City Council Meeting September 15, 2025

MINUTES

City Council

Monday, September 15, 2025 @ 1:00 PM

City Council Chambers, City Hall

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

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

Flores

ABSENT:

1. OPENING CEREMONIES 1.1 PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF

APPRECIATION/PROCLAMATIONS - COUNCILOR GRAHAM. Mayor Enriquez recognized the Mayor’s Top Teens.

Mayor Enriquez recognized El Perros Diablos and presented them with a Certificate of Excellence for their accomplishments.

Councilor Graham presented Ashleigh Curry and Booker T. Washington Students with a proclamation for International Walk to School Day.

Councilor Graham presented Deborra Hale with a proclamation for Constitution Week.

Councilor Graham presented Jasper McCormick with a proclamation for Civic Health

Month.

Councilor Graham presented Denise Chavez with a proclamation for New Mexico

Press Women’s Day.

Councilor Graham presented Jana Renner and Sandra Day with a proclamation for the 30th Anniversary of the Paso del Norte Health Foundation.

Councilor Graham presented a proclamation to Community Engagement for National

Good Neighbor Day. 1.2 JOBS OF THE WEEK. None. 1.3 PETS OF THE WEEK. Carol Nielson, 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 Lynn Moorer, Member of the Public said how many of you noticed last meeting the

Utilities Director clear falsehood regarding the notices required under the Lead and

Copper Rule notifying new customers of their pipe material. I provided the relevant documents then they were provided again today. I will walk you through them. If you look at Handout 1 in the bolded material above the line, you can see the exact language of my IPRA request. I requested all notices notifying new customers of their pipe material. If you look at Handout 2 on page 2 in the middle the rule says for new customers water systems must also provide the notice that the time-of-service initiation. So, the language of my IPRA request tracks exactly what the rule requires. It did not ask for a list or require creation of a new document. It asks for the notices. At the last meeting the Utilities Director falsely claimed my IPRA request asked for a list and therefore no information need be provided. If the city has sent out notices to all the new customers, the city must in fact produce them. If they haven’t it is a violation.

It is confounding that the city fails to carry out relatively simple tasks related to compliance with the Lead and Copper Rule. More examples include entering current information into the inventory like accurately matching street address to the location on the map distinguishing whether installation year is before or after 1986, notifying owners of galvanized requiring replacement piping, if incorrect information is found correcting, not disappearing the whole category, reading EPA documents. If I can understand them someone on city staff should be able to. This water rule is not very complex. When a taxpayer looks at Las Cruces Utilities online inventory and wonders whether the information about piping on her property can be believed she is confronted with significant problems. She has only a 50% chance of finding her property on the map because half the city has been left out. If she finds her property there is a 33% chance it will declare piping non-lead without providing any basis. It can’t be believed. If it says non-lead based on installation after lead ban it is unreliable. Las Cruces Utilities has difficulty distinguishing before and after 1986, worse the inventory shows that installation after the lead ban can also result in a classification of unknown or unknown unlikely lead. This renders the whole basis of installation after the lead ban a nullity. If it says the basis is water sampling only with no records or field inspection only with no records both basis are untrustworthy.

Without records nothing can be proven as EPA requires. The only possibly reliable

basis the city uses might be installation record. EG Tap Card but many records say even after consultation of an installation record the materials are still unknown. It is amazing that when it was installed, they didn’t know what the material was. An honest independent engineer needs to be brought in to evaluate the city’s compliance.

Liz Rodriguez-Johnson, Member of the Public said showing a video at the last meeting that won an award for production qualities not substance I believe was so superficial it made a mockery of the Las Cruces employees who strive to do the right thing. I also believe that it made a mockery of people who depend on the City of Las

Cruces to protect their health. Why don’t you present well-grounded facts instead of trying to use PR to cover Las Cruces Utilities’ numerous failures to comply with the

Lead and Copper Rule. Even though the video about checking your meter box might make you feel good, the essence of what the video presents is completely inadequate. This is not a technique that is highly accurate in identifying the true nature of piping. The Utilities Director said at the last meeting that New Mexico Environment

Department has approved the city’s customer notice process so there are no worries.

