Good afternoon. Welcome to city council
meeting. Today is Monday, March 2nd,
2026. It's approximately 100 p.m. I am
Mayor Eric Enriquez. Before we start, I
want to mention that we have the ASL,
American Sign Language, up in the front
as interpreters available at every city
council meeting. Uh if you please stand,
we'll start with a moment of silence for
the brave men and women of the United
States Armed Forces as they protect our
our interests around the globe as well
as our courageous men and women of the
Los Cusus Police and the Fire
Department. Council
Ben, if you lead us in the
pledge.
To the flag of the United States of
America and to the stand
with liberty and justice for
Next on the agenda, we have uh
presentations or proclamations. We have
no proclamations, but we have what we
have now on our agenda is departmental
highlights. We're going to start out
with airport
with a departmental highlight.
So that's you, Blake.
Yeah. We'll start out with your airport
highlight. You're on.
Good afternoon. Blake Davenport. I'm the
intram airport director.
Can barely read it.
Mr. Mayor, mayor prom counselors again.
So, my name is Blake Devport. from your
intram airport director. Um
the little map up here, if I want to
orient you to it, we basically have two
primary runways at the airport. 1230,
that is your kind of top to bottom. It's
green. It's about three or four years
old. Um it's in very good shape. Uh
since we've been up here, we've done
quite a bit of pre-maintenance on it.
Um,
it's probably got about another 15-year
useful life and it's in good shape. If
you see the yellow line parallel with
that northwest to southeast line, that's
your taxi ways. They're yellow. That
basically annotates that the condition
of those run. Uh, the taxiways are not
as good. Um, but still quite
serviceable. Um, so we do routine
maintenance on those as well, including
just daily inspections. Um we do have uh
future plans to improve the yellow taxi
ways
uh probably over the next couple of
years uh that'll improve those to a
green status and then the rest you see
is in red. Um and so this kind of
parallels exactly what we do with all of
the streets uh where we do an annual
assessment of the condition of the
runways, taxiways, and apron. If it's
red, it means it's reached its the end
of its useful life. Um, so the red at
the bottom there is runway 826. It has
not been mainted
in roughly 25 years. Uh, so it's it's at
the end of its useful life.
U, so we took core samples on 826 about
two weeks ago. I should get the results
from those in the next few weeks. And as
we get those results in, that'll kind of
drive how we're going to rebuild the
runway. Uh we think it's about a in
today's dollars, if things stay stable,
it's about $10.5 million project. Um I
would invite anybody who desires, you're
free to come up to the airport. I love
giving tours. Um we very much now have a
very open door policy. So we encourage
anybody to come up and check the place
out. Um, right. It's in a lot of ways
this is a very capital intensive
department even though there's only
about five of us that work up there. Um,
and I think in general uh it's hard for
me to kind of describe in just slides
and stand here and talk to you about
what an investment and the opportunities
and the challenges we have up there. But
if you want to come up um I'll give a
plug for the barbecue. It's very good.
Our office is right by there. You just
make a right. The door is always open
and I'm happy to throw you in a truck
and we'll go out and drive the drive the
airport and show you around. It's very
nice.
That's really all level I have. Any
questions?
No, that's good. Blake, thank you. Thank
you for uh the departmental update and
then for the invitation.
Thanks.
We appreciate that. Thank you. Next on
the agenda, we have uh highlight from
parks and recck, Stephen Bingham,
Mayor Councel Steven Bingham, parks and
rec director as mentioned. Um just
wanted to highlight a few upcoming um
registrations. It's just a few of the
upcoming ones. Um we have a baseball
camp that we'll be offering um and a
STEM camp half-day camps 17th through
the 19th. Um, the registration opens
tomorrow at 9:00 am. We also have our
second session of the year of swim
lessons March 23rd through April 2nd.
That registration is opening March 14th
until full. There's a um about 120 slots
in that. Um we also have a hiking series
that is open right now.
We also have our um keepless cru's
beautiful um dumpster days coming up on
Saturday 21st from 8 to noon. Free
disposal of household trash, yard waste,
and other permissible items. It'll be at
Apadaka Park, Young Park, East Mesa
Recreation Center. And we want to report
that the um elevator was um repaired
finally over the weekend and is up and
running again. And we are also working
on um a replacement of the pump on the
warm water pool which had previously
been replaced
with a repaired pump and it went down.
Um we have a contractor on site that
they're doing some tests. They believe
the original pump that was put in was
wrong sized and when the replacement was
put in it failed.
And so they're they're evaluating that
and we'll get a new part order.
All right. Thank you, Steve.
Next we have pets of the week, Carol.
[snorts]
Good afternoon. I'm Carol Nelson,
digital content specialist with the
Animal Services Center of the Messia
Valley. This week, our dog of the week
is Harvest 82251.
I'm an overall happy golucky guy who
loves adventures. You'll often find me
at the front of my kennel, hoping for
some love and attention. While I can get
a bit excited during walks, I'm actually
quite calm when I settle down. I'm a
true people pup and love meeting new
friends. I'm also pretty smart. I know
how to sit and take treats politely, and
I learn quickly. I would thrive in a
home that can provide a little
behavioral training. If you're looking
for a loyal companion who adors belly
rubs and is always ready for fun, I'd
love to meet you.
And this week, our cat of the week is
Mia 997771.
I just arrived at the shelter this last
week. I started off shy, hiding in the
back of my kennel, but I've shown
progress. I no longer retreat and have
begun to relax around staff. This new
place has been a bit overwhelming for
me. Currently, I'm not the type to rush
to people, and also I'm getting to where
I won't run away either. I need a calm,
understanding household that can help me
learn what love feels like again. With
patience, I can become a loyal
companion. Together, we can take small
steps toward building trust.
And as always, we like to highlight our
long-term residents. Um, this week, it's
going to be a little bit longer, so
please bear with me. So, Hulu, our
longestterm resident, unfortunately, was
recently euthanized.
um and is part of the reason why we
highlight our long-term residents
because the longer an animal stays in
shelter, the more likely they are to
decline behaviorally, which happened
with Hulu. Um we do want to note that we
do have a new director who is committed
to helping animals, especially
behavioral animals, um so that we can
try to avoid youth in Asia where
possible. And also, there's only so much
we can do if people aren't coming to
adopt our long-term residents because
ultimately that will be the best
solution for them. So, we're sad uh for
Hulu. So, and also we want to turn our
attention to our other long-term
residents. Farah, who has been with us
348 days, Lily 306 days, Rosa 274 days.
And so, all really good options for
adoption. So, please take time to look
at our long-term residents when you come
in.
Our upcoming events this Saturday, we
will be at Petco from 10 to 1. Uh, and
then we actually have a new location
March 14th. We're going to be out in
Hatch at the Village Hardware from 10 to
1. So, please come by, especially the
residents out in the county that can't
always make it down to Los Cruus's. For
more information, feel free to visit our
website or follow us on social media.
Thank you.
Thank you, Carol.
Next, we have a special guest today. We
have Dr. Sabina Hershower. uh if you
want to come up and uh your students as
well they're honor students from NMSU
from the department of government and
they are also the democracy seminar
group and we want to get a photo but if
Dr.
Hershower if you don't mind coming to
the podium and kind of telling us a
little bit about your program or you can
volunteer one of your students.
I
is is that on? Yes. Well, so it was kind
of my idea and um uh councelor Corin was
so kind to shepherd us through this
council um session. But what the seminar
is all about is uh democracy in the
local and what it means for real people
in real places. So we just wanted to
watch you today. So how you do politics
but in a good way, not sometimes what we
see,
you know, in national news, not
necessarily
in, you know, some of this. Um, so we
just want you to see to see how you work
with democracy in the local and how you
make people's lives better. So this is
all. Thank you. Thank you for having us.
[applause]
Is there anything
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome
again.
I was going to ask you.
Next, we have the conflict of interest.
Does any member of the city council,
city manager, or any member of the city
staff have any known conflict of
interest with any item on the agenda?
None.
None. None. No conflict.
Next, we have the public participation.
We'll allow up to three minutes. No
pending litigation or items on
non-consent. If you just speak clearly
into the microphone, state your name.
Um,
and you'll have three minutes and
Katrina will be up here to usher you to
the podium. Thank you.
Mayor, [clears throat] Mayor Pro Tim,
council, those here today, those
watching online, I'm Lyn Moore. At the
last meeting, Assistant Utilities
Director Carl Clark stated the city's
drinking water sampling had never
identified any lead level exceeded that
he knew of. He also said with respect to
sampling associated with the city's 2024
consumer confidence report, quote, "Our
water is at two parts per billions."
Close quote. Handout one shows that in
fact things are not that rosy. Our water
is actually four times higher. Three
homes tested in August 2024 and the Las
Cusus municipal water system were 8,
six, and three parts per billion
respectively. All are under the current
action level of 15 parts per billion.
But Mr. Clark mischaracterized this key
health information. The record shows the
city does not test drinking water each
year for each of the city's five water
systems, contrary to what Mr. Clark
stated. This important fact becomes
clear when you compare the sampling
results of the CCR reports. Indeed, the
city did no sampling at all in 2019 or
2022. Handout two shows the timing of
sampling and the numerous gaps in the
reports. This led to the discovery that
the city published false information
regarding sampling results in the Los
Alurus water system. The 2024 CCR for
the Los Alurus system, which just
repeated the numbers from 2023 because
no new sampling was done in 2024,
falsely claimed that no samples exceeded
the action level. In fact, one sample
pulled in 2023 showed 24 parts per
billion and another 18 parts per
billion. Both well above the action
level of 15. See handout one. The CCR
also falsely claimed that despite these
two exceedences, 90th percentile
compliance was achieved. This is saying
that 90% of the samples were compliant.
In reality, those two exceedences
brought the overall compliance below
90%. Thus, the drinking water in the
Lasal Tour system was non-compliant in
2023 and 2024. This was hidden from the
public. There are also falsehoods in the
2020 CCRs, which I don't have time to
spell out now. What Mr. Clark did not
say is that the action level will
decrease from 15 parts per billion to 10
parts per billion as of November 1st,
2027. Los Cusus Utilities is now
operating on a less strict standard.
While this may be lawful at present, is
considered inadequate. That's why the
water testing standard was strengthened,
which does not affect the lead and
copper rule requirements for competent
inspections, honest notices about
findings, lead and galvanized pipe
removal, and publication of a full and
accurate inventory. Lead and galvanized
pipes must come out regardless of any
test results, and the public must be
truthfully and completely informed in a
timely manner. In light of copious false
characterizations and huge gaps in
sampling, I have no real confidence in
the city's so-called consumer confidence
reports. Thank you for this opportunity
to speak.
Mayor, City Council, I'm Liz Rodriguez
Johnson. It looks more and more like Las
Cruz's Utilities never intended to
uphold its promise to put disadvantaged
properties first. a promise made to
obtain $15 million in funding to
implement the federal lead and copper
rule. It appears that the department may
have sought and obtained the $15 million
under false pretenses. What's clear is
that the utilities department doesn't
have its priorities straight. The first
handout for you relates what should be
happening. The second, third, and fourth
handouts relate to what should be
happening.
The first handout relates to what should
not be happening. The second, third, and
fourth relate to what should be
happening. The first week of November,
city inspectors spent the majority of
their time and resources inspecting
properties that are not disadvantaged.
Of 10, 42 inspections or 24%
were for disadvantaged properties. The
first week of December, the imbalance
was much higher. Only one property of 28
inspected or 4% of of the total was for
disadvantaged properties. Handout A
shows the estimated valuation for the
non-disadvantaged properties that
inspectors examined during these two
weeks. Their devotion of time inspecting
these generally higher value properties
that are not designated disadvantaged
violates the city's promise made when
asking for the 15 million and violates
public trust. Instead of inspecting a
property valued at more than 465,000
on Cheyenne Court and its neighboring
400,000 properties, utilities inspectors
should be inspecting all the properties
listed in handout B. These truly
disadvantaged properties have estimated
values of less than $100,000.
This adds to the list of less than
$100,000 properties provided at the last
meeting. We urge utilities management to
direct inspectors to check out these
obviously low-income properties post
hey. When all the inspection for these
properties are completed, Las Cruz's
utilities inspector should work on the
properties in disadvantaged
neighborhoods with the estimated value
of less than $200,000 is helpfully
listed in handout C. It's both unjust
and dishonest to prioritize
non-disadvantaged properties for
inspection over these genuinely
disadvantaged ones. Finally, before even
one more property valued at $300,000 is
high or higher is inspected, absent an
overriding reason, every one of the
properties on handout D, which shows yet
another mobile ham community without
water hookups and which doesn't appear
in the inventory along with every single
property on handout C provided at the
last meeting should be inspected and
added to the map and inventory. The city
continually fails to include these
lowerincome folks on the map or in the
inventory or even acknowledge their
existence. This is obvious and it's also
cruel. So maybe cruelty is the point.
Chris Apadaka, talent agent, impossario,
film and television
mayor prom council members chief story
chief Daniels
uh you know I was thinking um
I've given you information on myself, my
background, you really can't put what I
do u on a resume. I just saw a movie
called Air uh with Matt Damon and he
that's kind of that's kind of uh what I
do. Uh J Jerry Maguire with Tom Cruz
instead of sports agent film and TV
actors.
Uh you all know that I've been around
for a long time in the industry uh close
to 40 years as a professional in the big
leagues in the show.
uh in the majors.
Not many people have had the
opportunities that I have and I've been
truly blessed and I'm grateful for the
things that I've done in my career and
look forward to many years still.
I when I was in Hollywood 14 years ago,
I was thinking, you know, I'd like to go
to Los Cusus maybe and get something
going uh see what I can develop. So I
kind of followed you for about a year uh
four years and eventually moved here to
be with my mother who since passed and
um I have family here. That's why I
choose to live here as well as I was
born here. This is home. Uh and I love
the Mexican food. Can't beat it. It's
best in the world. Uh
there are a lot of big fish in this
town.
uh are actually a few big fish and a lot
of little fish that think they're big
fish. Uh
they need to swim upstream to the ocean.
That's where the whales are, meaning the
studios and the money. You need to get
up there and give it a shot and see how
you do. It's a whole different
experience.
There was somebody that spoke here a
couple weeks ago um
and they were talking about the the
competition in the city and all of this
and I I just don't get that. Uh it's
ridiculous.
Uh
you shouldn't have competition here. You
have 14 other states doing what you're
doing plus California
and uh
No one's working together.
Um, I had uh a lot of information on
myself. Um,
uh, the countdown.
See you.
Any questions?
I'll see you next time.
Mayor Counselor Juan Garcia, thank you
councelor Harris for providing the
update on flock. I recognize your
concerns. Yet, it's important to assess
questions based on facts and overall
impact to the community rather than
focusing on particular quote affected
groups.
Credit to district attorney MSAS for the
convictions of two of the killers
responsible for the Young Park massacre.
Hope they are done destroying lives.
The question is why weren't laws with
real deterrence, real consequences not
enacted
that could have possibly prevented this
tragedy.
Look at the pricing blood and potential
monetary costs to the city over in
action. and I quote, "Guilty under
depraved mind murder determining the
Nathan Rivas action showed, and I quote,
a total and deadly indifference to the
value of human life." I have been saying
this time and time again, the reason
people kill is because life doesn't
matter.
And I'll repeat it, total and deadly
indifference to the value of human life.
We see this often in less cruises. The
subject of using GRT revenues on quality
of life or public safety was recently
discussed in these chambers. Nice to
have parks unless families are afraid to
use them due to the out of control
crime.
In my opinion, push back against public
safety isn't about fiscal priorities.
It's about hostility towards law
enforcement. That sentiment is voiced by
many of our friends on the left and
members of the Las Cruz's anti- police
group. The leader who is a
self-proclaimed anarchist claimed they
were quote being insinuated as a part of
something organized. During public
comments, a speaker warned that the same
leader is part of highly organized
groups that coordinate efforts to stack
local meetings. The leader was credited
with busing in over 250 people from El
Paso, Silver City, and Albuquerque to
sway a public event. That's pretty
impressive. No doubt those buzz were
quote unpaid, concerned citizens. This
same leader tried to team up with LCPS
board member Patrick Nolan to stack a
book review board when we advocated for
measures on handling age inappropriate
books in libraries.
And in our upside down world, thousands
of Iranians are celebrating the death of
their brutal dictator
who killed thousands of Iranians and
hundreds of Americans while American
leftists are furious that he was killed.
Make some sense of this. Thank you.
Here's
one for the seven and for
good Afternoon council everyone. My name
is Yoli Diaz. I have provided you a
Dennis Knox financial assistance file
that he had sent to me uh which is three
files and also 6.5 section of indigent
care and continuation of services from
the asset purchase agreement and the
2004 MMC policy.
Memorial Medical Center is currently
facing several issues regarding the
subject at hand. One significant problem
is that Memorial Medical Center is using
Donana County's resolution 2023-68
as their indigent policy.
This may represent an update to their
policy potentially replacing the one
mentioned in six section 6.5 indigent
care continuation of services of the
asset purchase agreement and the similar
policy revised in year 20110.
As of May 2016, Memorial Medical Center
began incorporating information from
Donana County resolution 2014-69,
a year 2014 resolution into their 2016
policy, which MMC renamed CHAP. Notably,
this policy also excluded cancer care
and outpatient dialysis. Donana
Countyy's resolution included a quoteer
of last resort end quote clause defining
it as a situation where residents
eligible for health coverage for the
same type of care do not qualify for the
Donana County Healthcare Assistance
Program indigent program. This wording
in effect actually excludes all
residents which Memorial Medical Center
did. Currently, as confirmed by
documents provided by Dennis Knox and
available on the MMC website as of
today, March 2nd, 2026, Memorial Medical
Center is directly using resolution
2023-68,
the current resolution, as its indigent
care policy. This resolution also
contains the same quote payer of last
resort and quote language. Dennis Knox
also shared a flowchart used by Memorial
Medical Cent's admissions department for
screening residents. This flowchart
asks, "Do you have healthc care
coverage?" If the answer is yes, no
further screening is required.
One consequence is that Memorial Medical
Center has no financial assistance nor
cost adjustments to insured indigent
residents medical bills regardless of
their indigency status. The 2004 MMC
policy pertain to uninsured,
underinsured, the indigent and more. So
Dennis Noox has informed all of us that
MMC is using Donana Countyy's resolution
2023-68
as their MMC indigent care policy. their
workflow as their process and they
updated 8:15 policy. Was city of Los
Cusus notified of the updates of both
years 2023 and 2025
and did the city of Los Cusus get in
involved? Last statement, please allow
it. Is city of Los Cusus involved now
with Donana County now that they are
revising the Donana County indigent care
resolution since city residents are
affected? Thank you. Thank you for the
extra seconds.
Good afternoon, city council. My name is
Lucas Hearnen for the record. Um, I am
just here again today as I said I would
be two weeks ago to uh continue
advocating on behalf of the community
that has spoken loudly about the things
that we want to see in our community.
Um, I was heartened to hear about the
elevator and hot water pool uh being
fixed at the at some of our resources
here. Those are the kinds of things that
make a city a city, a home. Um when I
when my daughter was little, we spent a
lot of time at the aquatic center and um
and I have fond memories of getting to
spend that time with her and take
advantage of a shared resource that you
know part of my living here. I share
with other community members and is
provided on behalf of all of us. And and
it is that kind of environment that we
can continue to advocate for with our
tax dollars, with the collected revenue
from the GRT to create a space in our
town that is welcoming, entertaining,
and familyfriendly.
um
with recent world events um
and especially the fiscal costs of those
of of of what we see the federal
government doing um in foreign places
around the world.
I'm reminded of the statement that a
budget is a moral document,
that how we choose to spend our dollars
is a reflection of our values.
And so I think that what I want to just
leave here once more saying
this community asked loudly last year
when the question was asked, "How would
you like to engage with us, the city, on
how we spend this revenue?"
And you all rose to the occasion and
asked us to engage with you publicly at
six separate meetings. And we did. and
you gave us a really wonderful way to
participate, speaking of democracy,
direct democracy into your districts
and you spoke with us and I and I I
spoke with you there. Many of my friends
spoke with you there. You had
representatives from all of your
departments. Those water guys need a
raise, by the way. They were excellent
advocates for their department. Um,
and across this city in all six
councils, I'm sorry, in all six council
districts, what people want was clearly
voted on. And that information was
presented to you in October of last
year. So, I know that you know that. I
know that the staff knows that. The
question remains why that wasn't
reflected a month ago at the work
session and the upcoming vote based on
what we were presented. So, I would just
ask you to keep those things in mind as
you get to that place. Thank you.
Hello, Liz Bennett, public health social
worker. We just came out of a
legislative session that failed to pass
gun safety regulation and failed to pass
meaningful reform for juvenile justice.
During a media tour by our police chief
seemingly calling for harsher
punishments for young people, we also
heard sound bites mentioning the
importance of evidence-based strategies
like youth development and diversion,
cognitive behavioral therapy, and early
intervention in school settings. So
where then is our city's commitment to
investing in those evidence-based
prevention strategies for the young
people who have been put on blast for
the last year?
It is my understanding that the proposed
police training facility could cost
somewhere between4 to $60 million, but
we don't know exactly how much or what
for because there isn't an official plan
or detailed proposal in place. With this
in combination with the millions spent
on the real-time crime center and the
millions allocated from the state
capital outlay for the police racetrack,
I would be interested to see the
comparison of amounts of dollars spent
on community-based prevention versus
police initiated response. The $60
million for a police training facility
alone is three times the annual budget
for all of the parks and recreation
department. I understand that the city
has made an effort to invest in
community. The progress toward
affordable housing development, outreach
to the unhoused, feeding seniors, and
providing afterchool programs is key,
and that effort is appreciated. However,
business as usual feels like pennies on
the dollar and is not enough to meet the
moment we are in, particularly with our
young people. If there is one thing that
the police chief and I agree on, it is
that collectively we are failing the
next generation. We must invest in the
expansion of services that meet young
people where they are and offer hope for
who they can become.
I've often heard Chief Story described
as someone who prioritizes
evidence-based interventions. And the
evidence is clear. Investing in the
criminalization and incarceration of
youth is investing in systems of harm
that perpetuate crime and incarceration.
Investing in culturally relevant, real
world, multi-istic support and
mentorship is what leads to recovery.
The challenges our young people are
facing require meaningful and long-term
planning and long-term investment. For
those of you interested in continuing
this conversation, I would like to
invite you to an an event hosted by
dream.org and unlock civicsn happening
this Friday from 5 to 9:00 p.m. at the
hood. The public health is public safety
event is a community- centered gathering
focused on connection, healing, and
practical solutions that strengthen
safety through care. This event brings
together youth, families, organizers,
and those directly impacted to explore
how harm reduction, empathy, and shared
responsibility can create safer,
healthier neighborhoods. Thank you.
Uh, good afternoon, mayor, city council,
and staff. My name is George Pearson,
and I'm vice president of Valacrus, a
bicycle pedestrian advocacy
organization. At the last PNZ meeting, a
master plan and preliminary plat was
approved for the Soaring Eagle Heights
subdivision. The proposed subdivision is
located on the northern part of city
limits in a little carveout on the west
side of Elks Drive in Council District
5. It is next to Vista Middle School and
not far from Columbia Elementary School.
The county supported with state funding
has built a multi-use trail that extends
from Donana to Columbia Elementary.
There's still a small gap up to city
limits that is will hopefully be filled
in in the not tooistant future. At the
PNZ meeting, there was some discussion
about the cross-section design for Elks
Drive in front of the subdivision.
It was pointed out that the county
multi-use trail is nearby and that with
the middle and elementary schools
nearby, there is an expectation of
school age pedestrians along Elks.
Revisiting the Elks cross-section was
voted down by PNZ with reasoning by
commission members that the proposed
cross-section meets design standards.
This may be true, but it does not meet
improving the quality of life for Los
Cususa citizens realize has recommended
cross-sections for various roadways, but
these are minimum standards. Turns out
the Elks cross-section was decided at
the DRC with minutes showing only that a
wider turn lane was recommended by
staff. To me, this design promotes
vehicle travel over pedestrian safety.
New Mexico is number one in per capita
pedestrian fatalities. And getting us
off the top of this horrible list is the
duty not just of NMDOT, but also of all
the local governments, including
especially Los Cruus. The city talks the
talk about traffic safety and vision
zero, but they do not seem to be walking
the walk. Looks like the design is just
creating an enforcement problem and not
helping with design elements that would
increase safety. What can we do to
revisit the decision and approve a
design that includes an extension of the
multi-use trail along Elks Drive in
front of this subdivision? This is a
problematic area in solving the
connectivity problem for bicyclists
along Elks, but this is an opportunity
that should be grabbed to help with
traffic safety. Let's build a 21st
century road that prior prioritizes
safety over moving vehicles. Thank you.
And just have a moment left. If you
There was a grand opening of the Elks
Trail by the county and safe routes to
school and there's a great video that
the county put together and you can find
it either on the county's Facebook page
or safe routes to school Facebook or the
Vel Cruis's Facebook page. So I would
hope you take a look at that also. Thank
you.
Good afternoon. I'm Jim Hurst. Um, I
glad I made it here in time for public
comments. I was watching at home. Uh I
heard one of the speakers say that the
protests
and the um
participation of citizens in these
hearing or in the in public opportunity
or uh public comment opportunities were
somehow inauthentic and that we were
paid and all that sort of rot. Uh it is
simply not so. The protests in this town
are authentic. Our appearance at school
board is authentic. Our appearance at
county count or county commission and
this body are authentic. Nobody's paid.
Nobody's bust in. They want to pretend
that all society's ills are the result
of liberal intervention and that our
policies created the world as it is.
That simply is not the case. Liberals in
local government have generally been the
minority until recently. Uh that's a
matter of historical fact. We didn't
bring uh um segregation
and all the social ills associated with
that. We didn't create homelessness. We
don't control the capital of this
country. The wealth of this country is
generally controlled by conservatives.
Everybody knows that social policy is
generally controlled by conservatives.
Everybody knows that the media is
controlled by conservatives. Everybody
knows that the news is controlled by
conservatives. Everybody knows that.
Get over blaming liberals for the
problems. We're just trying to correct
them. As Billy Joel said, we didn't
start the fire.
Just because we're trying to fight it,
we didn't light it.
So stop this crap about us causing all
the problems.
Thank you very much.
Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council,
Chief of Police, Tim Jenkins. I would
like to start by giving you all some
heartbreaking statistics. We are just
barely 60 days into 2026
and eight police officers were killed in
one week alone. Two incidences here in
New Mexico last week. 16 officers killed
since January 1st. 67 officers ambushed,
22 officers shot in the line of duty, 19
officers stabbed. We are two months into
the year and there is a 65% increase
nationwide in juvenile crime.
This is not federal agents or
immigration officials. This is local
police fighting to protect their own
communities. Behind every unformed
officer is a human being who has chosen
a profession rooted in service,
sacrifice, and responsibility.
Supporting our officers is not, and I
repeat, is not a political statement,
but rather a community responsibility.
Modern policing is more complex than
ever, and our officers are held to the
highest standard humanly possible.
Officers don't only serve as law
enforcers, but also as counselors,
mediators, first responders, and crisis
intervention specialists. They respond
to mental health crisis, domestic
disputes, traffic accidents, violent
crimes, and community concerns, often
all in the same shift. If we expect
professionalism and compassion from our
officers, then we must ensure they
receive the resources and support
necessary to perform at their best.
Police safety is not solely the
responsibility of law enforcement, but
rather a partnership between city
leadership, police departments, and the
community. When city council invests in
our officers, it is investing in a safer
and stronger city. Our officers deserve
support and our community deserves
excellence. Many times in the last two
weeks while dealing with our officers, I
have witnessed time and time again our
officers choosing compassion over the
rule of law. And that is what needs to
be celebrated, encouraged, and
strengthened. So let's help each other
invest in what brings our community
together rather than the things that
divide us. We live in a world that feels
so angry and divided and a world where
bad news travels at the speed of
outrage. Can we please come together as
a community and let each one of us be
the change that we want to see? And
remember that our officers are husbands
and wives and parents and children of
our very own community that deserve a
safe place, peaceful place just as much
as we do. Thank you.
All right. Thank you. Uh, next is read a
closed meeting statement.
The Los Cusa City Council met in close
meeting on March 2nd, 2026 at 11:01 a.m.
The following were in attendance. Mayor
Enriquez, Councelor Mccclure, Councelor
Harris, Councelor Bencomo, Councelor
Karan, Councelor Munoz, City Manager
Econo Pao,
Police Chief Jeremy Story, City Attorney
Brad Douglas, city clerk Christine
Rietta, outside council Luis Robas.
We're to discuss the pending litigation
regarding Pette A and Pamela Ay
Sylvester as personnel representatives
of the estate of Presley a versus city
of Los Cusus which is closed
pursuant to New Mexico State statute
1978 section 10-15-1H7
chief story and Lewis Luis Robas left at
12:03. Uh, entering were assistant
interim assistant city manager David
Sado and community development director
Chris Favor at 12:03
p.m. to discuss the purchase,
acquisition, acquisition, or disposal of
real property or water rights by the
public body which is closed pursuant to
New Mexico State Statute 1978 section
10-15-1H8.
The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.
Next, I'll have a motion for acceptance
of agenda.
Move to accept.
Second.
This is on the motion to accept the
agenda as presented. Councelor McClur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Harris,
yes. Councelor Beno,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Munoz,
yes.
And mayor,
yes.
So, we will start out with item 8.1. A
public hearing is required.
So, the public hearing is now open at
1:51 p.m. Is there anyone here for or
against the issuance of this liquor
license?
Seeing none, the public hearing is now
closed at 1:51 p.m.
The resolution number 26-107,
a resolution approving the request for a
transfer of location of canopy liquor
license
package sales only BW gas and convenient
retails located at 4805 Mesa Grande
Drive.
Move to approve.
Second.
Okay. Adam.
Thank you, Mayor Adam Community
Development. For the record, before you
have a liquor license for the proposed
uh well, the currently under
construction all uh number 102507
located at 4805 East Mesa uh East,
[clears throat] excuse me. Yeah. Uh 485
Mesa Grande Drive. There we go. Uh,
pursue to New Mexico state statute, an
applica an application has been
submitted for approval of a transfer of
location of a canopy liquor license
number dis868
with package sales only for the alubs
102507.
The alcoholic beverage control division
of the state did send preliminary
approval to the city of Los Cruus on
January 6 of this year. Uh, staff did
require an extension. uh that extension
was approved by the state in order to
hear this uh liquor license hearing
today. Uh reviewing staff uh saw no
issues with the proposed application
other than one issue which is a distance
requirement. Uh per per requirements
there is a required 300t distance
required for a liquor establishment uh
to a school campus. Uh the Oregon
Mountain High School is actually
approximately 264 feet that is measured
from property line to property line. Uh
council may though may though may grant
a waiver to this requirement uh to allow
the business within 300 feet of the
school. Council may use traditional
guidelines such as you know health,
safety, welfare issues that may be come
up as as a as a way for you to do your
decision. Voting yes, we'll approve the
liquor license and the associated
waiver.
shown here the subject propert right on
the I guess it' be the northwest corner
of a baton memorial and Mesa Grande the
school in questions on the opposite side
on the south side of a of a a baton
memorial.
So with that council your options are
one to vote yes and approve the proposed
liquor license and associated waiver to
vote and deny. Uh uh that is the
conclusion of my presentation and I
stand for questions.
Thank you, Adam. Any questions?
Councelor Harris.
Uh, thanks, Mayor. Um, does the Maverick
that's on the other corner have a liquor
license or are they trying to get one?
Uh, Council Harris, uh, mayor, no, they
do not have one, sir. Uh, they do not
have a liquor license.
Okay. Thanks. That's all.
All right. See no other Christine.
This is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-107.
Councelor McClure,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
no.
Councelor Harris,
yes.
Councelor Bencomo,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Munoz,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Motion passes.
Next is item 8.2, 2. Resolution 26-108,
a resolution to approve the submission
of a grant application to the New Mexico
Department of Transportation.
Move to approve.
Second.
Good afternoon, mayor, city council,
staff, and public. My name is Crystal
Silva with the grants administration
program. Today I am bringing forth a
resolution to approve the submission of
a grant application to the New Mexico
Department of Transportation's municipal
arterial program for the public works
department.
The New Mexico Department of
Transportation is soliciting
applications for the municipal arterial
program or MAP. The purpose of the MAP
program is to assist municipalities in
project development. The intersections
of West Amadore Avenue and Mix Swain
Drive have been identified to undergo
improvements. These improvements will
provide pedestrians with an improved and
protected multi-lane crossing point by
stopping busy vehicular traffic along
West Amidor Avenue, allowing pedestrians
to cross safely.
The city has estimated construction and
design for the project to be $984,100
with a $584,100
uh amount having been funded with a New
Mexico capital outlay grant that was
received in fiscal year 26. This year,
the city is requesting $300,000 from
NMDOT with the city contributing the
required match of H 100,000 for an
application total of $400,000.
NMDOT does require a resolution of
approval in order to apply for this MAP
funding.
With the map on the screen, these
improvements are a continuation of city
initiatives to increase pedestrian
safety along the West Amadore Avenue
corridor. The corridor directly serves
the community of hope, Camp Hope, Amador
Crossing, the Los Cusus Gospel Rescue
Mission, and multiple nonprofit service
providers. These destinations generate
consistent daily pedestrian activity
across Amidor Avenue.
Funding through this NMDOT grant is
critical to advance implementation of
the Hawk pedestrian hybrid beacon. The
Hawk signal provides a cost-effective,
proven safety countermeasure that
significantly reduces pedestrian crash
risk while maintaining vehicular
mobility on this major arterial.
Before you are your council options, and
I stand for questions.
Thank you, Crystal. Uh, councelor
Current.
Um, thank you. Thank you for presenting
this and I I just I appreciate the
opportunity to vote on this and I also
appreciate um I just want to sort of
give a shout out when when we have all
of these infrastructure conversations. I
do feel like sometimes we are not
necessarily paying attention to how much
things cost. But this is this is a hawk
signal signal which I think of as like
kind of I don't want to say it's not
very much but it's not like we're
redesigning this road. this road is is
what it is. Um it will change pedestrian
safety and it costs about a million
dollars. I think from the initial thing
it looks like it costs half a million
dollars but there is a lot of money
behind it. And so I think for me part of
what I'm going to spend some time like
sort of in conversation and since there
are a bunch of um students here from
NMSU is sort of talking about like how
much things cost in in the world today
and and so that's really bear with me
while I while I point out this is a
million dollars for one pedestrian
crossing. Um, we wish that we had 400 of
these, right, in the city. Probably we
would all ask for some kind of
pedestrian invent intervention in a
number of places. And it and I say this
because my district is getting a new
traffic signal that's $1.5 million. So,
I say all of this to say, just as a
note, stuff costs a lot of money if you
didn't know. Uh, and we're trying to
figure out constantly how to balance
things like people's safety, um,
different types of income and, um, or
different types of city income like in
this case grants, DOT, state capital
outlay, and our own, um, GRT money or or
tax money that we use to match all of
this. So,
of course, more of a qu comment than a
question, like all politicians do all
the time, but I just think it's really
telling that this costs a million
dollars. And in my mind, it should be
cheap is is I guess what I I say and
that I wish. So, anyway, thank you.
Thank you,
Councelor Harris. Uh, thanks, Mayor. On
slide two, this is a silly question,
maybe.
Uh what what does Hawk stand for?
Everyone else in the room,
I actually have that in my other
documents, but if I'm able to refer to
public works, I would appreciate it.
Good afternoon.
uh interim assistant public works
director Jimmy Moreno for the record. Uh
Mayor Counselor Harris Hawk is a
highintensity crosswalk activation
signal. So uh it's it's uh a signal that
is activated by pedestrians. That way
it's only in use uh during times of high
pedestrian activity and can be activated
to stop traffic.
All right. Thanks. Um, yeah, my my
comment is I I drive that road every day
and having a signal for that crossing
would be amazing. So, it's great.
Thanks.
Thank you,
Mayor.
Yes, council.
Thank you. Jimmy, since you're up here
and well, either of you, I'm assuming
Jimmy, though, can you give us a
timeline for the project?
Sure. uh mayor uh councelor Bencomo uh
this project actually just started
design uh so this will finish late
winter the design and hopefully
construction in the beginning of the
calendar year
uh Jimmy do we have a hawk pedestrian
crossing in Los Cusus already is there
one
sample
Yes. Uh, mayor, uh, councelor Matise,
currently university has has a a hawk
system in place currently activated and
in use
and West Pocacho.
Yes. In addition, West Picacho.
Thank you, Jay. Thank you.
Thank you, CL Councelor Brink.
And isn't isn't there one on Roadrunner
across from Veterans?
Uh, that one is not a that's a beacon,
but however, excuse me, mayor. Um,
that's a beacon. However, it's not a
hawk system. We can't activate it uh by
pedestrians.
Okay. Thanks.
Good. I see Mr. Pearson. Yeah. I'll take
public comments. I'll give you two
minutes.
Thank you, George Pearson. Um, these
questions might be addressed later
during the design, but I'll ask them
now. If the location of the Hawk system
is going to be aligned with the
multi-use trail that exists in that
general area, and also if a pedestrian
refuge would be part of the process. And
my final question is not directly
related to this but the roadway segment
if a speed limit change reduction is
being considered for this segment of
roadway because it's the posted speed I
believe is 40 miles an hour which is
really not conducive to pedestrian
travel.
Thank you,
Tim Jenkins. For the record, um, I
travel this road hundreds of times a
week. The supply house that I use is on
Amodore, Whit Nelson.
And when I travel that road, I'm going
to say that they're probably 1% of the
people crossing that road use the
crosswalk that's there. To me, it's hard
to justify a million dollars for what we
have doesn't ever even get used as is
right now. Just so you guys know, it's
hard for me. We have to slam on our
brakes all the time because the it's the
crosswalk isn't used. So, it's hard to
justify spending a million dollars on
what we have doesn't get used already.
Thank you.
Okay. See no other comments. Uh
Christine,
this is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-108.
Councelor McClur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Harris,
yes.
Councelor Bencoml,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Munoz,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Next is item 8.3, resolution number
26-109,
resolution authorizing an amendment
adding 10,000 to the contract for film
economic development services with film
loss cruises.
Move to approve.
Second.
Good afternoon, mayor, council, city
staff. My name is Alysia Ernnandez, uh,
purchasing manager for the financial
services department. Before you today is
a resolution to authorize an amendment
to our contract for film economic
development services.
Currently, Film Los Cusus is the only
firm dedicated to the development and
growth of the film industry specific to
Los Cusus in the surrounding area. For
the past 10 years, film Los Cruus has
cultivated and sustained relationships
with an array of film industry firms and
personnel and that has been a
contributing factor in the attraction of
film production to Los Cusus
through promotion film permitting,
workforce development, local vendor
support, and marketing services. Film
Los Cusus has created opportunities for
film and media production in the Los
Cusus area that has provided employment
for residents, generated revenue,
bolstered local businesses, and
increased use of otherwise unused and un
underutilized facilities.
On April 25th, 2024, in accordance with
Lous Municipal Code 24-7,
a sole source determination was approved
with Bill Moscus in relation to film
economic development services. Contract
number 23-24-098
was executed on June 27th, 2024 for a
term of 2 years through June 30th, 2026
in an amount not to exceed 95,000 plus
applicable taxes annually subject to
approved budget appropriations.
Economic Development is requesting
authorization to increase the spending
limit of the contract for the final year
of the agreement, adding $10,000 for a
new amount not to exceed 105,000 plus
applicable taxes annually subject to
approved budget appropriations.
These funds may be used to support a
marketing and promotional campaign,
including advertising with Movie Maker
magazine in an amount not to exceed
$8,000 and participation by film oscus
at the American Film Market in Los
Angeles in an amount not to exceed
$2,000.
Before you are your options and we have
staff from Film Los Cusus as well as
Elizabeth Teers from economic
development and myself for questions if
you have any.
All right. Thank you, Alicia. Any
questions?
Councelor Harris.
Uh, thanks, Mayor. Do you have an
estimate on the return that you expect
to see from this advertising campaign,
tangible or non-tangible? I would have
to refer to Elizabeth Teters on that.
Good afternoon, mayor and city council.
Sorry to do this, but I'm going to refer
to Andrew from Film Los Cusus.
Good morning, Mr. Mayor, City Council.
Uh yes. Uh that the returns that we're
trying to get is we're trying to bring
more productions here and the easiest
way to do that.
Sorry. Andrew, could you state your name
for the record?
Oh, sorry. Yes. Andrew with Film Las
Cruises. Andrew Ha with Film Las
Cruises. Mr. Mayor, city council. Uh the
return that we're trying to get is to
get productions here. We have already
had success at similar events. We went
to an Albuquerque media event and we
were able to bring two productions. And
so it's similar. uh the AFM event that
we wanted to attend is a collection of
producers and industry makers that can
make those decisions to come to Los
Cusus. And so we were just trying to
make sure that we could be in those uh
in those meetings and have those
conversations.
Okay. Thanks,
Council Matis. No, I I just wanted to
thank Council Harris for considering
ROI. I think it's very important that
everything we do, you know, has some
type of good return of investment. So,
um, but this is more on recruiting
PE. Is this recruiting advisor and and
special people that will actually get
more production here? Is that what this
is for?
Uh, Mr. Mayor, city council. Uh, yes, in
in a way. So what we're trying to do is
not necessarily advisors but the people
who are bringing production those are
the producers. So a lot of times right
for example when we have a production in
town they are trying to hire locals as
much as possible but the productions
that are bringing in are usually from
out of town the producers uh uh
directors and everything like that. So
what we do is we try to make sure that
they're staring their eyes towards Los
Cruus so that they know that we are
viable for filming that we are film
friendly and so giving them that
information um and so that they can make
those decisions to come here.
What what kind of uh process or show or
how do you do that? How how do you
present what we do as film loss cruisers
for for these folks that come? Do they
come individually or do you have a a
joint meeting of of many of them?
Uh yes uh Mr. Mayor, city council. Uh
it's it's mostly individual meetings.
Sometimes there are uh group meetings.
We have uh for example, sometimes we'll
reach out to production companies and
try to pitch the whole company. A lot of
times we're trying to reach out to
individual producers with individual
projects and get them to come here. The
thing about film is that it kind of
works in projects. Like for example,
there is a movie in town. uh they will
work that movie, they'll open offices,
they'll bring in their some of their
crew, they'll hire others, and then once
they're done filming, they usually go
back to wherever they are and finish the
film. And so what we're trying to do is
let them know that they can come here.
The way we do that is a we have
meetings, we let them know that we're
film friendly, we talk about how we can
do permits, we talk about how we have
the infrastructure, but another thing is
that we will create location packages
for them. So, a location package is when
you write a script. Um, you're, you
know, you're going to have where the
script takes place. And so, a lot of
times we had a film that took place in,
uh, right now we have a film that might
take place, you know, overseas or in a
different country. Mexico is a big
popular one. And so, we kind of find
those locations in Las Cruises that
could fit that um, those locations. If
it's a gas station, we show them all the
gas stations we have here. And so this
way once they come here they know that
all the locations that they're looking
for are available in Los Cusus and it
kind of gives them a head start as to
where they can begin.
Thank you
Mayor Bro.
Uh Mr. Mayor, city councilors Andrew
love the work that you and your team
have produced over the years. Really
good successful um track record. So I'm
I'm still trying to understand so the
net that you're going to cast is that
local, regional, national where you're
you kind of walk through the process,
but what's your target audience?
So and that's one of the things about
film is that it's kind of hard to figure
out how to market it because we're
marketing Los Cruuses, but we're not
marketing Las Cruises to Los Cruus.
We're marketing them to people in LA, to
people in New York, all over the
country, and all over the world. Last
year we even had a production from
Finland come in and we helped them. So
it's really about trying to let as many
people who are making films or in the
film industry uh know about Los Cruises
and know that not only do we have the
locations, not only do we have the
infrastructure, but we can help them
with permits, we can help them with
crew. And so it's it's just letting them
making them aware and of course our our
state incentives which is very
competitive. So it's letting them know
all about that.
Got you. Thank you, Andrew. Thank you,
Mr. Mayor.
Yeah, Andrew, just uh
I'd like to say we're very supportive of
of the film industry, the the
excitement, the tourism, the economic uh
value. We talk about ROI. We talk about
our students at NMSU and and and all
that and it's it's it's very promising
and good. But what what do you have
going on right now? What is it that
that's going on right now in Los Cusus
that is taking place with film?
So yes, Mr. Mayor, city council. Um,
yes, it's been a very exciting, honestly
last two years. Since last year at about
from about January, we've had production
every single month in one way or
another, whether it's pre-production or
uh actual production. So, there's been
film in town the entire year. That was
one of our first goals to make here at
Film Las Cruises. So, it's very good to
have that. Since then, like I said, the
calls have been have grown in in um have
increased of people wanting to bring it
in. And we've also had productions
raised obviously even right now we have
three productions in town right now that
are trying to film and another one that
is on the way within the month. So like
I said we are very busy right now and on
top of that we've also had
infrastructure grow. We've had a prop
house that opened in the last year in
the last few years and last and this
year they've decided that they needed
more room because they are so busy and
they have expanded and so just those
kind of infrastructures the crew base
has grown exponentially and even like
getting being able to use some of the um
different buildings and stuff here. So
yes,
thank you Andrew. Thank you for that.
Seeing no other questions. Uh Christine,
this is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-109.
Councelor Mccclur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Harris,
yes.
Councelor Beno,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Munoz,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Next is item 8.4,
resolution number 26-110,
a resolution authorizing a purchase
agreement for Medicaid ambulance
reporting with public consulting groups.
Move to approve.
Second.
Good afternoon, mayor, counselor, city
staff. My name is Virginia Barela, buyer
2 with the financial services
department. And before you today is a
resolution requesting authorization to
enter into agreement for ambulance
reporting services.
The city of Los Cusus's fire department
provides emergency medical response
services for the city of Los Cusus for
transportation and treatment, which
could include immediate care to the ill
and injured patients, life-saving care,
and relief of medical systems.
In calendar year 2024, the Los Cusus
Fire Department provided 3,852
transports at an estimated cost of
$3,4153
per transport for a total estimated cost
of 13,156,69.33.
71.66%
66% of the actual cost for providing
these ambulance services to persons
participating in Medicaid may be
supplemented if the Los Creus's fire
department participates in programs
available through the ground emergency
medical transportation or New Mexico
emergency ground ambulance services
uh programs. The city requires
assistance in compiling the data for
eligible transports uh preparing reports
and submitting to the agencies to
receive reimbursement um up to the
71.66%
per eligible transportation.
In August 19th, 2024, resolution 25-018
was approved which allowed the city to
enter into an agreement with Public
Consulting Group um LLC of Boston,
Massachusetts. And this agreement
allowed PCG to put together a U metric
in order to com compile all this data to
um isolate the the transportations that
were eligible because they qualified
under um these two programs, prepare the
reports, um send them off to the agency
so we can receive the reimbursements for
the eligible transports. Um they ensured
that the collection of all data the
preparation of all reports um were in
alignment with HIPPA or I'm sorry the
health improvement portability and
account accountability act as well as
the health information technology for
economic and clinical health act as well
as all state and federal statutes and
reg statutes and regulations regarding
um the compiling of this uh data and and
reporting
loss crew. is municipal code chapter
24-7 allows the city to enter into a
soul source agreement um when a soul
source determination has been made. Um
so at this time the Los Cusus's fire
department is requesting to enter into
an agreement with PCG to replace the one
that has just expired um to be effective
through December 31st, 2028. Uh the
terms of these agreements is that PCG
will be um paid 15%
of whatever reimbursement is collected
by the programs and the annual not to
exceed amount will be 600,000.
Before you are your options and I stand
for any questions.
Thank you. Uh, councelor, correct?
I I was just wondering if you could go
back to the thing the slide that talks
about the cost. That's like 13
millionish.
Um, so this is how much this is for one
year. Um, I will defer to uh Chief
Daniels, but I believe this reporting is
just for calendar year 2024.
Uh Mike Daniels, fire chief for the
record. Uh mayor, councelor Karan,
that's correct. That is the what would
be the estimated cost for a calendar
year associated with transports at full
rate. That takes into account salaries,
benefits, depreciation of apparatus, the
cost of fuel, every aspect of that
transport is what that's taking a look
at.
Okay. Thank you. And then we're hoping
to go after 71% reimbursement of that
which is like I guess
9 millionish.
Mayor, councelor Karan. Uh not not
quite. Um okay.
What this uh what this program does is
we share the in essence through the
state healthcare authority. There is a a
cost associated with that the state the
state takes their portion first and then
at that point the MCOs's distribute the
remainder to us. Uh this year it's been
just over $2.2 million for calendar year
24 is it's right around 2.3 million uh
for calendar year 24 when we get our
funds is when what we would and then we
pay 15% off our net collected revenue.
So that's
so 13 million we've been able to collect
about 2 million. Uh that's our that's
what we receive there. Okay.
And a lot of it's based on what's
reimbured by Medicaid. That's what the
consultant is really hired for is to
look in and try to maximize our
collectible revenue under the program.
Uh this is when we had work session in
in July, we talked about the Medicaid
reimbursement program. That's this
program. So, as our transport volumes
increase, we could in a couple years
expect to see those numbers increase
significantly um because we transported
3,852.
Last calendar year was just over 4,000
times we transported
um we're expecting to see about 12,000
transports this year. 11 between 11 and
12,000 this year. So, but they're
they're these are generally calculated a
year a year to two back. So,
that's I guess you are getting you are
uh segueing perfectly into the question
that I had which is $600,000 doesn't
seem like that seems like we're putting
a cap on it. Like I don't want them to
be like, "Oh, we're not doing the
paperwork anymore." And then we leave
money on the table, I guess, would be my
the thing that I would worry about.
That's why I was asking getting at that
question. And so it sounds like it's
enough for now in given that
reimburseable rate, but we might need to
change it in the future.
Mayor, councelor Karand, I I would guess
that in three years we'll we'll be
seeing different numbers. So at the
termination of this contract, this is
this is enough to get us through the
combined calendar year 24 and 25, which
we expect to see potentially the latter
part of this fiscal year. And then
calendar year 26
should uh align well with this. But in
2028, you're correct. I I I would
believe that this could be um lower than
what we would need.
Okay. Thank you. Sorry, that's just I
was just thinking that that seemed like
not very much money in this in this
round table. So given all of those
things, thank you very much. I
appreciate. Thank you,
Mayor Councelor Cran. to also add into
that. If we do get into a situation
where we're still in the term of the
agreement and we see that we're coming
close to that capping limit and we feel
that we are going to exceed it, we would
come back to council to request an
amendment and give the justification for
that for approval.
Councelor Harris.
Um, thanks Mayor. Um, first I very much
appreciate you spelling out the acronyms
um for everybody. Um, and then my I I
was also curious about the the cost. So,
um, that's been answered. Um, just out
of curiosity, are there any plans to be
able to, um, bring in staff to submit
these reports in house, you know, in the
far future? Um, or is this something
that's really best left to to
consultants who help with this
nationwide?
Mayor, Councelor Harris,
I would right now I I I don't know that
we would uh we have the staff or in New
Mexico. This is we just started
collecting this year. So we don't
entirely know the entire framework as as
well. I I don't think anybody in the
state does. So every one of the
providers currently in New Mexico is is
cons contracting with PCG. Um there's I
think up we're up to 13 providers now
that are are now this is what they
specialize in is is NME gas and rural
healthcare transformation funding
opportunities. So right now I would say
no. I'm not entirely sure what it would
look like for us to build that capacity.
Um and and also it's a small portion.
It's it's not all the time. So, um
I'm not sure we would justify an FTE
through this. It's somewhat cleaner just
to continue that. At least for now,
that's my recommendation until we
understand more about the system.
Okay. Yeah, that that sounds fair. And
I'm glad to hear that we're we're kind
of pooling with the other municipalities
and um other providers throughout the
state to to get value out of this
service. That's it. Thanks,
Okay. Seeing none other Christine.
This is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-110.
Councelor Mccclure.
Yes.
Councelor Matise.
Yes.
Councelor Harris.
Yes.
Councelor Bencoml.
Yes.
Councelor Karan.
Yes.
Councelor Munoz.
Yes.
Mayor.
Yes.
[snorts]
Next is board appointments. We have
none. Notice of proposed ordinances.
None. City council member board reports
and comments. Council Mccclure.
Thank you, Mayor. I wanted to give a
quick shout out to specifically Acon who
when I asked him, hey, is there a way
for us to um be innovative with active
transportation to um find a solution
that might work, especially given the
situation at the city? Um and now we
have a active transportation team. I'm
hoping not to steal his thunder by
announcing this, but um I also hope that
they could be willing to present much
like in the department um news that we
had today. That would be great. See
where they're going first, get as
they're going. Um it would be really
interesting to see how that's happening.
Um,
I was also going to say, uh, for the
juvenile justice board, our continuum,
we need board members, and I'm going to
be sending a whole lot of emails to
people to poke them into wanting to be a
board member because we can't exist as a
continuum without board members. So,
we're looking for social service agency
representatives, youth serving agencies,
um, business community. So people in the
business community might get an email
from me, religious organizations, youth
and families, people who want to
actually do some um some investigation.
So what is it? What does the board do?
Analyze local trends that put youth at
risk, assess community resource gaps. So
we if you are have any curiosity for
every month, we're going to be moving to
once a month uh meetings to talk about
what kind of gaps in the local
community. Please reach out to me. I am
uh the chair of the board. continuum and
we're going to be getting a coordinator
here soon and that's going to propel us
to kind of make some changes and do some
programming that should be really
helpful for the future. That's all I
have. Thank you.
Thank you, Councelor Matise.
Yeah, I I have a few things, Mayor.
Thank you. I I just want to start by
saying I really enjoyed spending
Saturday in tree planting. I I want to
thank Cassie for reminding me and making
sure I go, but it was Hillrise and
District 2 and and we did a a
neighborhood. I think uh 100 trees were
donated, 71 trees were planted. Uh at my
young age, I was able to do about four
or five plantings in that heat and then
I said, "Thank you very much." and went
home. But it's quite a program and all
the neighbors that received the trees
were very complimentary of the program
and and and the city and the volunteers
that showed up from I believe the the 4
age club. I just want to thank everyone.
Um, the other thing I want to mention is
I received some information from the
French brothers and maybe Natalie Green
uh would would like to since she might
have it already, but they're building
new homes uh costing $190,000.
Uh, that's quite a you know what we're
building for affordable housing
sometimes costs 350 to 380,000.
Maybe we should get together with the
French brothers and and consider
purchasing some of these homes at
190,000. That would be a a two for one a
two for one advantage. Um I'd like to
say thank you to Johnny Andola. Uh the
malpractice reform passed and it was
really great to watch common sense
intelligence overcome stupidity. Uh
kudos to so many legislators and and the
uh patient uh Pimeo and the Donana
Medical Society. What an accomplishment
in in Santa Fe this year. Uh the NMDA,
it's a national FFA week. I just wanted
to mention that these are growing the
future of agriculture.
Uh there's also a Tortugas PBLO that's
having a um enchilada sale. The they're
200 years older again in my my district.
Uh tickets are $12, but if you have time
March 8th, March 8th that the event will
be held at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish,
the parish hall. So, if you could attend
that, u eat some enchiladas and you'll
be helping the uh the tort tortugus
pblo. U last but not least, I uh I have
to mention it. I received a uh I believe
it was 77 page uh um FY24 Amador
Hospitality
lease agreement and all that went on to
um
u not get the payment of fees the
utility bills and things like that from
the uh Amodore hospitality uh lease. I I
just like to know maybe from the city
manager. Uh I have a lot of questions.
Who do I refer those to to to get some
answers? I received this late last week
and uh I did have time to go through the
77 pages
and I I have a lot of questions. I just
need to know who to uh direct it to.
Thank you.
Hey uh thank you councelor Matise Econo
city manager. You can refer those
questions to me, Brad Douglas or Viola,
and we'll get them to the appropriate
parties. Thank you.
Thank you. Do you have a lot of time?
I I always for you, counselor. Always
for you.
Thank you.
Thank you, Councelor Harris.
Thanks, Mayor. Um I have a a handful of
things, too. Um I'd also like to thank
our legislators this last session. Um we
got a lot of the things that we asked
for as a city in terms of capital outlay
and other programs. Um, and a lot of
those have have fully funded or
partially funded a lot of the items that
we'd wanted to do with uh GRT money and
GO bond money. So, you know, when some
of those things disappear from the list,
uh sometimes it's for a good reason uh
because they've been funded other ways.
So, you know, looking forward to the
next work session that we have um on the
GRT priorities to to really kind of
flush that out and make sure that we're
getting what the community wants. Um,
and uh, the other thing I wanted to
bring up is, uh, I was glad somebody
brought up Elks, um, when we are looking
at funding these projects and doing road
works, um, to really, you know, look
carefully at the cross-sections that
we're building and make sure that we're
prioritizing safety over speed and
throughput. Um, you know, Elks isn't in
my district, but I grew up in the area
and that street is is awful. um from
anybody who looks at it from the outside
from the people who live on it. Um it's
it's not safe for pedestrians, it's not
safe for drivers, it's a racetrack and
it's like that because it was designed
like that. There's two two school
crossings um and lots of kids live on
that street and you know we just need to
I think think very carefully about the
kinds of infrastructure that we're
building and try and prioritize safety
of people. Um that's it. Thank you,
mayor.
Thank you, councelor Coleman.
Thanks, Mayor. Just really briefly want
to thank the students from NMSU for um
coming and spending the afternoon with
us. I'm also an alumni of the government
department at MSU. So, I'd love to see
um other young folks engaged and
involved and certainly um you know,
professor, you talked about how you you
know, were coming here to see people do
democracy in a different way. Perhaps
you didn't necessarily get that fully,
but uh we certainly try our best here.
And I think local politics and local
government is um frankly my favorite
kind of government because it feels like
a laboratory for positive change and um
for us to really try things that lift up
the most vulnerable in our community. So
um it's great to have you all here. I
hope you come back um and you know
certainly stay in touch with with with
us. Um I don't have a lot today. I just
I did want to request that um you know
thankfully thankfully we have folks like
Mr. George Pearson who remind us of this
often but um there was a a couple of
months ago we had asked for uh a work
session on active transportation and I
don't um you know we haven't gone that
yet and I do think it's an important
conversation for us as you kindly said
not to just talk the talk but walk the
walk um and have a serious conversation
about the pedestrian um safety crisis
that we have in the city. So, thank you
for that reminder, George. And I would
like us to continue thinking about uh
having that work session come to council
soon. So, thanks, Mayor.
Thank you, Councelor K.
Thank you. And yes, thank you all for
coming and sitting it out. It's good
good to see you. I didn't know that it
would be this fast. I would have I would
have made the pitch that you stay the
whole time if I had known we were going
to be so quick and efficient. Um so,
thank you for coming. Again, please if
you need anything, please reach out. We
are here to help and love to hear from
people in our community. So, um I also
don't have a lot except my community
meeting is coming up next Tuesday
evening and it is going to be uh for
district 5. It's at Highland Elementary
which is just off of the uh frontage
road on Emerald. Um it is focused on
safe streets in particular. It starts at
6 PM. Departments that will be there
include um sorry I'm just opening this
little document. It will include public
works, community development, police
traffic speed and safety folks and MO
with their latest hot off the presses
safety and accident related traffic
data. So there will also be an
opportunity for PE people who are there
in particular. This is aimed at
residents of district 5, but I'm sure
everyone is always welcome um to engage
with those departments and see what the
plans are for the future of of safe
streets and and all of the things that
everyone highlighted and I think is
really important to us to keep more
moving forward in that way. So, Highland
Elementary School, March 10th at 6 PM.
So, I'll see you there.
Thank you, Mayor Pro.
Thank you, Mayor. I um want to thank
Chief Daniels and the fire department.
Councelor Harris and I did a tour and
visited all the firehouses. Got to meet
the incredible men and women of the fire
department. Uh got to see some of our
facilities and some of the work we need
to do with them. So definitely that that
was important. Um as well uh the fire
chief does have openings. So if you have
friends and family or yourself are
interested, please apply. Um secondly, I
uh want to go back to the legislature
short session. Um but you know, there
were some productive things that came
out of of the session. still some more
work to do. But uh again, I go back to
thanking the department heads, our city
manager, um Christine, our our city
clerk, for organizing our our advocacy
or lobbying efforts in Santa Fe where I
think as a city we did well this this
session. Um also thank you to the um
city team again who supported me in my
community district meeting. uh very
positive u feedback from our our
residents. Uh some good action items and
I appreciate um your your attending that
with me and taking time away from your
family. Then uh also uh shout out and
thank you for the students that are
here. Um appreciate you all. I think
this next week or two, councelor Bencomo
and councelor Graham and I will listen
to the new America students who have a
readout. They spent some time with us
actually spent was that three or four
hours or maybe five with us um in our um
special session and u so we are very
very curious to hear from their
perspective what they thought of the
session what they have input on and my
final piece you know on that which segus
um I'm working with some counselors here
um council mccclure on the youth
advisory council that we would like to
eventually launch or youth congress. And
so I would like to plant that seed with
our students here from NMSU as well. Uh
would like to expose our young adults
who are not our future but are are now
to how civics, how government works and
would love to to hear your your input.
Thank you, Mayor.
Uh just a couple of things but um
Dr. Sabino
students thank you for being here. Thank
you for attending. Did I say your name
right?
Yeah. Okay. It's a tough one but thank
you. All right. Now, thank you all for
being here and uh again, shout out to
Carol uh the Mson Center Quality of
Life, uh the U addition that took place
last week, uh public works for all their
work and input so that the seniors can
have a place for physical fitness and
other activities that will take place.
long long needed uh it was long awaited
and
they were so happy and thrilled and
excited. It was great to show up.
Council Mccclure, thank you for being
there and uh just want to give a shout
out for the MSON Center and their
addition. Um also today was uh Dr. Seuss
day uh read across America at night 9:00
a.m. everyone uh was to read in in
school, stop everything they were doing
and start reading. I got to go to a
charter school and read to the third
grade, fourth grade, and fifth grade.
So, you know, those are some of the
things that we can do for our community
and instill that uh for our kids to to
be active and to read and to get
educated. So, that's all I had for today
and just want to turn it over to our
city manager now.
Thank you, Mayor Enriquez. Econopel,
city manager, Mayor Prom Munoz, and city
councilors. Um just a few announcements
and then I'll let you on your way. Uh
on the active transportation
coordinator, uh I must say that was all
uh staff. Kudos to David Sado and to
staff for being creative and strategic.
Uh they stepped up to the challenge and
figured it out and um just an update
from that. Oscar Gueredo is a PE
um and will be the prime point of
contact. And all this to say on May
11th, we'll have a work session and
we'll come with more information and
then we'll also work on um on having
this before May u announced with uh the
appropriate staff before May. But uh
Oscar Oscar Guerrero is a PE and is a PC
supervised by Vanessa Morales Rometo
who's also a PE and supported by
additional engineering staff Jeremy
Barella. um he has uh an EI and is a
previous rep to BPAC. So
Natasha Billy is a PE who's also
supporting and Kyle Rand another PE. So
there's a lot of pees uh helping out
with the uh active transportation
coordinator. So that's always great
news. A lot of experience there. The
combined team will work directly with
partners in the community um and
especially our departments as well to
ensure that all active transportation
matters um are considered and we're
moving forward with those.
Also, city clerk uh this is kudos. So,
Christine, please raise your hand.
Christine,
please u you want to do a dance
Christine. We'll save that for later.
But Christine received her master's of
municipal clerk certification two weeks
ago. Can we get a round of applause for
her?
So that took that took her 10 years to
do. This isn't easy. And honestly, if
you ask any other clerk in the nation
who has their MMC, which stands for
master municipal clerk, um most will say
they don't because it's hard to get. So
this took Christine 10 years. It's a
10-year endeavor. There's a lot of
requirements needed. So for all you
government students, if you're looking
to be city clerk and you want to be MMC,
come talk to Christine. She knows took
her 10 years uh to do, but that's
because she wasn't just sitting around
uh doing agenda packets all day. She's
active doing other stuff. And so we
appreciate that. Uh again, she needed to
go to conference. There was classes that
needed to be enrolled. She needed to
teach. She needed to be on on panels.
There's a lot to go into. So we
appreciate your work is reflected uh
amongst them. So we appreciate you.
Thank you so much, Christine. Um, moving
on, just wanted to make an announcement.
Appreciate the work that Richard Hanway,
um, Sonia working closely with with
Transit and, um, Transit has six new EV
buses that are adding to the
circulation, which makes it a total of
11 total EV fleet and um, out of 20 uh,
total. But we just wanted to say thank
you to our transit department making it
happen. Thank you to city council for
your support. Uh we get grants to get
these EV buses, but there's always a
match and so we appreciate it's not easy
to um purchase and then maintain and
then keep these going and to drive
themselves and to fix them. So we
appreciate the transit making that
happen. So thank you. Uh look for that
later in March for the six new arrivals
to come. So you'll see them in
circulation.
Uh the timeline GRT for those who are
interested to come and be heard. um the
opportunity to come and speak to that.
Obviously, you can use public comments,
but we'll we'll uh have the first
resolution on March 16th and then really
the main discussion for GRT projects if
you're interested uh will happen on
April 6th and then the second read and
approval of uh the ordinance will happen
happen on April 20th. So, April 6 is
really uh where we're hoping to have a
lot of the discussion and decisions made
by then. Uh but again, for anyone in
earshot to our government students who
are looking for great discussion, this
is a $28 million uh that has to be spent
and city council um is going to decide
uh and listen to public comments and
that decision hopefully will be uh will
be made on April 6. So come out and see
what happens uh with those
appropriations. And then last but not
least, I just to echo some of the
counselors, legislative session went
well. Uh we had uh about 14 million from
legislators and about 19 million when
you include the grants. It was a great
session. Um, and I don't want to uh take
take too much um from the work session
that'll happen at the end of April, but
Christine will give a work session uh
and give an update. So, the governor has
all the appropriations on her desk right
now and she has about 30 days to approve
them and then we'll come bring them to
you council. make sure that you
understand uh what makes it on the list
and answer any questions then and we can
pivot if we need and talk about and
assess and review. That's all for me.
Thank you, mayor.
Thank you, Connie. I'll look for a
motion to adjurnn.
Move to adjourn. Second,
this is on the motion to adjourn the
meeting. Councelor Mccclur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Harris,
yes. Councelor Bencomo.
Yes.
Councelor Karan.
Yes.
Councelor Munoz.
Yes.
Mayor.
Yes.