With nearly a quarter-million dollars in hand, work could begin quickly on the long-delayed trails, or paths, along upper Meadowlark Lane from Loma Larga to Rio Rancho. A state grant for $243,500 was formally accepted by the Village Council at its September 28 meeting to “plan, design and construct the West Meadowlark Lane Trail.” Planning has, in fact, been under way for more than a decade. The proposal to construct bicycle lanes or paths that would link bike lanes along Loma Larga to those in Rio Rancho has been endlessly scrutinized since 2009, and was to have been implemented at roughly the same time the roadway was  realigned two years ago.

But it’s complicated. Corrales got a grant for almost as much, $214,000, in 2011 but turned the grant back to the Mid-Region Council of Governments due to strong opposition among homeowners along upper Meadowlark who insisted the initial plan would cause multiple problems including damage from stormwater drainage and collisions with cyclists.

Prospects that the Village might buy the Corrales Road frontage adjacent to, and just north of, Wells Fargo Bank advanced in late summer. An appraisal is expected this month or next for the vacant three acres owned by descendants of Corrales’ founder, Juan Gonzales Bas, for possible use as a “village center” linking the Village Office complex east of Corrales Road, La Entrada Park and the library, and the 5.5-acre heritage farm extending west to the Corrales

At a work-study session October 5, Mayor Jo Anne Roake and members of the Village Council considered recommendations from Village Attorney Randy Autio on how to offer homeowners more protection from intensive marijuana-growing operations without running afoul of State law. Those recommendations were not made available to Corrales Comment by the deadline for this issue. But based on the attorney’s earlier advice, greater protections from cannabis odors, ventilation fan noise and grow-lights could be possible by requiring wider set-backs from residents’ property lines.

Complaints about disturbances from already-existing cannabis operations in Corrales have been lodged with Village officials. The following came from a resident near the greenhouses in the Corrales del Norte neighborhood operated by Spencer Komadina: “It is 12:45 a.m. September

The Halloween trick-or-treat party at the Corrales Recreation Center is back on! But it will be in daylight hours rather than spooky night time, according to Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Siverts. The time had not been set by press time for this issue. Referred to here as a “Trick or Trunk or Trailer” event, the basic idea is that kids, and older folks show up in Halloween costume and bravely enter creatively assembled haunted houses, make-shift graveyards and other scary settings in transformed vehicles to collect candy or other treats.

“We are going to do the event,” Siverts said October 4. “We are going to be changing the time to be a daytime activity, and we are going to get rid of the balloon portion due to it being daytime.

“We are going to need donations of candy and vehicles to participate. We will not have electrical power this year, as we don’t see

Balloon Fiesta week is here, when Corrales eyes turn upward to see jeweled skies, with bursts of colorful balloons festooned in the atmosphere like so many Christmas ornaments. Of course the scenery closer to the ground is not so pretty. Lines of crawling cars seem to be everywhere. This year, the traffic seems especially bad, due to a confluence of several events. The Balloon Fiesta is certainly a factor, attracting hundreds of thousands of people to Albuquerque on a normal year. Even during the pandemic, the fiesta is expected to attract tens of thousands of people, and that influx can be felt on the streets of our little village. Many more travelers than usual seem to be

Proposed construction of a casita —or alternatively, an office and workshop— at 66 Bad Coyote Place was approved by the Village Council after a September 16 hearing at which Ken and Kathleen DeHoff expressed disagreement with decisions by the Planning and Zoning Office. Initially they had sought a building permit for a 600 square-foot structure labeled as a casita, but that was rejected by Planning and Zoning Administrator Laurie Stout. The DeHoffs re-submitted plans with modifications including re-labelling areas as  an office and workshop, and that was rejected as well.

Another re-submittal came August 15. which the P&Z administrator approved. But in the DeHoffs’ appeal, they asked the Village Council to overturn Stout’s rejection of the original plan.

In their appeal to the Village Council, they argued, “The first submission of July 19 referred to the area as a casita with bedroom and kitchen with no appliances. The

Aaron Gjullin has resigned as Village Clerk to continue his education to become a  physician. He replaced the previous clerk, Shannon Fresquez, in May 2020. He had worked for the Village of Corrales since 2008 when he was hired as a lifeguard at the recreation center, and was promoted to head life guard in 2017. Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Siverts observed his work and dedication and hired him as an assistant in the Parks and Recreation Department, a position he held before appointment as 

Corrales Elementary School had a successful 2021 Jog-A-Thon in spite of the pandemic, earning a record $27,000.

