Silver Hill Neighborhood Association

The Silver Hill Neighborhood Association meets the second Monday of every month at 7 p.m. at the Heights Community Center, 823 Buena Vista Southeast.  All are welcome.

The Board’s annual meeting is held in January, on that second Monday.

Time and Location of SHNA Board Meeting: The meeting was held at the Heights Community Center. The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.

Board Members Present: Jim Montalbano, Elizabeth Doak, Katy Braziel, & Rich Braziel. Sign-in Sheet

Zoning – 1611 Lead: There is a dumpster size pile of trash in the driveway for the last 6 months. There was a DEA raid there about that time and several people in the back apartments were taken away. The property owner was taken to court over the neglected property but did not show up at the hearing and a warrant has been issued for their arrest. The trash problem has been reported to the head of City Zoning, Brennen Williams, but he has not acted. Jim will set up a meeting with the SW Command to see if there is anything the police can do to help. Jim will also contact the Safe City Task Force to see if they can intervene.

Zoning – 1911 Lead: This property has a large lighted sign in violation of the City sign ordinance. The head of the City Zoning department, Brennen Williams, has been notified repeatedly but has not acted.

Medians and Parkways: Solid Waste has replace the dead trees and bushes caused by the lack of proper maintenance by the Parks Department. Solid Waste also sprayed for weed in the medians and parkway and now would be the perfect time to reseed. However, because of the end of the watering season, the Board will revisit the possibility of reseeding in the spring.  As we continue to fight for the maintenance of the parkways and mediums, we would encourage all the members of our community to stand with us in demanding that the maintenance that we all pay for in out water bill thru a special add-on is used to maintain our mediums and parkways.

Treasurer’s Report: The Previous Balance was $2,372.51 and there were Deposits of $50.00 and Interest of $0.08. Payment for “Fabrication and Installation of new Tree Plaques” resulted in a withdrawal of $249.92 resulting in an ending Balance of $2,122.59. There is $719.62 Encumbered for HCC, Keep Albuquerque Pretty, Neighborhood Nite Out Grant For Safety, & Signage resulting in an Available Balance of $1,402.97. Treasurer’s Report

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes: Due to the lack of a quorum, the SHNA Board Meeting Minutes for 10/10/16 were not approved. They will be resubmitted at the December Board Meeting.

Meeting Adjourned: 7:55pm

Time and Location of SHNA Board Meeting: The meeting was held at the Heights Community Center. The meeting was called to order at 7:07 pm.

Board Members Present: Jim Montalbano, Robert Stembridge, Elizabeth Doak, Rich Braziel, & Tom Ocken. Sign-in Sheet

Zoning – 1512 Gold: The request to fence the parking lot in front of 1512 Gold: was heard before LUCC. Jim & Tom attended the meeting and spoke in favor of securing the property at the dwelling not at the street. They have been approved for a 6’ high wire mesh fence with a narrower gate.

Titan Development: The Construction North of Presbyterian of mixed use, retail/residential, is breaking ground in November. Foundational work has started on one of the Northern lots in the area.

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes: The SHNA Board Meeting Minutes for 9/12/16 were reviewed and unanimously approved.

Meeting Adjourned: 7:45pm

Time and Location of SHNA Board Meeting: The meeting was held at the Heights Community Center. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm.

Board Members Present: Jim Montalbano, Katy Braziel, Elizabeth Doak, Rich Braziel, & Tom Ocken. Sign-in Sheet

Zoning – 1512 Gold: The request to fence the parking lot in front of 1512 Gold was heard by the LUCC. Jim & Tom attended the meeting and spoke in favor of securing the property at the dwelling not at the street. No decision has been made to date.

Presbyterian Screening Variance: Presbyterian has requested a variance to the screening requirements for Spruce between Central & Lead. Spruce has been vacated by the city and is embedded in the Presbyterian campus. SHNA does not have an objective to not having screening at this location.

Titan Development: The Construction, North of Presbyterian, of mixed use retail/residential is breaking ground in November

Presbyterian Entrance: Relocation of Presbyterian car entrance will be moved to Spruce & Central from the current location at Cedar & Central with construction starting soon.

