracted were too low. This was before the global rout in oil prices that sent valuations into a nosedive."-- FORBES MAGAZINE

yet this year they cut their losses and settled for a measely 2.5 Billion. The Oligrachy is alive a well in NM.

Updated: Yates Petroleum of Artesia sold to Houston company for $2.5 billion

Artesia's Yates Petroleum started drilling in 1924

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

County Commissioners did vote unanimously to arbitrarily and capriciously change the term limits of 3 P and Z Commissioners.

I want to point out that the County Commissioners did vote unanimously to arbitrarily and capriciously change the term limits of 3 P and Z Commissioners. From this point on it would be a gratuitous gesture on their part to change them back again and not likely to happen. I was told that JoAnne Roake has agreed to the shortened term. 

Is that true? A strong P and Z Commission can make a strong Ordinance. A puppet P and Z Commission will do the bidding of the o and g industry. 

 

Public comments on P&Z Changes on P&Z Commission

Public Comments of the Ousting of Mrs. Rouke 

 Public Comments on the ousting of Johanna Rouke
We have posted this video so people in our community can see firsthand what happened at the county meeting on Thursday evening regarding the public comments on the ousting of Johanna Rouke. County Commissioners did vote to uniamiously to arbitrarily and Captiously change the term limits of 3 of hte P&Z Commissioners. all coments fromthe public were sound arguments and they fell on deaf ears


https://youtu.be/OTzkJ_qXwbQ

Video of Jay Block Sandoval County Board of County Commissioners meeting

Here is Jay Block's response on the record regarding Johanna Rouke ousting
On the P&Z commission

Jay Block @ Sandoval Co Commission 1-12-17 in the ousting of P&Z commissioner  Johanna Rouke meeting minutes of October BoCC shows the her term for 2 years.  The planning and zoning dept Head Mike Springfield, who appears to be pockets of oil and gas,  made the corrupt recommendation to the  Commissioner to replace people on the P&Z who will be favorable to the industry and who are not representative of the area of Corrales. Falsely comissioner  Block take responsibility for Mike Springfields attempt to plant and co-opt the policies and regulations of the open meeting act.

This is a legal forum and you don't get to yell do over without accountability.

If the County is going to rely on an Attorney who has also guided them incorrectly on the IPRA case that is front of them, I believe the County is opening themselves up to lawsuits that will cost the taxpayers in the long run. The Attorney is only giving an interpretation I agree with Jay Block on that point.

 I can tell from firsthand experience that  the Office of the Attorney General determined that the county violated the IPRA law and still will not give us the unredacted public safety emergency response plan document. These actions further disrupts and obstructs the oil and gas ordinance and our ability to comment and ensure the  public safety in an emergency. We are now lawyering up on IPRA.  Thanks Sandoval County you are only making our case stronger in The long run.

Our solution is:
1.) to fire Mike Springfield for purposefully violating the law  and for misleading the Commissioners, staff and public to seat oil friendly candidates.

2.) The county commissioners should revisit a moratorium on the oil and gas ordinance for one year so they are not obstructing further the voice of the people who have been trying to work with a corrupt county official and could avoid further embarrassment from him.

Commissioner Block had no way of knowing that Springfield was misleading him. Mr. Block  taking responsibility was a deflection of the county planning  director efforts to usurp  the law.

Voting Is The Minimum Requirement

Voting Is The Minimum Requirement 

Periodically some of us find ourselves wondering how to make ourselves heard on a specific issue. More often than not this is with regard to political issues and decisions that can affect our daily lives and the health, safety and general welfare of the public. This reference to “the health, safety and general welfare” of the public is often included within the written content of various statutes and ordinances and is included in our US Constitution and the New Mexico Constitution. 

In order to be heard we might need to research certain documents that led to decisions that we want to reference, or make comment on, or question interpretations. This research in itself might cause many of us to throw our hands up and change our minds about speaking out. But research can be very rewarding especially in its educational value. Instead of taking someone else’s opinion as gospel, our own research can lead us to know that others among us have interpreted incorrectly, or are possibly just ignorant of the real facts. 

