Isaac and Sharon Eastvold are long time community activists. They founded the Fair Heights Neighborhood Association on October 11, 1993. Both have been residents of City Council District 7 since its inception and residents of City Council District 5 which became District 7 because of redistricting. They have also been members of the Neighborhood Stormwater Drainage Management Team since May 31, 2021. Isaac and Sharon Eastvold were the founding members of the Friends of the Albuquerque Petroglyphs (FOTAP). This organization was instrumental in securing city council and community support for the establishment of Petroglyph National Monument on June 27, 1990. Isaac was awarded one of two pens used by President George H.W. Bush to sign the establishment act.
GREEN STORMWATER INFRASTRUCTURE DEFINED
Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) is a method of sustainable stormwater management that focuses on treating stormwater runoff prior to it entering waterways by mimicking and working with living, natural systems. It is an approach to managing stormwater runoff in ways that mimic the natural environment as much as possible, using plants, soil, and stone to filter and manage stormwater more effectively, reducing how much enters our sewer systems, and protecting our rivers and streams.
Urban areas have lots of hard surfaces such as roofs, roads, parking lots, etc., that don’t allow water from rain, snow, and ice to soak into the ground naturally, so the runoff collects pollutants and litter on its way down the drain, and overwhelms our sewer systems, which can overflow into our rivers and streams.
Green stormwater infrastructure tools allow runoff to get soaked up by plants, filter into the ground, or evaporate into the air. Some systems also slowly release the water into a sewer once wet weather and the threat of overflows have passed.
https://www.bernco.gov/public-works/public-works-services/water-wastewater-stormwater/stormwater/green-stormwater-infrastructure-and-post-construction-stormwater-management/
The link to read the city ordinance to include Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) in city medians and landscaping buffers is here:
Click to access O-2024-008.pdf
EDITOR’S DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this guest column by Isaac and Sharon Eastvold are those of the Eastvolds and do not necessarily reflect those of the www.petedinelli.com blog. The Eastvolds have not paid for and they have not been paid any compensation to publish their guest column. They have given their consent to publish their column on www.PeteDinelli.com as a public service announcement especially to the residents and voters of District 7 to enlighten them on what is going on in District 7.
Following is the guest column Isaac and Sharon Eastvold submitted for publication:
HEADLINE: GREENWASHING ALBUQUERQUE
The City is moving ahead with another so called “green” project. They also called the ART (Albuquerque Rapid Transit) project on Central Ave.“green.” That project cut down over 500 trees, and got rid of electric busses. There seemed to be no end to cost overruns.
Like ART, the new Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) “Pilot Project” being touted by Councilor Tammy Feibelkorn proposes to retrofit older neighborhoods with an impossible, destructive burden. Costs are already running into millions and headed for even greater overruns. The money for all of this is coming from, you guessed it, your tax dollars.
Directly affected residents were not informed by Councilor Feibelkorn that millions for this GSI Project were hidden in the Municipal Bond election. These bonds never fail to pass. Impacted residents seldom know all the things tucked out of sight which are part of their vote. Factual concerns, questions and petitions have been ignored by Councilor Feibelkorn and City consultants. Written comments which opposed putting GSI in the bond mysteriously disappeared when mailed to the full council and the Mayor.
GSI involves excavations of streets for what are called “bump outs” or “bio swales.” These would be nine feet wide from the curb, nine inches deep and of varying lengths between driveways. The city claims that these excavations will capture stormwater and infiltrate it to groundwater below the swale.
However, according to USGS data report 1162 (https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/dr1162), the water table depth in this project area varies from 150-500 feet. The preferred placement of bioswales should be 5-18 feet over the water table (EPA.com).
In addition, the City’s own GeoTest,Inc, (https://fbtcloud.com/s/izff5nDTydLa03Z) has found clay levels 6 to 9 feet down that would prevent infiltration. It could spread stormwater laterally, with time, and cause subsidence of adjacent streets and structures.
Albuquerque is not an area known for heavy rain. In fact, meteorologist have been calling our yearly rains “non-soons” instead of “monsoons.” The last significant rain occurred in 2021 with 3, one-inch separate rain storms. Some stormwater went over the curb on a short stretch of Summer between Alvarado and La Veta NE. This was not caused by heavy rains. Instead, it was caused by two improperly resurfaced sections of street key to normal, mid-heights gravity flow: 1) Summer and 2) Marble. Correcting the resurfacing of these two short sections of street would restore the intended gravity flow of stormwater to the San Mateo (8 ft) and San Pedro (4 ft) main drains.
The GSI “Pilot Project” also proposes cement underground stormwater storage tanks. As an example, one tank is planned on La Veta Dr. between Summer and El Encanto. This will not be connected to the city’s storm drain system. This captured water has no way of infiltrating to the groundwater table. The “bump outs ” and tanks can not meet the Rio Grande NM/Texas Compact rule of returning withheld water to the river in 96 hours (4 days).
The dark, moist place, of underground tanks would provide inviting habitat for the Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes now plaguing Albuquerque.
Politicians, including Mayor Keller and Councilor Feibelkorn, if they hope to be re-elected, should learn from the “greenwashed” and miserably failed ART disaster on Central Blvd. Cost overruns were monumental. The GSI “pilot project” promises to be yet another expensive misuse of tax payer’s municipal bond money.
Concerned citizens can support any beautification of the neighborhood or city that is well researched and truly environmentally sound. They can not support ignoring good alternatives that efficiently resolve real problems.
Good alternatives do exist, but have been ignored. What the city is proposing will only benefit the bottomless pockets of a small cadre of consultants. The result will be the degradation of long established mid-heights neighborhoods.
DINELLI COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
It is safe to say that the overwhelming majority of residents of mid heights District 7, who City Councilor Tammy Feibelkorn represents, are unaware of how the so called Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) “pilot project” will impact their property and neighborhood. The “pilot project” is being imposed by the Keller Administration on mid-heights neighborhoods east and west of San Mateo. District 7 residents essentially were never informed that millions were in the city’s municipal bond election for this “pilot project.” District 7 residents feel their concerns and questions have been largely ignored by City Councilor Tammy Feibelkorn and the Keller Administration.
MAYOR KELLER AND CITY COUNCILOR TAMMY FIEBELKORN
During the last three years she has been an Albuquerque City Councilor, Tammy Fiebelkorn has exhibited a pattern of downright hostility towards constituents who oppose or who disagree with her votes on policy and legislation. Although known for attending the District 7 Neighborhood Coalition meetings to give updates on what is happening in her district, she repeatedly takes issue with those who disagree with her at the meetings and who ask her to reconsider positions. She simply refuses to change her mind and then goes out of her way to offend. She has told the officers of the District 7 Neighborhood Coalition, which boasts membership of 10 neighborhood associations, that the coalition is not reflective of District 7 needs and concerns.
What is the most troubling is that City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, in addition to promoting Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) “Pilot Project” as describe by the Eastvold’s, she promotes her own personal agenda with little or no concern and many times with no input from her constituents.
There are 7 major examples of City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkcorn promoting her own personal agenda at the expense of her constituents:
Progressive Democrat Fiebelkorn teamed up with then Progressive District 6 City Councilor President Pat Davis, who left the council, to sponsor a City Council Redistricting map. The new map would have gutted both her own District 7 and Davis’s District 6. The redistricting map carved out a large portion of District 7 that was clearly more conservative or in order to add the more progressive Nob Hill area in District 6 to Fiebelkorn’s District 7 in order to enhance her own reelection chances. It was classic gerrymandering, but thankfully the City Council rejected the redistricting.
Fiebelkorn is a staunch supporter of Safe Outdoor Spaces which are city sponsored managed homeless encampments with 40 designated spaces for tents that allows for upwards of 50 people, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6 foot fencing and social services offered. She voted for the changes to the city zoning laws that now allow Safe Outdoor Spaces in all 9 City Council Districts. Fiebelkorn sponsored legislation that failed that would have empowered the City Planning Department to unilaterally approve all Safe Outdoor Space Applications and totally eliminate the public’s right to challenge and appeal the applications and eliminated City Council intervention. Mayor Tim Keller supported the legislation as part of his ABQ Forward Plan.
Fiebelkorn supported and voted for major amendments to the city’s zoning laws that would have allowed the development of both “casitas”and “duplexes” in all existing residential developments and areas of town as permissive uses eliminating appeal rights of adjoining property owners in order to double or triple the city’s density. Mayor Keller wanted the doubling or tripling of density in all quadrants of the city to address the city’s so called housing shortage and it would have disastrous effects on the character of established neighborhoods. All the amendments to the city zoning laws Fiebelkorn voted for and advocated for and Mayor Keller advocated for favored developers at the expense of homeowners and especially historical areas of the city. Mayor Tim Keller supported the legislation as part of his ABQ Forward Plan.
Fiebelkorn sponsored the “Residential Protection Ordinance” which was voted down by the city council. The ordinance was nothing more than an attempt at rent control which has been rejected by the New Mexico legislature repeatedly and which Fiebelkorn unsuccessfully promoted. Mayor Tim Keller supported the legislation.
Fiebelkorn sponsored the “Residential Rental Permit Ordinance” which was voted down by the city council. The resolution was an attempt to limit and place caps on ownership of short term rentals and enact regulations of the “bed and breakfast” rental industry in the city. Mayor Tim Keller supported the legislation.
Fiebelkorn is sponsoring legislation to amend the city’s building code that will require all rental housing units in the city be equipped with cooling systems that can keep temperatures at or below 80 degrees in the summer. Fiebelkorn said what was being done was adding cooling to the list of basic necessities in rental structures. Fiebelkorn said “I’ll point out that 80 degrees is still pretty warm, but that is just the baseline that everyone in our community should expect, no matter how much or how little they can afford to pay for rent.” The problem is the 80-degree threshold would essentially ban the use of swamp coolers and require installation of A/C refrigerated air or conversions averaging a cost of between $5,000 to $15,000 per unit. More than 43% of Albuquerque apartments buildings were constructed before 1980 and many have not been retrofitted with central air conditioning. Fiebelkorn showed her ignorance by not realizing any costs associated with upgrades of cooling systems will be passed on to renters contributing to the shortage of affordable housing. The bill was given a “do not pass” recommendation in committee and remains to be voted on by the full council. The Keller Administration objected to the committee’s do not pass recommendation.
City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn is a very staunch and very vocal animal rights advocate. Twice she has complained about the city’s treatment of animals. The first was in June, 2022 when she alleged that farm animals at the Albuquerque Bio Park Heritage Farm were being neglected, not being properly fed nor given appropriate veterinarian care and suffering from poor conditions she claimed she witnessed. An investigation concluded the accusations were false. The most recent complaint occurred November 2024 when she complained of the city’s program, authorized by city ordinance and funded by city council, to eradicate and kill pigeons nesting and which were posing a health risk at city hall
2025 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS
Mayor Keller has already made it known he is running for a third 4 year term as Mayor in 2025 with at least 2 candidates mulling a race against Keller and one other who has announce. Republican Eddy Aragon, the right wing radio talk show host who ran against Keller 4 years ago has already announced his candidacy.
It is more likely than not that Tammy Fiebelkcorn will be seeking a second term to the Albuquerque City Council in 2025. Informed sources are saying that dissatisfaction with her has become so great by many of her District 7 constituents that they are actively seeking a candidate to run against her.
Let’s hope strong candidates are found to run against both Mayor Tim Keller and Tammy Fiebelkorn and their collaboration on legislation will come to an end.