News


Visitors to this web site...my apologies for not keeping this site up to date. Not a lot happens here in Bosque Farms, but what does concern you I will try to keep you informed. I have kept most of the older postings on this site. So the chronology is: newest postings on top, older postings at the bottom of the page.


March 2012 Election

The Village had a municipal election on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. This was a completely uncontested election. A big thanks to the voters of Bosque Farms for electing me Mayor! Wayne Ake and Dolly Wallace were elected to the Village Council. Lar Thomas was elected Municipal Judge.


Library Addition Update

The Legislature and the Governor signed to very important pieces of legislation for the Village of Bosque Farms in the 2012 State Legislative session. An extension was granted for the use of the existing library addition funds through FY14. Our request for additional funding to build the library addition was also granted. We are going to receive $130,000 to finish the addition. Thanks go to Representative David Chavez, Representative Kiki Saavedra, and Senator Ulibarri for their support in providing the capital outlay monies for this new funding. Thanks to the Governor, as well, for signing the legislation. The Village hopes to have this project completed by the end of the calendar year.


Upcoming Election

The Village will have an election for Mayor, two Village Council positions, and the Municipal Judge, on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. I am running for Mayor, after having served two terms as a Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem. I would greatly appreciate your vote.


Land Purchase

The Village has purchased the "old Woodall place", that run-down property adjacent to the recreation park and the Community Center. The Village contracted to remove some hazardous materials from the property. The Village plans to demolish the structures and send them to a landfill. If anything is salvagable we will look at resale. The big concern is the elm trees and what to do with them. The Village has no specific plan for what to do with the property over the long term, but ideas are being kicked around. All of which cost money that we do not have at this time. We hope to make the east side of the property into additional parking for the recreation site and the Community Center for the time being. Cleaning up this property will be a good thing for the Village.


Animal Control Ordinance

The Village recognized a couple of years back that there were 3 separate ordinances on the books that covered different aspects of animal control. A committee was formed to look into combining the existing ordinances and making sure that they provide proper safeguards for animals. This committee put in a significant effort to craft a proposed ordinance. Several workshops were held with the Governing Body to discuss the proposed ordinance. The Village attorney also reviewed the proposed ordinance and recommended some changes. There are several key issues that have not been resolved, including the potential need for registration of all dogs and registration of breeding kennels. Stay tuned to the Village website for future meetings to discuss the finalization of this important ordinance.


Library Addition Update

I wrote a proposal to the legislature to get funding for a library addition a couple years ago. 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. We hired an architect who has completed the design. They 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 an amount much less than the original estimate. I will ask the legislature for additional funding this year, but it is not likely given the economic situation. The Village needs to commit the remaining funds by the end of 2012 or the State will take the money back. I hope the Village can go forward with this construction, as it would be good for the Village and good for the economy.


Water Tank #1 Rehabilation

I wrote a proposal to the legislature to rehabilitate water tank number 1. We hired WH-Pacific engineering firm to oversee the rehab. They completed the tank rehab in 2008 and performed the one year inspection in 2009. Everything went quite well. Water tank number 2 was inspected and appears to be in good shape. It should not need any rehab for some time.


Maintenance Building

The Village asked the legislature for monies to build a new maintenance shop. When the police and fire complex was constructed a few years back the Village had to take down the old building. We determined it was not worth salvaging and sold the old metal building. The new maintenance building was constructed adjacent to the sewage treatment plant. It was completed during 2009.


Multi-Use Path Update

Many thanks to Councilor Virgil Proctor and his committee for completing the multi-use path. Over the past several years they have put up 4 shade structures along the path. They installed water fountains at three of the four stations. They put in some exercise equipment adjacent to the tennis courts as well. I see a lot of residents using the path. Stay safe out there!


Water and Sewer Utility Rates

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.


Summer Youth Recreation Program

The Summer Youth Recreation Program is underway again this year. This is the third year for this program. It was extremely successful and popular the last two years. Kids age 6 to 16 may participate with their parents written permission. Two recreation leaders are at the recreation park each weekday between June 3 and August 1. They facilitate activities for any kids that come to the park, from sports to board games to water balloon fights. This is an excellent opportunity for kids to get outdoors, exercise, and be with their peers. I encourage kids to get involved and the parents to support this activity. In addition, the Los Lunas Schools District is supplying free lunches to the kids at the park. A volunteer has offered to provide some tennis lessons to the kids as well. Please support this important program for our youth!


Funding from the Legislature and the Governor

I want to thank the Legislature and the Governor for supporting Bosque Farms in the 2008 Legislative Session. The Village will be receiving over $450,000 from the State in the next fiscal year. Some of the projects being funded include an addition to the library, another shade structure at the recreation park, EMS equipment, a police car, and some funding for the sewer plant. Please contact our Representatives, Kiki Saavedra, Elias Barela, and Andrew Barreras, our Senator James Taylor, and Governor Bill Richardson and thank them for their support.


