City Council Meeting May 4, 2026

MINUTES

City Council

Monday, May 4, 2026 @ 1:00 PM

City Council Chambers, City Hall

PRESENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez, City Councilor Cassie McClure, City Councilor William Mattiace, City

Councilor Michael Harris, City Councilor Johana Bencomo, City Councilor Becky Corran, and Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz

ABSENT:

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

APPRECIATION/PROCLAMATIONS - COUNCILOR MCCLURE. Councilor McClure presented a proclamation to Tierra Del Sol, and Mesilla Valley

Habitat for Humanity for Affordable Housing Month.

Councilor McClure presented a proclamation to Maria Sisneros, David Dubois,

Armando Paz, and Larry Olsen for the El Paso del Norte Air Basin in Recognition of the 30th Anniversary Committee.

Councilor McClure presented a proclamation to George Pearson and Ashleigh Curry for National Bike Week.

Councilor McClure presented nurses from Las Cruces with a proclamation for Nurses

Week.

Councilor McClure presented Evelyn Ramirez Gibson with a proclamation for

Economic Development Week.

Councilor McClure presented the Historic Preservation Committee members with a proclamation for Historic Preservation Month.

Councilor McClure presented City Clerk Christine Rivera & Deputy City Clerk Teresa

Stavenhagen with a proclamation for Professional Municipal Clerks Week. 1.3 DEPARTMENTAL HIGHLIGHTS. Elizabeth Teeters, Economic Development Director gave the overhead presentation.

Steven Bingham, Parks & Rec Director gave the overhead presentation. 1.4 PETS OF THE WEEK. Amelia Corrales, Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley presented Pets of the

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

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

3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 3.1 Lynn Moorer, Member of the Public said today I am providing further scope and detail regarding Las Cruces Utility’s mishandling of drinking water quality related to lead. I have three charts. Handout one is the drinking water sampling schedule the department used from 2015 to 2025, you can see that Utilities samples properties only once every three years. Nothing prevents them from sampling more frequently.

Handout 2 compares the actual test results for lead with the 27 consumer confidence reports that falsified lead levels. It sets out the lab reports by ID number showing that in every case Utilities falsely reported a lead level lower than the lab report. It also notes that Utilities did not report any of the five results which exceeded the EPA action level of 15 parts per billion. Handout 3 lists all sampling Utilities carried out for lead from 2015 through 2024, showing among several things each sampling date and each result. It totals just 154 properties sampled out of about 40,000 connections city wide which Utilities acknowledges. It doesn’t count the thousands more particularly mobile homes that Utilities doesn’t acknowledge. In 2017 the department provided no notice at all to two property owners whose lead sampling revealed the lead level above the action level of 15 parts per billion. One test showed 40 parts per billion of lead in their water the other 21 parts per billion. This is a major non-compliance with federal requirements in addition to potential harm to the property owners. During this

11-year period of the department sampling only every third-year results found five exceedances of the action level in addition to the two just mentioned a disadvantage property registered 89 parts per billion in 2018, almost 6 times the action level and in

2023 two others showed 24 parts per billion and 18 parts per billion respectively. More exceedances likely would be found if Utilities sampled more frequently and sampled the requisite number of properties each time. Utilities did not resample the property with 89 parts per billion. There is no evidence that Utilities has gone back to this disadvantaged property since that sky high rating in 2018. That is very troubling.

Handout 4 is the notice the department sent this property owner. You will note how it downplays the significance of this very high lead level in their drinking water. A majority, 53% of the properties sampled have an estimated value of $300,000 or

higher. The median estimated value for high value properties sampled is more than $100,000 higher than for lower valued properties. So, Utilities pattern of favoring wealthier properties continues. Absurdly the department classifies a quarter of those high valued properties as disadvantaged.

Liz Rodriguez-Johnson, Member of the Public said the evidence continues to growthat

Utilities personnel are not trustworthy. We citizens cannot be confident that they are taking the required steps to protect our health. Rather evidence multiplies that Las

Cruces Utilities habitually downplays and deceives they are findings show public health is at risk. This comes on top of clear knowledge that there is not complying with numerous federal legal requirements. Lead in drinking water is particularly hazardous for young children and unborn children because lead passes through the placenta. It is also very hazardous for seniors. Las Cruces Utilities’ failure to notify the property owners with lead exceedances in their drinking water is unforgivable. Consider what you would think and feel if you had a pregnant wife or daughter whose water Utilities sampled then after the child was born discovered through an independent researcher that her drinking water tested 89 parts per billion for lead, but the department had not notified her of that very high level. What if you saw that Las Cruces Utilities lead and copper inventory listing for the property where your elderly parents live said non-lead for both service lines and you hired a licensed plumber to check the service lines and he found that both were made instead of galvanized piping with lead connectors.

Whether due to the department’s incompetence or deception this too is unforgivable.

Why did Utilities come up with two entirely different inspection reports for each of 36 different properties that originally showed galvanized piping as detailed at the last meeting? If you were one of those property owners, you would want a thorough explanation as to why the department now says that the piping is not galvanized. You would also question the competence of the inspectors and the integrity of the manager who instructed the second inspector to come up with an entirely different report. If after hiring a plumbing firm to investigate your piping two of the firms plumbers looked at the same stretch of piping and came up with two different assessments as to what it was made of, I suspect you would be inclined not to pay the firm and you might also want to throw the plumbers off your property. The evidence is strong as spelled out at our last two meetings that Las Cruces Utilities is taking many actions to cover up the true number of galvanized pipes in the city. It is exceptionally unforgivable that Utilities did not notify in accordance of federal rules and requirements even one of the 83 property owners of the galvanized pipes. Las

Cruces management needs to change.

Cindy Hayward, Member of the Public said I am here to ask the city council to pass a resolution against religious services here at City Hall. As I understand the Constitution and the principle of separation of church and state the National Day of Prayer and as practiced here is a promotion of religion at the state expense.

Dr. Adam Amador, Member of the Public said today I stand before you with urgency.

We are losing too many of our young people. Some lose their lives, others carry lasting physical and emotional trauma, many more are living in fear and that is not the sign of a healthy community. It is a sign of a system under strain. We must be clear about what is happening, public health, public education, and public safety are interconnective public goods. When one erodes the others follow and right now, we

are seeing the consequences of that erosion across all three. This is not just affecting individuals, it is impacting the foundation of our community, including small business.

