The Ridges Landowners Association

A residential community just outside Santa Fe, NM

From the RIDGES
Your community newsletter

From your RLA Board

Neighbors,

It was love at first sight.

For years Carol and I knew we wanted to retire to Santa Fe. Since 2007, we would escape several times a year from the Texas Gulf Coast to get our City Different fix. In our December 2012 visit we were determined to find our future retirement home. With our realtor, we searched all over Santa Fe for several days with disappointing results.

Carol & Roc Curry

Desperate, we broadened our search and found a new listing just out of town, As we turned off 285 onto Alma Road, we drove through THE RIDGES monuments. Continuing on Principe de Paz we were captivated by the lovely Santa Fe Pueblo Revival homes scattered among the pinon-juniper scrub grass high desert landscape. We loved the deep arroyos and rugged rock outcroppings along paved and gravel roads. But it was the VIEWS that took our breath away– the Jemez mountains draped in a blue haze, the Sandias close enough to touch, the Ortiz and San Pedro ranges, the Sangres capped with snow.- the valleys spread out before us. The vistas were intoxicating. When we stepped into the listed house, we KNEW we had found our home here in the Ridges. Many of you have expressed the similar experiences of the Ridges – love at first sight.

Our neighbors watched over our home several years until we moved here full time in November 2016. Then, we began to meet residents who generously volunteered their time to serve our community: the Roads and the Architectural committees , other board members and the then-president Victor Hesch. Looking through past issues of the community newsletters, I have seen names of residents who over the years dedicated their talent and time to establish the beauty of the Ridges, the safety and integrity of our roads, and the protection of all of us from legal liabilities. To all of you, today’s residents are indebted.

The revival of this newsletter will help foster a sense of community as we get to know our neighbors, become better informed of budget challenges facing us, and together, explore available options. We hope this newsletter will help keep us informed and enable us to work together, going forward to preserve and maintain the value of our homes, the integrity and safety of our roads, and the quality of our lives here in the Ridges.

Roc Curry
President of the Board of Directors

WELCOME

The Ridges welcomes new neighbors Dennis and Kris McQuillan at 3 South Hijo de Dios, the former home of the Ericsons.

The Mark Reinwald family purchased Doug and Ann Smith’s home at 134 Pan de Vida, relocating here from New York.

The Derek Johnsons recently completed building their new home at 9 N Hijo de Dios.

Chris and Michael Mele-Wagner broke ground on their new home on Pan de Vida. They hope to move in by early next year.

Early last year Rodney and Libby Crabtree purchased Steve and Marci King’s home at 27 Pan de Vida and are settled in.

FAREWELL

Karen Ericson has moved from the Ridges to another Santa Fe home in town.

Architectural Control Committee (ACC) Report:

By Debra Hagey
By Debra Hagey

ACC Chair

9 N Hijo de Dios: The Johnson project received a certificate of occupancy in early February. An approved masonry and stucco courtyard wall is in process. The home is lovely. We look forward to welcoming our new neighbors.

175 Principe de Paz: Gabrielle Petrissans’ studio has been completed subject to installation of an adobe wall connecting the studio to the residence.

19 Pan de Vida: The plans for Chris and Michael Mele-Wagner were approved by the ACC in the Fall of 2020. The site excavation began in January with the footings going in most recently. The project is well under way and will be a great addition to the Ridges neighborhood.

Michael Mele-Wagner

Board Members

Roc Curry
Roc Curry

President

Paul Reimus
Paul Reimus

Vice President

Kathy Kubes
Kathy Kubes

Treasurer

Sue Egan
Sue Egan

Secretary

Patricia Corres
Patricia Corres

Views Liaison

IN MEMORIAM

A year ago, long-time resident Michel Marx died at age 93. His remarkable life is recorded in the book he wrote in 2012, THE HIDDEN RIVER. He fought in the French resistance, was captured and tortured by the Gestapo and survived a concentration camp. After WWII he emigrated to the U.S. He received many honors and medals for his exploits during the war including rescuing over 50 U.S. and Brit airmen. He was active in the Ridges, serving on various boards. We offer condolences to his wife Olga.

