Santa Fe River Commission met Dec. 14.
Here are the minutes provided by the commission:
1. CALL TO ORDER
Meeting was called to order at 6:05PM
2. ROLL CALL
Members Present:
Member Heidi Klingel
Santa Fe County Commissioner Anna Hansen
Voting Member Patrick Smyth
Voting Member Jacob Lyon
Members Excused:
Member Vanessa Springer
Member Phil Bove
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:
Zoe Isaacson, River and Watershed Project Administrator
Andrew Wright, Attendee
Alan Hook, Attendee
3. ROLL CALL
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen moved, seconded by Voting Member Lyon, to approve the as presented.
VOTE: The motion was on the following Roll Call vote:
For: 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 October 12, 2023 Meeting Minutes
MOTION: Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen moved, seconded by Voting Member Smyth, to approve the minutes as presented.
VOTE: The motion was on the following Roll Call vote:
For: 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)
SFWA is winding down the year and willing to support the Commission as necessary (including Two Mile Pond, the Land Development Code, and lower watershed issues.)
7. INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
a. Update on Two Mile Pond Community Meetings (Andrew Wright, Project Specialist, City of Santa Fe: afwright@santafenm.gov)
The City is hosting a series of public meetings for the community to learn about Two Mile Pond and plans moving forward. Including the initial meeting at the convention center, there have been three meetings so far, and an additional one of was rescheduled due to weather (not publicly announced yet, but likely mid-January 2024 at Southside Library.) The most recent meetings have followed a consistent format of a brief presentation followed by extended Q&A. These sessions have been helpful in clarifying some of the more technical matters for members of the public (eg hydrological and ecological studies,) and the most recent on 12/5/23 was well attended (20+.) The two primary concerns that have been brought up by the public is that they wish to have a member of OSE available at these meetings, and that there is a desire for an online space where Santa Feans can submit feedback and questions to be answered asynchronously. While the City cannot entirely control the former, we are actively working on the latter.
Commissioner Hansen brought up a concern that a letter from the River Commission to John Dupuis is potentially being misconstrued in these meetings, particularly concerning the bypass channel [one slide features an extended quote.] After a discussion, there was an agreement that the letter might be misinterpreted and may need to be slightly revised.
Commissioner Hansen brought up an additional meeting held by the Canyon Road Neighborhood Association 12/6/23, which multiple Commissioners and City staff attended. Commissioner Hansen and Member Lyon noted this was a good dialogue facilitated by Jan-Wilhelm Jansens, and was a productive way to bring stakeholders together. A member of the public who also attended that meeting noted that the group is working to produce themes and research questions, and will hold subsequent meetings that the River Commission will be invited to.
b. Update on subcommittees and progress reports (Heidi Klingel, Chair, heidiklingel@hotmail.com)
Two Mile Pond (Heidi Klingel, Jacob Lyon, Anna Hansen): The River Commission has written a letter to John Dupuis in response to some proposed infrastructure changes, which might have impacted if Living River flow specifically reached downstream areas. Though some things have evolved, the Commission’s opinion at the time was in favor of full river restoration if Living River water was to flow through that proposed diversion. Dupuis then shared this letter with the mayor, and the letter has been cited by Director Roach in Two Mile Pond meetings. The subcommittee also produced some language that subsequently contributed to the Two Mile Pond FAQ webpage currently hosted by the City. The subcommittee has also been brainstorming ways to get more public participation at Two Mile Pond public meetings, both for the benefit of the public and at the request of Director Roach.
Mapping/ Monitoring (Heidi Klingel, Patrick Smyth): The subcommittee met with SFWA to discuss what a visualization would look like, and Smyth shared a prototype that is based off the larger River Runner project. The goal with better data would be to build a program that could visualize how far downstream a certain amount of flow (ex: 10 cfs) would reach. City employee Alan Hook mentioned that it might be possible to utilize data from river reports in the future.
c. Upcoming vacancies and advertising for new member(s) (Zoe Isaacson, Staff Liaison, zrisaacson@santafenm.gov)
Due to conflict of interest, Member Erdmann is stepping down. This means that the River Commission now has up to 5 vacancies to fill. The City is working on publishing these vacancies, and the Commission will hope to work with community partners to promote this opening. In addition, there may be a new vice chair elected at the next meeting (the Commission will vote on this in the next agenda.)
8. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS
a. Santa Fe River Commission 2024 Meeting Schedule Approval (Zoe Isaacson, Staff Liasion, zrisaacson@santafenm.gov)
MOTION: Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen moved, seconded by Voting Member Lyon, to Approve the 2024 River Commission
Calendar as Amended.
VOTE: The motion was approved on the following Roll Call vote:
For: Member Klingel, Santa Fe County Commissioner Hansen, Voting Member Smyth, Voting Member Lyon
Against: None
Abstain: None
Commissioner Hansen suggested that the February 8th meeting be rescheduled for February 15th and the April 11th meeting be rescheduled for following week, April 18th .
9. MATTERS FROM STAFF
Alan Hook brought in a map clarifying that according to the 1977 survey by OSE, the Santa Fe River’s official flow goes to the south through what is prominently called the ‘bypass channel.’ This was just clarification on the legal status on the Santa Fe River’s flow and the fact that City does not regulate the Santa Fe River, including the fact that the City did not remove a diversion gate. There was public discussion on this as well as the area and Public Works needs, and all parties are ready to move forward together.
Jacob Lyon asked about which agencies would need to be involved with the bridge and culvert at Cerro Gordo. It seem possible the Army Corps of Engineers, NMDOT, FEMA and City might need to be involved.
10. MATTERS FROM THE PUBLIC
11. MATTERS FROM THE COMMISSION
12. NEXT MEETING: No Meeting Scheduled
After 2024 schedule has been approved, next meeting will be 2/15/2024.
13. ADJOURN
Meeting was adjourned at 7:30 PM.
Persons with disabilities in need of accommodations, contact the City Clerk’s office at 955-6521, five (5) working days prior to meeting date.
https://santafe.primegov.com/public/portal
