City Council Meeting January 16, 2024

MINUTES

City Council

Tuesday, January 16, 2024 @ 1:00 PM

City Council Chambers, City Hall

PRESENT: Councilor Cassie McClure, Councilor William Mattiace, Councilor Becki Graham, Councilor

Johana Bencomo, Councilor Becky Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores

ABSENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez

1. OPENING CEREMONIES 1.1 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - COUNCILOR MCCLURE. 1.2 PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF

APPRECIATION/PROCLAMATIONS - COUNCILOR MCCLURE. Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo read a statement regarding the GFOA Award and recognized the Finance Team. 1.3 JOBS OF THE WEEK. Sarah Raney, New Mexico Workforce Connections presented Jobs of the Week. 1.4 PETS OF THE WEEK. Amy Defelix, Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley presented Pets of the

Week.

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST INQUIRY BY MAYOR AS REQUIRED BY LCMC

SECTION 2-27 (E)(2) 2.1 None.

3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 3.1 Geri Wheelis, Member of the Public said I am with Animal Advocates for Change. As

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you will recall last October AAFC at the request of Mayor Miyagishima called a very long Work Session to discuss implementation of a new animal ordinance prepared by

AAFC. The document was prepared, and it had been reviewed and had been supported by multiple parties such as ASCMV and animal rescue groups. At the conclusion of the meeting AAFC and Animal Control were directed by Mayor

Miyagishima and council to meet and collaborate with Animal Control on language for a new ordinance that was acceptable to both and then present the document at a further Work Session not to exceed 60 days from that day. We were encouraged by this directive for we had already met with Animal Control and had already agreed on a number of new provisions. However, Animal Control presented us with an entirely different document prepared by them based wholly on the old ordinance which incorporated only a couple of changes and fixed none of the structural and contextual changes needed. Further, Animal Control had asked Legal to review our document but we were not allowed to see those comments and we were told they were based on confidentiality and work product issues. However, we proceeded with the meeting in good faith and discussed their draft and left with the understanding that we provide them with our thoughts and comments via email and we would then meet again to discuss and come up with a collaborative document. We then sent Animal Control a compromised document based on our draft which incorporated language from the

Animal Control draft and omitted or revised language that Animal Control had said was unenforceable and here we arrive at the problem. We received back an email letter from Lieutenant Wiitala stating that they would no longer proceed with any collaboration and thanked us for our efforts without further explanation. Obviously, we were shocked and quite dismayed and that is why I come before you today to request that you please direct Animal Control to come back to the table, meet with us, and finish what we started and comply with what they were directed to do by council and our former Mayor. It also bears repeating that this community is disgracefully behind the times regarding animal welfare and based on previous discussions either Kathe or

I have had with every single one of you, you all claim to care about animal welfare but it is now time to prove it. Actions do speak louder than words.

Diane Starbuck Ribaudo, Member of the Public said I am a member of Animal

Advocates for Change. While most people would consider animal welfare ordinance that is based on research best practices a moral and ethical thing to enact there can be positive financial considerations also. With a phased in required spay and neuter ordinance eventually there will be less strays, less abandoned animals, less volume at the animal center therefore less financial strain on Animal Control and animal shelter and the local rescues. Chained dogs have been shown to be more aggressive with a no tether ordinance there will be savings in cost of traffic accidents caused by stray dogs and savings in the treatment of diseases caused by stray dogs, there will be less dog attacks on humans, and we have seen the horrific aftermath of children being mauled or killed and last year a woman lost her hand due to a dog attack. The city is having trouble attracting veterinarians to this area. A better animal welfare ordinance will attract more veterinarians once they see we value our companion animals. There is also a correlation with animal abuse and domestic abuse. Animal abuse can preclude and forewarn of domestic abuse so intervention can occur before tragedy.

Why is enacting an ordinance based on national best practices so difficult?

Albuquerque did this in 2002. Do you all need to have a representative from

Albuquerque’s ordinance come down and explain to you how they did it? Animal

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Advocates for Change has been trying to do this for years. Years we have been coming up here and explaining this and we are not going to go away. If you don’t do the right thing we are still going to be here. Also there has been a couple of comments about people who get up here to speak and we say our peace and then we leave and when you do your public comments, we don’t hear them what you say. I watch on

YouTube if I am not here I watch on YouTube. I have seen every single session and half of the Work Sessions at least and I quickly look through all of the sessions and there is about 200 to 300 people who watch those sessions so that is like 200 people sitting in here just so that you can keep that in mind.

Yoli Diaz, Member of the Public said I will repeat myself for the ears of our new leadership. I am not here to disrespect, arm wrestle, or mud sling. I am here to continue the advocacy I began in October 2021, when I met with leaders with the crisis and a solution regarding access to needed health care in Dona Ana County with the focus on Memorial Medical Center. City of Las Cruces and Dona Ana County’s lessee with City of Las Cruces owning the real property of land. I cannot sugar coat the crisis. I would like to repeat, did you know that if you are a Dona Ana County resident without health insurance coverage diagnosed with cancer that you will be denied an appointment and ultimately denied lifesaving cancer treatment at Memorial

Medical Cancer Center? I know that those in leadership since October 2021, know because I alerted our City Council, City Manager, Commissioners, County Manager,

Director of Health and Human Services, Representatives, Senators, and many more and I have said that the access to health care crisis is not just about cancer treatment.