Sometimes we might encounter interpretations of the rules we live by that are arbitrary, or capricious, another term that is important in researching an issue. This happens occasionally with bureaucratic decisions as in planning and zoning decisions. Also sometimes when volunteers are interpreting things like residential restrictive covenants on architectural committees, personal agendas can cloud decisions. A liberal interpretation as opposed to a literal interpretation can often times lead to confusion which might require one to read and reread the document or documents involved in a question.

It is up to us all to protect our rights and even the rights of others when we feel strongly. We are the “somebody” in; Why doesn’t somebody do something about this? We can’t always leave it up to others to get it done for us. They may need us, or they may be busy elsewhere at the time. And the time is now. We can’t continually procrastinatewhen there is work to be done. But where do we start? Who do we talk to? 

The following list and links are just a beginning resource that can help us get started in participating in our systemand making a good government work for us all.

The New Mexico Legislature begins a sixty day session on January 17, 2017. The NM legislature website https://www.nmlegis.gov/ is loaded with very important information and a visit to the Roundhouse and committee hearings is well worth the free price of admission. And in between hearings see our art collection which is possibly the best collection of taxpayer owned art in New Mexico.

The website can also link you to •  Bill Finder •  Find Your Legislator •  Districts •  Senate's Webcast •  Interim Committees,  And the very important NMSA statutes already in existence which we are expected to live by. 

http://public.nmcompcomm.us/nmnxtadmin/NMPublic.aspx.

Check out these links and learn more about the legal world that we live with. The next time we will discuss the federal Freedom of Information Act and “FOIA” requests, the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act and “IPRA” requests, and the New Mexico Open Meetings Act.

Mike Neas 

Placitas

In order to stop fracking we need to vote and contact your legislators.  

we do this by supporting a fossil free tax structure, a state owned bank, and a fee and dividend system to cut greenhouse gas emissions to stop the exceleration of climate change. 

NAgheezi (2016) frack site with fracking fluids spilled and contaminating the aquifer 

Commissioner Jay Block Statement concerning the P&Z commission

I received a statement from Commissioner Jay Block today in response to the flier that went out this weekend. I told Commissioner Block that I would post his side so that the neighborhood could decide on his intentions:

1-Block was told my Mike Springfield he could appoint his own commissioner as other newly elected officials have done.
2-JoAnne was upset about being removed from the commission.
3- Block reached out to discuss with her. She refused to answer phone calls
4-County attorney talked to Joanne this aft
ernoon and explained the law and how a clerical mistake does not enter into a legal binding. I was told Joanne accepted this and understands she will fill out the remainder of Sam's term which ends in Mar 2017. Sam's 2 year term started in March 2015.
5-Block will be sending out a request through his Facebook page for P&Z applicants. He is looking for technical background who has served in government and industry.
6-There was never any illegal attempt by Block
###

Commissioner Block was not aware of the meeting official record that recorded the vote as unanimous regarding filling the two year

Illegal attempt to remove P&Z Commissioner by county Admin and planning

Urgent:  Illegal Attempt to Remove Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commissioner, Jo Anne Roake (Corrales).

Appointment of Joanne Roake to P and Z.  One of Sandoval County Commissioner Nora Scherzinger’slast acts was to appoint Jo Anne Roake to the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission.   On October 6, 2016, Jo Anne was unanimously accepted by the commission to replace Corrales resident Sam Thompson, who had to resign for personal reasons.  Jo Anne is extremely well-qualified.  A retired land use attorney, she had served as chair for the Corrales Planning and Zoning Commission.  Her two-year term will end October, 20, 2018.  (This is confirmed in the video of the October 6, 2016 meeting.)

Nora, as you know, lost her seat to Jay Block from Rio Rancho. (The district, of course, includes Corrales.)  Commissioner Block now joins two other Republicans to form a majority on the Sandoval County Commission. (There are a total of five commissioners.)

What happened.  Several days ago, Jo Anne received a call from Mike Springfield, Director of Planning and Zoning, informing her that she no longer would be serving as commissioner on Sandoval’s Planning and Zoning Commission.  Commissioner Block wanted to appoint his own candidate to fill that seat.   Mike told her that the Commission was empowered to remove a planning and zoning commissioner should they so desire.

Illegal action.  This attempt to push Jo Anne off of the Planning and Zoning Commission is in violation of Sandoval County’s Ordinance” Describing the Powers, Duties and Organization of the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission. “ The ordinance makes it very clear why this is an illegal action.  