Small business owners are the backbone of the city. They create jobs, provide opportunity and invest in our neighborhoods but when safety declines, when instability becomes normalized and leadership appears divided they pay the price first. They reduce hours, they hesitate to hire and in some cases they close. This affects every law-abiding citizen who depends on a stable functioning local economy. At the same time the everyday resident, the parent, the worker, the student is experiencing a decline in the quality of life. People do not feel safe and trust is eroding. We also need to be honest about outcomes, efforts carried out under the auspices and in the name of social justice must be judged by their results not their intent. When actions lead to greater stability or future, fewer opportunities it is often black, brown, Native

Americans and low-income families who are most negatively impacted. That is not social justice. That is a failure to deliver meaningful change. Quality of life in Las

Cruces is social justice and what is modeled here matters. Too often we see division without direction, criticism without solutions, disruptions without accountability. Our young people are watching. If we cannot demonstrate respectful solution-oriented leadership, we should not be surprised when conflict escalates elsewhere. So here is a path forward. Mayor, while there may be differences in belief, we recognize your willingness to serve. Mayor Pro Tem, initiatives like a youth council mentorship programs and job pathways are essential and should be prioritized. To the councilors, there are community members including business leaders ready to partner with you not just to talk but to act but understand this. Our community cannot afford delay. This moment requires alignment, accountability and measured results. Our young people deserve safety and opportunity. Our small businesses deserve stability, and our residents deserve a better quality of life. We can do better. We must do better and the time to act is now. Councilors ahora es cuando. The time is now. Work together with us or get out of the way.

Leslie Woods, Member of the Public said the New Mexico Constitution says that every man shall be free to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience and no person shall ever be molested or denied any civil or political right or privilege on account of his religious opinion or mode of religious worship. No person shall be required to attend any place of worship or support any religious sect or denomination, nor shall any preference be given to law to any religious denomination or mode of worship. Consider these words. No person shall be required to attend any place of worship or support any religious sect or denomination. When the city allows religious services on City Hall grounds it is providing city resources to a religious purpose. We want the city to stop doing that. We are asking the city council to pass a resolution forbidding the use the City Hall grounds for hosting religious services including and especially the National Day of Prayer May 7th this year. As Trump has declared his intention of making religion great again. Thus, declaring his intention to use the government to promote religion. It is incumbent on this city council to take a stand against the erosion of the law between church and state.

Lara Janson, Member of the Public said I am not against Christianity. I am not against any religion. Everyone must be free to practice any religion as they see fit and everyone has the right to have no religion at all. I agree with separation of church and state. No religion should influence our government, be it federal, state, county or city.

Moreover, no religion should influence our laws. The city of Las Cruces holding a

National Day of Prayer on city property sends the message of exclusion for all people who are not Christian. In this era in the rise of Christian Nationalism, it is even more important to keep religion far away from government and our laws. This is not a

Christian country. Religion should not have influence on our government or on our laws. A religious prayer event held at City Hall sends the wrong message. Please show your support for separation of church and state by not holding a day of prayer on city property.

Daniel Castleberry, Member of the Public said I am a retired United Methodist

Clergyman. I served 41 years, some of that time in the New Mexico Conference, the rest of them in the New Jersey Conference and over the course of that period I have always stood unequivocally for the separation of church and state and it may seem strange to you that I am going to agree with the person who already spoken today in that I do not believe that it is appropriate for a government facility, government building to be used for religious purposes and I think the separation of church affords everyone in our country the right to be religious or not religious and so the ultimate respect we can pay is to not have religious services within government buildings. The only thing that we can do here is ban it here. We may not be able to do it nationally at this point. It should already be national because it is in the Bill of Rights and the

Constitution that we should not be giving observance for a particular religion. I grew up in a small west Texas town and whatever religious group existed in that town that had the biggest numbers, they dictated what happened and it certainly was not fair. I saw Jehovah’s Witness kids bullied because their religion would not allow them to say the Pledge of Allegiance. I saw other kids bullied because they didn’t belong to the cool church, the most prominent church. Everybody should have the right to either be religious if they want to or choose to or they have no religion. I have just as much respect for my Atheist and Agnostic friends as I do my friends who are Muslim,

Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, any other world religion or no religion at all. So, I just ask you to consider what we do to provide the ultimate respect for our residents here in

Las Cruces and that is let’s respect everyone by not going in and siding with the religious over everybody else.

Haley Walker, Member of the Public said I have an ask today. I ask that the city cease from having religious services on the City Hall grounds. Using city resources to promote religion is a breach of faith between the city and its citizens. I pay taxes and the city uses those taxes in the public interest. I don’t want a penny of my tax dollars to be used to support any religion or religious exercise. Anything more than nothing is too much. Any use of city resources of my tax dollars for such purposes no matter how small violates my constitutional rights under the New Mexico Constitution. City

Council, Mr. Mayor, unfortunately there are many voices intent on denying and diminishing the principle of separation of church and state. A prime example is the

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, President of Donald Trump’s Religious

Liberty Commission who wants a sign in every Texas school that declaring that separation of church and state is a myth. Sir, it is not a myth. It is one of the foundational principles of America. We have separation of church and state to protect religious liberty. We don’t want a government that is likely to favor one religious group over another thus compromising religious liberty. We have separation of church and state because Christians wanted it to protect them from government interference.

Once the government decides we should all be religious the government will decide what religion we should be. I think America works best when it is governed by a constitution even if it matters some may think are trivial. It matters if our city gives the impression it supports religious belief over non-belief. It matters if the city is honest about events it allows to be held here at City Hall. Please set policies for the use of this facility that makes sense or accessible to all and protect the separation of church and state. Please do not allow religious services to be held here at City Hall.

Jim Hoerst, Member of the Public said we are here today to call this council and you sir to recognize our constitutional rights. Article II, Section 11 of the New Mexico

Constitution states, “No person shall be required to attend any place of worship or support any religious sect or denomination, nor shall any preference be given by law to any religious denomination or mode of worship”. Mr. Mayor, the City of Las Cruces sponsors a religious service here at City Hall and with the acceptance of last year it has done so nearly every year. It is called the National Day of Prayer service. It is held at noon on the first Thursday of May at the flag poles here at City Hall. Mr.

Mayor, this is a breach of our constitution, and that citizens are required to support the city through our taxes and the city has no right to use those resources to support or promote religion. In spite of our constitution this unconstitutional tradition has been practiced for many years to my knowledge without city council approval or recognition.