The history of the lease of Memorial Medical Center is crucial, Section 6.5 Indigent

Care continuation of services begins by stating, “lessee agrees to institute and maintain during the term or any extended term policies for the treatment of indigent patients, those unable to pay the full cost of health care services rendered to them.

When taken as a whole are no less favorable to the residents to the city and county than those presently maintained by MMCI”. The lease continues regarding current written policies of indigent care. The police states that the cancer center will be included in the whole of MMC. The same expanded services guidelines will apply as apply to the hospital. The lease continues sections regarding annual review operating board notice, efforts to remedy, and more. I have witnessed premature deaths because Dona Ana County residents did not receive the health care they needed when they needed it. I have met American children who were left orphaned because their parent did not receive the care they needed when they needed it. When a hospital denies and delays health care services it is harming its residents it is supposed to serve, creating emanate danger to life and safety. I believe that all parties of the lease have failed, failed in compliance, failed in oversight, failed in accountability, failed in enforcement, and I believe there needs to be an investigation and corrective action taken. Mayor, I believe he has inherited this crisis and his attention to resolve is also critical.

Neil Gadell, Member of the Public said I recorded this last month in front of Highland

Elementary just before 10 o’clock in the evening. As you can see this light is extremely bright. This is the sign that is in front of the elementary school. It is blinding that is why I titled this video Blinded by the Light. The reason I am bringing this to your notice today is to essentially put you on notice. I spoke with Codes Officer back last month. I was told by your officers that because the building permit for the school was

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issued by the state, they are probably not subject to city municipal codes on the sign illumination limits that we have. So, in other words this is a case of we make the rules you have to follow them, do as I say not as I do. So, I just want to make everybody here, the city, the school district and the state if that they be that I am aware of this so that if there is an accident or injury they are on notice for purposes of liability.

Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo asked have you taken this to the school board? As you know the City of Las Cruces does not oversee or have authority over the school system.

Neil Gadell said I was under impression that was a city light that is why I spoke to the

Codes Officer.

William Gillman, Member of the Public said I was going to make some specific comments about the cost of roads, the cost of new developments out in Sonoma

Ranch and elsewhere and not investing in existing parts of the city but I do feel like I need to make some comments on recent events at the national border. For those who have not heard the Texas National Guard has ceased a migrant processing facility and prevented Border Patrol Agents from intervening when a mother and her children were struggling in a river and as a result of inaction they drowned. There is not much

Las Cruces can do about this and that situation is a complex multi layered problem and challenge much like many of the challenges we face in this city, and I feel that the way that we face those challenges defines our character and our values. I think the actions of the State of Texas represent a failure in imagination, a failure of leadership, a failure of policy, a failure of common sense, and common decency. This is a nation of immigrants. People have always left their places of origin to escape war, to escape oppressive regimes, famines, and other catastrophes and I don’t see how this situation is really any different. People are catastrophizing that we are going to be overrun but this recent wave of arrival is not even 1% of our population. With the

Labor Department forecasting shortages in the workforce in key industries this is a huge opportunity for the nation and likewise the problem that Las Cruces is facing is also an opportunity. How do we make a community that is safe for everybody can thrive from West Picacho to Sonoma Ranch and the way that we face these challenges defines our character and I believe that we can do it in a way that lives up to the aspiration of the Constitution, that all people are created equal and endowed with life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Jorge Aguirre, Member of the Public said I am a Las Cruces resident and a small business owner, an employer. The most pressing problems in Las Cruces are consequences of international forces outside of our influence let alone our control.

Issues like mass migration, inequality, homelessness, and climate change are not unique to our city but impact our neighbors. Great challenges can be great opportunities. There is no evidence to suggest that even a large wave of migrants will have a negative effect on the local economy. We have seen this before. Between

April to September of 1980, 125,000 Cuban nationals, mostly with no education arrived in Miami after Fidel Castro authorized them to leave in a speech. The Miami labor force increased 7% almost overnight in what was known as the Marial Boatlift.

There was great concern that they would displace the locals. This was the perfect

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opportunity to research the effects of large waves of migration suddenly arriving in a random city and it turns out there were no negative effects. The wages of the established residents put the economy at large of the city. This is because employment and immigration are too complex to be subject to simple supply and demand rules. People who get jobs also have needs and they spend their earning in the city boosting demand for products and services offered by locals that fuel the middle class. There was no negative effect on the established locals but then they compared the wages of Cuban immigrants to those who had arrived prior to the boatlift and found the same result. Their wage growth was not negatively impacted. I want to talk about the other end of the spectrum. Our economy use to reward professionals who moved to big cities with higher salaries but the cost of living has turned our labor markets upside down and now high skilled professionals are being priced out of the most productive states in the nation and they are looking for places to live with high quality of life at a lower cost. In order to lure high income professionals to stay here because they are coming but they may not stay. We have to legalize walkable communities and make robust investments in our public transportation infrastructure and of course we need to legalize housing. We can start with the easy part and remove minimum parking and building setback requirements of waste land that could be used for housing often to have an empty parking lot or a gravel and rock landscape that even isn’t useful to lizards. Making it unusable for humans or animals.

