The Meadow Lake Residents' Association isn't going away.
That was the very clear message sent at last Saturday's meeting. One of the association founders, Rosemary Lebrecht, said she felt it was only fair that the group contact the governor.
"We sent him a letter," she said. "We got a letter back stating that our information had been forwarded to the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. I contacted his office again, and we're now on a three-page list of people who want to see him. This will take time, and we will keep going."
Several law enforcement officers were on hand at the meeting to update the association and the gathered citizens on what steps they would be taking to increase police presence in Meadow Lake.
New Mexico state police Sgt. Pat Garrett said either he or officer Randy Baldridge would be at the association's monthly meetings from now on. "We are both familiar with the problems here," he said. "We will work to assist you with the limited resources we have."
Garrett said he has sent e-mails to all uniformed officers who patrol the area and asked them to hit Meadow Lake and El Cerro harder. "We know these are areas of concern," he said.
According to Garrett, state police will also be stepping up speed enforcement, setting up a field sobriety checkpoint in the Meadow Lake area on Nov. 17 and trying to serve arrest warrants on wanted individuals living in or known to frequent the area.
Garrett also said the state police would be meeting with the Valencia County sheriff's department. "We can't do this alone," he said.
Garrett said he had been told that many citizens hesitate to call law enforcement for fear of retaliation. "You can remain anonymous," he said. "You can go through Samuel (Aragon) with a sealed letter. You don't have to tell us exactly where you live. Just give us the area. We're not going to send officers to your house so everyone knows you called us."
An operational plan will be developed to address problems and issues in Meadow Lake, he said. "We have nine officers and two sergeants," he said. "We will work on prioritizing your area to address these issues."
Valencia County Undersheriff Bill Martinez apologized for missing the meeting last month. "I'm sure you've had questions and concerns on your minds for the umpteenth time," he said.
One woman took the opportunity to speak her mind. "I've lived here for 20 years," she said. "Drug dealers and illegal aliens have moved in ... I've called the sheriff's department and, before they can get here, everything is gone.
"I called the DEA and the FBI and told them, 'don't call the sheriff's department until you're on site.' They caught the guy. Think about what I'm saying."
Martinez asked if what she was saying is that somebody is tipping criminals off. Marsh indicated she was. "Unfortunately, that's not new to me," he said. "We are trying to look at ourselves internally and trying to work on the issue. You are not the first person who has told me that."
One man in the audience voiced concern over the non-emergency dispatchers for the sheriff's department. "Please don't tell me I'm not a priority," he said.
Martinez said the county is in the final stages of getting a regional dispatch center set up.
The center will handle calls not only from the county but Los Lunas, Belen and Bosque Farms as well. "It will be one centralized center," he said. "It will have more resources, and hopefully, the people who take the calls will be more professional."
An audience member asked if the location of sobriety checkpoints had to be advertised in the newspaper. Martinez said they did. "As the sheriff's department, we usually say Valencia County," he said. Garrett said they are required to give the general area and date of the checkpoints.
Martinez was asked if the sheriff's department has a gang unit. He said it does, but it is a small one. An audience member wanted to know how many deputies are on duty between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. "That's when most of the problems happen up here," he said.
The department has two 12-hour shifts in a 24-hour period, Martinez said, and, in that time, there are four to five officers on duty.
A temporary substation in Meadow Lake was brought up again. Martinez pointed out that the department has a substation in El Cerro. "Very often it isn't manned," he said. "We don't have the resources."
Martinez said the department recently received $10,000 to implement a tactical plan focusing on Meadow Lake. "To improve the quality of life, we have to improve public safety," he said. "I'm going to go out on a limb and promise you will see a marked improvement."
Lt. Robert Shilling, a detective with the state police, said Meadow Lake has been on his radar for a long time. Shilling said his agency is planning what is called an "impact" on the area. "We dedicate full-time detectives and narcotics agents, and the sole purpose is to improve the quality of life in an area," he said. "We also ask local agencies to get involved if they have the resources."
Shilling said the primary purpose of the impact would be gang issues. "We will be identifying gang members and putting the pressure on them," he said. Shilling went on to say the state police is prepared to dedicate anywhere from $40,000 to $70,000 over the next fiscal year to impacting violent crimes in the Meadow Lake area.
"We need information," he said. "I'll have a dedicated phone number for the impact team next month, but until then you can call me at my office." Shilling's number is (505) 841-9218.
He said if he wasn't available, to leave a message and he would get back in touch. "If you want to wait until the middle of the night and leave an anonymous voicemail, go ahead," he said. "Just get us the information."
Shilling volunteered to present the Refuse to Be a Victim program to the association. "It starts with you saying you won't be a victim," he said. "I would love to give this program here." Another association founder, Bill Lebrecht, asked Shilling to present the workshop, and he agreed.
Any individual interested in attending the workshop can contact Lebrecht at 306-1549. The workshop will be held Saturday, Jan. 27, at the Meadow Lake community center from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. "Everybody bring a lunch," Lebrecht said.
The next two meetings of the Meadow Lake Neighborhood Association will be held on Saturday, Dec. 9, and Saturday, Jan. 13, at the community center. Both meetings will start at 10 a.m.
All are welcome.
Mother Nature surprised us today with a little reminder that winter isn't far away.