John Ericson passed away this past May at age 92. He and Karen lived in the Ridges since 1996. John and Karen were Hollywood actors in movies and on TV. John and Karen designed and built several homes in the Ridges. They extended their acting careers on the Santa Fe stage. John and Karen continued to receive fan mail from around the world up to the present. Our condolences to Karen.

Fred Strauss passed away this past April 24th at age 72.  He and Nancy were both in TV production in New York. Fred was a producer for the NPR show SESAME STREET and ABC’s GMA. They re-located to Santa Fe after early retirement and continued producing commercials for non-profits like Christus St Vincent Hospital.  They moved into the Ridges in 2005.  Fred served as co-president of the Ridges Board in 2008 -09. Our condolences to Nancy.

Lucilo and Patricia Corres moved to the Ridges in August of 2019 from Houston. Lucilo was born in 1942 in Vitoria, Spain. He was an independent journalist, traveling extensively in Latin American before coming to the U.S.where he earned a B.A with a triple major in Spanish, philosophy and psychology. He continued with PhD studies in the Romance languages at Ohio State. On January 6th Lucilo suffered a severe heart attack and despite prompt EMT response did not survive. Our condolences to Patricia.

Ridges Photo Submission

Thank you, Larry Ross!

Please submit your photos here.

ROADS FUN FACTS

Ruts forming on N Hijo De Dios after snow melt.

HISTORY

  • All the Ridges roads are private with public access.
  • The 1990 plat shows that all our roadways have 50-ft-wide private access and utility easement across all 85 lots.
  • The Ridges Landowners’ Association (RLA) maintains the road system, including the easement onto residents’ property.
  • The RLA ‘s oversight and maintenance of the roads supports vehicle safety, pedestrian safety, fire prevention, property values and reduces liability to both the Association and to individual land owners.
  • The RLA maintains a safety zone of five (5) to (8) feet from the edge of the road to establish a safe pedestrian walking area, a snow removal accumulation area, and to facilitate ice melting and to reduce the incursion of weeds onto the road edge (see Roadside Easement Vegetation Policy).
 

ASPHALT ROADS-8,460 feet

  • Life expectancy of our paved road is in the range of 15-20 years depending on weather and continued success of maintenance.
  • All paved roads deteriorate over time due to oxidation which hardens the surface breaking up the road’s integrity. They require routine maintenance to extend their life and to postpone full replacement.
  • Maintenance includes: mowing, snow removal, crack-fill, skin-patch/edge repair, shoulder repair, seal coat and surface coating. The road expenses are covered by both annual and special assessments when the reserves are depleted.
  • Alma and the three sections of Principe de Paz were paved over several years (1992- 1998) so each section has its own maintenance schedule.
  • For example, Alma was paved by the developer in 1992 and required re-surfacing 16 years later in 2008 at RLA expense.
 

GRAVEL ROADS- 10,900 feet

  • The best case life-span of gravel roads is 20 to 25 years.
  • The gravel roads were laid 30 years ago by the developer.
  • Normal Maintenance includes: mowing and snow removal when needed, fall and spring grading to reshape the road crown for proper drainage.
  • After 30 years our “gravel” roads have effectively become dirt roads with just a scattering of gravel.
  • Without gravel aggregate base, a dirt road deteriorates exposing the native earth leading to ruts and wash-boarding; Grading exposes large native stones
  • After a heavy snow fall, the dirt road gets slushy; traffic leaves permanent deep tire ruts and causes wash-boarding.
  • All of our unpaved roads will need extensive work with total re-application of 3-4 inches of a gravel aggregate base within the next 2-3 years,
  • The roads committee is researching several options, including a chemical treatment, which will be presented to the Board and the RLA members next month along with the projected costs.
 