Section 2B of the Ordinance Describing the Powers, Duties and Organization of the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission (The Ordinance was passed and approved January 21,2010.)

“An incumbent member shall serve the full term unless he/she resigns or is removed for cause under the terms of this Ordinance.”

“Members may be removed for cause stated in writing, including but not limited to, frequent unexcused absences.  Members shall be removed by a majority vote of the Board of County Commissioners followed by a public hearing. ”

The consequences:  Why would newly-elected Commissioner Block and presumably the soon to be chair, Commissioner Chapman, want to have Jo Anne removed?   

Oil and gas drilling in Sandoval County.  The Planning and Zoning Commission has been asked by the Commission to develop county oil and gas ordinances, which were grossly inadequate. Is the push to remove Roake an attempt to make sure that Planning and Zoning commissioners are more sympathetic to the oil and gas industry?   Clearly the planning and zoning commission played a key role in the decision to deny SandRidge Energy the right to drill for oil near Rio Rancho. (Public outrage also was a critical factor.)

No representation from Corrales. By removing Jo Anne, Corrales no longer would have representation on the Planning and Zoning Commission.  And, of course, Corrales does not have a presence on the newly elected county commission.    Rio Rancho, on the other hand, is currently well represented on both bodies.  Three out of the five commissioners come from Rio Rancho and the zoning ordinance automatically provides Rio Rancho with two planning and zoning commissioners out of the seven slots.  

Corrales has had a representative on the Sandoval County Planning and Zoning Commission for years.  Its concerns, like those of Placitas, Algodones, Cuba, and other areas of our diverse county need to be taken into consideration.  But Commissioner Block,clearly wanted to ensure that his person, from Rio Rancho, would replace the legitimately appointed Roake.  Rio Rancho would then have three commissioners on planning and zoning.

The quasi-judicial responsibilities of planning and zoning commissions.  Removal of a P and Z Commissioner as if they were an "at will" employee is a very, very dangerous move.  Planning and Zoning Commissions have quasi-judicial responsibilities.  They must perform as if they were judges.    If commissioners could be removed "at will," this could mean that the county commission would be able to force the resignation of a P and Z commissioner whose decisions they do not like.  That execution of power is contrary to our system of government that requires an independent judiciary.

We certainly deserve to know why Jo Anne was misinformed that she was no longer required to serve on the P and Z Commission.

Just as we need to be extremely diligent about what is what is going on nationally and at the state legislative level, we also need to pay very careful attention to what our locally elected bodies are up to.

Make Your voices heard.

Your presence at these meetings really counts.

Sandoval County Commission meeting scheduled for Thursday, January 12, 2017 at 6:30 PM.  Unfortunately public comment is toward the end of the meeting and you need to put your name on a sign-up sheet before the meeting begins.  The commission meets in the county complex offices located near 528 on Idalia.  There will likely be a 3-minute limit for each public comment.

Residents of Corrales should attend the Corrales Village Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, January 10, 2016, at 6 PM. 

Some ideas /questions to state at the county commission meeting.  Below are some ideas but make it personal – what concerns you about the attempt to remove Jo Anne from Planning and Zoning.

•Who is responsible for this effort to remove a legitimately appointed planning and zoning commission?  

•Was Mike Springfield, who has served as Director of Planning and Zoning for years, aware that what he told Jo Anne Roake was in violation of the ordinance that governs the powers and duties of the planning and zoning commission?  

•Was the Director of Planning and Zoning totally ignorant of the ordinance requirements?  This does not give the public a sense of trust in this department.

•This is not only an action in violation of the law but aterrible way to treat a volunteer, willing to engage in the hard work required of a planning and zoning commissioner.  Should there not be an official apology to JoAnne?

•Since commissioners are like judges, isn’t this like putting pressure on a judge?

•Imagine telling a judge that whoever appointed him or her can dismiss him at will.

•Why shouldn’t Corrales continue to have representation on the planning and zoning commission? Rio Rancho has two representatives.  Why doesn’t Commissioner Block want to have Corrales on the P and Z?

•Our county is very geographically diverse.  The Planning and Zoning Commission is designed to reflect that diversity and not be over-represented by one area.

Comments before the Corrales Village Council

The background information and the ideas above should guide you as to what is important for our village council to know.