ART Related Traffic Calming & Tree Replacement: Councilor Benton sent an email in support of traffic calming measures in the Silver Hill Neighborhood during ART construction and for one-for-one tree replacement of trees removed as a result of the ART project

UNM Central Corridor Neighborhood Study: Tom attended the meeting. The UNM study is funded through the City but is independent of the City. See attached

Committee to Review By-Laws: Jim & Teri will review and prepare recommendations for the Annual 2017 meeting.

Front Yard Parking: The City is preparing to legalize front yard parking throughout the City. The Historic Overlay Zone prohibits this and will continue to prohibit front yard parking in the Historic Overlay Zone. However, this will affect housing in our neighborhood that is not in the Historic Overlay Zone. Katy will write an email for Jim to send to Councilor Benton stating our opposition to this change.

Tree Replacement: The dead trees on Lead/Coal between Carlisle and Broadway have been replaced and the weeds have been sprayed. Thanks to Dan Humbles and his crews. A special thanks also goes out to Katy Braziel for working diligently over the years to get this to happen.

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes: The SHNA Board Meeting Minutes for 7/11/16 were reviewed and unanimously approved.

Meeting Adjourned: 8:15pm

Time and Location of SHNA Board Meeting: The meeting was held at 1900 Silver Ave SE because the Heights Community Center was closed. The meeting was called to order at 7:10 pm.

Board Members Present: Jim Montalbano, Robert Stembridge, Katy Braziel, Rich Braziel, Tom Ocken & Alanna Apodaca. Sign-in Sheet

Visitors: Terry Apodaca & Richard Hallett Sign-in Sheet

Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART): Teri Apodaca wrote a document outlining some serious concerns that she has concerning ART. Many of the concerns had already been shared with Jim and were included in a letter from the SHNA, which Jim Montalbano sent to Katherine Cordova and Ike Benton. After discussions it was decided that Jim & Teri would work to see if any additional concerns needed to be addressed. ART – Serious Concerns Continue reading →

Time and Location of SHNA Board Meeting: The meeting was held at the Heights Community Center and was called to order at 7:00 pm.

 Board Members Present: Jim Montalbano, Robert Stembridge, Katy Braziel, Elizabeth Doak, Rich Braziel & Alanna Apodaca. Sign-in Sheet

Visitors: Terry Apodaca, Richard Hallett, Marina Miletic, Stephen Bond, Katherine Cordova (Katherine.artabq@gmail.com), & Joanie Griffin (JGriffin@GriffinAssoc.com). Sign-in Sheet

Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART): Katherine Cordova & Joanie Griffin discussed the ART project explaining that even though there are lawsuits pending the City is hoping to start construction in late July or early August. The 14-month construction schedule will be broken down into short segments with work occurring on one side of the street at a time. Parking spaces will be maintained during construction and at least one lane of traffic will remain open in each direction. The scheduling of work has been coordinated with the business on Central and is designed to minimize the disruption to them. The construction between Cedar and Stanford is scheduled to start in August. The ART Stops along our Historic District are being re-evaluated with the intent of developing more historically appropriate structures. A surprise to me was that there will be FREE WIFI along the ART route. See the following attachments for more information. Construction Schedule & ART Brochure Continue reading →

Board Members Present: Jim Montalbano, Tom Ocken, Rich Braziel & Alanna Apodaca. Sign-in Sheet

Visitors: Terry Apodaca, Richard Hallett & Marina Miletic. Sign-in Sheet

Presbyterian Hospital: Presbyterian has suggested changes to put an 8’ path where Silver is now. While this is better than their initial design it will still destroy the continuous tree lined boulevard, which stretches from Yale to I-25. Why would we want to lose this beautiful street scape for 20 extra parking spaces? We recommend that it stay the way it is now.

Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART): – We anticipate that there will be negative impacts on traffic on Gold Avenue caused by people cutting through our residential neighborhood. Something that would help slow this extremely fast traffic down is a 4-way stop on Buena Vista & Gold. Other changes to the roadway configuration that will stop traffic from detouring though our neighborhood would be welcomed.

National Institute of Flamenco: The National Institute of Flamenco is having a street festival on April 22. They will be closing the street and invite the Silver Hill Neighborhood to join them.