Stan Engle, Member of the Public said I would like to congratulate my Councilor

Johana Bencomo for being elected Mayor Pro Tem and of course winning her reelection. She was very helpful during the pandemic when we were trying to do some traffic calming on South Melendres and we were able to do that. I still feel like more can be done because now that the temporary traffic calming is there a lot of selfish speedy drivers treat it as a slalom. Thankfully though when there is a more responsible driver in the slalom part of the area they slow down so we can still do more like stop signs, sidewalks to encourage walking because I feel like as a whole our transportation infrastructure is actively hostile towards life. I am a father, lots of people are parents and my child goes to Central Elementary. I have to cross Amador to get them there by bike and I do take them by bike and every single time he approaches that intersection I worry that he will be run over, slaughtered, whatever by an obscenely large vehicle. Our infrastructure allows for very large vehicles to go too fast, doesn’t give walkers enough room on the sidewalks, and it does not take into account cyclists. Yes, we have a little bit of a stripe on a road but is that enough? Is that enough for drivers who are utterly irresponsible with a phone in their hand? Is that enough to protect the most vulnerable road users? I think I would like to challenge this body to try to stand on some intersections and watch how big the cars are. How many people are on their cell phone? How many red lights are run? I would then hope that you all would realize that we need to redesign our infrastructure so that life can exist so that our kids can be once again independent in their own neighborhoods, and I would hope that you would take that seriously.

Juan Garcia, Member of the Public said 2023 was a good election year for this community. New faces on the dais will hopefully bring in some badly needed change particularly in public safety. In 2020, the Governor went after small businesses destroying hundreds perhaps thousands during the New Mexico Tyrannical Lockdown

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she imposed. In 2024 along with Senator Heinrich she is going after law abiding gun owners with a frontal attack executed by her public servants, progressive representatives, and senators who blindly and in lock step obey her orders. The

Governor is competing with Governor Newsom to gain national prominence by disarming lawful gun owners in New Mexico as she seeks to climb the political national ladder. Disarm New Mexico lawful gun owners or risk becoming felons if they refuse to surrender their lawfully procured defensive arms. “In 2022, the administrative office of the courts of UNM presented the following, across four judicial districts, including the third district one out of four released defendants didn’t show up in court. On average 13 released defendants per week were charged with a new crime and while under supervision 5 released defendants per week were charged with new crimes while awaiting trial” and I could go on. Instead of the Governor taking responsibility for the revolving door of justice she helped create she is hoping to become the national darling of the progressive movement. Editorial Albuquerque

Journal, Governor, “in Farmington three women were brutally slaughtered by an automatic weapon designed for warfare” and follow AR-15 are not automatic weapons but she creates her own facts. The Governor throws her own terms like “weapons of mass destruction”. The last time we talked about weapons of mass destruction was during the Iraqi War. Those were nuclear weapons and other powerful weapons, but she doesn’t care. Yet when she talks about the slaughterhouses better known as abortion clinics where thousands of the most innocent die a horrendous and underserving death every year she calls them health centers. Her hypocrisy is matched only by the damage she is doing to this state. Las Cruces citizens like

Patricia from the Little Shop on Main who has been terrorized by criminals for the last couple of years may soon be left with no lawful means of protection. I hope we get support from the council in stopping this power grab and come election time let’s get rid of the politicos that have done nothing to stop crime and are hell bent on turning law abiding citizens into felons.

Beth Bousquet, Member of the Public said on October 7th Hamas Islamic terrorist the elected governing body for Palestinians invaded the sovereign country of Israel. Their goal was to murder, rape, humiliate, kidnap, and destroy anything Jewish. To see the videos and read eyewitness accounts of what took place that day is a life event for any person especially a Jew or a Christian. Almost ten years earlier in 2014, another

Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram abducted 270 teenage girls, taking them to remote hide outs deep into Northern Nigeria submitting them to sexual slavery. The world outcry from feminists about the Nigerian abduction was swift and notable including

Michelle Obama, Oprah, Angelina Jolie, and others. Obama’s plea was bring back our girls. President Obama even detached Special Forces in an attempt to find them but now feminists in the west are silent over what is happening to Jewish woman and girls being held captive in Gaza. Why am I presenting this international topic to a local audience? Because I became aware and read the ceasefire letter from local progress.org which was signed by a member of this council. In her words she is proud to join her colleagues in doing so. I believe that the council woman does not speak for a great portion of Las Crucens who know history and recognize the legitimacy of the

State of Israel and the ancient presence of Jews in the Middle East. It has been 100 days since the men, women, and children of Israel were abducted and taken into the

Gazan underground dungeons enduring and maybe not even surviving indescribable treatment. We do not hear bring back our girls from anyone other than the families

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that are waiting. To ask for a ceasefire does nothing more than evolve in Hamas, terrorist, and continue the agony of those held captive and displaced whether Israeli or Palestinian. A more principal letter would demand the return of all hostages immediately instead of burying flaccid words deep inside a letter as an afterthought. I would suggest when signing a politically charged document as an elected leader representing Las Crucens the council woman thoroughly understands the allegiance to which she is aligning and precede with more discernment, bring them home.

Henry Young, Member of the Public said I am the Director of the Las Cruces Gospel

Rescue Mission. Today I have a request for help on a safety issue. For the safety of all Medicaid recipients who need a ride back to a home or shelter when they are released from a hospital usually in the ER after dark. I am asking for that help. The mission has run into this problem several times since the middle of the December. I have been told by ER charge nurses and case workers that they have vouchers for the ride but the taxi driver refuses to take anyone back to a shelter after dark and they are citing safety reasons from people who are antagonistic on the way back. I do not know whether that is true or false. We would like to set up a meeting with all three hospitals, the City, and those who provide shelter for the homeless. I am sure that something can be worked out for the benefit of all who are concerned. Please contact me or allow me to set up this meeting in the appropriate location for a resolution to this problem.

Rick Reynaud, Member of the Public said Councilor Flores is my resident Councilor and my small business is located on Missouri and Solano in Councilor Graham’s district across the street from the beleaguered Family Dollar which is in Councilor

Mattiace’s district. I want to thank you Councilors, especially Councilor Corran for shepherding that thoughtful decision last month for Tracy Stevenson, it was the awning issue. Thank you for that. I want to talk about the minimum wage. It went up again. I think you should just scrap the Las Cruces Minimum Wage Ordinance. It went up to $12 and the tip wage is $3 in the rest of the state. This $5 an hour tip wage in

Las Cruces is $4.58 now is killing restaurants and small businesses. My daughter works for a restaurant and if there a two or three hour break, it’s kind of slow she gets sent home. Marci Dickerson was here a few years ago asking for you guys to let up on the tip wage just for one year so as a gesture to local business consider getting rid of the Las Cruces Minimum Wage Ordinance completely because the state ordinance is taking over. It is $12 and $3 tipped.

Richard Barela, Member of the Public said on or about December 11th at this City

Council Meeting I presented a declaration that I left behind. I am going to get it. I would respectfully request that the City Council place this in the city archives.

Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo said thank you and I will ask that you leave that with the

City Clerk and she will review it and ultimately make that decision.

Richard Barela said also I mailed in proof of fraud to not only the Police Chief but the

City Council. I have heard nothing back on it. I would like to know what happened with that document that I mailed in, evidence of fraud.

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Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo said this would not be the time to discuss that but if you want to resend that, I don’t know what you speak of currently.

Richard Barela asked you at City Council never received the letter from me?

Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo said I really don’t recall Sir so if you want to leave your information with the City Clerk, I will make sure to reach back out to you and get that document.

Jeffrey Field, Member of the Public said I am a Jew. Before I begin, I apologize for the email I sent to City Council last Thursday. I was wrong. I have been posting over mounting frustration over worsening events regarding the Israel/Gaza conflict. Still, I was out of line and I apologize to each of you. Somehow this madness must cease.

We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of

Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. That is from the speech of Dr. King delivered April 4, 1967, to the Riverside Church in New York City and I think it applies today to Gaza. Las Cruces it is time to break silence. There is a new acronym floating around the internet, WCNSF, wounded child, no surviving family. From last week’s

NPR report on conditions in Gaza there is this quote, “children as young as five are contemplating suicide”. This issue, the ever widening war in the Middle East while geographically distant resonates deeply within our community, touching the lives of many who call Las Cruces home. It is not just an international concern it is a local one affecting our neighbors, friends, and perhaps even family members. In passing a resolution urging a unilateral ceasefire in the Israel/Gaza conflict we demonstrate our commitment to peace and human rights, values that define us a community. I understand that navigating international issues at a local level can be challenging however I believe that is not only our right but our duty to do so. The decisions we make in this chamber should reflect the conscience of our community, unswayed by any unseen influences and so I appeal to your sense of justice, humanity, and leadership. Let us join the ranks of those towns and cities across America who have dared to take a stand on the world’s stage. Let our actions resonate with that moral courage as a way forward on the path to peace. As a side note as of January 10th, 15 cities across the United States have passed resolutions asking for a ceasefire.

Steve Phillips, Member of the Public said I am a retired Army Officer and a reformed attorney. I am requesting your help for a number of our senior citizens and admittedly it is not nearly as serious as so many of the predecessors this morning or this afternoon. We range from age 60’s to 90’s and were regular users of the current channel at the regional aquatic center. The current channel is where the user walks with or against the current rapidly moving water for exercise. Many of us were sent there by our doctors for low impact cardio and others were sent there for rehab. For others it is simply fun. The problem is that the channel has now been closed for repairs for about four months. Shutdowns also occurred earlier at other times. We are only requesting that you check, ask the Inspector General’s Office to look into the problem to determine what the problem is to avoid future extensive closings.

Isla McCoy, Member of the Public said I am also a senior citizen. We have been using

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the Aquatic Center as well for the same reasons that have been previously stated and we have also been applauded by our doctors that we are doing the right thing. We go three times a week but since the Aquatic Center has been closed, they have advised that we could go to the new natatorium which we have been doing and that is wonderful for those of us who are able to stand the colder water. The Aquatic Center’s water is specifically designed to accommodate senior citizens who cannot take cold water as easily as you folks can. We who can are using the other one and by the way it is a delightful facility, and we thank you for that but we would like to get back to the

Aquatic Center where it is more appropriate for our age and I thank you for listening.

Pamela Smith, Member of the Public said I am with the aquatic group. The other very large issue is communication. This center has been shut down almost four months and none of the staff seems to know anything. They have been asked numerous times. People that are coming are very frustrated because there is no information forthcoming. So, we would like some kind of a communication as to what the problem is. There has been rumors and all kinds of things, but we need to get to the bottom of to what has happened and just be honest so that everybody knows what to expect of when it’s going to open and why and so forth.

4. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to accept the agenda as presented with the movement of item 7.3 before item 7.1.

RESULT: Carried

MOVER: Councilor Becky Corran

SECONDER: Councilor Becki Graham

AYES: Councilor Cassie McClure, Councilor William Mattiace, Councilor Becki

Graham, Councilor Johana Bencomo, Councilor Becky Corran, and Councilor

Yvonne Flores

5. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 5.1 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF DECEMBER 18, 2023.

6. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR CONSENT AGENDA 6.1 RESOLUTION NO. 24-073: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN INCREASE

IN THE ANNUAL NOT-TO-EXCEED AMOUNT OF THE CONTRACTS FOR

SECURITY GUARD SERVICES WITH IMPERIUM RISK, INC., AND

SECURITY CONCEPTS, INC., TO A COMBINED TOTAL NOT TO EXCEED $2,500,000 PLUS NEW MEXICO GROSS RECEIPTS TAX ANNUALLY (PROCUREMENT NO. 19-20-048). 6.2 RESOLUTION NO. 24-074: A RESOLUTION APPROVING AN AMENDMENT

TO THE CITY OF LAS CRUCES (CITY) TO ACCEPT SECOND QUARTER

BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS FOR VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS THROUGH

AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY’S ADOPTED FY2023-2024 BUDGET, AND

THE FY2024 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN (CIP).

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7. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR DISCUSSION 7.1 PUBLIC HEARING REQUIRED. RESOLUTION NO. 24-075: A

RESOLUTION APPROVING THE REQUEST FOR A TRANSFER OF

LOCATION FOR LIQUOR LICENSE NO. 2647 WITH ON-PREMISE

CONSUMPTION ONLY TO CANDACE MARIE BACA, PERSONAL REP OF

CANDIDO BACA ESTATE, D/B/A CANDACE MARIE BACA, PERSONAL

REP OF CANDIDO BACA ESTATE LOCATED AT 118 NORTH MESQUITE

STREET, BUILDING 1, LAS CRUCES, NM 88001. Public hearing began at 2:28 p.m. There was no one for or against. Public hearing ended at 2:29 p.m.

Sara Gonzales, Senior Urban Planner gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to

Approve Resolution No. 24-075.

ABSENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez 7.2 RESOLUTION NO. 24-076: A RESOLUTION UPDATING THE WAGE

BASELINE REQUIREMENT OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

DEPARTMENT WAGEPLUS PROGRAM. Chris Faivre, Deputy Director Economic Development gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor McClure asked is there a cap for the amount of employees that you can add?

Chris Faivre said yes, 100 per employer.

Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo asked do you have participating businesses already?

Chris Faivre said yes, Electronic Caregiver currently is participating in that program.

Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo asked is that about it?

Chris Faivre said yes. Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to

Approve Resolution No. 24-076.

MOVER: Councilor Becki Graham

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SECONDER: Councilor Becky Corran

ABSENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez 7.3 RESOLUTION NO. 24-077: A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT THE CITY OF LAS

CRUCES ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE

FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 2023. Josh Saffell, Accounting Supervisor introduced the topic.

Chris Garner from Brown & Hill gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Flores asked are we in peril vis-a-vis PERA?

Chris Garner said the short answer is no. There are plenty of assets to be distributed over the next several years. It is just if you forecast over the long term based upon actuarial studies that are done which has a lot of guesses in it its underfunded but last

I checked it was about 85% funded. To be honest with you it is very good compared to most states but that 15% underfunded amount meaning you don’t have enough assets to pay out projections of people retiring so if PERA were to close its doors today there wouldn’t be enough assets to pay off everybody. What’s going to happen over time and it is already happening over the last three or four years is they are going to require you to pay more contributions and they have also required more time to be invested before you get fully funded or before you get the high funded amounts.

So, they are changing the policies at the state level to try and come up with some resolution to this, but its many many years of contributions not being enough and it got started off on the wrong foot and so it’s going to take some time but no there is no peril. I would say they have plenty of assets to pay over the next several years and there won’t be any issues.

Councilor Flores asked is there a regulatory agency that oversees PERA and its operating principles?

Chris Garner said PERA and retiree healthcare both have their separate boards which govern over those separate state agencies, and they do get their own separate audit for each particular organization, and they also have that actuarial report that is done so that we can rely upon the numbers and record those transactions that we have to.

So, they get a couple audits actually done to give us the information and they go through their regular audit process. But they do have a board that oversees their operations.

Councilor Flores asked if they were to increase contributions, we are talking about the people who are contributing right, the employees of the municipalities or the government agencies would that bring them up to par or is that what would happen?

Chris Garner said that is probably a portion of it. There is just a lot of different components that that could go into trying to get them fully funded. If you reduce the cost of living raises that are giving to retirees that could be a portion of it, increasing

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fees, making people work a little bit longer to get vested then what they currently are.

There is really a whole gamut of things that could potentially could go into funding and getting this 100% funded but again we are better off than a lot of other states at being

85% funded it’s just big numbers when you are looking at them.

Councilor Flores asked as far as the COLA, it seems like it’s the state versus the state there? COLA is regulated or imposed by the federal government or state?

Chris Garner said in this case it is part of the state. It is part of the PERA so they can adjust that to be a percentage of it or maybe they are now making people wait a few years before they get their first COLA. So, there is a lot of different options even with that portion of it.

Councilor Corran said there are enterprise funds that are primarily Utilities that are making their own money. There are also things governed by JPAs and I just wanted to highlight that we have three of these, South Central Solid Waste, MVRDA, and the

Animal Services Center, correct? And all of those were included in this audit, they may have separate auditing processes, but they also have to rise up to the city’s financial audit processes, correct?

Chris Garner said correct.

Councilor Corran said the follow up to that is sort of a question if in the future I believe that the MPO is going to become a slightly separate organization I think it will shift from being in the city’s big audit to becoming one of those adding to those three and making it four total side audits. JPAs we call them, powers agreements where they are governed slightly differently and I guess I am sort of asking you and also wondering how that will work going forward? I think that transition is going to happen this year.

Josie Trevino, interim Deputy Director Finance said for MPO it’s a grant. It would be included in the City of Las Cruces audit. For example, we have HIDTA is a grant, and it gets included in the city’s audit as well so MPO would not have a separate, it would be included in the city’s audit. Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to

Approve Resolution No. 24-077.

ABSENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez 7.4 COUNCIL BILL NO. 24-016; ORDINANCE NO. 3058: AN ORDINANCE

APPROVING A ZONE CHANGE FROM M-1/M-2 (INDUSTRIAL STANDARD)

TO C-3 (COMMERCIAL HIGH INTENSITY) FOR A PROPERTY

ENCOMPASSING 8.25 + ACRES AND LOCATED AT 4201 DEL REY

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BOULEVARD. SUBMITTED BY NEW REPUBLIC DESIGN CO.,

REPRESENTATIVE. (23ZO0500140). Adam Ochoa, Senior Urban Planner gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Corran said I just wanted to say something related to zoning generally that I think is important for folks to understand that I have to often explain to constituents that I didn’t completely understand I think when I got on city council but when we vote to change a zoning to commercial and in this case from industrial to commercial and I understand the use, the proposed use of the property owner is not required, right?

This is changing the zoning only. If the folks decide to do something else they are permitted within those zoning change, correct?

Adam Ochoa said that is correct. They are allowed to utilize the property for whatever uses as permitted by the C-3 zoning designation.

Councilor Corran said I think that is important because a lot of folks think that this is like business specific or specific to the type of development that is going to go into a place but the zoning really is allowing all types uses that go into C-3 which are outlined in the our Municipal Code and I have had to in a few cases had folks have said why is this RV storage site going up and I have went back and found where City

Council agreed to make something C-3 zoning and that is allowed in C-3 zoning. So I just want to clarify what changing zoning in this case means and while we are all compelled by the idea of something looking different the property owners ultimately have the authority to develop it into whatever the ways is consistent with C-3 zoning and so I just want to sort of want to remind folks that it is sort of blind to the or not inclusive to the type of thing that is being developed there that is part of our zoning conversation and for me that is important and also important for folks to know and when I explain that to folks they are like oh, that was fifteen years ago and City

Council did that and I am mad at them now and so I talk to them in that case.

Councilor Flores asked if it goes to commercial a school can be built there? Have there been any communications between LCPS and the city regarding the addition of a school or why is a school specifically mentioned when under this code other businesses or other entities can go up?

Adam Ochoa said yes, they are basically on the final stages of finalizing for the redevelopment of this property for the purpose of a school. That is the reason for the zoning change. Otherwise, they would have kept it as is and all industrial uses and several commercial uses can be utilized on the property as it exists now. The one that is not permitted is the school. Any schools between kinder to twelfth grade are not permitted in an industrial zoning designation. That is why they specifically requested this zone change to go commercial to allow for that additional use on the property.

Councilor Flores said my concern is speed limits. Speed limits have been a big problem on Roadrunner Parkway, on Sonoma Ranch Boulevard where we have schools. I know that Del Rey, that strip right there just north of Bataan West it’s really like a speed way and the reason I know is because I have probably been one of the speeders. Definitively or not, there will be a school there or is it just speculative at this

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point?

Adam Ochoa said as of now the applicant specifically have plans ready to go for a school to be redeveloped on the property.

Councilor Flores asked if a school is built there, we will probably have more stringent speed limits set up?

Adam Ochoa said when those plans come in for development because they do need to do some work on the property and the building to bring it up to par for a school our traffic engineering section will take a look and our Public Works will look at it as well to potentially ask for some type of traffic analysis, traffic impact analysis and see what type of improvements if any that they would need to do for the school to be located on that property. As I said now the 2001 zoning code, this is a level of a street where we encourage schools because of that high number of traffic that it would get from schools. I think that is the justification for it to be on those types of roads. Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to

Approve Ordinance No. 3058.

8. BOARD APPOINTMENTS 8.1 None.

9. NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE(S)

1) There will be no public discussion.

2) A Councilor may ask staff for clarification on the proposed ordinance(s). 9.1 COUNCIL BILL NO. 24-017; ORDINANCE NO. 3059: AN ORDINANCE

APPROVING ZONE CHANGES FOR LAND WITHIN THE HEATHER HILLS

MASTER PLAN BOUNDARY LOCATED AT 5150 STERN DRIVE.