According to Kristen Coffman, vice president of the Corrales Elementary PTA, success was due to the “spirit and attitudes of the runners,” as well as many sponsors.  “The school would like to thank the entire community for all their

Two members of the Corralitos 4-H Club, Abigail McSween and Aiden Ashbrook, took top honors at a Youth Small Animal Expo organized by Sandoval County extension agents. The event attracted more than 240 entries of rabbits and poultry from around the state. McSween won best of show in the rabbit special fur competition, while 

By Stephani Dingreville

Imagine you discovered $4.7 million dollars in excess funds in one of your bank accounts.  Before you spent a penny, wouldn’t you first want to find out how it got there?

That was the first step the Corrales Village Council took when $4.7 million was discovered in a Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) at the end of 2019. McHard Accounting Consulting LLC, a forensic accounting firm located in Albuquerque, was engaged to this end. The McHard firm was to perform an assessment of the LGIP funds and make a determination their origin. Anne M. Layne, partner of the firm and Janet McHard, the firm’s founding partner came to deliver their report to the village council during the August 2020 council meeting.

Layne reported that for many years in a row, the Village revenues outpaced the Village expenditures. She explained that this is something that often goes unnoticed

By Stephani Dingreville

Imagine you discovered $4.7 million dollars in excess funds in one of your bank accounts.  Before you spent a penny, wouldn’t you first want to find out how it got there? That was the first step the Corrales Village Council took when $4.7 million was discovered in a Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) at the end of 2019. McHard Accounting Consulting LLC, a forensic accounting firm located in Albuquerque, was engaged to this end. The McHard firm was to perform an assessment of the LGIP funds and make a determination their origin. Anne M. Layne, partner of the firm and Janet McHard, the firm’s founding partner came to deliver their report to the village council

By Stephani Dingreville

Villagers have been wondering about the seeming halt to construction happening at the much anticipated Local Motive restaurant site on Corrales Road. According to Shannon Byrne, one of the founders of the proposed restaurant, the setbacks have

More than 60 artists will have their work displayed in the Old Church through October10. The Old Church Fine Arts Show, now in its 33 year, is a collaboration between the Corrales Historical Society and the Corrales Society of Artists. The juried exhibit is free and open to the public with COVID-19 precautions maintained. No admission is charged and parking is free. The show will be online starting October 11, continuing until October 31 at http://www.corralesoldchurchshow.com. All art is for sale; a portion

A Day of the Dead event is planned at Casa Perea Art Space, 4829 Corrales Road, October 30  through November 4. Corrales Poet Laureate Rudy Miera invites submission of poetry in any form for the event, along with photos, mementos, toys and other

One of the world’s most popular brass ensembles, The Canadian Brass, has been booked for a concert in Popejoy Hall Sunday afternoon, January 9.The group’s concerts range from Baroque and Dixieland tunes to new works created especially for

Engineer Michael Smerechniak died August 19, at 94. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in engineering at New York University, and parlayed his education into a career building aircraft such as the still-in service A-10 Warthog, B-1 Lancer and the Space Shuttle. He was the father of Elena Kayak. He met his

Corrales physician Karam Sonu Bhalla, specializing in internal medicine and anesthesiology, has opened a practice in Corrales. He has implemented a “concierge” model which offers a more intensive, personalized approach to health care. The first Corrales physician to offer such a practice here, Alyson Thal, opened Corrales Family Practice in 2012. Raised in India, Bhalla earned his medical degree at the University of Tennessee in Memphis followed by residencies in internal medicine and anesthesiology at the 

Restoration of the old one-room schoolhouse where Corrales kids were taught from the 1870s until 1925 is to be complete before next summer. John Perea acquired the building after the 2008 death of his uncle, Bobby Perea, who lived there. For years the earthen structure at the corner of Corrales Road and Rincon Road was all but swallowed up by dense Tree of Heaven sprouts. Adobe walls were sagging and parts of the interior were rotting away. Perea hopes to complete installation of a new floor and roof sometime before spring. “We would be very fortunate to have the electrical done and have a certificate of occupancy by next spring.

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