Tesuque Valley Community Association Board Meeting 2/24/2025

The meeting in the Tesuque Elementary School Gymnasium was called to order by organization Co-Chair Lynn Pickard at 5:30. A total of 24 people attended including a quorum of the Board of Directors and interested members and residents. Those present were Board Members Lynn Pickard, Jerry Barron, Christi Clancy, Jeanne Boyles, David Dougherty, and Margo Cutler, and Community Members John-Mark Horton, Anhara Lovato, Cathie Sullivan, Wendy Staples, Jennifer Wilson, Rusty Day, Jan Wisnewski, John McCrory, Rachel White, Peggy Catron, Jerry Premu, Patricia Semprez, Teresa Geisler, Robert “Rio” Hahn, Jamie Gagan, Carol Sorenson, Cam Duncan, and Linda Churchill.

The Agenda and Annual Meeting’s Minutes from Dec. 2024 had been prepared by Lynn and Christi and circulated before the meeting.

As no objections were stated, the minutes of Annual Meeting held last December were approved.
The Treasurer’s report prepared by Jeanne Boyles stated that there was a total of $3,808.79 in the TVCA bank account. Of this $2,143.21 had been designated for possible future legal expenses. Jeanne also noted that only $603.86 of the $770.00 donated towards holiday food basket expenses had been spent. Jeanne reported that she filed the required annual IRS filing.
Lynn asked for and received confirmation of the previous meeting’s election of directors and this board meeting’s confirmation of the officers. She also noted that she and Cam had been serving in their capacities for fifteen years.
The officers for 2025 are:
Chair: Lynn Pickard
Corresponding Secretary: Christi Clancy
Recording Secretary: Margo Cutler
Treasurer: Jeanne Boyles

New Community Developments and Planning:
There have been no new developments or requests for waivers submitted to TVCA in the recent past. There was discussion about the fact that Tesuque had completed its update of the Community Plan after a long process complicated by the pandemic and that now the county is re-writing the Sustainable Growth Management Plan, which presumably will form the basis of a revised Sustainable Land Development Code at some point in the future. David Dougherty and Rusty Day volunteered to follow this process.

Protect Tesuque Update:
Rusty Day provided information about the motion that had been filed to contest NMED’s conditional approval of Bishop’s Lodge recent permit related to its new septic treatment system. There will be a hearing on May 19th. The initial basis of the challenge is the alleged failure of NMED to apply state standards adopted 50 years ago to this permit. Rusty said that the state had not applied the required standards to systems discharging more than 5,000 gallons. The Hearing Officer should issue an opinion on this preliminary issue by mid-April. If she rules in favor of Bishop’s Lodge, the May hearing will provide an opportunity to challenge the specific conditions for discharge.

Land Use or Code Enforcement Issues:

Lynn said that she was not aware of any substantive issues apart from the complaint she made about the beginnings of a junkyard, which she had not heard back about.
A resident of the Griego Hill/Corte Corazon area said that their neighborhood has problems with a group of very aggressive dogs running loose and intimidating people on their own properties. So far Animal Control has not been much help. It was suggested that she document incidents of aggression with a phone camera.

Community Meeting:
On May 5th Jeanne Boyles will host another community meeting at her place on Bishop’s Lodge Road. This is intended to be a social gathering as well as meeting, and people are encouraged to bring appetizers to share. Several noted that this will be Cinco de Mayo.

Annual BBQ:

It is hoped that TVCA will be able to put on another community BBQ with the help of the Volunteer Fire Department in August, September or October. Cam Duncan and Richard Renaldo have run this event for many years and asked repeatedly for reinforcements/replacements.
A new Chair and Committee are needed, and the date should be determined at the May meeting. Lynn encouraged others to volunteer to run this event which has been appreciated as one of the best things that TVCA does for the whole community.

Other topics of Interest:
Lynn mentioned that the school is always looking for people willing to get certified and serve as tutors in reading and math. You can choose morning or afternoon and specify the day of the week you can tutor.

Several people expressed their frustration with the lack of progress with any of the recommendations that the engineers put forth in the Tesuque Roads Safety Study that was completed several years ago.
Attendees were encouraged to participate in the County’s 2/26/2025 Zoom meeting to discuss Capital Outlay needs.

Jennifer Wilson mentioned problems related to drag racing on Bishop’s Lodge Road and drug users parking in her driveway and leaving their trash behind.

10. Firewise:
Rachel White gave an update on the Firewise Program and confirmed that she had obtained another small grant for a community chipping day to be held at the Fire Station again. The target time period is late April or early May. She also hopes to put on a community meeting about Fire Risk. This seems especially timely after such a dry winter and the news that even more Tesuque homeowners have been dropped by their insurance providers. Information about a cost share program to reduce risk will be sent out with the minutes.

11. Ongoing Tesuque Clean Up Project:
Tesuque Clean Up Chairman Jerry Barron said that he wants to try some Saturday dates this year. The first of these will be on Saturday March 8th at 9:30 am. The section of roadside to be cleaned will start at the south exit from the highway and lead down to the Tesuque Triangle. The April clean-up date will be near Bishops Lodge.

12. Other:
David Dougherty suggested that members of the group meet with Justin Greene and advocate for a number of the issues discussed at this meeting. He volunteered to try and arrange the meeting.

Jamie Gagan offered handouts about what Protect Tesuque is trying to accomplish and stated that she thought both organizations had a common goal to protect the valley.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:35.