Indeed, I have spoken to many councilors who are unaware of these events. As I read the City Charter, all authority in Las Cruces is granted to the city council and no one has the authority to do anything without the approval of the city council. Mr. Mayor, where is it granted that anyone, including you, or the city staff has the authority to authorize the religious service on these grounds? I am also aware Mr. Mayor, that you and the city council have been deceiving the citizens of this city by pretending that the

National Day of Prayer services are being held without authorization of this city. The jig is up Mr. Mayor. I know that there is a National Day of Prayer service scheduled for this Thursday, May 7th at 12 noon. I know that because your staff informed me in the presence of two witnesses that the flagpole area is reserved at that time and date for the group that has traditionally used the space. So, the city cannot pretend that the

National Day of Prayer services are being held without the city knowledge or authorization. So, we are coming to you this morning or this afternoon to ask this council to support the principles of separation of church and state and pass a resolution forbidding the use of City Hall and its grounds for religious services.

Taylene Jacko, Member of the Public said I think there has been a gross misunderstanding. I am the President of National Day of Prayer Taskforce. I have been in charge of the city events that have happened over the last ten years. Prior to that I don’t know what was in record, but I can tell you that every year I have called and I have requested it just the same way as I know everyone else has to use the flag area. Last year was the first year that we were ever told that, I got a call two weeks before the event and they told us there was a conflict of scheduling and that we would have to move. We got the same call this year. I called in November and I was told that we had the area and I called back to double-check about bringing all of our own equipment and what we would need to do to use our own equipment and making sure that we weren’t utilizing anything other than public grounds. I was told yes that we had the area but three weeks ago I was called and told that we no longer have the area because there was a conflict in scheduling. That is fine. So, we have moved so I

feel like this is null and void, but I do want to continue talking about this because I am hearing that it is just for Christians alone and that it is not. I thank Mr. Hoerst for opening my eyes to the Nones and looking into that. I did not know that he was speaking on this today, but I am actually here on something else. But I am glad I am here. I now know that Nones don’t have to be Atheist or Agnostic, they just agree that organized religion may not be the way to go, and I quite agree with that in several different ways. I agree that we all need to be free to celebrate the prayer and the confrontational person I am not, so I do believe that we have addressed this, and I wish I had more time to go into this. If I had known probably would have been able to prepare a better statement. I just want to say that Jesus himself did not agree with an organized religion that caused division and if we together cannot come together in unity for peace, how do we allow each of us to co-exist. We are made for love in his image and he is love.

Juan Garcia, Member of the Public said over a thousand guns have been stolen in the past five years in Las Cruces, 1,069 as reported by LCPD. That is 213 guns gone every year. Nearly one every two days and that count is what people bother to report.

Who knows how many disappear and never make the stats. The sad part is if those gun owners had actually locked up their guns, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation or how many citizens to include those teens murdered during the Young

Park massacre or most recently 13-year-old Chris Carnero who was killed by a 13- year-old would still be alive. A 13-year-old who can’t legally buy, possess, or hold a weapon committed murder. Was this crime committed using a stolen gun? From Chief

Story, “These firearms that are being stolen are not being used for lawful purposes.

They are going to be used in the commission of a crime or for some malevolent purposes, what is worse is that we believe that most of auto burglaries where guns are stolen or are being committed by young people who are using the stolen firearms or selling them to their friends who will use them in crimes”. If you can’t keep your guns safe you should face real consequences. This isn’t about gun confiscation or the kind of gun control pushed by Senator Soules or Senator Hamblen. If you are responsible gun owner, it is time to step up and hold yourself accountable. This action and what Senator Diamond Brantley is proposing can make a difference and I quote, “A teenager can commit a violent offense after violent offense short of premeditated murder and never trigger meaningful accountability. My legislation closes that gap for offenders 15 and older. It says we are not going to wait until someone is killed to intervene. We are going to step in while there is still time to change the trajectory.

That intervention comes with real accountability but also with education, rehabilitation, and a structured path forward. There must be serious consequences for serious offenses in a meaningful way for our law to deter escalating violence”. So, two questions for this community. How many more kids will be murdered before gun owners start safeguarding their weapons? That is, are you going to back Senator

Brantley’s new Bill or not? We are talking about responsible gun ownership.

Eddie Thomas, Member of the Public said I am here to speak to you regarding several issues, but I want to get some commendations out of the way. First of all, I want to commend you for having the courage to speak regarding your personal beliefs regarding abortion. Second thing, I want to commend you on the Mira Las Cruces celebration that we had just this last weekend. Me and my mother thoroughly enjoyed it. The Azteca dancers, the ballet folklorico, the mariachis, the 575 Band. You pulled

off a good one. So, thank you for it and I want you to know we thoroughly enjoyed it.

My next commendation to you Sir is regarding my area which I brought up to you the last time I got up and spoke regarding the Casas Lindas Project which is where I live and this morning the city personnel came out and they swept the street and a vactor truck came out and sucked up the remaining water since I don’t have drainage and I know that Mr. David Sedillo is working on that so I want to commend you and thank you for that. However, let me just give you a brief update what is going on the adjacent street, Calle del Sol. It is still a muddy mess, okay the barricades, the street barricades are gone which is good, the porta potties are gone, and so is the heavy equipment. There is nothing going on and I hope there is something planned in the works to bring another contractor in or something to give it a continuance to bring it to its end. I must tell you though that I have a fear of what it is going to look like for my street once the project comes to my street and the renewal starts going on there. I hope it doesn’t take a year and half to complete. I do not want to be like my neighbors on Calle del Sol and then just one more quick note. The park at the end of the street, there is a little park there at the end of Calle del Sol and Calle del Encanto, you guys have neglected the grass. If it wasn’t for the recent rain the grass would be completely dead. So, I hope that you can save that park. I am sure the grass will come back if you guys continue to water it.

Yoli Diaz, Member of the Public said we have requested a meeting with your staff to speak on the city’s authority, responsibility and opportunity to address gaps in access to healthcare for indigent residents. We will be asking for your support and approval.

The City of Las Cruces created the Telshor Fund from the lease of Memorial Medical

Center. Those funds are public resources and carry with them a clear public purpose to benefit the health and welfare of this community. At the same time Dona Ana

County operates an indigent healthcare program pursuant to New Mexico Law with a responsibility to provide care for qualifying residents. However, when gaps exist, particularly in access to hospital-based services and diagnostics there is both a policy and legal basis for intergovernmental collaboration to address those gaps. New

Mexico Law expressly allows local governments to enter into joint powers agreements and memorandum of understanding to provide services that serve a public purpose.

This includes the ability to pull resources, avoid duplication, and ensure continuity of care across jurisdictions. Given the documented concerns regarding barriers to hospital care over the past decade, the city is justified in taking corrective action that directly supports access to care. For that reason, I am requesting that the city enter into a memorandum of understanding or joint powers agreement with Dona Ana

County and allocate $500,000 from the Telshor Fund to the County’s indigent program specifically restricted for diagnostic services and medically necessary care resulting from a diagnosis. This proposal is grounded in three key policy principles.

First, access to care. Diagnostic services are an essential entry point into the healthcare system. Without them conditions cannot be identified or treated in a timely manner, undermining the effectiveness of all downstream care. Second, fiscal responsibility. Funding diagnostics reduces higher downstream costs associated with delayed treatment, emergency care and uncompensated hospital services. Early intervention is widely recognized as a cost containment strategy. Third, accountability.

Where a public asset such as a formally city/county owned hospital has not fully met community expectations for access it is appropriate for the city to use available public funds to mitigate those impacts and ensure residents are not left without options. An

MOU or JPA structure would also provide necessary safeguards including defined eligibility, restricted use of funds, reporting requirements, and measurable outcomes.

This ensures transparency and alignment with the intended public purpose of the

Telshor Fund. This is a legally permissible policy sound and fiscally responsible action that directly advances the health and welfare of the community. I respectfully urge the city to consider, support and move forward with this proposed partnership and funding allocation.

Jan Thompson, Member of the Public said I am a person of faith and as a person of faith that I want to add my name to others who have already spoken regarding separation of church and state. I am aware of two instances that occurred within the last couple of months that violate the separation of church and state principle. I doubt very seriously that council was informed that these were going to happen nor were asked for their blessing regarding them, but I will hold council responsible for ensuring that this stops.

Victor Jacko, Member of the Public said I want to address the National Day of Prayer, and I am going to read a little dialogue here and it goes like this, “The National Day of

Prayer complies with the separation of church and state because it is voluntary, noncohersive call for reflection rather than a government mandated religious practice.

As a symbolic recognition of the roll of faith in American history, it falls under the category of ceremonial deism, which the Supreme Court has often distinguished as an establishment of state religion. No threat. It is not a threat to force or adopt a religion under government rather a place to ensure the freedom to stand for your own beliefs”. I believe we have the freedom of speech. Under public law 82-324 Section

119, signed by the President in 1958, No person is forced but rather stands for the freedom to maintain if the resolution is made then even a National Day of Reason could not even be held as the same could say this form of belief is a religion within itself. Religion is a social culture system, designated behaviors, practice, morals, beliefs, world views, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations that generally relates humanity to the supernatural transcendental or spiritual element. We have a similar driving force. We fight for separation of church and state in the stand to make sure our liberties are never taken away from us. One of those indeed is prayer.

Prayer is not a religion. It is a livlihood or a relationship. The Mayor has not changed who he was when he was elected. He has practiced who he was when he was elected. He has practiced his own liberties. He has done this the same way before and after elections. This is not enforcement of a way to believe but rather the freedom to be able to continue.

Lucas Herndon, Member of the Public said I was looking forward to potentially not coming to city council this week after coming week after week fighting hard for the

GRT and the ongoing respect that this community asks for from our elected officials and yet again I stand before you for the Las Cruces Police Department killed a person in the act of being a human person. And I know, and I know I can already imagine the posts after this where my testimony here is taken from the public record and put on to the private YouTube page of certain political activists in this community at my expense and my family’s but I can’t help but think of this quote from Angela Davis, “Prisons do not disappear problems, they disappear human beings and the practice of disappearing vast numbers of people from poor, immigrant, and racially marginalized

communities has literally become big business”. And I think about posts from the Las

Cruces Police Department this week about how many service calls they received and

I think about the press releases that they put out in the videos and their requests for more and more and more dollars to continue whatever it is that they do which based on the statistics of both this city and our state continue to be the most dangerous state to exist in when it comes to being shot and killed by the police. The Mapping Police

Violence Project updates their records in the middle of the month so we don’t actually have an update but if we are going back to the middle of April, New Mexico continues to lead the nation once again for the third or fourth or fifth year in a row as the most dangerous place to exist to be killed by the police. The argument about the man killed and what he is or what he was or what he was doing, or what he might have done is irrelevant. We live in a police state where the police get to eke out justice as they see fit based on their “training”. That is always the excuse. And so, I will continue to show up every time they talk about funding the police for “more training”. Because all I can hear is to learn how to kill us better and to learn how to kill us more every single time.

Tim Jenkins, Member of the Public said I stand before you today as a concerned member of our community and as of today we are now 123 days into 2026 and me personally all but myself have had to call LCPD 127 times now with 119 of those times being in District 4 under the watch of Johana Bencomo. Let me repeat that one more time, 119 times I have had to call LCPD in District 4 in an attempt to make our community safer for all. So, my question is, Johana Bencomo, what is it that you are doing in your own community to make this community safer for all because from my side of the aisle it doesn’t look like much? Let us also mention that three members on this dais last month wasted over two hours of time going round and around about how to defund the police to the point that one council member said, “I don’t even know why we are still having this conversation. We all know that the police get whatever they want, so why not just take the funds from public safety and they will figure out how to get them back”. The same council member also says she will not sit by and allow

Border Patrol to terrorize our children. I have never in the history of my life seen either

Border Patrol or law enforcement terrorize our community as you suggest along with others. In fact, what I did witness two weeks ago was an individual on the highway approaching a Border Patrol station driving extremely careless and erratic to which I managed to get in front of him and pulled into the Border Patrol station two cars in front of him and alerted Border Patrol that something was not right. Turns out this individual had over 7,000 pounds of liquid cocaine marked as aloe vera in the back of his vehicle. This right here is the track record of our law enforcement officers and

Border Patrol who we back and support 100%. Not the account that you and your progressive friends portray day in and day out as to defund and strip funds from their department to open our community to even more danger. God Bless and protect our officers from the evil that lurks in the very chambers we stand in today. We as a community back and support our officers in all their efforts to make this city safer for all.

4. READ CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT 4.1 READ MAY 4, 2026 CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT INTO THE RECORD. The Las Cruces City Council met in closed session and only discussed those limited items as stated in the posted notice:

1. To discuss water rights, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-

15-1H(8).

2. To discuss threatened litigation in the matter of Benjamin Ochoa, Claim No.

2025AL0144, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-15-1H(7).

3. To discuss threatened litigation in the matter of Jose Puente & Juan Flores

Sifuentes, Claim No. 2024AL0287, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978,

Section 10-15-1H(7).

4. To discuss threatened litigation in the matter of Juan Carlos, Claim No.

2024AL0131, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-15-1H(7).

5. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA City Councilor Michael Harris moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz, to accept the agenda as presented with the removal of item 7.1 for discussion.

RESULT: Carried

MOVER: City Councilor Michael Harris

SECONDER: Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz

AYES: Mayor Eric Enriquez, City Councilor Cassie McClure, City Councilor William

Mattiace, City Councilor Michael Harris, City Councilor Johana Bencomo, City

Councilor Becky Corran, and Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz

6. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 6.1 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF APRIL 6, 2026.

7. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 RESOLUTION NO. 26-135: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING AN EXISTING

CONTRACT PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR PROGRAM EVALUATION

SERVICES WITH PIVOT EVALUATION, LLC VIA DOÑA ANA COUNTY

CONTRACT NO. 26-165 FOR A TERM THROUGH NOVEMBER 30, 2029 IN

AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $147,253 INCLUDING APPLICABLE

TAXES, SUBJECT TO APPROVED BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS (PROCUREMENT NO. 25-26-062). Donny Prosise, Purchasing Supervisor gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Bencomo asked I am curious about if once this is approved today and they start making recommendations, how often then council and county governing bodies will get an opportunity to hear these projects?

Athena Huckaby, Member of the Public said I am the Special Project Manager for

Dona Ana County, and I am seeing the expenditure of the Opioid Settlement Funds.

My answer would be as often as you like. I would say that yearly reporting is required but the OSAC would be meeting once a month. I would want to have updates no less than quarterly, personally but I don’t know how you all feel. Would that be sufficient do you think?

Councilor Bencomo said I think so. I would not want to overburden the committee either so I think honestly, I would really appreciate something like that.

Wes Smith, Fire Department Case Manager said the City of Las Cruces

Accountability website is also being updated regularly. We have a live chart that will tell you when the revenues are coming in and we are working with management to get a report for our graph that will show expenditures as well, but we are not expecting expenditure with these contracts until July 1st. City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz, to Approve Resolution No. 26-135.

MOVER: City Councilor Becky Corran

Councilor Becky Corran, and Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz 7.2 RESOLUTION NO. 26-136: A RESOLUTION APPROVING THE CITY'S

PURCHASE OF A 0.225 ACRE TRACT OF LAND OWNED BY SANTIAGO

R. SILVA LOCATED AT 5350 LONGVIEW LANE, FOR THE PURCHASE

PRICE OF FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ($5,000) AS PART OF THE

DEVELOPMENT OF LONGVIEW LANE. 7.3 RESOLUTION NO. 26-137: A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE FY2026-2031

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM.

8. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR DISCUSSION 8.1 RESOLUTION NO. 26-138: A RESOLUTION ADOPTING FUNDING

PRIORITIES AND ALLOCATIONS TO VARIOUS LAS CRUCES NON-

PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027 (FY27) TO PROVIDE

HEALTH-RELATED PUBLIC SERVICE NEEDS AND AUTHORIZING THE

INCORPORATION OF THE FUNDING AMOUNTS INTO THE CITY'S FY27

BUDGET. Councilor Corran said I didn’t say this during Conflict of Interest but because I serve on one of the boards of one of the organizations on this list, I would like to recuse myself for this consideration.

Sylvia Caldera, Housing & Neighborhood Specialist gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor McClure asked it says it is to support all the needs of various types, how are the current needs assessed for Las Cruces residents?

Natalie Green, Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization Administrator said the Housing and Neighborhood Services staff does a needs assessment every five years. In fact, you will be approving that in the next action item and so we use that as part of our priority settings for our application processes.

Councilor McClure said last year too I said I don’t quite understand how all the needs cut exactly the same way and so I find it disserving that we haven’t been able to say kind of hey, there is a couple of more needs in this arena than this arena and it just seems like we could be doing better to give money that is impactful.

Natalie Green said the recommendation is based on the committee. So, the committee has the option to give some agencies more or less. Typically, they have done even increments just for ease of contracting but we do that competitive application every two years so that we can look at changing the application process before the next round.

Councilor McClure said I am not entirely sure how it is competitive if they are all going to get the same amount of money and I also kind of spoke to my representative too who is on that board but it didn’t seem even reading the minutes that there was that kind of conversation and perhaps I missed in previous minutes, I will give you that but

I did not feel like that was a true reflection of the needs of the Las Cruces citizens.

Natalie Green said we can take that into consideration for the next application process. The application and guidebook is adopted by city council and so we are just using the guidebook that was previously adopted by the council, but we can look at changing that for the following year.

Mayor Enriquez asked when is that application process, when does it actually start?

Natalie Green said we run alternate application processes. So, this year is year 1 for health-related public services. It started in November of 2025, and it goes through

May which is today and then we will work on contracts. Next year is a CDBG year so

CDBG will start in October or November. We will solicit applications and go through that scoring process again and then health related will be up again in 2027 for the 28 fiscal year but council can make interim funding decisions at any time. Council just sets an allocation of the 600 for the competitive process.

Councilor Munoz asked can you explain CDBG, just for the edification of the public?

Natalie Green said we are actually going to cover it in the next presentation and so

Community Development Block Grant funds, there is a small portion that is 15% of our entitlement allocation and that is set aside for public service programs and then there is a competitive application for other funding pots but again I will cover that in the next presentation more fully.

Councilor Bencomo asked is it 7 members of the committee?

Natalie Green said there is 7 members, there has not been 7 members in a while. We are going to work with the Clerk’s Office to send reminders to the rest of the committee. It does make it challenging when there is not full membership of the board so we would like to get some additional members.

Councilor Bencomo said I always like to ask this question when we talk about this

item specifically because all boards obviously are really important but I do think this board particularly has this responsibility so it is important that we get folks to apply and then perhaps if we are really lacking folks figuring out a way to try to recruit folks that are interested in this because I know it is pretty important.

City Councilor Johana Bencomo moved, seconded by City Councilor Michael

Harris, to Approve Resolution No. 26-138.

MOVER: City Councilor Johana Bencomo

SECONDER: City Councilor Michael Harris

AYES: Mayor Eric Enriquez, City Councilor Michael Harris, City Councilor Johana

Bencomo, and Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz

NAYS: City Councilor Cassie McClure and City Councilor William Mattiace

ABSENT: City Councilor Becky Corran 8.2 RESOLUTION NO. 26-139: A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE 2026-2030

CONSOLIDATED PLAN AND ANALYSIS OF IMPEDIMENTS TO FAIR

HOUSING CHOICE FOR THE CITY OF LAS CRUCES, AS REQUIRED BY

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT. THE

RESOLUTION ALSO ADOPTS THE 2026 ACTION PLAN FOR THE

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT AND HOME INVESTMENT

PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM. Natalie Green, Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Administrator gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Harris asked on the last slide, can you expand on what discrimination we are seeing, especially in mobile homes?