As explained in a previous meeting as to what the state says regarding the Lead and

Copper Rule is completely irrelevant. EPA has primacy with respect to enforcement to the rule not the state. At the last meeting the Utilities Director also asserted that the real-time app that shows up to date information is not required and that the map has to be updated only annually. That statement reveals a shocking indifference about whether all Las Cruces taxpayers can access correct information about their property or any property they are considering buying. Regardless of when updating is done,

EPA guidance does not allow false information to be included in the inventory at any time. Disturbingly Las Cruces Utilities’ inventory is littered with false and misleading statements. We have encountered dozens of educated people whose first language is

English, and we have said that they received a letter from Las Cruces Utilities regarding the rule, the problem is they don’t understand what it means and what they are supposed to do about it. Almost a year after the city sent out some letters and put up its website the city hasn’t put out accurate information understandable to English and Spanish speakers. It is pretty clear that Las Cruces Utilities does not want to deal with property owners. It doesn’t really care whether the public or in particular Spanish only speakers understand all the facts about the rules. It can’t be bothered to make sure all the links up to the information on the website are in Spanish as well as

English. It is also clear that Las Cruces Utilities doesn’t want to deal with folks who need financial assistance. I would like to receive specific and accurate answers to these questions. What has the city done to obtain funding for folks who don’t have the funds to replace their lead or galvanized pipes? Where has the city applied for funding? When did the city apply and for how much? What is the largest progress regarding these funding requests? What has the city done to communicate this to the public?

Michael Clark, Member of the Public said I am with a non-profit organization, Cross

Town Boxing. I just want to bring up to the committee is that the youth crime has grown in this city and we have simply ignored it. You might not think that you are ignoring it, but you are because there has been no community centers in this town for any of these kids. If any of your districts can show me where you have a brand new community center built for kids, not an outdoor park but a community center. Our crime is continuing to grow and every time our crime is growing it is because we keep

taking things away from our community programs. We have no more bantam weight football for these kids. First time Sierra Middle School doesn’t have an 8th grade football team. We have allowed this city to keep continuing to take. I want to know what we are doing to stop it. It is getting ridiculous. I have already lost two young, a sixteen and a nineteen-year-old kids that are family members of mine to gun violence.

What are we doing? We are losing our kids here and all I see is we are talking about homeless shelters and low-income housing. Well as long as you have low-income housing you have low-income families. You have low-income families you have low- income kids. That will become breeding grounds for gangs and violence unless we put something in those communities for those kids to do. We cannot just keep sitting there and putting money at things we don’t need. Our kids have to be first. Our children have to be first. We have kids walking up and down Picacho through drug infested areas and we are worried about all the drug addicts. What about our kids? I had on Hadley when I had my team running there, I had another 14 year old kid pulled out a gun on my boxers and it is sad that being a coach that I have to carry a firearm to protect my kids and I might have to shoot a 14 year old to protect my kids who are doing something and when we do call for the officers sometimes it is a very poor response. Sometimes us calling we become the bad guy. They start treating us as the criminal. Like I am bothering them and then we have nowhere to go and file a complaint. We can’t go down to the city right here and make a complaint because you just sit there for two hours because all day is a shift change. I just want to reach out to everybody. This coming Saturday we are putting a rally together at Branigan to stop the violence in Las Cruces and I hope some of you can attend. We are going to march on Amador to Branigan. I hope you on city council who are really concerned about this will show up and give support, stop the violence in Las Cruces and let’s start taking care of our children in our community.

Lance Renfro, Member of the Public said I am the District Legislative aide for

Representative Jennifer Jones. I am happy to get started in this position. I have been following your work with city council for a long time. I used to be a DoorDash driver, and I would listen to your meetings while I was driving. So, I am very happy to be here, very happy to help. She has an office in Deming if you need anything. This is our standard procedure, she wants me to come in and address you and address the public. So, if you guys have any questions or concerns feel free to reach out to our office.

Juan Garcia, Member of the Public said we support Project Jupiter’s move to Santa

Teresa. We have been working with Jim Hoerst and others on common ground to advocate for this new initiative. This community is struggling with poverty and depends heavily on taxpayer subsidies. Bringing in this new business could be a turning point, giving people a real shot at self-sufficiency and a chance to shape their own futures. Maybe you have read that information shared or attended one of the county public meetings. If not now is the time to get informed. No one is pretending

Project Jupiter will fix every economic issue overnight, but it is a real concrete step towards progress. Are there challenges? Absolutely. That is why we expect our county leaders to keep a close watch and make sure risks are managed and mitigated responsibly. Is there risk in every new venture? Just like there is risk in anything worth doing. Of course, every day comes with a share of risks. Whether it is getting out of bed, taking your kids to one of the parks and not worrying about getting shot or driving

down Solano and hoping you are not a victim of road rage or maybe sending your kids to school and trusting they will come home safe. There is always something out there that could go wrong. All we can do is try to mitigate those risks and lower the chances that something bad will happen. Over the last few weeks, we have heard a shout for answers to legitimate questions by our population on Project Jupiter. That is the role of the citizenry. However, it is sad when people stir up drama to shut down to citizens who are trying to understand the issues. Using intimidation or aggressive tactics to block real conversations is wrong, period. This irresponsible behavior seen in some of the county’s sponsored meetings is unfortunate because citizens who genuinely want to hear and learn are denied that opportunity by agitators. In closing, the latest wave in politically motivated assignations has left a real bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hartman and her husband Mark, gunned down in their own home. Then came the assassination of

Charlie Clark for promoting dialogue from both sides at college campuses. Each murder drags us closer to the edge. It is not a matter of whether things will spiral even more, it is about how far we will crash before we can fix it and here in Las Cruces how close are we to lighting the fuse ourselves. And another comment, I am glad Mike spoke a few minutes ago because we have been talking and talking to the council, the

Mayor for years about the rising crime particularly with juveniles, and it is still rising.

Lonnie Montgomery, Member of the Public said I love you guys. I want to pray for you.

Dear Lord, please send understanding and wisdom for these people that they may become the public servants that they were elected to be. And now for the riffraff report. Last time on the national we agreed that the people up there, not mentioning any names don’t like women because they want transgender to play women’s sports and they don’t like our kids and grandkids because they are putting them into debt which they will never be able to pay. And as far as the state goes, I won’t mention any names but I will call somebody little Ceasar up there during the Covid got rid of 20% of the small businesses in the state of New Mexico and she also did away with the three people that were in charge of the utilities in Northern New Mexico, turned it over to somebody in Maryland or Maine or some place up there and they in turn turned it over to somebody in Spain and as far as what we are doing in the schools. We are spending billions and billions of dollars with the teacher’s unions, NEA and AFT and what do we get? We are still 51. Thank God for Mississippi. We need to have the kids learn how to read and write and reason and we teach the CRT. Martin Luther King Jr. said we couldn’t judge people by the color of their skin. CRT says no, if your skin is this color, you are a slave and if not you are a slave driver or whatever. As far as reading in the schools here we allow kids to read books in Las Cruces that encourage teenage boys to use younger boys and girls as their sex objects and according to the

New Mexico State Law they can encourage in the school’s people to become what they are not according to God. They are encouraging them not to, and they are giving them the hormones to help them along the way and then they can take them out and get them cut off their genitals or breasts and have them become something that doesn’t even exist. God bless America and God bless you guys.

Lucas Herndon, Member of the Public said I live in District 2. I am here just once again to in this sort of final hour ask for in whatever capacity you have, reach out with that influence to convince our county commission that this is a boondoggle of astronomical proportions, $165 billion IRB. I see on the agenda that the city is looking

at its own IRB today for a company to come here and reuse an existing unused site and that is something that I am in support of. That is a good use of us, the city, our collective resources encouraging a smart economic decision and I applaud the city council for taking that step. On the other side of that is this issue with a multi-billion hyper-scale data center being planned in our community in the desert that will utilize more water than our current industries do and more power to drive those industries than is currently available from our El Paso Electric energy provider. After the last time I spoke I have continued to do research on this and one of the things that I think is something that the city should be concerned about is that if Project Jupiter goes forward and they build likely a gas plant on their micro grid that then El Paso Electric connects to at some point in the next ten years that will become a stranded asset for

El Paso Electric which will then drive up energy cost for all of us El Paso Electric users on their grid. Who is the largest user of El Paso Electric other than the Texas side? It is the city of Las Cruces. So, for our common interest I am pleading that you use whatever power you have in that official capacity to help us the community who has largely pushed back against this. Let alone the lack of transparency, what we have found out that county officials have signed non-disclosure agreements with some of these people, the interpersonal relationships between the executives and some of our elected officials. These are all reasons to not support this thing. But at the end of the day if all I can appeal to is the economics think about the rate payers of this city in ten years and where we will be with another stranded asset on our grid and what that means for our overall plans as we move forward with electrification and the overall quality of health of our community.

Frankie Lawrence, Member of the Public said I am here as a representative of the senior citizens who use the Aquatic Center. All afternoon we have talked about the health and wellness of everybody in our community and the pool that we have been using has been out of service now for four weeks. I got a phone call from Mr.

Gutierrez on Tuesday which I was very glad to get and he gave me an abbreviated version of what happened but still the pool is not open, and we are just wanting it to be in service. We need something to do. We try to stay active, and we do and it is also community for us.

Pam Smith, Member of the Public said I have also been using the Aquatic Center for over 12 years. I had a mishap physically and I just used the pool to learn to walk again. I have been to rehab, but I just decided to use the pool walking to learn how to walk again without a limp and I did. So, I have watched the whole drill at the Aquatic

Center for over 12 years, and we get numerous things go wrong during the year.

Some are large, some are small, and it closes down for either one day or six months.

Two years ago, we had a six-month shut down. There was a part, and I don’t know if it was the wrong part or but there was a lot of tentacles, and it delayed getting the parts.

So, I guess my drill is what I see is a circle of chaos. It is a never-ending circle. They don’t seem to learn from what shuts down. I don’t know where the parts are ordered or any of that, but I would like to see some kind of planning ahead because we pay a high price when that pool shuts down. The senior community is large. It is getting larger. It helps physical rehab, mental rehab, and it is socialization and so this is a real disservice, but I would really like to see some kind of break with this cycle. Maybe they can plan ahead and get a spare part because it is over 12 years old. It is probably 15 years old. Everything is breaking down more rapidly, so we need some

kind of system to have the parts in stock. Maybe order a separate part waiting instead of addressing the crisis that day and then we pay for it with the amount of time that it is shut down. So that is just a suggestion of some kind of plan ahead to take care of this. Let’s learn from our mistakes because there has been plenty of them in the last

12 years.

Jacob Heiner, Member of the Public said I am here today with a group of my community members from the University Mesa Neighborhood. We are deeply troubled by the increasing crime in our neighborhood park which is the Salopek/Stull Park. As you all know crime is increasing drastically in our city specifically in our city parks. On the evening of September 4th, I arrived home from work and immediately heard fifteen gunshots from the area of the park. My wife and I live directly behind the park and were the first two on seen. We immediately began rendering lifesaving aid to the two gunshot victims. This experience was deeply saddening for me and my wife.

Sadly, a young woman lost her life over this senseless incident. That is just the first in a long string of recent crime seen in Las Cruces public parks. We have seen a troubling uptake of crime in Salopek Park because of the lower police presence in our area being a generally low crime neighborhood. We hear gunshots coming from the park and the connecting arroyo on at least a monthly basis and see drug deals and usage of drugs in our park on a nearly daily basis. As city council we feel the responsibility of every member sitting in front of us to ensure that our public parks stay safe. We fully understand that there is a shortage of staffing at the Las Cruces Police

Department and thus think that it is important to write alternative crime deterrent options. We have high-tech camera systems in grocery stores to deter shoplifting.

When do we as a city decide to focus our efforts on the deterrents of violent crime and install similar camera systems in all of our public parks to prevent this kind of crime.

We as the citizens of the University Mesa Neighborhood call on you to do your elected duties and get the violent crime epidemic sweeping our public parks under control. What do you as city council members representatives of all Las Cruces citizens plan to do to fix this issue?

Tim Jenkins, Member of the Public said as I look back and reflect on the things that took place this last week it is still crystal clear in my mind the profound impact that

9/11 had on me. There were no Republicans, there were no Democrats, there were no progressives, there were no whites, there were no blacks, there were no

Hispanics. We all came together as one nation and one family and one people to support and to comfort and to help and to heal. What happened to that America?

What happened to those values? What happened to those beliefs? The division in this country is the worst I have ever seen it and it breaks my heart. Let’s please all take a step back and remember that we are all humans and we all make mistakes and deserve forgiveness and compassion and that we all need each other and we need help and support and can do none of this alone. A house divided against itself cannot and will not ever stand. We need each other.

Jim Hoerst, Member of the Public said I want to talk about the Jupiter Project. Yes,

Juan and I are working together on this. A lot of citizens are upset because the process in their mind doesn’t allow enough time to learn all the facts and participate in the democratic process. What my fellow citizens do not seem to realize is that the process for economic development is designed to expedite economic development.

We are trying to attract investments. The process is designed to encourage businesses to invest here, build here, hire here, and stimulate commerce here. The timeline is set by the marketplace. Investors want fairly quick decisions on their proposals, not because they are trying to cheat us but because they have options and they want to evaluate them and act on them as quickly as they can. Do not reject the project because you don’t like the process. They are two different things. The other concern I hear is over AI and its negative impact on privacy. I share your concerns, but I don’t think posing the construction of AI facilities is a good way to protect privacy rights. AI have many applications that do not violate privacy. One day your kid won’t need your help with math homework and in education alone the horizon is infinite.