Retail Development: Armstrong Development Project is trying to develop a new retail space on the property North of Gold and West of University. We will seek to learn more about their plans.

UNM Building Project Open House: UNM President Frank is inviting people to join him for coffee & cookies on 4/13/16 from 4:00pm to 6:00 pm to learn about UNM’s building plans. UNM Building Projects – Open House

Great American Cleanup: The Great American Cleanup is being held on April 30, 9:00am to noon. Please join us and help keep the neighborhood beautiful. Great American Cleanup

VIN Etching on Windshields: The Albuquerque Police Department is sponsoring three different Free VIN Etching events. The first one is on April 16^th and there are two events on May 7^th in different location   For additional information see VIN Etching

ABC Comprehensive Plan: The ABC Comp Plan Committee is holding meetings on 4/14 & 4/15 to share an overview of the latest Revision to the plan. There will also be public meeting on May 9^th, May 10^th, May 16^th, and May 17^th to allow people to walk through the proposed standards. ABC Comp Plan Update

Board members present: James Montalbando, Bob Stembridge, Tom Ocken, Elizabeth Doak, Katy Braziel Sign-in Sheet

Others present: Jeanie Moore, Richard Hallett Sign-in Sheet

The meeting, held at the Heights Community Center, was called to order at 7:03 pm Continue reading →

Board members present: James Montalbano, Elizabeth Doak, Tom Ocken, Katy Braziel  Sign-in Sheet

Others present: Douglas Lopez, Richard Hallet  Sign-in Sheet

The meeting, which was held at the Heights Community Center, was called to order at 7:00pm Continue reading →

Board members present: Elizabeth Doak, Gordon Reiselt, Robert Stembridge, James Montalbano, Katy Braziel, Elizabeth Doak, Richard Braziel, Tom Ocken, & Alanna Apodaca. Sign-in Sheet

Guest: Terry Apodaca, Melanie LaBorwn,Cathy Ruhl, Micah Merriman, Sham NaiK, & Richard Hallett. Sign-in Sheet

Meeting called to order: 7:00 pm

Approval of Minutes: Minutes for November were approved with changes.

Luminaries: Tom Ocken has written a report on the Luminarias this year. This will be very helpful next year. Luminarias Report

Treasurer’s Report: Elizabeth provided the Treasurer’s Report showing that we spent $427.15 on Luminarias, which left an unencumbered balance of $1,352.89. Treasurer’s Report

Lobo Beast Restaurant: Lobo Beast is hosting Sunday Fund Days where they partner with not-for-profit organizations where they will donate 20% of revenues to the not-for-profit. They would like to work with us and be part of the neighborhood.

Traffic on Gold: Terry Apodaca reported that there are still too many cars & trucks going too fast!!!! Jim will bring this back up with Councilor Ike Benton and see what traffic calming measures can be taken.

Crime Issues: There was a lively discussion about crime. 1) Smith’s is seeing an increase in crime and needs a better security presence. They also have a real problem with people walking off with their shopping carts. A lot of us call and report the shopping cart abandoned around the neighborhood. 2) Kids are not feeling safe as they walk to their school bus stops. They report being followed by weirdoes, and the stops are not safe. Terry Apodaca, Sherone Sutker, & Matt Sexton are on the Crime Committee and will work on these issues and will report back next month.

Presbyterian Expansion: Presbyterian is moving forward with their development plans.

Keep America Beautiful Grant: Katy wrote a grant for $300 to fund signage on our neighborhood trees. We also need more bags for our neighborhood trashcans. Thanks to all of you who maintain and empty these cans. You help our neighborhood clean and safe.

 Elections of Board Member: The following people were unanimously elected to 2-year terms on the SHNA Board. 1)Richard Braziel 2) Robert Stembridge 3) Jim Montalbano 4) Sherone Sutker

Elections of Officers: The following people were unanimously elected as Officers of the SHNA Board. 1) Jim Montalbano – President 2) Katy Braziel – Vice President 3) Richard Braziel – Secretary 4) Elizabeth Doak – Treasure

 Martin Luther King Day Parade: The Martin Luther King Day Parade will be held this Saturday starting at 10:00 am. MLK Parade

Meeting was adjourned: 8:10 pm