Santa Fe River Commission met Sept. 14.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
1. CALL TO ORDER
Call to order at 6:14 PM
2. ROLL CALL
Members Present:
Member Phil Bove
Member Heidi Klingel
Santa Fe County Commissioner Anna Hansen
Voting Member Patrick Smyth
Voting Member Jacob Lyon
Members Excused:
Member Vanessa Springer
Member Emile Sawyer
Member Rachel Kullman
Member Andrew Black
Member Susan Coulter
Voting Member Daniel Spivak
Voting Member Andrew Erdmann
Voting Member Michael Gonzales
Others Attending:
None
3. ROLL CALL
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen moved, seconded by Voting Member Lyon, to Approve the Agenda as Amended
VOTE: The motion was approved on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Bove, Member Klingel, Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen, Voting Member Smyth, Voting Member Lyon
Against: None
Abstain: None
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. Approval of the June 15, 2023 Meeting Minutes
MOTION: Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen moved, seconded by Voting Member Lyon, to Approve the June 15th meeting minutes as presented.
VOTE: The motion was approved on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Bove, Member Klingel, Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen, Voting Member Smyth, Voting Member Lyon
Against: None
Abstain: None
MOTION: Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen moved, seconded by Voting Member Lyon, to Approve the June 15th Meeting Minutes As Presented
VOTE: The motion was approved on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Bove, Member Klingel, Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen, Voting Member Smyth, Voting Member Lyon
Against: None
Abstain: None
6. COMMUNICATIONS FROM OTHER AGENCIES/COMMITTEES
a. Update from the Santa Fe Watershed Association (Amara May, Director of Stewardship and Community Outreach: amara@santafewatershed.org)
SF Watershed association reports that they are wrapping up the Watershed Fest, two successful events so far, final community clean-up event happening Saturday 9/16 at La Farge library. This final event is coordinated earlier than it has been in years past due to weather conditions, and will coincide with Keep Santa Fe Beautiful event Toss No Mas. Saturday 9/23 there will be a tree pruning and rain garden morning workshop facilitated by Zoe Isaacson (River & Watershed Manager) and Athena Bashur (Seeds of Wisdom.) In October, will be helping support erosion control work day. 5th grade field trips and watershed tours that are done with support of water conservation office continue as well. The scope of work for upcoming contract with the City is also being updated. Finally, working with Rich Schrader to begin pilot volunteer community monitoring project to identify the wetted expanse of the Santa Fe River which will benefit the public, anyone present is welcome to participate.
7. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
a. 2023 Target Flow Hydrograph Update (Patricio Pacheco, Public Utilities Water Resource Analyst: pmpacheco@santafenm.gov)
Patricio Pacheco gave an informational update on the 2023-2024 SF River Target Flow hydrograph. Peak flow has been slightly reduced due to a River Commission decision, which seems to have had beneficial effects; by keeping the channel wetted releases travel further downstream. Spring rains were helpful for the reservoir as well, though the emergency valve needed to be opened. An extremely dry July and August impacted flows into McClure and limited the availability of the full allotment of Living River Water during mid-summer.
b. Update on Santa Fe Municipal Watershed Source Water Protection with the Santa Fe National Forest (Alan Hook, Public Utilities Water Resource Coordinator: aghook@santafenm.gov)
Alan Hook presented an update on the source water protection plan, including burns and vegetation management. North Nichols area had a prescribed burn recently (Fall 2021), and North/Northwestern edge is next for broadcast burn (end of September through potentially November dependent on conditions.) Community safety is being prioritized when scheduling and attending to logistics. Prescribed burning has changed in the past several years, including: more staffing, slow/ gradual progress, more monitoring including post-burn infrared monitoring, daily decisions involving the supervisor’s office whether to burn or not burn that day, and aerial ignition which takes less time. Many organizations involved (City of SF, SF County, Forest Stewards Guild, Los Alamos FD, Tesuque Pueblo, USFS, etc.), and community safety and public events are part of the decision-making process.