The Roads Committee oversees road maintenance and consists of: Mark Glaze, Charlie Whiteley and Greg Cooper. They  constantly monitor road conditions, report to the Board of Directors with recommendations and cost projections.  They also contact, schedule and supervise sub-contractors. Thank you to our hard working road committee! NEXT ISSUE ROADS FUND FACTS

 

Table of Contents

The Poop Fairy

We have bad news for some dog owners — the Poop Fairy doesn’t live here in The Ridges. Consider this a cordial reminder to all dog owners to clean up after your pets, on the pavement and off. Leaving a rock or a stack of sticks on top of your dog’s “deposit” does not count. Our roads are popular with exercise walkers in our community and they’ve reported increasingly frequent encounters with dog waste, creating an unsightly and unsanitary environment. PLEASE remember to carry those poop bags and take a minute to use them. It will make a more pleasant outdoor experience for dogs, walkers and all Ridges homeowners.

More Debris

And speaking of debris –  on occasion, beer cans, soda cans, cigarette packs and the like show up along our roads. We can’t blame the dogs for those and surely they’re not left there by any proud Ridges residents? So a big thank you and a Good Neighbor Award goes out to everyone who takes the time to pick up such trash to help keep our views natural and pristine.

BOARD MEETING

The Ridges Board of Directors last met on January 26.

West Cooper was on the Zoom call to show us the updated website that has been launched. If you haven’t logged in yet, please do, and register and update your password. West did an outstanding job and we think you will like the new version; the website is very user-friendly and easy to follow.

The board also discussed the PNM Remediation Issue and sent another letter to PNM addressing the fluid spills, damage to a quarter mile of the asphalt on the edge of the road, and gravel replacement on Rey de Reyes and Agua Viviendo. PNM claimed that they would leave the road in the same or better condition than before.

The other main topic was the condition of the gravel roads and how to best maintain them. The Roads Committee will explore several options; basically adopting a chemical treatment or replacing the gravel altogether. A full report will be given to the Board in March projecting costs and effectiveness of the various approaches. This information will be communicated to all residents, and their feedback will be sought.

The Board approved publishing this on-line quarterly newsletter to all residents.

The full minutes and financial report will be posted on the Ridges website.

The next Board meeting is scheduled for March 8th.

Submitted,
The Ridges Board Secretary
Sue Egan

FROM THE EDITOR

As editor of our revived community newsletter, I am delighted to serve along with our resident tech guru West Cooper. West’s skills are well known to Ridges’ residents. He’s the designer and caretaker of our handsome Ridges website. If you’re not familiar with it, do take a look at theridgesla.org, and sign up.

Karen Foss
Karen Foss
West Cooper
West Cooper

Most of our newsletter content will be created by you and your talented neighbors: I will serve largely as the keeper of commas and capitalization. This edition is our introductory issue. In the future your newsletter will be published each quarter, to follow closely after the board’s quarterly meeting. You can expect a letter from board president Roc Curry, a summary of recent board business from board secretary Sue Egan, an introduction to one or more of your Ridges neighbors in our Meet Your Neighbor section and other articles on topics of interest, usually penned by your neighbors.

We welcome your ideas and submissions and we also encourage you to send your beautiful area photos that we may share and credit to you.

Our hope with “Views from the Ridges” is for all of us to get better acquainted and to stay better informed. It truly will be YOUR community newsletter. Send your ideas and submissions to kc.fosssfe@gmail.com. Please include VIEWS in the subject line.

I look forward to our time together, and I hope “Views” will become a valuable part of your Ridges experience.

Editor,
Karen Foss.

MEET YOUR NEIGHBORS

Take a look at this photo of Mark and Lynn Glaze because it’s about the only time you’ll see either of these two standing still.

Mark & Lynn Glaze

Lynn and Mark say a mutual love of travel and science brought them together. They first met through AOL where they learned their interests and attitudes lined up nearly perfectly. Mark was living here in Santa Fe although based in Memphis TN for FedEx, Lynn was a banker in Birmingham, Alabama. Mark detoured home from a trip to Paris for their first face to face meeting and within a year they were married.