One day your kids may be using AI to write a symphony, argue with Aristotle or produce their very own feature length movie. Instead of imagining only what the computer can do to us, imagine what we can do with it. We have only begun to exploit the computer and what it can do for humanity. If you want to protect privacy then advocate for privacy rights, don’t try to throttle technology. Most likely you will fail.

Europe has laws to protect privacy rights we should too. As long as privacy is not protected by law people will devise technologies to violate it. The Jupiter Project is a marvelous opportunity for Las Cruces in this region. Please don’t reject it because you don’t like economic development process. Please focus your efforts on privacy protection rather than technology restrictions.

4. READ CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT 4.1 READ SEPTEMBER 15, 2025 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 pending litigation regarding Danny Marta v. City of Las Cruces,

Officer Misael Ibarra, Cause No. D-307-cv-2023-153, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-15-1H(7).

2. To discuss pending litigation regarding Ruby Villa et al. v. City of Las Cruces et al., Cause No. D-307-cv-2025-270, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978,

Section 10-15-1H(7).

3. To discuss pending litigation regarding Erick Lopez v. City of Las Cruces et al.,

Cause No. A-1-ca-42539, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-

15-1H(7).

4. To discuss pending litigation regarding State of Texas v. State of New Mexico and State of Colorado, No. 141, original, which is closed pursuant to NMSA

1978, Section 10-15-1H(7).

5. To discuss the purchase of real property and/or water rights by the City of Las

Cruces, which is closed pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 10-15-1H(8).

5. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Councilor William Mattiace moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to accept the agenda as presented with the removal of item 7.4 for discussion.

RESULT: Carried

MOVER: Councilor William Mattiace

SECONDER: Councilor Becki Graham

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

Councilor Becki Graham, and Councilor Johana Bencomo

NAYS: Councilor Yvonne Flores

ABSENT: Councilor Becky Corran

6. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 6.1 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 18, 2025. 6.2 WORK SESSION OF AUGUST 25, 2025.

7. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 RESOLUTION NO. 26-035: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE

DESTRUCTION OF RECORDS IN MUNIS THAT HAVE MET THEIR LEGAL

RETENTION. 7.2 RESOLUTION NO. 26-036: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF

LAS CRUCES (CITY) TO ACCEPT GRANT AWARDS FOR VARIOUS CITY

DEPARTMENTS THROUGH AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY’S ADOPTED

FY2026 BUDGET. 7.3 RESOLUTION NO. 26-037: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF

LAS CRUCES (CITY) TO ACCEPT A GRANT AWARD IN THE AMOUNT OF $522,420.08 FROM THE NEW MEXICO DEPARTMENT OF

TRANSPORTATION (NMDOT). 7.4 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-004; ORDINANCE NO. 3096: AN ORDINANCE

REPEALING ORDINANCE 2964, CLOSING THE LOCAL ECONOMIC

DEVELOPMENT ACT (LEDA) PROJECT BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAS

CRUCES, SAPUTO CHEESE, INC., AND THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO,

AND EFFECTIVELY TERMINATING THE GUARANTY REQUIRED BY THE

LEDA STATUTE. Elizabeth Teeters, Economic Development Director gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Mattiace said this is the reason for discussion if you go to page 6. This is good news, and this is really a good solution to why IRB, they work. This company is releasing its debt even before it is time. We have increased jobs out there and so when there is companies coming whether it is Project Jupiter or others, I think we need to be real positive to create those jobs and get those companies here and thank you for the presentation.

Councilor Flores asked they did a great job you are saying but LEDA requires a close out on this to close it?

Elizabeth Teeters said so the way that the LEDA state statute is written that every

LEDA has to be created via ordinance and so when everything is done, we have to close it out via ordinance as well to basically cancel it out.

Councilor Flores asked that doesn’t mean the business will go away?

Elizabeth Teeters said no, they are still here. They are actually planning another

expansion right now.

Councilor Flores said they have been planning an expansion for several years now as

I recall during Covid.

Elizabeth Teeters said the LEDA that we did was for a string cheese expansion and so that was in place and so right now they are expanding their lines for string cheese as well.

Hiran Roman, Member of the Public said I am the Human Resources Manager from

Saputo Cheese and when I am seeing that information, yes. It was possible. It took a lot of effort for not only me but the whole company on getting those jobs during Covid years on the first expansion. And yes, you are correct there was a previous expansion of string cheese but now we are going to a second expansion in there so more jobs.