Natalie Green said we had about 17% of Las Cruces respondents said that they felt or experienced discrimination primarily, it doesn’t say what they were experiencing. I will have to dig deeper into the report to look that up, but I can send that after this meeting.

Councilor Harris said that would be interesting to know. I guess to harken back to the last topic. I would be interested in visiting our criteria for those competitive awards. I know there is a lot of overlap in services amongst all of these organizations but splitting them up evenly doesn’t scream competitiveness unless they were competing against other organizations who weren’t included at all but that seems to be a pretty comprehensive list of orgs that we have in the city. So, before the next application cycle I think I would be interested at looking at that as well.

Natalie Green said we will send the application out right after this meeting and we are happy to take any feedback on how to change or improve the process.

Councilor Munoz said going back to slide 7 or 8. Again, not to belabor the issue but definitely I think another consideration would be contemporary events as to what is happening in and so what is happening now is affordability, food insecurity is significant and so when I think of groups like Casa de Peregrinos or other groups of

that effect or the Community of Hope I think there are some significant needs and we have so many priorities. I get that they are competing, but I think that on a contemporary basis we should see what is happening around us and food insecurity seems to be screaming at us right now.

Councilor Bencomo said I just want to speak to this point that we are sort of all circling around. I think certainly the feedback from the council and what we are seeing is important. I would argue that the feedback from these organizations is also important.

I mean I think all of these organizations on this list and the item before they are all organizations that work together consistently and then we come out and we say here is this funding and now you guys need to compete against each other for frankly peanuts and so I think that maybe the bigger issue here is that there isn’t enough money in the pot that people are competing for, number one and number two I think all of these organizations I assume have to go through a grant writing process. Like they have to expend as non-profits time to write grants which is not easy, and then I think that they present in front of the committee, right? And then the committee recommends and so I think the committee is saying we believe all of these organizations deserve some pot of money then let’s do that and then they come to us and we are sort of setting doubt over the whole process. I feel like there is a level of respect to be had and also recognition that it is just a really small amount of money frankly and it goes back to this conversation about scarcity that I think that I have raised even a couple of weeks ago when we were talking about the budget and GRT and all of these things and it just doesn’t feel like there is ever enough. That the need is really great and there is just never enough for social service organizations and I think that is always a shame. I really just want to say that. That I am always willing and ready to have a discussion on increasing the amount that gets spent every year or every two years for sure and then three, I just really want to thank these organizations for not only providing the services that they do in our community with limited resources but applying, being good partners and of course to the committee who give of their time to come up with these recommendations for us.

Natalie Green said I will add that we do not allow duplication of services, so the services funded under CDBG are distinctly different than the services under HRPS and within those organizations we also don’t allow duplicate programming. So, each individual organization will have a distinctly different service than the others.

Harris, to Approve Resolution No. 26-139.

Councilor Becky Corran, and Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz 8.3 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-019; ORDINANCE NO. 3111: AN ORDINANCE

AUTHORIZING A REAL ESTATE PURCHASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN

THE CITY OF LAS CRUCES AND CLS DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, LLC

FOR THE SALE OF APPROXIMATELY 15.30 ACRES OF MUNICIPALLY

OWNED LAND WITHIN THE LAS CRUCES INNOVATION AND

INDUSTRIAL PARK FOR THE PURCHASE PRICE OF FIVE HUNDRED

SEVENTY-THREE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY-TWO DOLLARS ($573,792.00) IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROVISIONS OF LCMC 1997,

SECTION 2-1312. Isaac Holguin, Economic Development Project Manager gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Harris asked when we sell land like this where do the proceeds go inside the city accounts?

Isaac Holguin said the funds are split up into two accounts, 50% is allocated to the affordable housing land bank and trust and 50% will be in our own budget here at the

Economic Development.

Councilor Harris asked the budget that is in Economic Development can be used for general operations, for improving the Industrial Park?

Isaac Holguin said so we try to identify within the Industrial Park different projects that we need such as infrastructure. As Elizabeth mentioned earlier that there are some projects that we allocate incentives to such as Endurance Technology. Some of those funds could also be used at that time.

Leon Oloya, Member of the Public said I am with CLS Development. The project is definitely something that we are attracted to when we hear the needs of the city and the needs of the state in terms of the speculative infrastructure in order to attract jobs which then attract the rest of the economic value chain. We do expect this to be one of a few so we do want to start with this phase I but the hope and pray is that it gets consumed like Ms. Elizabeth Teeters just mentioned here today like so many other projects and start phase 2 immediately thereafter. We do want to make a true class A product so something that will have curb appeal, something that looks nice to folks driving by I-10 and so on and so forth.

Mayor Enriquez asked if you could also share some of your background and why your interest in Las Cruces?

Leon Oloya said I myself am a graduate of New Mexico State. I was a student from 99 to 04, played football here and enjoyed the city and always thought it would be a place to come back and bring some development. Upon graduation I left worked in oil and gas in the Houston area, Exxon Mobile specifically for nearly 20 years and leveraging some of the same project management and sound engineering methods to bring something that is reliable, repeatable and nice to the city that can then spur economic development is definitely something that is high on our mission statement.

As a historical engineer we want to build stuff. So, we do like building boxes so to speak, nice and easy and boring and let the business themselves then drive the rest of the value chain.

Councilor Mattiace said I am really glad to see this. I noticed MVEDA is back there.

We have been trying to this I don’t know how many years ready to fill warehousing, 8 ½ years that I was with the New Mexico Border Authority Director, this is what made

Santa Teresa grow. When we had these warehouses ready and built and the plats done, we just saw the businesses pour in. So, I really appreciate you investing in Las

Cruces and the Industrial Park and Economic Development Department, thank you as well.

Councilor Munoz said I just want to thank Isaac, Celina, Elizabeth and the CLS partners, Leon, for putting this together. We hope that this a venture that will continue for many many years ahead, welcome to Las Cruces.

Mayor Enriquez said thank you and just an appreciation and gratitude of you wanting to give back to Las Cruces, as educated at NMSU, playing football, it is great that you are coming back and trying to do something for our community and we appreciate it and we thank Preston also for keeping you in mind and keeping you in the loop and recruiting you so thank you. City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor Johana

Bencomo, to Approve Ordinance No. 3111.

SECONDER: City Councilor Johana Bencomo

Councilor Becky Corran, and Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz 8.4 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-020; ORDINANCE NO. 3112: AN ORDINANCE TO

AUTHORIZE THE CONVEYANCE OF A CITY-OWNED VACANT PARCEL

OF LAND KNOWN AS THE SOUTH 75' OF LOTS 21, 22, 23, & 24, BLOCK

20, PALMER'S SUBDIVISION (AKA 705 N. 5TH STREET) TO NEW WIND

INCORPORATED DBA CROSSTOWN MINISTRIES FOR THE

DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AS AUTHORIZED UNDER

THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT (THE ACT)

NMSA 1978 CHAPTER 104, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY OF LAS

CRUCES AFFORDABLE HOUSING GENERAL OVERSIGHT ORDINANCE. Jan Lauterbach, Housing & Neighborhood Manager gave the overhead presentation.

John Pickett, Member of the Public said it is a real privilege to stand before you with this opportunity. We have been doing work with transitioning men back from prison for over ten years. Our programing has been this successful. We have only had 2 men out of 65 who have returned to prison. We are transitioning them with programing. It starts in prison and then continues as they come out. The Department of Corrections called us and asked us if we would consider a women’s house and we said we have really wanted to do that and their encouragement I went to Rose Garcia and I am very thankful to Rose because she told me what to do and we followed her example and so we have been to the MFA. They have preliminarily approved half a million dollars for this project. We have a contractor, Randy Farmer, who you probably know who is donating all of his time and material. He has gotten several who have come along to donate to us and we think we have it covered now and if worst case scenario if something props up that we don’t know about First American Bank has already

guaranteed us a loan to finish the project so we are ready to go and this will be a

Department of Corrections/ New Wind partnership for women returning from prison.

City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor Johana

Bencomo, to Approve Ordinance No. 3112.

Councilor Becky Corran, and Mayor Pro Tem John Munoz 8.5 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-021; ORDINANCE NO. 3113: AN ORDINANCE TO

AUTHORIZE THE CONVEYANCE OF FOUR CITY-OWNED VACANT

PARCELS, LOCATED AT (1) 1262 N. TORNILLO STREET, (2) 1252 N.

TORNILLO STREET, (3) 1242 N. TORNILLO STREET, AND (4) 1040 N.

CAMPO STREET, TO TIERRA DEL SOL HOUSING CORPORATION FOR

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SINGLE-FAMILY AFFORDABLE HOUSING

UNDER THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING ACT (THE ACT) NMSA 1978 CHAPTER 104, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY

OF LAS CRUCES AFFORDABLE HOUSING GENERAL OVERSIGHT

ORDINANCE. Hilda Reyes, Housing Development Specialist gave the overhead presentation.

Rose Garcia, Member of the Public said while this is a small project it is in the center of the city, the oldest part of the city and that is a very special neighborhood that we have worked for many years, about 25 houses. So, we want to resume the infill lots that you may have. We are not asking for the money, we are asking for your vacant lots that you have in your land trust and so that is a wonderful opportunity to be able to build homes and offer them to the local neighborhood. Especially like the young families that want to live near their parents and so that is what we are marketing it to.

So, I really appreciate the department of Community Development. One worked with us very wonderfully on this so that we have been able to identify the lots. These lots are located right behind Our Lady of Health and then near the Police Department, so it is a great infill location. City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor Johana

Bencomo, to Approve Ordinance No. 3113.

9. BOARD APPOINTMENTS 9.1 JENNIFER DAHLGREN City Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by City Councilor Michael

Harris, to appoint Jennifer Dahlgren to the ADA Committee.

10. 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). 10.1 None.

11. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BOARD REPORTS AND COMMENT 11.1 COUNCILOR MCCLURE I tend not to do this, but I am going to read something. I wanted to read this in its totality partially because there is always an accusation that we are not doing enough and I think the slide that had the duck on it earlier was very indicative of kind of the paddling that is happening underneath and we look like cool calm ducks up here but there is a lot going on but not just from us but also from our staff more importantly. Let me give you a little bit of context. I met with myself, Pat Acosta from the Youth

Diversion Development, my Vice Chair Vanessa Ordoñez and with the big New

Mexico Juvenile Justice Advisory Board. They came down to do a tour of all of the continuums. So, before our meeting, which I was telling them we are in a rebuilding phase, I am inviting people, give us time. We had a really good conversation about where they wanted to go, where the state could go, how they could help and I very much placed us on we are willing to do as much as we can in terms of capacity but here is what we are already doing and this is what we received and just bear with me. “Dear City of Las Cruces leadership. Thank you for hosting us on our recent site visit to Las Cruces to attend your local Continuum Board meeting. On behalf of the New

Mexico Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, we are writing to express our formal and unequivocal support for the City of Las Cruces Youth Development and Diversion

Program administrated through the Parks & Recreation Department. This program has established itself as a vital resource for youth and families throughout all of Dona

Ana County reflecting commitment to community safety, early intervention and the wellbeing of young people at risk. Over nearly four years the program has earned statewide recognition for its community-based approach, its responsiveness to youth needs and its ability to evolve based on data outcomes and local needs of assessment. While the Teen Intervention Prevention Program, TIPP is one of the most visible and impactful initiatives it is only one example of the high-quality services being provided. Together these programs create a continuum of care that strengthens protective factors, reduces juvenile justice involvement and promotes healthier outcomes for youth countywide. The development expansion of the TIPP illustrates the program’s dedication to addressing pressing concerns, particularly violence prevention including domestic violence. In the past year alone, services have

expanded to Chaparral, Hatch, and Anthony, have been incorporated into programing at the John Paul Taylor Center and will soon extend to the Dona Ana County Juvenile

Detention Center. These expansions demonstrate a clear commitment to ensuring equitable access to prevention and diversion services across urban and rural areas alike. We also commend this program forward looking strategy to pilot the gun violence prevention initiative in fiscal year 2027. This effort aligns with statewide juvenile justice priorities and positions Dona Ana County as a leader in proactive research and foreign prevention planning. Central to the program’s success is its highly dedicated staff. These professionals regularly work evenings, weekends and travel throughout the region to meet youth and families where they are. Their intensive case management, consistent follow up and strong relationships with the community partners represent the best practices in diversion and youth development.

The commitment demonstrated by this team reflects the very best of the City of Las

Cruces investment in community programing. Given the breadth of services provided, the scope of the county wide impact and its significant demands based on staff, the

JJAC respectfully supports and encourages the City of Las Cruces to consider staffing levels and compensation that it appropriately reflect the program’s responsibilities, workforce requirements, and demonstrative outcomes ensuring adequate resources to protect the stability of programs for children and families across Dona Ana County.

Thank you for your continued leadership and commitment to supporting effective youth serving programs. We remain available to provide any additional information and support. Sincerely Thomas Swisstack, Chair of the Juvenile Justice Advisory

Committee.”