Commissioner Hansen asked about who will be doing the actual burn, which will be done by a combination of the collaborative organization and contracted pilots directly supervised by the Forest Service burn bosses such as Brandon Glen (sp?). Commissioner Hansen asked what chemical they would be using to burn, which is potassium permanganate 1% by volume and ethylene glycol (this is an established USFS method that has been in use for several years.) Chair Klingel also asked if there was a way to encourage fire crews to install check dams, water bars, and other bmps that prevent erosion (ex: along UTV tracks) since that has been an issue in the past, which might be easier since they have more staffing this year. Mr. Hook agreed this would be a good idea and said he would mention this to staff.
Alan Hook also presented an update on water infrastructure sites that have been deemed as at risk of wildfire hazard and efforts to protect them. This primarily includes vegetation management near critical infrastructure (tanks, booster stations, etc.) in conjunction with USFS. This will not be burning, primarily cutting and hauling or chipping and/or hauling. RiverSource had a youth crew out there that helped survey, this will be a good thing for our infrastructure. Hook concluded his presentation showing a handful of Ponderosa pines that may need to be dropped to install a camera with infrared capabilities looking up the slope for fire protection and awareness. Chair Klingel asked about one tank in Summit 2 neighborhood, which Hook clarified will be protected thanks to help from the community.
8. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS
Chair Klingel opened discussion on Santa Fe River Commission Initiatives, which were originally distributed by Ms. Isaacson via email and was redistributed during the meeting. Ms. Isaacson explained that this could take the form of subcommittees focusing on various target areas related to the river and watershed, and asked if there were any initiatives that were particularly interesting to commissioners. Klingel asked about rain gardens and how involved the commission can be on designing these, and Ms. Isaacson clarified that there is a decent amount of latitude up to the size that an engineer would need to get involved. There are also opportunities for networking and grant support for rain gardens. SF Watershed representative asked a question about upcoming City meetings and whether it would be prudent for commissioners to attend the code change suggestions meetings, and the general conclusion was that attending public meetings is generally a good way to get involved and build awareness in the City’s process. Alan Hook added that this particular meeting might be more focused on logistics while the next meeting in the series might be easier to comment during.
Commissioner Patrick Smyth asked if commissioners with specialized skills in GIS would be able to use the City’s GIS software, which would be a possibility. Chair Klingel requested commissioners go through the list and come in to the next meeting with a few ideas for what subcommittees they might be interested in. Ms. Isaacson encouraged commissioners to attend other committee and public meetings if possible, and identified GIS, GSI, and public education (graphics, River Talks) as potential areas that commissioners could help with.
9. MATTERS FROM STAFF
a. Summary of the River Talk series (Zoe Isaacson, River & Watershed Manager: zrisaacson@santafenm.gov)
Andrew Wright (Project Specialist, Stormwater) presented briefly on the River Talk series and a survey administered to attendees, which seemed to indicate the program’s success. There is a huge potential for growth in the River Talks, and Ms. Isaacson encouraged commissioners to become involved if they wanted to.
b. sMS4 Annual Report and Summary Posting Update (Zoe Isaacson, River & Watershed Manager: zrisaacson@santafenm.gov)
Ms. Isaacson discussed the draft MS4 documents that have now been posted online, which outlines steps toward maintaining the City’s stormwater discharge permit.
10. MATTERS FROM THE PUBLIC
Members of the public expressed brief questions including a request for future presentation on the river fund, questions about potential signage along the river trail, a pedestrian underpass near W Alameda and St. Francis, and the potential for using drainage pits in new construction.
11. MATTERS FROM THE COMMISSION
The meeting closed on an invitation to attend the upcoming City meeting on Two Mile Pond, and a request to potentially attend the next meeting in-person.
12. NEXT MEETING: October 12 2023
13. ADJOURN
Persons with disabilities in need of accommodations, contact the City Clerk’s office at 955-6521, five (5) working days prior to meeting date.
Meeting adjourned at 8:02 PM
https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal
