N C N A

Many of you may recall that at the November 4^th meeting, President Schmidly offered to establish a community advisory board to determine solutions for this chronic conflict between the university and the community. The North Campus Neighborhood Association accepted this overture. Together, President Schmidly and Dr. Koplik appointed board members with a diverse range of perspectives. We wish to thank the following members of the North Golf Course Community Advisory Board for their diligent hard work in forging this compromise:

Matthew Barnes, Vice-President Associated Students of the University of New Mexico
Tim Davis, Member North Golf Course Association
Mardon Gardella, President of the Federation of University Neighborhoods
Norton Kalishman, Program Director McCune Foundation
Paul Kienzle, Attorney
Ted Martinez, President Emeritus Central New Mexico Community College
Cara McCulloch, Architect
Ray Powell, Former State Land Commissioner
Garret Price, Vice-President Pulte Homes
Sara Koplik, President North Campus Neighborhood Association (Chair)

The Advisory Board was charged to do 5 things:

• Determine the footprint for a regulation nine hole golf course.
• Enhance and improve the golf course and periphery trail including water conservation, habitat restoration, utilization of native plants, and the implementation of sustainable golf course management practices.
• Suggest funding sources to cover enhancements and improvements.
• Establish the golf course as a teaching environment for sustainability, conservation and habitat restoration.
• Construct a legal framework to preserve the golf course and agreed upon green space and determine the available footprint for UNM’s future building needs.

The Advisory Board met for two months, and gave considerable thought to all of the communities affected, including faculty, students, staff, golfers, joggers, walkers, and nature lovers. This was not an easy process, but on January 18^th, the board presented its unanimous recommendations to President Schmidly. We especially appreciate the assistance of the university staff members who advised the board: Andrew Cullen, Kim Murphy and Jeremy LaFaver. Their expertise was of great help.

On April 30^th, the Advisory Board will formally present these recommendations to the full UNM Board of Regents. We are very excited by these recommendations and feel that they present a new way forward. If accepted, they could herald a far more positive relationship between the university administration and the community. For the past two decades, there has been a high degree of mistrust, yet with this recommendation, there is an opportunity for the university to craft a solution which benefits all sides.

The following is a brief summary of our recommendations:
(For more detail click here: Advisory Board Recommendations)

- Maintain the 9 hole golf course in its current configuration.

- Develop the back service road for academic purposes.

- Create an outdoor learning environment for the barren fairways.

- If deemed appropriate, the clubhouse could move to another location to make space for limited development.

- In total, the board recommended 27 acres for potential university development, while conserving 72 acres of green space.

Please mark your calendar for this event:

Wednesday, April 30^th – 9:00 am start
Board of Regents Meeting at the UNM Student Union Building Ballroom C

Thank you for your loyal support.

Together we can make a greener Albuquerque for generations to come.