URL: http://www.abqjournal.com/riorancho/opinion/334457westoped04-06-05.htm

Wednesday, April 6, 2005
Groups Kept Out of Redevelopment
By Louis Tafoya
President, West Mesa Neighborhood Association
    OTHER VOICES: The West Mesa Neighborhood Association has always worked very hard to improve the quality of life for the 3,300 family homes in our neighborhood, so we know our area does indeed need attention.
    However, we think everything has to be proper and up front. At present, the process for redevelopment of West Central, Old Coors Boulevard and Atrisco Plaza is flawed, because instead of total inclusion with equal participation for 14 neighborhood associations, as detailed in City Councilor Miguel Gomez's original bill, it appears that Councilor Eric Griego's original bill may prevail and the Metropolitan Redevelopment Area will be turned over to one neighborhood association— Alamosa.
    I presume the remaining 13 neighborhood associations will be allowed rubber-stamp functions. That was not the way we started out years ago. Then, we were all together. West Mesa was one of the original Citizens Advisory Team members, so we were involved from day one.
    West Mesa has no interest in running the show— now, or any time during the life of the West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area. All we want is to participate as an equal with all things that will be happening in the redevelopment area. When West Mesa committed more than a mile of West Central commercial real estate to "eminent domain" to the city, we believed we represented our landowners/biz owners equally and we all were going to benefit equally. I believe millions of dollars will be generated during the redevelopment. And that is the crux of the problem— big money!
    I do not want to take anything away from Alamosa, and they may very well have done many great things in their neighborhood, but I know of not one thing they have done in my neighborhood. I do know that West Mesa has accomplished many things outside our neighborhood.
    Klarissa Peña's article in the March 9 West Side Journal (detailing Alamosa Neighborhood Association accomplishments) was very impressive.
    But we can state many accomplishments achieved by West Mesa volunteer members for our own neighborhood and the southwest/northwest area of Albuquerque. Among these:
   

We were instrumental in getting American Legion Post 72 to present a new American flag to Capt. Conrad Candelaria for the official opening of Albuquerque Police Department's remodeled Shawn McWethy Police Substation.
   

We hosted and coordinated the annual Christmas Albuquerque Police Department Appreciation Day for all police officers on the Westside Area Command for eight years.
   

We provided more than 50 Thanksgiving turkey food baskets to needy families in the Southwest Mesa.
   

By the end of the 2004 legislative session, we had gathered close to $700,000 from the Legislature, and some from the city, toward renovating the old West Mesa Community Center. We started this effort in 1997.
   

We obtained a memorial from the City Council for support of a 400-acre national cemetery at the corner of Paseo Del Volcan and Central SW at the top of Nine Mile Hill. West Mesa provided most of the administrative details to Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., and her staff, and the site was one of three sites in New Mexico selected by the Veterans Administration.
   

We were involved in obtaining the arches on West Central near the Rio Grande and 64th Street.
   

We were on the Citizen Cruiser Patrol for APD's Westside Area Command on West Central from the Rio Grande to Unser Boulevard and some side streets off Central Avenue from 1997 to 2003.
   

We convinced the city to eliminate the crossovers on Coors Boulevard from Central Avenue to Interstate 40.
   

We convinced the city to reduce the speed on Coors Boulevard to 40 mph between Fortuna Road NW and I-40.
   

We obtained funding from the Legislature for APD Westside Area Command, Los Volcanes Senior Center and for West Mesa High School, John Adams Middle School and Lavaland Elementary School.
   

We provided two police bikes to APD Westside Area Command.
   

We convinced the city to install 99 new street lights in our neighborhood through the Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design program.
   

We convinced the city to install a number of four-way stop signs and traffic signals.
   

We were instrumental in closing down the Relax Motel at 5501 Central NW.
   

We assisted Capt. Candelaria and Pete Dinelli, city Nuisance Abatement Task Force leader, in closing Louie's and the Star flea markets.
    I am sure other neighborhood associations near or adjacent to the redevelopment area do good things for their areas and have accomplishments equal to West Mesa, and I do not want to diminish their deeds in any way. The intent of listing our achievements is only to illustrate that we attend to our neighborhood needs, have accomplished quite a bit and have never tooted our own horn. I think this is the appropriate time to do so.