Greentree to hold public meeting May 21

Greentree Solid Waste Authority

PO Box 2405, 26590 US Highway 70

Ruidoso Downs, NM 88346

(575) 378-4697 * 1-877-548-8772 Fax (575) 378-4896

www.greentreeswa.org

Contact:  Debra Ingle, Operational Supervisor 

Phone:     (575) 378-4697

FAX     (575) 378-4896

Email:     gswa@greentreeswa.org

For Immediate Release 

“GSWA to hold May 21st Public Meeting in Carrizozo”

The Greentree Soldi Waster Authority Board of Directors will hold a public informational joint meeting between the Authority Board and all of its member municipalities.  Mayors and Councils, County Commissioners.  The genersl public including all GSWA customers is also encouraged to come and participate in the meeting.  The costs of illegal dumping cleanup, yard waste collection, special clean up events and other topics will be discussed.  

Questions will be taken from the audience.  The public meeting will be held on Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 6pm in the public school multi-purpose room located at 800 D Avenue on the campus of the Carrizozo School.  The multi-purpose room is located across the street from the Carrizozo School's Administration Building.  Enter the school campus off of Airport Road.  Parking is available on the school campus.

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For more information, contact the GSWA office at 378-4897 
or toll free at 1-877-548-8772.                     

Almost a month ago....there was a small fire in Little Creek

Yes, there was a small ground fire in Little Creek subdivision on April 23.  But no need for concern or worry to homeowners  I am just informing you because of the AMAZINGLY fast response by Bonito Volunteer Fire Department, Sheriff Department, volunteer firefighters and Forest Service personnel.  About 12 different emergency vehicles responded immediately and knocked out the ground fire.  One of the vacant properties where the fire traveled was previously owned by my sister.  My husband and I had cleaned it for her with an in-kind grant from the NM Forestry around 2002.  So I was very familiar with the layout of that property and those surrounding it.  Exploring the vacant land once owned my family member, I could see where the fire traveled and also where firefighters drew a fire line along the sometime creek. .

SO - the most important lesson learned, besides keeping your land free of slash and ground clutter, is that our local fire fighting services are FAST.

THANK YOU to all the fire fighters!

Fire traveled below power lines, staying on the ground.

Fire line by fire fighters by sometime creek

Rocks don't burn - Monjeau Tower is an excellent example of that fact.

Photo from Nov 2002 while clearing property

Need plants for your garden?

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New meter reading system for the water district

Sun Valley Water is implementing a radio-read meter system from Neptune.  We started with 40 meters installed in Little Creek subdivision and are working into the Sun Valley subdivision as funds allow us to buy additional meters. Your April water bill came from reading meters using this new system.  You may have seen Joe Buchanan and Sharon Stewart out reading  meters together on April 23. (PS-if you find a Tasmanian Devil watch in your yard - call Sharon, please.)

Out learning the "Nomad" hand-held radio read: Joe Buchanan, System Operator; Marc Stewart, Vice-Chairman SVW&SD Board; and Matt Wheaton from HD Supply.  Not shown is bookkeeper Sharon Stewart (the photographer).

Background Information - How we got the first 40 meters, the Nomad, software, and training:
Chairman Jim Miller contacted our NM State Representative, Zach Cook, with a SVWSD
legislative capital outlay request, and asked that Sun Valley be placed in the
queue to receive a share of legislatively appropriated funds for Cook’s district.
Cook was able to secure $20,000 for SVWSD to start a project replacing older
water meters to new ARM meters, which will be invaluable in the district’s high
altitude, hilly terrain that is often covered with snow in the winter. Miller also
contacted the Ruidoso High School Ag Mechanic’s shop program about paying
students to cut holes in existing SVWSD meter lids to enable ARM antenna usage.
This community outreach program gave shop students a lesson in cutting cast iron
with a plasma cutter, in ARM water meter technology, and earned the shop
program some needed funding.

Time to Cut Down Dead Trees

Freddie Serna

Heavy winds are now sweeping through the south central mountains, including through the Sun Valley Water & Sanitation District. Dead trees standing for the past couple of years are now beginning to blow down. Several, for example, have narrowly missed houses near the trash compactor. Local insurance companies advise that if you have not removed dead trees on your property, and then the trees blow down on your neighbor's house, you will probably be liable for damages. Empty lot owners and lot owners with houses can take advantage of the list of tree cutters provided below to remove hazard trees. Remember, too, that cutting the logs into stove or fireplace sized pieces and stacked next to the curb will reduce your material removal costs or keep you under your 12-cubic yard per year limit. (A blog post about Greentree slash rules will follow.)

Local tree cutters include:

1. Coy Stambaugh  575.937.4179
2. Freddie Serna 575.258.4952
3. Robby Hall 575.937.2721
4. Joe Romero 575.808.4477 or 575.257.1921

Greentree Solid Waste Authority rules for slash pick up

Forest waste or slash pickup occurs on a rotating eight to 12-week schedule in the Greentree Solid Waste Authority service area north of the village of Ruidoso.

Property owners with residential structures on their land are eligible for 12-cubic yards of forest slash pickup per fiscal year, July 1 to June 30. Owners are responsible for the proper disposal of forest slash and yard waste and for the actions of their contractor's handling of slash, if one is hired.

Property owners also can chip and masticate on-site; haul away to an approved disposal site; or burn slash when conditions permit in unincorporated areas of the county.  Notify Lincoln County Sheriff's Office Dispatch at 800-687-2419 of any intent to burn and to verify open burning status.

The guidelines for Greentree forest slash and pine needle collection include:
— Piles may be placed on residential property lines with no overhead utility wires, adjacent to county roads to ensure grapple trucks can reach the pile.
— Do not place piles too close to fences, overhead wires or culverts.
— All tree branches and trunks must be cut to 4-feet lengths or smaller.
— No construction tree stumps, lumber, household trash, metal or rocks should be present in piles.
— Piles are collected only on lots with houses. Collections are paid for as part of quarterly residential solid waste bills.
— Piles on vacant lots or at commercial businesses will be picked up for a one-time charge, only by calling Greentree's office for an appointment at 575-378-4697 or 1-877-548-8772.  Owners of empty lots pay no regular solid waste bill, which would include forest waste pickup.
 
The dates for the Greentree grapple truck in Sun Valley:

05/03/15

06/28/15 

08/23/15

10/18/15

12/13/15

The actual dates can vary because of weather, mechanical problems, etc., but this gives you a date to aim for to be sure your slash is on the curbside and ready to be picked up. 

The photo speaks for itself

NMRWA -  New Mexico Rural Water Association