Finding their home in The Ridges may have been made easier by the fact that Mark was living in Cimarron and, as a runner, frequently ran the hills of The Ridges. They moved into their home at #1 Agua Viviendo in 2004 and Lynn says by now they’ve redone nearly every square inch. Mark recently retired after 31 years as a pilot for FedEx (see attached photos and dramatic video of his final landing). When you get that good news that your Covid Vaccine is ready, you may want to thank Mark; his final cargo included some of the coveted vaccine. FedEx celebrated his long career with a farewell worthy of a hero. As the former Marine fighter pilot and American Airlines pilot landed his FedEx MD-11 for the final time at the Orlando CA airport the local fire department was on hand to spray his craft with 3000 gallons of water. Not to extinguish any flames, of course, but as a dramatic tribute to his career. You may recognize Mark’s plane – it’s the same one flown by Tom Hanks in “Castaway’. Mark says despite closing on a satisfying career he does not miss flying. The responsibility and stress take a toll he says and he’s content to stay on the ground and not live out of a suitcase. Mark has turned some of his energy at home to being the main cook for the couple, picking up some tips from time spent in the Coyote Café kitchen over the years. Here in The Ridges Mark is well-known for his work as head of the Roads Committee.

Lynn Glaze was in the news a few months ago as she was honored by the Santa Fe New Mexican as one of the “Ten Who Made a Difference” (also honored were Ridges neighbors Henry and Tina Lanman, see The Santa Fe New Mexican). Lynn was lauded for more than 16 years of volunteer work at the non-profit Solace Crisis Treatment Center. The agency is devoted to bringing therapy services and support to victims of trauma who suffer from PTSD – whether due to sexual violence, military or police service, human trafficking or those who have been involved in a fatal accident. Before devoting her time to supporting Solace, Lynn worked in banking and finance and drew upon that expertise while serving as a Solace board member during a major fundraising campaign. That successful 2012 campaign is credited with stabilizing the non-profit’s finances. Lynn is also trained as a victim’s advocate and can often be found volunteering on the Solace hotline for the least desirable – and most needed- shifts: weekends, holidays and overnight. Calls to the Solace Hotline have doubled in the past year and need for all services has grown more than 30% during this time of Covid. Lynn is there whenever trauma strikes and people are in need of support. Lynn says she grew up a ‘military brat’ with frequent moves and spent most of her childhood in England. She credits her military father and grandfather with instilling a sense of service in her. And she says her grandfather gave her a most influential book that has proved invaluable, “The Gentle Art of Interrogation.”
Lynn’s first career, after college, was also in flying – she was a flight attendant for American Airlines before pursuing her finance career. Lynn says among the things she learned in that early career is – the behavior of the flying public is most erratic during a full moon. She actually kept track!

Today Lynn and Mark Glaze agree, with the turmoil they see in the world at large, they “thank the stars for living here” in the natural beauty and peace of The Ridges.

5 Responses

  1. It’s almost spring-time and it’s time to get that wood-chipper oiled and sharpened. Is there a neighbor who will loan one to a neighbor at 140 PdeP?

    BTW really enjoyed the newsletter…brings us’uns together.
    Betsy
    PS how do I reach West C?

  2. It’s such a step forward to have a newsletter again and we are extra blessed to have a star journalist like Karen Foss in charge. The articles were informative, personal and well-illustrated. Having the information shared about the roads should help all our neighbors make informed decisions in the future. Great job!

    Also West Cooper’s website design is fresh and colorful, up to his high standards.

    Congrats to the Board on these superb accomplishments!!!

    Art Merrick

  3. Great job by everyone who put together the new website. It’s by far the best one we have seen in our 30 years as (part time) residents of the Ridges. Congratulations to all who worked on it!

  4. A thousand congratulations to all responsible for the classy and informative Ridges Newsletter. It is beautiful to look at, newsworthy and a great way to build community. The sections you have included are just right from welcoming new neighbors to mourning neighborhood losses. I think the long and informational section on the roads will clear up a LOT of misinformation and will help the road warriors understand more about why maintenance is more than just a yearly gripe at the annual meeting. Karen’s expert eye and hand is evident in the organization and overall feel, Roc’s sincere and eloquent introduction was spot on. The focus on meet your neighbors was a terrific way of finding more about each other…. I also love the updates on new construction.
    Thank you to all involved. We look forward to the. Next edition.
    Suzan Z and Jim H.