You're life.
Okay, well, welcome back and we'll start
our work session now. We'll start with
the agenda items 1.1 NMSU College of
Health Education and Social
Transformation.
Would be you, Dr. Marlett.
Thank you, Mr. Mayor, uh distinguished
members of the council. Thank you so
much for the opportunity uh to be with
you this afternoon. Appreciate very much
and an honor to have been invited. Uh my
name is Rick Marlett. I'm privileged to
serve as the Dean of the College of
Health Education and Social
Transformation at New Mexico State
University.
Uh we love our acronyms in higher ed, so
so we're HEST, if you've heard of us. Um
HEST is the merged college uh from 2021
uh bringing together the old colleges of
education and the College of Health and
Social Services, along with two new
departments, one from Arts and Sciences,
Sociology, and a new department in
NMSU's newest department, Borderlands
and Ethnic Studies. Um very honored and
and excited for the opportunity to
interact with you all this afternoon. I
have a a brief presentation that I'd
like to uh provide uh focusing on HEST's
kind of three uh three-part mission,
which is workforce development, research
and innovation, and community outreach.
Uh the College of HEST uh we are driven
by
by our mission, which is to pursue
social change and transformation uh
through education, research, and
outreach. Our vision is to be
collaborators and leaders in the
discovery of innovative solutions in
healthcare sciences, allied health,
education, and social services,
all of which lead to social
transformation in New Mexico and beyond.
We welcome the opportunity to serve all
students and invite all community
members in the Borderland and beyond to
join our academic communities.
As a college, we are incredibly proud
proud of who we are, our contributions
to NMSU's land grant mission, and our
robust engagement with communities and
students across the state and region.
Our students
uh
become experts in their fields.
They get great jobs right away through
hands-on experiential learning
opportunities, and they are the benefit
beneficiaries of cutting-edge
scholarships from our faculty and our
amazing alumni and donor networks that
support our college. Our students
graduate, get those great jobs right
away, and become strong leaders who are
difference makers for their families and
change agents in their communities.
HEST is a place to get involved, to
embrace an identity of strength and
servingness, and to advance the
aspirations of New Mexico communities
and families.
Uh with that, I would like to just go
ahead and kind of go through these
slides. So, uh we're going to focus, you
know, a lot on the workforce development
aspect of the college, which drives our
mission in terms of the academic success
and opportunities that we offer
students, as well as our outreach and
community engagement mission, which is
uh prominent as well.
So, just to some brief overview of the
college, uh we did have our highest
enrollment on record in fall 2025. HES
served over 42
hundred students uh across undergraduate
and graduate enrollments. That includes
uh a all-time high of 4,224 enrolled
student headcount.
And then an all-time high approaching
38,000 student credit hours, which was
very exciting.
HES is NC State's second largest
college. We support over 200 faculty
members and nearly 200 staff members.
Our research expenditures in FY26 uh
were 17.5 million. And uh we've been at
the beneficiaries of uh
a tremendous amount of support from the
state uh in terms of our higher
education endowments. And uh those have
been supported our areas of social work,
nursing, and teacher education in
particular.
Uh we do have several priorities that uh
kind of run as a through-line through
our college and bring together our
disciplines, which on paper seem to be
somewhat far apart when you think about
nursing uh being in the same college as
say kinesiology or uh public health. Uh
but what what really brings us all
together is some of those um
foundational through-lines, such as uh
ensuring that providing uh training and
workforce development around mental
health and wellness, social emotional
working social social emotional
learning, workforce development, and
high-quality instruction across the
board.
We have nine academic units in the
College of HES, including three schools
and six traditional academic
departments.
Uh seven of our nine academic
departments are accredited at the state
and national level and lead to licensure
in a professional program. So, I have uh
listed our uh
departments and schools here on the next
couple of slides and also added the uh
accrediting uh again acronym
there for you. Uh but just just to point
out that, you know, um, our our programs
are professional licensure-leading
pathways, whereby students, um, have an
apprenticeship and clinical experience
out in the field, and most of our
students, especially if they're willing
to stay in New Mexico, which we highly
encourage and incentivize students to
do, um, they're going to have a job
right away in their in their
professional field.
Uh, we have a number of new, uh,
notable academic pathways in the
college, um, that just went online this
last year. Um, as you can see, we're
really attuned to aligning our
programming in the college with the
needs and the high demands of workforce
out in the state.
Um, just just briefly want to point out,
um, again, the enrollment is pretty much
across the board in our, uh, in our
college. So, of our nine academic units,
nearly all are showing, um, growth over
the last several fall semesters.
Um, increases in student enrollment for
headcount, as well as, uh, the total
accumulation of student credit hours,
which is exciting.
Those are the numbers across the
college, as you can see, growing on the,
uh, undergraduate side, as well as the
graduate side. There in crimson and in
silver, you can see, uh, we're we're
continuing to serve that mission to
expand our capacity and to train more,
uh, highly qualified, culturally
competent professionals for the state of
New Mexico.
Uh, in addition to our academic arm of
the college, we also pride ourselves on
providing experiential learning and
research and outreach for a a huge
community engagement mission.
Um, a number of our sites across the
college,
um, are testaments to that to that
public-facing community service aspect.
We have the Nursing Skills and
Simulations Lab, for which we did a
ribbon-cutting in the fall.
Very exciting there in the old HSS
building.
We have a number of clinics on site in
the college, including the Mental Health
Clinic for Clinical Psychology and
School Psychology, the Papen Oppendamas
Autism Diagnostic Center,
the Edgar R. Garrett Speech and Hearing
Center, and the Glass Family Research
for Early Childhood Studies.
When the O'Donnell Hall expansion is
completed, which which I'm told as of
this morning is is is on track and and
should be ribbon cut there in the fall.
Um all of these clinical public serving
entities will be together on the ground
floor in O'Donnell Hall.
Facing public facing accessible for for
children and families and clients across
the board, so it's very exciting.
Um we also have a number of of other
outreach entities and and research and
outreach units in the college including
the STEM Outreach Center, which leads
all out of school time activities,
summer STEM camps, and professional
development for teachers across the
state of New Mexico. Um we have social
work teaching and in some cases public
health now where we can offer paid
practicum to all of our practicum
students when they reach that stage of
their program.
Uh a number of other um again public
serving really community engaged kinds
of outreach centers in the college
include Crimson Research
for which the public health department
right now is working on a homelessness
study
for the for the unhoused in Las Cruces
working with the city on that, which is
very exciting. Our Educators Rising
chapter
for the state of New Mexico
uh affiliates with high schools and
middle schools across the state
to ensure that we have a strong and
steady robust pipeline for new teachers
across the state. And then our newest
member of this group is our Borderlands
and Ethnic Studies Research Center,
which is doing some exciting work for
the state and the region as well.
Um want to point out once again we have
the Health and Human Services extension
and expansion over in the HSS building,
which includes the SIM lab that I
mentioned previously as well as a new
operating room, which is very very
engaging, very hands-on, and very
state-of-the-art. Uh we're able to
compare uh with schools of nursing
across the region, including Texas Tech
uh and UVA and others.
Uh our O'Donnell Hall expansion that I
mentioned a moment ago is 28,000 new
square feet uh to house our new clinics
as well as to move our departments of
kinesiology from the old activity center
over to O'Donnell Hall and our
communication disorders department,
which houses the two uh clinics, the
Edgar R. Garrett Speech and Hearing
Center and the Papenhausen Autism
Diagnostic Center. Both of those again
will be joining us uh in O'Donnell Hall.
So, we're going to be expanded and uh
loud and proud, ready to serve uh the
Las Cruces community and the state of
New Mexico.
Um these these pictures, although fairly
recent, are already uh
outdated. Uh there's tremendous progress
being made every day
and uh can't say enough about our
facilities and services and our
contractors who are amazing.
One example um of HEST's workforce
development successes that I would like
to share is in our teacher education
program
where
uh I had the opportunity and was
privileged to uh serve as the department
uh head uh for a few for 4 years,
actually. In 2019, we began tracking the
number of applicants who uh formally
applied to the professional program
right around their junior year,
typically.
And as you can see, there are three
intake periods for the program
throughout the year. In uh the year the
school year 2019 to 2020, we had a total
of 83 uh students who were NMSU
education majors who went ahead and
applied and were admitted to the teacher
education program. As you can see, um
those numbers have increased
exponentially
and uh we're at the point now. Uh I need
to update spring 2026 there um in the
last couple of columns. We had 75 in
this last spring intake alone. So, we've
already exceeded in the first two
intakes um
you know, going back to 2019, that
baseline year, we've already exceeded
that total. Uh Uh, wanted to point out
to specifically in the Southwest region,
which is, um, on our educator vacancy
report that the college puts out every
fall for the state, anywhere south of
Socorro, essentially. So, south of
Socorro, Truth or Consequences, Hatch,
Alamo, Deming, uh,
Gadsden, Las Cruces. Obviously, um, we
have 35 total vacancies in in the entire
uh, region, the entire south region,
including Las Cruces Public Schools. So,
um, obviously, we're we're very proud of
the the uh, the numbers of students that
were were um, developing, the number of
new teachers we're developing for the
state, and certainly, um,
able to partner with the state and with
the the local school districts on
incentivizing staying in New Mexico,
building a career, and uh, supporting
communities locally.
That is all I have, uh, Mr. Mayor and
uh, council members for a presentation,
but would love to to uh, interact with
you further. So, I'll I'll stand down.
Thank you.
Well, thank you for your presentation
and the great information that you've
provided us. I'll see if anyone has any
questions.
Councilor Harris.
Um,
[clears throat]
thank you, Mayor, and thanks for the
presentation. So, I guess, um,
so this all all sounds great.
What would you say are the main
barriers? So, you graduate a bunch of
teachers, what are the main things
keeping them from staying
in the region, in Las Cruces, in New
Mexico in general?
Mr. Mayor, Councilor Harris, great
question. Thank you so much for that.
Um,
I think I think, uh, some of the
challenges have evolved. When I first
came to NMSU in 2017, we would, um,
perennially you lose our graduates to
Arizona, Texas, Utah, Colorado, and
Arizona, who offered higher salaries.
Um,
that has changed. And as you can see,
um, specifically in our region in the
south, you know, we're we're
experiencing fewer and fewer teacher
vacancies every year. So, we know that
more of our graduates are staying in New
Mexico, which is great.
Um, the pay is is one part of it, a
significant component of it, I would
say. Um,
but we've really leaned into and and
benefited from strong support from the
state in terms of being able to pay our
student teachers and teacher residents
during either their final semester or
their final full year in the program. As
a graduate of a teacher preparation
program myself, um,
any amount of money was more than than I
than I got paid, um, when I did my
student teaching. We really want to
support, um,
our our students Our students at NMSU
are resilient, gritty, um, they know how
to persevere.
Many of them are raising families of
their own. Many of them, um, you know,
are are the breadwinners in their
family. Many of them have
responsibilities that, um,
you know,
us as us as faculty, you know, we we we
we need to remember we serve, you know,
a large number of first-generation
students, a large number of English
language learning students, students who
don't necessarily, um,
always have had the opportunity to, um,
be be in the know on on how the academy
works and and how the how the job
um, pathways work. And so, really
leaning into supporting students from
beginning to to end in that regard. So,
along with being able to to pay students
for their final practicum stage, which
is a huge retention piece,
um, being able to to retain those
students, we also are able to lean into
more, um, kind of intensive mentoring,
making sure that we have really
outstanding teachers, and we have so
many, uh, with whom we partner in the
state, making sure that our Our are
learning from them, they're observing
them, they're interacting with them,
they're collaborating with them,
interacting with students, many diverse
students, and uh understanding that um
you know, New Mexico is a special place,
and uh making sure that they know that
that we want them to stay,
and there are incentives for them to do
so. Um
We've uh we've been able to partner with
the state. I have a few different um
partnerships and collaborations. So, we
have through the Indian Education
Division of the Public Ed Department, we
have
a couple of of grants that that we work
with uh that focus on recruiting and
retaining Native American teachers,
social workers, and school counselors.
Um our our our faculty do a great job of
making sure that that we have good
relationships with legislators,
good relationships with with strong
supporters who
are advocates for our program, and so
it's it's a real partnership. Um and
making sure that you know, we we when
they cross the stage, you know, we have
that personal relationship, and and we
we are with them, you know, beyond sort
of commencement ceremonies, and making
sure that uh that mentorship stays alive
and well. Uh so, it's always a work in
progress, but but we're making really
strong gains, and um
we're we're proud of that.
Okay. Um
so, I guess beyond salaries, which
on the city council we can't help with,
of course. Not that you're asking us to.
Um
what it are there things that we can
think about as we're
talking about projects in the community?
Um
you know,
partnerships with the public schools, uh
things that that the city can do to make
this an attractive place for for your
students to stay. And and beyond
teachers, you know, nurses, obviously
everybody else in the college.
Absolutely, Mr. Mayor, Counselor Harris.
Thank you so much for the question.
We we absolutely um
I I think what a starting point is this,
You know, the opportunity to come before
you and and and and hear what the
concerns are and hear the opportunities.
Um we have a number of of programs in
the college like public health comes to
mind, social work comes to mind that
that are not necessarily tied to a
specific entity or agency. You know, we
place students in in schools obviously,
obviously hospitals, but a number of
community serving agencies whether they
be on the mental health side, behavior
health side, um or just in general
public services. We have a we have a a
lot of programs
where we're we're excited to think about
innovatively how can we um
tailor our internships and our
apprenticeships to meet the needs of the
community. So, I think understanding
potentially uh what some of those needs
are and how our students could could
help
uh move programs forward, support
programs, assist uh with any of the work
that's happening and we obviously know
there's tremendous work happening in the
city and so um I think that would be a a
a great place to start is um you know,
tying up those connecting those
opportunities with maybe some of the
needs uh that the city may maybe having.
Cool. Thanks. Um yeah, looking forward
to collaborating more in the future.
Councilor McCourt.
Thank you, Mayor. Dean Marlett, I just
wanted to shout out the fact that you
are also part of the community schools
with us and I think these are the steps
in terms of collaboration. Where do we
look to
to kind of overcome that town and gown
barrier which is what we talk a lot
about at you know, NMSU being sort of an
entity to itself, the city being an
entity and how can we overcome that? But
I think when we talk about when I had
spoken to you about doing this
presentation, what does it look like?
And I think these sort of small steps
where we can say, "Hey, what what needs
do we have, right? I we use Crimson
Research all the time." might know if it
gets the the shout out that it that it
does to to a large degree. So, things
like this I I'm just very thankful that
you guys came to or you came to present
specifically on that because I had heard
too the positive news about keeping
teachers, keeping social workers, and
what that might look like for our
community, especially since there's such
a need for it. So, thank you very much.
Thank you.
Councilor Matias.
Uh good morning, Mayor. I was just going
to ask you are you familiar with the
light program of the Las Cruces Fire
Department?
Uh Mr. Mayor, uh Councilor Matias, I am
not familiar with the light program.
I I was just going to maybe have them
connect with you as well as uh Chief
Story because we've we've gone to social
workers, not only on the outreaching
when when we have calls,
and I think the LCPD could connect with
you and maybe provide some employment if
they qualify, as well as the light
program, which is uh
uh becoming a really
good program, so
just uh maybe more jobs.
Thank you.
Councilor McCollum.
Thank you. That's a great point,
Councilor Matias, and I I know that um
our light team and our MIH team are both
very well connected with the School of
Social Work already. If they haven't
done um place internship placements in
the past, I know that they were looking
into doing them in in the future, and so
that's um
I'm I'm an alumni of the Social Work
program. My stepdaughter is about to be
a freshman at NMSU uh in the School of
Social Work, and so um I tried to be
pretty um
I stay in pretty close contact with the
School of Social Work, and I know those
two programs do as well. So, hopefully
um um you can have the opportunity to
meet them because they I think are
pretty incredible.
Um
you could say marketing for the School
of Social Work has has really incredible
um products of of of the our education.
So, thank you.
Thank you.
Mayor will jump.
Thank you, Mayor. And Mayor, city
councilors, Dr. Marlett, thank you very
much for your presentation and data. Uh
I would like to know
on average how many nurses you're you're
graduating a year. That number is so
important by it's I I've read that by
we'll have a shortage of probably 3,000
or 4,000 nurses in the state of New
Mexico, which is probably the most
severe gap in in our country. So, we
want to make sure that they feel part of
the community, you know, they feel
spoiled here. I don't know if it's
inviting them to a picnic or to be on
our kickball team
or something to that effect. Um
I I know we have nurses uh at at my
um
at at my company, my workplace, and
during nursing week, which is coming up
May 4th
they're certainly welcome to come here
as as we read a proclamation, but uh we
we tend to spoil our nurses
barbecue
um Italian Sundays throughout the week.
So, um
again, what do we do to
to And you don't have to answer that
that right now, but how do we engage
more with you and your program? But, on
average, could you tell me how many
nurses we're graduating a year?
Mr. Mayor, Councilman Muñoz, thank you
so much. Um
So, uh
I I want to say uh you know, if there's
a barbecue and and and if there's a
kickball game, you know, HASTA will be
there, and it'll be nice to have some
nurses on hand uh for a kickball game, I
think. Um
So, with our accrediting um
criteria and the current capacity of our
faculty in the program, we're able to
admit 64 nurses in each cohort.
So,
um
it you know, the number of graduates
actually cross the stage for for the for
the BSN is going to fluctuate from term
to term, but I can tell you that they're
our largest um
graduating program each semester. Um the
uh
the pinning ceremony that that we have
each semester we're in we're in all of
the Corbett ballrooms now,
um which is exciting. And so so that
that does have uh just just seeing the
numbers is is robust. Um this last
December, I want to say we graduated 25
in the DNP, the Doctor of Nursing
Practice alone.
Um which which far exceeded, you know,
that was in MSU's largest, you know,
graduating class of doctoral students
and graduate students across the board.
So, um 64 on the accredited uh criteria
that we have for our current capacity.
Always looking for opportunities to
increase that capacity and serve the
state. Um
I think, you know, going back to
Councilman Clure's notion about uh
community schools, we're really trying
to be innovative. Um
Our our accrediting bodies, uh
especially in nursing, are are flexible
enough with us to to ensure that we can
give opportunities like for a community
school who who maybe has, you know, an
opportunity to shadow with the school
nurse or to work in uh the clinic uh you
know, a clinic at the clinic at La
Familia in in a couple of the schools,
for example. Um those opportunities are
there, and so we want to make sure that
um all of our students know that you
know, there's those traditional pathways
and traditional clinical experiences,
but there's so much more out there uh
for a robust kind of all-encompassing
education that that's what university
should be about. And so we're looking
forward to that, but would love to to
continue looking for opportunities
there. Um
I know that I know that the traveling
nurse occupation is is pretty popular.
And um my niece is a perfect example of
that. Um
you know, just as a young person, I
think being able to hit the road and
have that flexible schedule is is
enticing. Uh but so is so is Las Cruces
and so are our our communities and our
hospitals here. So, lots of work to do,
some good things happening, but uh more
to come.
Thank you.
Thank you uh Dr. Morlett. And I
appreciate your passion and your work.
Thank you, Mayor.
Councilor Matias.
Thank you. Dr. Morlett, I want to have
you here. Could you expand more on the
on the expansion of the of the clinic
and what it will offer? And then who
does who the services are offered just
to students or
Mr. Mayor, uh Councilor Matias, thank
you so much. Uh so we so we have a
number of clinics in in the college and
and one of the nice things as we
reviewed kind of the workforce, the
academic piece, and then the community
outreach, is it's is it kind of is a
great platform for all of those to
interact. And so,
in for example, our Paper and Opandamos
Autism Diagnostic Center, that's one of
two autism diagnostic clinics in the
state of New Mexico.
I believe when we um
first started accepting clients, um the
the wait list was 18 months
for families in the state to to have
their child be seen. We've cut down on
that wait list tremendously. Um students
clients are are currently seen in the
Communications Studies Building, but
when we do open up in O'Donnell, you
know, we're we're going to have more
space. They'll be right next door to the
Speech and Hearing Center, which has
been around for a long time. I think 60
65 years. Um but a lot of those uh
diagnoses and those clinical um
interactions are shared among those
clients. And so, having them all
together is going to be really really be
Um
the Autism Diagnostic Center has 18 and
under uh clients that we serve as well
as over 18 adults. Um
I just uh
joined the ADC team for their
presentation. They did a training for
the Gadsden Independent School District
last week. And I want to say they just
uh served a client who is 77. And that
was their oldest um client uh to date.
Uh eldest
uh client to date. Um
And so, you know, really trying to to be
broad and and have a a a largest as
large a capacity as possible to serve
uh students and and uh families and and
children and and adults. And they do
come from from all over the state um to
to to to have our services. And And one
more uh piece there is our graduate
students in the program get to actually
do their practicum and apprenticeship
with faculty in those spaces. So,
learning how to interact with clients
and and learning to apply their
professional programs in action is
great.
That is Dr. Marlett reason I I brought
it up, but again to make you aware that
uh we have a Telshore fund and it's
basically a
a fund from Memorial Medical Center that
goes toward health needs.
So, if uh next time there's uh
applications
or maybe this uh council could see in
their
their wisdom and their heart
uh I think that would be a great uh
thing that I think that clinic would be
wonderful to help because it serves so
many hundreds and probably a
thousand people in an annual time. So,
that would be really getting a lot of uh
bang for the buck. So, just to make you
aware that. Thank you.
Thank you.
Okay, well, I appreciate uh you coming
today. And as as you've heard, I think
we're all looking at seeing how as a
city we can always be a better partner
with NMSU and I personally just want to
thank you for your engagement, your
involvement. You mentioned community
schools and then this past weekend we
were with the Civic Bees of the panel
with middle school students always
looking to foster and help the youth.
I'm happy to say that here in the city
of Las Cruces we do have a public health
coordinator now and uh has been working
as you mentioned the partnership on the
homeless mental health substance abuse
survey and strategic plan working with
NMSU and that's Anthony Turner. He's
right behind you. I don't know if you've
met him personally
but he's a good uh contact to have.
That's what we want to see how we can be
better partners and better with public
health in the community
uh whether it's a light program MI age,
whether it's our case managers with
senior programs, our case managers over
at the court system. All of those
Anthony has direct contact with all of
that so that we can make sure we
streamline it and be better partners
with NMSU when it comes to health. Thank
you again. Thanks for your presentation.
Thank you, ma'am.
Next is item 1.2 2026 legislative
update with the city clerk Christine
Rivera.
That's right.
The city clerk.
I'm a little short.
Oh,
what happened?
Okay. Hi city council, mayor, city
council. I am Christine Rivera, your
city clerk. I just wanted to give you a
quick update into our last session. It
was a short session but I think there
was a lot that was accomplished and I'm
really excited and proud to um show you
what we did.
So, first I'm going to go over some of
the policy. There was actually quite a
bit of policy that was passed this time
for a 30-day session. So, I'm just going
to highlight on a couple of them that I
thought were important.
HB 61 is the aggravated battery on a
police officer. Um this bill increases
penalties for harming a peace officer
with more severe charges for more
serious or potentially deadly harm.
HB 99 medical malpractice changes. This
bill raises and structures malpractice
damage caps, especially for hospitals,
limits punitive damages more clearly,
improves definitions and administrative
processes, and changes how compensation
fund payments are handled.
HB 128 firefighter occupational disease
disablement. This includes additional
conditions that are presumed to be
related to employment as a firefighter.
SB 40 driver privacy and safety act.
This restricts restricts who can access
or use personal information without the
driver's consent with exceptions for law
enforcement, emergencies, or authorized
purposes. This one is a big one for us
also for IPRA and I've already been in
discussions with Brad about how to apply
exemptions related to this one.
SB 41 statute of limitations on certain
sex crimes. This bill ensures that
serious sex crimes, especially those
involving minors, can be prosecuted even
many years later. Recognizing the
victims may delay reporting and that new
evidence like DNA can emerge over time.
SB 58 extend property tax exemption
period.
So, this extends the length of time from
7 to 14 years for property tax exemption
regarding certain properties located in
the MRAs.
And last we have SB 96 regulated child
care zoning requirements.
This bill allows home-based child care
in residential neighborhoods when the
provider is registered or licensed
through the state. Community development
is already working on a communications
plan regarding this and are available
for additional questions.
So we did get some grow funds this year,
which is really exciting. We got 150,000
for youth prevention and intervention
coordinator. This will be housed at the
police department.
180,000 for services and resources for
after-hours youth programming, which
will go through our parks and rec
department.
180,000 for a sustainability project,
which will go through our sustainability
office. And then of note, we also got 1
million for the air show, and that was
part of HB2, but it was through our
tourism department. So it wasn't
specifically grow funds, but grow funds
were also part of HB2, so I just wanted
to highlight that.
And now what everybody has been waiting
for, what did we get for our funded
capital outlay projects?
First we got Apodaca Park. This was
through our severance tax bonds, and we
got 3 million for that.
Next we got 250,000 for our East Mesa
Rec Center.
Fire station improvements, we received
$72,000.
The driving track, we got a total of
2.09 million.
Real-time crime center technology
upgrades, we received 100,000.
Affordable housing, we received a total
of 470,000.
Um Mesilla Valley Community Hope
Resource Campus improvements, 434,000.
Mesa Grande Drive, 2.05 million.
Engler Road, 1 million.
Storm water detention, another 1
million.
Thomas Branigan Memorial Library, 1.7
million.
The WIA building, we received 900,000. I
just want to note that that was actually
more than what we asked for, so we ate
us.
Also for the Eastside Center, we
received 1.025 million, which was again
more than what we requested.
Um I added the Amador Hotel because
although it was a grant, it did have to
be approved in the legislative session
as part of HB2 and it was, so we got
4.84 million for the Amador Hotel.
And then I just wanted to give a
shout-out to our nonprofit, um the
kitchens, they received 2.95 million.
So,
Counselor Curran, I know that every year
you like that big old check that's on
the screen and I decided to do something
different.
I decided to money cats.
[laughter]
Handering directly to me.
Yes.
Cuz I knew you would like it.
So, in replacing of the check, I did the
um money cats. Um but I wanted to say
that our total is also including the
Amador Hotel grant that we received, but
I did not include the kitchens because
of they're the nonprofit, but this was
our grand total.
So, with that,
I just want to thank our legislators who
gave to us so generously this year. I
want to thank you council for coming to
Santa Fe and for our staff. And lastly,
I just want to mention that our
communications department is updating
our website right now with all of this
information, so it should be available
by the end of the day.
With that, I'll stand for any questions.
Thank you, Christine. Uh Counselor
Curran.
Thank you for the cats and the grand
total. I super appreciate that. Um I did
actually this is really somewhat related
to the cats, but I know that there have
been some other things coming in
um that are sort of through state agency
appropriations.
Uh like I know that the Animal Services
Center we we approved the grant for this
a little while ago got got a grant
related to some rehabbing of the
building a capital grant through I'm not
sure but public works got that grant.
And again, I'm not completely clear on I
think we've gotten a bunch of other
things that are sort of sort of like the
grant for for for the Amador.
Um
I don't know if there's a similar way
that we can add those to the total. Like
those cats would be even happier, right?
If that if
um but I I say for the future if there
any other things that we that that are
just on your radar that you know that
are coming through
um
as much I love to I really appreciate
our legislators and what they do and I
know that actually that the other side
of the house um in Santa Fe is also
really trying to support the city of Las
Cruces. Not to not to say one is better
than the other just that I think those
those other funds are really appreciated
as well. So, if you just
uh I I know that this is adding to your
workload, but I know you see these
things come through
um
in the future next time we can maybe add
some of those other things if we know
that they're coming in or they're
they're a part of it. Um but I do want
to thank you um
for keeping track of this, keeping us
really well informed while we were in
Santa Fe. I felt like um we were really
able to answer a lot of questions and be
supported from with your sort of
legislative affairs hat. So, I I really
appreciate you um helping us along the
way. So, thank you.
Thank you.
No problem.
I just want to echo that I know we've
said this um
a number of times. I wanted to say thank
you to Christine, the department head,
staff, everyone who was there,
um,
with us coordinating. I think, um,
you know,
there's so many competing priorities and
voices in Santa Fe and with our
legislators that, uh, being coordinated
and organized, I think, made a huge
impact. So, thank you all. Gracias,
gracias, and danke. That's all I have
for you. Thank you.
Councilor Martinez.
Thank you.
Maybe a question through you to Connie.
I I just wanted to know,
like on the WIA building, 900,000 is
allocated for all the work that's there.
How how fast do those projects move? I
mean, I have like 2 years left.
Our goal Our goal is 2 years then.
Okay.
To get that done before [laughter] 2
years. How's that? 1 and 1/2? Okay, 1
and 1/2.
How about a How about a couple of months
left?
Whatever you have left.
Yeah, I I bring this up because, you
know, the ladies, Ms. Jurado, I think
she'll be calling in that to to meet
with you, Connie. You know, they they
that group just wants to see how fast
the the progress will be. So,
thank you. How fast? Not a year and a
half.
Come on, Connie.
Councilor McCollum Councilor McCollum,
um, I'm I'm sorry. Um,
Mayor Enriquez, Mayor Pro Tem Muñoz, uh,
Councilor Martinez and Council.
Um,
I apologize.
The the speed at which we can move.
Absolutely, we have public works, uh, in
the room. We have Davis Sedillo,
um,
in in the room as well. And and so, this
is a building that has has been
suffering for years. And so, uh, we hear
you loud and clear and we're going to do
everything we can. Um, I I appreciate
the mayor bringing uh, bringing this up
that, uh, we we do have to wait till we
receive the funds. That's always, uh,
um, a challenge. It's It's not an
excuse, though. It's something that they
do their best. And and once we receive
it, um, I don't believe we have the
funds in hand. It's something that
typically we wait till summer to receive
or in fall and then we move. But
nonetheless, that is preparations that
at this time we can start working with
contractors, start working with our
project management team.
I do want to give kudos to
Jimmy and the project management staff.
They do everything that they can to
expedite it and so I just wanted to
to let that be known to you and if
anything that we can do, Councillor
Matiz and Council, we can keep you
posted as well. Not only to WIA
progress, but to all the other various
projects and we can come up with session
and keep you posted often on that. Does
that work?
And you know, the reason I bring up the
WIA it's been quite a number of years
that it's been uh
neglected and depreciating. So I was
just thinking the longer we wait and and
Mr. Moreno knows this and David knows
it. The longer we wait sometimes it just
gets more expensive to
to fix. So that that's the only reason I
bring it to the surface as a priority
for me. Thank you.
Councillor Harris.
Thank you Mayor and Christine. This the
session was great and thank you for all
your hard work and thank you especially
to all of our legislators
who so generously gave us capital outlay
and and helped us out through the rest
of the process.
I have a couple of questions on the
policy
things that went through. Um
and
maybe you don't know the answer off
hand, but
SB 96
does that
like preempt any of the city's zoning?
I'm going to let Chris come and talk to
that cuz I talked to him about this on
Friday. So
All right.
Mr. Mayor, Councillor Harris, Chris
Faber for the record. Yeah, it does a
few little areas of the code we'll have
to tweak, but
there were very few things. Most of the
code was already aligned there, and
really what it says is you have to treat
home-based daycares as if they were
residential in all residential zones.
So, no additional regulations or
restrictions because of it. So, when we
come back with an update of the code,
we'll include a few of those things to
align with the state. And then we have
some information to put out to the
public, as well.
Okay. Um that's kind of what I thought
reading it as well, that we're largely
in alignment. Um
and then uh
I guess this this segues maybe into the
next item, but SB 58 um
I guess similar question. Um and and is
that just that's an extra tool in our
tool belt, or is that restricting us in
some way?
Um Mayor, Councilor Harris, my
understanding is that it won't impact us
because it's property tax, and that goes
through the county. Got
Okay.
That's it. Thank you very much. Um
thanks again.
Thank you.
Councilor Malcolm.
Thank you so much, Christine, for the
presentation, for planning our trip up
there, and of course, you know, for
helping us connect with our legislators.
Obviously, we had a very successful
um time up there. Every year seems to be
more successful, I think, as we
as the state prepares for different
changes, perhaps we might see a
different outcome in the next years.
Hopefully not, but, you know, those
fears are are there, for sure. Um that
everyone's having budget issues. Um
I
I've said this before. I do think we
need to do just a little bit of a better
job at um letting our legislators know
where the updates of the projects are
from the past
obviously past projects these projects.
Um I think there's a lot of conversation
happening at the legislature about um
capital outlay dollars that go out and
then never get spent. And um I don't
think that's our our problem. I don't
think Las Cruces has that problem. I
think we do very good job at that. Um
and I think we also can do better at,
you know, really putting out there, like
this is the update of all of our
projects. Because again, our staff does
an incredible job at that. So, I just
wanted to lift that up. And then um I
wanted to echo Counselor Corn's um
you know, making sure that we account
for every single dollar that we put out
there. Like last year, for example, we
got our capital outlay dollars, but then
a few months later, we got an additional
$11 million for affordable housing
projects. I think this year was similar,
right? Like last just last week, we
voted on a grant for the housing
department got. And so, I think all of
those dollars really do um should be put
on our big our big What is it called?
The big check? What is it called?
Yeah, but that's never mind. The big
check. I still want to see a real life
big check, so. Thank you so much,
Christine. And yeah, thank you so much
to our legislators who continue to
invest in in our community and who trust
us to get projects done.
Thanks, Christine.
You're welcome.
Uh I've got a few things. First, I just
wanted to um
get back to what uh Counselor Matias had
brought up with the WIA building. I know
also that Shridevi, who works with
public works, has has been and has
agreed to do a presentation for that
group to give them an update of the
design, the remodel, and everything to
keep them up to date. And I throw that
out to public works that any of those
projects that we can go out to partners
or to the public and share where those
designs are until we get the funds and
and what direction we're going, just to
keep people posted and updated. I'm real
pleased about the WA building because of
what we're doing as a council and what
community development is doing with the
NAT program. If we're looking for
buildings in the city and holding owners
accountable for buildings that are
ruined and dilapidated, we have to take
a look at ourselves first. And that's
why I'm glad that uh
legislation
uh the legislators all pitched in and
helped us with even more so that we can
start revitalizing some of our buildings
as a city. So, that's a good thing.
And Christina, I just want to say this
was your first rodeo and uh you know,
the first uh
time that you were in charge of uh the
legislation, projects, the outlay, and
everything. You did a tremendous job and
it's evident by the
the monies, the funding, and and
everything that we've received. So,
thank you for coordinating everything
and doing a great job uh on your first
go around. So, now we expect more next
year, right? No. No, good good job.
Thank you. There there is a question on
uh growth funds and allocations cuz I
know we're looking at after school
programs. We've helped the schools
before and we want to make sure we
continue. Is there anything there?
Um
Mayor, the 180,000 that we received for
the after school hours will be for
um after school programming with the
Parks and Rec Department and that will
be in combination with the Las Cruces
Public Schools. So, that one is exactly
what you're asking for.
All right. Again, thank you. Great job.
Thank you.
Next is agenda item 1.3, the internal
metropolitan redevelopment area
committee update
with Blair.
All right.
Good afternoon, uh city manager, mayor,
and council members. My name is Blair
Flodquist, and I'm in the economic
development department today. I will be
presenting on the internal metropolitan
redevelopment area committee update.
I'd like to preface this presentation
that I'm fully aware that this is not an
award show, but I'm going to be doing a
lot of shout-outs to um staff and
departments cuz this has been a huge
collaborative effort.
Um so, we are currently working through
the city manager policy
um
process to formalize this committee, but
um
the MRA committee will be facilitated by
economic development. It includes
representatives from
the majority
of the key city departments, um
primarily leadership, and we have been
meeting regularly, and the objective is
to set priorities from the MRA plans,
recommend funding, track progress, and
address any challenges throughout the
plan implementation process.
Um we also have been evaluating and
prioritizing projects based on alignment
with the MRA plans, feasibility, equity,
and impact. Um
again, this is something that we are
nearing completion to formalize.
We will also be overseeing um funding
strategies, including grants and
partnerships. Um recommendations will
any recommendation that is
agreed upon in the committee will come
to city council, and we will provide
regular updates.
We are doing this to ensure transparency
through um public reporting and
community engagement, and I will get
into the transparency component a little
later throughout the presentation.
So, we had our first meeting uh back in
August
of 2025.
We have been meeting monthly
again to understand the MRA plans and
implementation.
We have completed one training on a
platform called InVisio. InVisio is a
um plan project management software that
the city has used in the past. And
basically um
it breaks apart plans into actionable
steps that we can track and report on.
So, we did our first training on that
and we have a second training scheduled
for May of 2026.
Um in that training we're going to
update um what we've learned in the
platform InVisio, how to better report,
and um we're also going to talk about
what implementation looks for MRA plans
in particular.
And then um
the economic develop the economic
development department has also um been
the lead on a lot of interdepartmental
coordination and supporting
implementation practices.
So, just some general things that we've
been working on and I know it's just
three bullet points, but um I really
want to talk about what is required. So,
um learning InVisio, training staff on
InVisio, getting them comfortable with
InVisio, breaking apart the plans. Um
and I really want to give a huge shout
out to um
the InVisio team and community
development. They've trained me and
trained a lot of staff on how to use it
and we feel like it's pretty
user-friendly. Um and then we've also
built out an internal MRA SharePoint.
It's a large document library. This is
where all the plans live. Um it's been a
great way for everybody um across the
city to have the same access to
everything MRA's.
And then um something I'd really like to
share that just recently got published
um
is the MRA resource guide. Again, a huge
shout-out to Jocelyn in communications.
She was very patient with me in building
this out. So, the MRA resource guide
came about um through business visits um
that I started doing when I was working
in the El Paso MRA.
I listened to a lot of stories, a lot of
experiences in the area, um and then
again, we heard more throughout the
public meetings. And I felt like an MRA
resource guide need to be created. So,
in the guide um there's information
about what MRA's are. It talks about
TIFs. It talks specifically about the
two adopted MRA's. Um but more
importantly was breaking down
programs across the city that we offer
that maybe um
the community doesn't have time to
research or we haven't um
shared.
And it I I always felt like a guide was
important so that way when I was
face-to-face, I had some type of
solution, a clear direction to point
them in. And so, some departments are
more broken down in the programs that
they have um simply because through the
public interactions, those questions
came up um
so for example, public safety, a lot of
their programs were broken apart and
leading the community to the correct
point of contact. Um and that that
proved to be a big task. Um
So, we've been sharing that in
um our business visits, any of our
community outreach. We shared that at
the LCPD town hall for the El Paseo
businesses. It will be on the MRA
website by the end of this week. And um
it's also been shared with everybody in
the MRA SharePoint um to to share our
these resources. In the back is also
just a general directory of um other
city
um
points of contact.
I also wanted to provide an update on
the safety improvement grant. Again,
this was the pilot program that you all
um helped us support for specifically
the El Paseo and South Solano MRA. We
launched that grant to the public
November 3rd of 2025. This allowed up to
$5,000 of reimbursement for safety
improvements um to properties. So, that
could include cameras, locks, doors,
sensors, lighting, and fencing. We also
partnered with um LCPD and in the grant
application,
we offered businesses the opportunity to
have safety evaluations of their
properties um
to get educated on preventative
strategies and then connect them with
additional community resources.
And to date, of the 100,000 that we were
awarded for this pilot program, we've um
we've expended about $30,000
and that's helping seven businesses.
Um and that will be expanded to the West
Picacho Motel MRA in fiscal year 2027.
Uh another incentive that we're working
on um as our city clerk mentioned, there
was a change in the MRA code that
allowed a property tax abatement program
um up to 14 years from 7 years to 14
years. So, eligible projects for this
would be residential, commercial,
mixed-use, and obviously that would
include NAT properties.
Um this is currently being built out,
but so far the application process looks
like we will have an intake form for
interested parties. They would have a
pre-application meeting with the
economic development department. Um if
we feel that it is a project that can
move forward, they would go through the
application process. We are building out
a community benefit matrix. Um so making
sure that that's in alignment with um
all of the departments within the city,
the MRA plan,
um
and then at that point it would go to
the internal MRA committee, be presented
if that's a project that we feel
qualifies.
And then all recommendations for the tax
abatement program would go to city
council for approval. Again, this is
currently being developed, so that will
come to city council um once we are
ready to present that.
And then just a few updates on the El
Paseo del Sol Llano um MRA. So we
currently have a webpage up for the
specific site. The adopted plan is
available online for the public.
Through the InVisio platform, um the
full plan has been entered into the
platform and something that we did um
because we felt it was really important
was we we met with all of the
departments in the city and we collected
existing projects already happening
within the MRA. Um because we realized
that maybe some of those projects
haven't moved forward because of funding
and we wanted to track those as well.
And so those were also entered into
InVisio. We have provided the initial
staff updates on recommendations in
InVisio. That will be available online.
I'm hoping by the end of this week on
the El Paseo webpage. So that will be
ready for the public to view. Um and
it's very user-friendly. Um I'm really
excited about it.
And then obviously we have um
moved forward with the tax increment
financing for the El Paseo. The city of
Las Cruces approved the 75% increment um
and we are
currently working with the county on
their GRT and property taxes for the El
Paseo as well.
Um, for the West Picacho and Motel, that
as well has a webpage. The adopted plan
is available online.
Um, foreign Visio, the plan has been
entered into the platform so staff has
seen that. Um, we also have collected
existing projects within the boundaries.
We have started working on updates. This
one has not gone live onto the website
but it will um here pretty soon.
And then as well for the 75% tax
increment that was adopted by the city
and we are also working on with the
county on the TIFs and property taxes.
Next we have our Opodaca and Lift Up um
area MRA. We are nearing completion of
the RF RFP process. There is a website
already live with a map and a
description of the boundaries. We have
set the TIF baseline and that's the
extent that we can move forward with
that. We are working with the county to
set the baselines for the um an
unadopted MRA as well.
We have started doing business visits
and conducting like pre-surveys
and researching and collecting data for
the consultants. So that's going through
all previous plans and um having those
ready city city plans to share with
consultants to onboard them.
And we have started working on our
stakeholder working groups so collecting
and updating contacts for community
members, um
identifying the city staff will that
that will be part of the planning
process on those.
So, next steps, kind of what we're
working on next. So, we're going to
continue refining implementation
processes, and this is why we are having
that second training at the end of May
is
we realize the complexity of the MRAs
and the recommendations and the asks,
and understanding that the MRA plans are
are different other plans that we've
worked with before. And so, we want to
make sure that across the board staff
understands what implementation looks
like, what it requires, more
specifically the collaboration. And
then, we're going to continue to develop
an advanced redevelopment incentives,
implement supporting policy frameworks,
and this one's really important because
we've spent a lot of time already doing
this. I think the plans do a really
great job in identifying some of the
areas within our policy that needs to be
further developed, and so we're working
on that. And also, we kind of realized
that
some policy framework needs to be built
out in order for some of the other
recommendations to happen. So, working
on those, and then defining the city's
role in partnerships. That's really
important and the redevelopment efforts.
So,
for example,
like private partnerships, what is that
going to look like? Supporting private
property redevelopment, what does that
look like? What's going to be our role?
And then, we are obviously coordinating
with Doña Ana County on the TIFs, which
is which is the big one, and then
advanced project development and secure
funding.
And with that, I will stand for
questions.
All right, thank you, Blair. Counselor
McLeroy.
Thank you, Mayor.
Thank you. I I had a question too. I
like that you talked about working with
the county and I I still think that
maybe not just necessarily policies for
just the city working with public, but
also the city, the county working with
more private entities. I'm thinking
specifically of the Boys and Girls Club
for the El Paseo area, how we can help
them. I know that came up with
Commissioner Sal Joh Hernandez, how we
can see if we can supplement some of
their their building of their um
their new facility that would probably
be a great catalyst for that area. And I
think they might need a little bit of
help but what that would look like for
the city and the county working together
would be something I'd like to see them,
too. Thank you.
Thank you, Council Member Clark.
Council Member Ortiz.
I was just going to ask you have have
you communicate have you worked with
Katrina maybe on notifying
the associations like Crescent Drive on
El Paseo. And if I get a thumbs up it
Okay, that's No, that's good. If those
associations have been notified that it
the plan is online
then and there's a I believe the other
one is the Heritage Farms.
And I think there's three or four of
that
go down El Paseo. So, if we can
communicate with them and then when they
call me I'll say, "Hey, Katrina
and Ms. Flores took care of it. Thank
you.
Mayor, Council Member Ortiz. Um, yes, I
that's been a lot of our work right now
is um connecting resources and
collaborating. And we have collected the
data on uh the neighborhood watch
programs and making sure that every
department is involved because a lot of
the recommendations
uh well, the entire plan has every
department in it. And so, having those
conversations. But, yes, we have we have
that data. Um, they are included in our
outreach for MRAs.
No, thank you. You know, every time I
ask it's always done, so I was wondering
what we do up here, but we we
we shake hands and kiss babies. Thanks.
Thank you, Counselor Mendez.
Counselor Curran.
Thank you. Thank you. This is awesome
and it's super exciting to see this
moving, so I know that that's a lot of
your effort. Um, so thank you for doing
that. I'm wondering if you can talk a
little bit about the community benefit
framework for the tax exemption that you
mentioned. I in particular hope that we
can emphasize local
locally owned businesses and businesses
that employ people and give them
insurance. Those are two things that I
feel like we should
always prioritize in terms of our
economic development strategies and so I
hope that we can
um, include I don't know what's in the
community benefit model, but I hope that
the those can be things that weigh
heavily in the in the understanding of
who gets the tax abatements.
Yeah. Um,
Mayor, uh, Counselor Curran, yes, we we
want to make sure that all of our we're
we're touching all of our bases and so
again, it is in development, but the
focus definitely is to, um,
to make sure that with that big ask of,
um,
of that incentive that that it's in
alignment with what the city, um,
initiatives are, right? Um, so that will
go to every department, um, that is part
of the MRA committee and we're going to
ask for feedback and then that of course
will come to work session for you all
for you to see what that final
that final, um, matrix will look like.
Um, but yes, definitely we're we're
taking that into consideration.
Thank you.
Our pro tem.
Thank you, Mayor.
Uh, Mayor, City Councilors
Blair, thank you very much for putting
this information together and and thank
you for the resource guide. I think
that's brilliant. Um very much needed.
In your um
feedback gathering sessions, and thank
you so much for doing your outreach,
what were um a couple of needs,
obstacles, or just feedback in general
that you got from from some of the
businesses in the MRA?
Um Mayor Mayor Pro Tem Muñoz, thank you
for the question. Um
you know, every area is extremely
different. Um El Paseo, I heard a lot of
the um small businesses
concerned about safety, public safety.
Um and it and it makes sense knowing the
area and the stratified policing that
Chief Story has shared with us. That's
in alignment with what the survey
showed. Picacho MRA, we heard a lot
about the concerns um of the motels. So,
that was a big focus. Um and obviously
um
supporting the vacant property of the of
the Tishero property.
I can tell you that already um Apodaca
is very, very different. I've heard um
a lot of concern The number one
complaint has been illegal dumping in
the area because of the undeveloped
alleyways. And so, I've already started
my research on that and trying to
understand um
where the issues lie, and I've already
reached out to utilities, and I've
learned a lot about trash cans and
the pickup schedule. And that's also in
the MRA resource guide for that reason.
Um So, yeah, it it's already very
different. Um
but again, being prepared for that, I
I've already um started looking into
some of those. So, yeah, so far Apodaca,
the alleyways and illegal dumping.
Thank you, Blair. Thank you, Mayor.
Again, thank you, Blair, uh for the
presentation and all.
The Apodaca and Lift Up area, you know,
you partnering with the county and all.
Um just something that's brought been
brought to my attention is on Hernandez
Street, the public schools have the
facilities area that they've had there
for years, and now they're building
their new one and almost finalize on
Teschner Road. So, that's a a building
that may become vacant, and that's
something that maybe the schools would
like to partner up in that lift-up area
for something that could be for youth or
educational or vocational areas. So,
that's something to to approach in that
area. We might have some infrastructure
there that that may act as a catalyst
for that lift-up area.
Um Mayor Mayor Enriquez, thank you for
for the comment. Um I I'm taking notes.
So,
uh
we've worked very closely with Las
Cruces Public Schools on all of the
MRAs, um and they were really kind
enough to open their facilities for the
Picacho. We We hosted one of our public
meetings there. So, they're definitely
on our stakeholder list. Um
so, we will connect with them. And then
just to add about the county,
Doña Ana County has never worked with
MRAs, and so it's definitely a learning
curve. Um so, we have we have spoken to
other um counties on how they handle
MRAs, and we do have some um we've been
in the talks of meeting with county
leadership to to talk about MRAs. Um and
we've been talking about TIFs, but I
think the the general concept of MRAs is
something we we plan on connecting and
exploring together.
Thank you.
All right. Thank you, Mayor. Appreciate
you.
I think that was the last item.
All right. We're looking for a motion to
adjourn.
Move to adjourn.
Second.
This is on the motion to adjourn the
work session. Councilor McKleroy?
Yes.
Councilor Matías?
Yes.
Councilor Harris?
Yes.
Councilor Bencomo?
Yes.
Councilor Curran?
Yes.
Councilor Munoz? Yes. Mayor?
Yes.
And we'll
Excuse [clears throat] me. We'll have
the agenda set in meeting in a couple of
minutes.