So, I would love to give kudos to our staff who do work very hard to make sure that we can do what we can in terms of case management, in terms of reaching our kids. It is hard, it is in the beginning stages, and our next meeting is May 27th, at noon at the

WIA building. I would like to invite legislators, citizens, concerned people, kids. Come on out and join us. There is always free food and if we have to split a sandwich in half to feed everybody, we will do that. 11.2 COUNCILOR MATTIACE I just want to bring up the possibility, and I will probably need some research done. I heard through the grapevine that the rank choice voting possibly was dropped in

Santa Fe and maybe repealed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We bring up resolutions now and then and I was thinking maybe entertaining a resolution in the future and make the City of Las Cruces repeal the rank choice voting. If I can get some help from the City Manager and the Legal Team, Doug if that in fact happened in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. We always do everything Santa Fe does so maybe we can just follow the same procedure. 11.3 COUNCILOR HARRIS I would also like to echo support for our Juvenile Justice Continuum and our youth programs. If we don’t invest in the community and try and get ahead of problems, then it is going to be a lot more expensive for us to address programs later.

I have also had a few people ask me about a youth council and I think that is also a very interesting idea. When we are trying to stand up these programs I think that it is important that we actually hear from the kids who would be involved and get their

input and get their ideas instead of stand up here and say, we are going to do all these fun things, please come and they are like no thanks that doesn’t sound great. I would love to get some more input via you city council or some other kinds of things and we can look at other cities as models for that. Speaking at looking at other cities as models and doing the same thing as other cities up north are doing, it’s coolish right now but is going to get real hot here real soon and a lot of other cities in the southwest and Albuquerque as well have passed ordinances that require certain levels of cooling in housing and we have been looking at some policy research internally, that is the lower half of the duck and if people have some thoughts on that it would be something that I would be very interested in championing and pushing forward. 11.4 COUNCILOR BENCOMO None. 11.5 COUNCILOR CORRAN I do want to wish all of the NMSU grads which I think includes Chief Story, I am not sure, maybe. All of the folks that will be graduating in the next few weeks regardless of institution, I won’t force you to admit that it is not NMSU but also all of the NMSU grads specifically. Happy graduation because I don’t think we will meet again before then at DACC grads folks, who are achieving all kinds of cool accomplishments including those not from our own institution still respect and appreciation and gratitude for all of those folks and their families. Welcome to town and please be safe driving around. They are kind of taking a lot of pictures around a lot of Las Cruces landmarks so please be safe as graduates are happily around town.

Speaking of graduation, I also wanted to appreciate Chief Daniels for the invitation to the Fire Department graduation ascension, I don’t know what it is officially called, pinning the folks who graduated. It was great to see their families in this community support. Mayor told some really great stories in his speech, so I really appreciate it you gave me a lot of food for thought so thanks. It was quite moving. The entire evening was quite moving so thank you for the invitation.

11.6 COUNCILOR MUNOZ With all the things going on with the world and all the challenges we face, my cup was full this weekend. I had the opportunity to attend the NMSU Capstone Engineering

Award Ceremony. Amazing young adults, mainly students that put together projects that are real world and will have an impact maybe just not here in New Mexico or in our country but perhaps internationally and it was great to see that energy and Brook

Montgomery and Dr. Gabe Garcia from NMSU put that together to recognize those students and give them a moment in the lime light and actually selfishly maybe even recruiting them to stay here in our community. So, I enjoyed that very much and enjoyed seeing staff that was able to attend with us.

Also, this weekend I was able to attend the senior soiree. Wonderful event at the

Munson Center. I saw a lot of smiles from our seniors who have helped build our community and who were there for us where we took a moment to put smiles on their faces and have them enjoy, have them have a great time. The Greater Chamber of

Las Cruces, the leadership of Las Cruces, ambassadors, everyone who was involved

including our very own Councilor McClure and Sonya who did just amazing work. It was just a wonderful event, and I just couldn’t tell you how much I enjoyed that and was a little bit intimidated by some of the dancing that was going on there. Very very talented dancers that have been dancing for probably 80 or 90 years so fantastic.

Also wanted to pause and talk about John Delgado who passed, who was a member of our city family. During the campaign trail I met him. A handsome, very direct questions for me and we had continuous discussions and then later on he was able to make time for me. What I wanted to understand from a young perspective because he was a very young adult, what some of the issues were. I wanted to make sure I understood and we talked about everything from Palestine to barricades to cooling systems, just a myriad of issues so aware of politics and policy. We spent time at

Grounded having coffee or lunch and he would say well if I am late I will tell them I was with you and I would tell him, no don’t be late John, don’t be late and head back.

But I enjoyed those conversations and more than him being a community builder he was a friend. 11.7 MAYOR ENRIQUEZ Congratulations to Chief Daniels and Las Cruces Fire Department on the 39th graduation academy class. It is an attitude of gratitude towards individuals such as

Mr. Oloya that came up today and once a former Aggie that wants to give back to the community and on Friday I was invited to read a proclamation at the baseball field at

NMSU where Mike and Judy Johnson donors and contributed to the stadium and now it is the Johnson Stadium, it is still Presley Askew Field but it is Johnson Stadium.

They did a lot of renovations and donated for the seats, the dugouts, the turf on the fields and just made it a spectacular place to enjoy and watch baseball. But it takes individuals like that to give back to the community, and we have so many that do that and I just want to say that I appreciate everyone that gives back to Las Cruces and their community.

12. CITY MANAGER REPORT 12.1 IKANI TAUMOEPEAU There was a public comment shared today about Calle del Sol, Avenida Blanco and I just wanted to share an update. We are currently working with a surety company and the bonding process. A contractor was not fulfilling their end of the deal and so we are working through a process and that does take time. Currently here is what is happening. Street crew will be removing the construction rock entrances at the entrances at milling and compact them in place for a covered surface improved access. This will begin later this week. If not, now I am hearing later this week, now or tomorrow. It is happening at this time so hopefully by next public comment we will see the improved access, so I just want to give an update. Again, this is a temporary measure until we can figure out everything with the bonding company so that we can keep these contractors doing what they are supposed to and if not, they are going to have to pay.

Additionally, I appreciate Councilor Mattiace, sharing about looking into the rank choice voting and repealing. I just want to share that. I hear you. If council, if that is something that council is interested in, we would just need consensus and then we

can bring that to you as a body. Just let us know Mayor.

13. ADJOURNMENT 13.1 City Councilor Michael Harris moved, seconded by City Councilor Becky

Corran, to adjourn at 3:52 p.m.

SECONDER: City Councilor Becky Corran

Mayor

City Clerk