Election Results

The election took place on Tuesday, March 4, 2008. Thank you, residents of Bosque Farms, for re-electing me to another 4 years as a Village Councilor. I appreciate your support.

The election results are as follows:

 Mayoral Candidates

 # Votes
Wayne Ake

 593
 Council Candidates

 # Votes
Bob Knowlton

 471
 Russ Walkup

290
 Dolly Wallace

 434
 Municipal Judge Candidates

 # Votes
 Bob Kavanagh

 320
 Brad Fitzgerald

 214
 Terry Griffin

 115

Congratulations to Mayor Wayne Ake, Councilor Dolly Wallace, and Judge-elect Bob Kavanagh on their wins! I want to thank the other candidates for their efforts. Everyone ran positive campaigns, with no mud-slinging! That speaks volumes for each and every one of the candidates.

If I got the numbers right, there were a little over 680 votes cast in the election. Thank you to everyone that got out and voted. Your voting is greatly appreciated!


Meet the Candidates Gathering

On Saturday, February 23, 2008, there will be an opportunity to meet the candidates for the upcoming municipal election. Join us at the new Paradise Donuts shop at the corner of Highway 47 and Pine Street from 11 am to 2 pm. There will be some free coffee and donuts for those wishing to meet the candidates. The Mayor, the 3 Council Candidates, and the 3 Municipal Judge candidates have all been invited.

Also, I wanted to remind everyone to vote. You can still vote early at the Village office during the following week, from 8 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday. The last day for early voting is Friday, February 29, 2008. The election will be on Tuesday, March 4, 2008, at the Bosque Farms Rodeo grounds in their Cowboy Hall.


Meeting on Senior Support Services

On Saturday, March 8, 2008, at the Bosque Farms Community Center from 10am to noon there will be a program showcasing support services for seniors. This should be very informative for seniors that might benefit from free support from State and Federal programs. Thanks to Lillie McNabb for organizing the event! Spread the word, let our seniors know about the event.


Legislative Update

Mayor Wayne Ake, Police Chief Joe Stidham, and I made a trip to the Roundhouse in Santa Fe for the 2008 Legislative session on Thursday, January 24, 2008. Our main purpose for being there was to present testimony to a Legislative House committee regarding the funding requests that the Village has made to the Legislature. The Mayor did an excellent job presenting our requests and answering a few questions from the committee. We also met individually with each of our House Representatives, Kiki Saavedra, Elias Barela, and Andrew Barreras. We also spent some time with our Senator, James Taylor. Each of our Legislators is backing our requests. They all cautioned us not to be too optimistic this year about the level of funding, because there is less to spend this year compared to last. The Legislature has a lot of on-going commitments to honor, as well as needs in the transportation area, education, and health care. Still, they were all up-beat about helping Bosque Farms. Some of the requests that were presented to the Legislature included: funds for an addition to the Library, a meter-reading system for the water department, a dewatering system for sewage sludge, equipment for the EMS service, additional equipment for the in-car computer systems for the police, and a permanent shade structure for the playground at the recreation site. This year is a 30 day session. I would expect to hear from the legislature by the middle of February what kind of funding they are able to support, and then the Governor's final approval would come sometime in March. Let's hope for the best!


Really Excellent News!

The Village just received word from the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) at the beginning of January 2008 that we are now in compliance with the new arsenic standard (see more information on this topic in my Opinions and Accomplishments web page). The NMED sampled our wells at the end of 2007 and determined that we are now in compliance, with the arsenic levels in both wells right at 10 parts per billion (ppb), the highest amount allowable under the new law. The NMED will come back in 3 years and sample again. If we are above the limit at that time, we will have to start a compliance program. But in the mean time, we have a reprieve for three years. That is excellent news for the residents of Bosque Farms!


Election Time

On Tuesday, March 4, 2008, the Village will hold a general election for 4 elected offices: Mayor, 2 Council positions, and Municipal Judge. Please exercise your right to vote. I would greatly appreciate your vote for me to continue as a Village Councilor. The voting is from 7am to 7pm in the Cowboy Hall at the Bosque Farms Rodeo Association (BFRA) grounds.


The Bosque Farms Fair

The Bosque Farms Fair is one of the longest running, if not THE longest running, town fairs in the State and possibly the nation. It's a wonderful little fair. There are all kinds of agricultural exhibits, contests, food, a car show, a parade, a toad race, an auction, horseshoes, a 4-H horse show, and a Queen's contest, to name but some of the events.

The Fair is scheduled for the first weekend in August every year. Please mark your calendars and support the Fair. The 2008 Fair will be the 69th annual event! It's a really great community event.


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