The Edgewood Commission started its regular meeting on Jan. 16 hearing public comments on the commission’s agenda items. After about 30 minutes, Commissioners began talking about whether or not public comments should be allowed to go on as long concerning agenda items.
Sandia Airpark road maintenance
Community members voiced their appreciation and concerns about one particular agenda item; a resolution to affirm approvals and permission to taxi aircraft on internal subdivision roads of Sandia Airpark Estates.
Multiple residents of the airpark expressed their gratitude that the roads will be maintained which will improve property values at the airpark. Some even made the comment that the roads at the airpark are from the “stone age.”
However there were residents that were against it due to the town not bringing it to the homeowners association for a discussion. These residents said the roads are listed as private and are concerned the town is assigning them as public.
“There is no doubt in my mind that these are public roads,” said Frank Coppler, the town’s contract legal advisor. “The developer of the land filed a subdivision request with Santa Fe County and they dedicated the roads to Santa Fe County, and the county accepted them. That happened way before the homeowners association was formed.”
The commission approved the resolution.
Baby box approval
In November 2023, the Edgewood Commission agreed to take part in New Mexico’s safe haven program and begin the process to have an infant safety surrender device.
This device will act as a baby box, where a baby can be placed safely inside if the parent cannot care for the infant. It will be located at the Santa Fe County Fire Department on NM 344 near Venus Park. The fire department will be notified once the box has been opened and the baby will then be transported to a hospital.
Hobbs, Carlsbad, Española and Belen have boxes installed.
During the meeting, the commission moved to the next step by approving the memorandum of understanding between Edgewood and the Mid-Region Council of Governments for the $10,000 needed to plan, design, construct, equip and install the baby box.
Reverse 911 syste
Edgewood Chief of Police, Roger Jimenez, informed the town that the police department is currently working to put a reverse 911 neighborhood alert system in place.
After a recent car-jacking and shooting incident happened at the Walmart Supercenter on Jan. 3, police want to have a system that will contact citizens if a similar situation occurs.
“It will allow dispatch to contact the homes in the area and the citizens affected if we do have a suspect at large,” Jimenez said. “It will call and tell you what you need to do, kind of like a flood warning system. We’re trying to get that in place and will let you know as soon as I get an update on that.”
Jimenez says they are hoping to have it in by the end of this month.
Dear Elizabeth,
The Town attorney is wrong. The HOA has documentation dated 1994 from the Santa Fe County Land Use Department stating:
“The roads/taxiways within Sandia Airpark Estates subdivision located in Edgewood, Santa Fe County New Mexico are owned and maintained by the Homeowners Association of the Subdivision. Santa Fe County at the present time is not [accepting] roads for dedication or maintenance, as a result the approval process requires the developer of a subdivision to dedicate the roads to the Homeowners Association…”
He was also wrong when he stated that there is no signage in the airpark describing the property as private or giving instructions as to conduct of visitors. There has always been signage stating that the airpark is private, no trespassing allowed, and giving instructions such as “Airplanes have the right of way, do not park on the side of the road, leash your dogs – dogs cannot see spinning airplane props, clean up after your dog…”
This battle was started two years ago by Commissioner Powers, one of the residents in the airpark, when he argued that our roads are public because of the phrase “dedicated to the use of the public forever” on the original plat. In a second letter, the county explains, “there are no ‘title cards” for dedicated public use roads. No person may hold an effective title to a “dedicated public use road”. The second letter clearly spells out that a private person cannot own the roads. It also seems clear that the phrase “dedicated to the use of the public forever” is designed to ensure that the public within the subdivision are always guaranteed access to their properties and to keep an individual from stealing the assets of the HOA such as Commissioner Powers and his cronies within the airpark are attempting to do.
At a recent Town Commission meeting, Brent Middleton, our HOA secretary presented a quit claim deed, which had been secretly acquired, to the commissioners in which Ken White, for Blanco Air Corp (the original founder of the airpark) deeds the private portion of Rainbow Road within the airpark to the town. The roads in the airpark were dedicated to the HOA, not the county and not the town of Edgewood, and not Ken White.
Those of us who have lived in the airpark FAR longer than Commissioner Powers can only surmise that he started this battle to eliminate his need to pay HOA dues to maintain the roads. At present, he owns 4 properties within Sandia Airpark Estates.
The roads are private, belong to the HOA, and GO (General Obligation) bond money CANNOT be used to pave them. THIS is the issue.
I have all this documentation and will gladly share it with you.
Karen Davisson
78 Blanco Dr
(505)280-7960
md9680@yahoo.com