SUBMITTED BY ZACHARY LIBBIN, LIBBIN UNDERWOOD ENGINEERING

AND SURVEYING. Council agreed to bring it forward. 9.2 COUNCIL BILL NO. 24-018; ORDINANCE NO. 3060: AN ORDINANCE

REPEALING SECS. 7.8-110—7.8-199, ARTICLE III. - WAGE PLUS AND

SECS. 7.8-200—7.8-299 ARTICLE IV. - FILM, FROM CHAPTER 7.8 OF THE

LAS CRUCES MUNICIPAL CODE 1997, AS AMENDED. Council agreed to bring it forward. 9.3 COUNCIL BILL NO. 24-019; ORDINANCE NO. 3061: AN ORDINANCE

AMENDING CHAPTER 27, TRAFFIC, ARTICLE I AND ARTICLE VI OF THE

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LAS CRUCES MUNICIPAL CODE (LCMC) 1997 BY ADDING NEW

DEFINITIONS AND REGULATION OF ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING

PARKING SPACES Council agreed to bring it forward.

10. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BOARD REPORTS AND COMMENT 10.1 COUNCILOR MCCLURE I did get a report on the natatorium on the 9th, it is a heat coil that they are waiting on and that is not mass-produced. It is manufactured if there is a need. So, they are waiting for it the 18th to the 22nd but until they physically receive it, they are hesitant to say we have it and we are going to install it so just update.

Felt like my first week of all board attendance and it was really interesting on a lot of accounts with MVRDA and the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Utilities

Board which had a graduating intern. Which reminded me that we give a lot of good opportunities for learning and growth, and I was hoping that we could institute another or look at a possibility of doing that here. We have an Emmy Award winning Public

Information Office, and I was hoping that we could be able to take in a NMSU

Journalism Intern or Creative Media Intern and start producing recordings for some of the boards and commissions that already meet in this office or in the Council

Chambers. Specifically Planning and Zoning, Historic Preservation, Parks and Rec and give great opportunity for sometimes students that don’t feel quite vested in the city. I think that it could be a great opportunity that we could have to add accessibility and transparency as well so.

Last thing is I am curious about the Animal Advocates situation if we could either get an update from Codes or I don’t know how that works. I am still very new to this. 10.2 COUNCILOR MATTIACE I attended a neighborhood meeting on Crescent Drive. It was the administrator and a few members of the association. Maybe you could share this with Chief Story. Their biggest concerns are on Turpentine, Dixon, Farney they have continual hearings of shootings going on in that particular neighborhood and they also actually have some people going through the neighborhood at night and many of them use Ring. If we could just contact a person named Nancy Hastings and she would be glad to hear if there could be more patrol in that particular area.

I would like to thank City Council, City Manager for the Artist Drive pavement in

District 2. It is quite an improvement. That street was really bad. The street next to it

Huntington needs the same improvement. Huntington is in bad shape as well.

The last item is that there is a call from a Mr. Dominguez and if Public Works could look at a sidewalk needed on Mesa to Solano. There are some older ladies, particularly Ms. Dominguez’s mother in their 80’s that walk to church I believe that would be the Newman Center and a sidewalk is needed on that particular stretch of walk. 10.3 COUNCILOR GRAHAM

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I would like to do a quick article recommendation because I spent the NMSU holiday break, kind of coincided with things quiet at the City so I did a ton of reading on the very festive top of traffic deaths. It is obviously something that comes up a lot in public comments, we have been hearing advocates trying to advance the Vision Zero

Program, so I really did some deep reading on that but a good kind of overview article, it was published on December 11th of last year, New York Times, Why are so

Many American Pedestrians Dying at Night? So again, I am not promising you an uplifting read but a really interesting read about another unfortunate category of an

American exceptionalism where we are doing worse than a lot of other industrialized nation but I felt this was a great overview looking not just at the design elements, not just at behavior and choice elements but also at some specifically American elements. 10.4 COUNCILOR CORRAN I really quickly want to give a shoutout to our Community Engagement Office. Last week was the first installment of the Neighborhood Leadership Academy and it was a really great bunch of folks who are going to be participating in an eleven-week program to see what is happening in the city and I am really excited to see their enthusiastic faces come to a class that really gives you the inside picture. I am really grateful for the Community Engagement folks for starting that up and giving folks a path to engage with the city in that way. On a similar note, I want to welcome back all of the NMSU and DACC students who are starting classes tomorrow and I add myself to that as a faculty member. So, I can’t wait to see the students and continue our ongoing conversation with NMSU. I think in the fall we launched a pretty cool city website welcoming NMSU students, and I am looking forward to us just continuing to have those collaborations as we move forward and thinking about NMSU and DACC students and how we support them and engage with them in the city.

The last thing that I wanted to touch on was that I am lucky to have been selected to be on the Environmental Protection Agency Local Government Advisory Board which is a national advisory committee of 37 folks from all across the country and that sort of advises the EPA on a number of things that they can do to support cities and municipalities as well as in terms of shaping legislation and sort of documenting and talking about the impacts that legislation can have on local governments. I am really excited about this year where one of the topics is going to be about looking into cumulative impacts of environmental harms that occur in cities and how to address them cumulative impacts on particularly historic disenfranchised communities. That is one of their target areas, another of their target areas is related to reducing plastic waste in every aspect of its existence and I know that the City of Las Cruces has been the leader in that and is continuing to think about it. So, I am looking forward to those conversations and representing Las Cruces and also trying to influence what the federal government is sort of thinking about in terms of local environmental policies.

10.5 COUNCILOR FLORES I have nothing to report on boards because I have not attended any this year but what our Community Outreach person is doing Catrina Godinez and I are working with

LCPS to have students come in and the program is called Know Your Government.

We started that in 2019 and it was quite successful. I think we had 60 students participate and these were students who were all levels. Not just the college prep

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people, the achievers but students that were selected by the teachers who would otherwise not come up and raise their hand and say yes, I want to do that. We were looking forward to 2020, but then we had Covid and everything came to a standstill.

Fortunately, it has resurfaced. It has been resurrected and I believe that we will be doing that in February and will take place here. We will assemble here and then we will break and go upstairs, and the students will be addressing issues that the city faces or could potentially face and come up with solutions. I am looking forward to that and I will be able to report.

10.6 MAYOR PRO TEM BENCOMO I was at the Utilities Board meeting last week and we talked about many things and one of the things I wanted to share with you all is the story about the intern Jeremiah

Avery, he graduated. He is from the Water Internship Program and during his high school senior year he was driving every week to Las Cruces to complete the program and then he graduated and now he is doing his internship and getting paid for it at the

Utility while he worked on all his certifications. I just wanted to say because during the meeting he talked to us about his experience, and he said you know I feel excited, and I really hope to be at the city for 20/30 more years and it was just really powerful testament to the power of internships actually and allowing folks to be able to get into the work and start falling in love with it.

I wanted to give a huge shoutout to, a huge thank you to Mike Tellez who is a constituent of mine. I think some of you may know him. He is the owner of a place called the Dream Center on Sixth Street and last Wednesday he reached out to me and said I would like to open up the Dream Center at night for unhoused people to stay here at night time and can you help me with these few things and I called Ikani and I just want to give a huge thank you to Ikani because I called him and he said let’s figure it out. I just want to really appreciate that Ikani because like I said Mike is looking for these three things and you said let’s figure it out and we did and by Friday

Ikani and him were meeting and I think both Chiefs had feedback for them and multiple city staff and they came up with a great sort of program, OEM was able to provide cots and they have been hosting people there at the Dream Center during the really cold nights and so I think it also speaks to putting aside any perceived frankly political differences we may have and bringing real solutions to the city council and that we can get good things done. I really wanted to thank everyone involved and especially Mike and Ikani for making it happen. If anybody wants to support them, they are totally community driven, like I said it is the Dream Center over on Sixth

Street.

I did want to give a shoutout to our Legislators who are today starting the 2024 30-day

Legislative Session. I think most of us will be making a trip up there to lobby for the needs of the city and just check in with our representatives and make sure that they don’t forget we are here and that we have many needs.

I did want to invite you all to an event that I was invited to by Mayor Alan Webber of

Santa Fe. The event is called Economic Justice for New Mexico Workers in a

Changing Economy. It starts at 5 p.m. and it will be on January 26th. It is next Friday so if you are there please come. It will be at the Center of Contemporary Arts on Old

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Pecos Trail, and it is about guaranteed basic income. He will be a panelist, I will be a panelist, Dawn Hommer from Community Action Agency will be a panelist, and several other folks talking about the importance about these kinds of programs for the most vulnerable in our communities. Feel free to reach out to me for that address again.

11. CITY MANAGER REPORT 11.1 IFO PILI I will start first with VLC. This is our second annual video contest. Visit Las Cruces in collaboration with Las Cruce Film Festival has launched the Visit Las Cruces Stories

Second Annual Video Contest. The contest invites the public to share rich folklore of

Las Cruces through a 3-to-5-minute video submissions. Call for entries is open until

February 28th and detailed guidelines can be found on the Visit Las Cruces or the Las

Cruces International Film Festival websites. Top three entries will be awarded cash prizes along with VIP tickets and winning submissions will be showcased before each screening before the film festival.

Also, from Parks and Recreation Keep Las Cruces Beautiful Program, Parks and Rec will host a neighborhood dumpster day from 8 a.m. till 12 p.m. on Saturday, January

20th, and KLCB will provide open top trash containers for the community to dump yard waste, household trash and other permeable items for free. It will be at Young

Park, 850 South Walnut Street, East Mesa Recreation Center which is 5589 Porter

Drive, and Tony Gomez Park which is 2283 South Espina Steet.

From Public Works I appreciate Councilor Mattiace bring up Artist Drive. That is one of 12 streets that is scheduled in the works right now and to be completed by early to mid-June. These aren’t just normal maintenance projects. These are pavement replacement projects and two of those projects include replacement of utilities, water, and gas. So, these are big projects and contract amounts are about $2.3 million.

Just a couple comments that were made, one was brining by the light comment. Chief

Story just gave me the update. They did speak to security and the principal, and the state technician and they put a timer on it so it would shut off at 6 o’clock or 7 o'clock and they are going to talk to them again to see if they can shut it off even sooner but that is the response that was here, but we can reach out and let him know. I appreciate Councilor McClure responding with the heating coil at the Aquatic Center. I just wanted to let everyone know that the heating coil needed to be custom made so it is like two months just to get the coil and they are checking and hoping for it to be done and I guess the company said they will be getting it in soon like within the next week or so but until we get it in we don’t have a timeline.

12. ADJOURNMENT 12.1 Councilor Yvonne Flores moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to adjourn at 3:12 p.m.

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MOVER: Councilor Yvonne Flores

Graham, Councilor Johana Bencomo, and Councilor Yvonne Flores

ABSENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez and Councilor Becky Corran

Mayor

City Clerk

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