As it is grateful to the community and also great benefits to work for this company. I am proud to work for this company and thank you for this support with this project from the State of New Mexico. Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Johana Bencomo, to

Approve Ordinance No. 3096.

MOVER: Councilor Becki Graham

SECONDER: Councilor Johana Bencomo

Councilor Becki Graham, Councilor Johana Bencomo, Councilor Becky

Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores

8. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR DISCUSSION 8.1 RESOLUTION NO. 26-038: A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF PUBLIC

LANDS. Sergio Ruiz, Policy Analyst gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Flores asked we say yes to this resolution, then what happens to it? Do we file it away or do we send it up to Santa Fe and hope that they read it?

Sergio Ruiz said yes was actually can. We have letters that we can put this resolution into, the information of this resolution into and we can send up to the federal government and state government as well.

Councilor Flores said hopefully they will listen.

Sergio Ruiz said that is the expectation that they will listen, and we would hear a response from them.

Councilor Bencomo said thank you for working with a couple of us and advocates that reached out for us to do something simple yet powerful to really say where we stand.

There have been on resolutions like this across the state in Taos and other parts of the state that understand the importance of public lands for literally everything that

has to do with their community including tourism and outdoor recreation and the quality of health for their communities but just generally the right thing to do. I just wanted to say thank you and thank you to the advocates who do this work every single day in protecting our most precious resources.

Kyla Navarro, Member of the Public said I work with the Friends of the Organ

Mountain Desert Peaks. So my organization was tasked with advocating for the establishment of the national monument and now we work really hard to make sure that everyone has access to these lands and I saw a few of the students that were here earlier in the afternoon some of the folks that we work with and engage with so it was really cool and rewarding but this resolution comes from I would say the beginning of this year that our public lands have been under threat whether that is through the cutting of very important staff from our national parks and national monuments to just budgets across the board so a resolution like this is incredible just that our city shows support of how important these landscapes are to every individual in Southern New Mexico and also I will highlight that we are throwing a community celebration of National Conservation Lands on September 26th which we are working with Visit Las Cruces so I hope you guys can attend and those in the audience as well. Councilor Johana Bencomo moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to

Approve Resolution No. 26-038.

MOVER: Councilor Johana Bencomo

SECONDER: Councilor Becky Corran

Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores 8.2 RESOLUTION NO. 26-039: A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE FY2026-2031

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM. Cynthia Alamillo, CIP Manager gave the overhead presentation.

Jenny Hernandez, Sustainability Officer continued the overhead presentation. Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to

Approve Resolution No. 26-039.

MOVER: Councilor Becky Corran

Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores 8.3 RESOLUTION NO. 26-040: A RESOLUTION APPROVING A HOME

INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIP (HOME) AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY

AND MESILLA VALLEY HABITAT FOR HUMANITY FOR THE

CONSTRUCTION OF TWO SINGLE FAMILY HOMES IN THE DOS SUENOS

SUBDIVISION. Jan Lauterbach, Housing and Neighborhood Manager gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Johana Bencomo, to

Approve Resolution No. 26-040.

Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores 8.4 RESOLUTION NO. 26-041: A RESOLUTION DECLARING THE INTENT OF

THE CITY OF LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO TO ISSUE INDUSTRIAL

REVENUE BONDS ENTITLED CITY OF LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

TAXABLE INDUSTRIAL REVENUE BONDS (ENDURANCE

TECHNOLOGIES USA INC. PROJECT), IN AN AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL

AMOUNT UP TO $17,600,000 IN ONE OR MORE SERIES IN CONNECTION

WITH A PROPOSED PROJECT TO BE LOCATED WITHIN THE

CORPORATE LIMITS OF THE CITY OF LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO FOR

THE PURPOSE OF INDUCING ENDURANCE TECHNOLOGIES USA INC.

OR ITS SUBSIDIARIES, AFFILIATES, SUCCESSORS OR ASSIGNS, TO

ACQUIRE, CONSTRUCT, RENOVATE AND EQUIP THE PROJECT AND TO

REIMBURSE TEMPORARY ADVANCES MADE FOR CAPITAL

EXPENDITURES FROM PROCEEDS OF THE BONDS AND RELATED

MATTERS. Elizabeth Teeters, Economic Development Director gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Bencomo asked you said potentially looking for a location in the Industrial

Park, can you just say a little bit more about that?

Elizabeth Teeters said since it has been a competitive process, so we are down to I believe two to four locations. They are looking at us primarily, but it isn’t what you would say is a sealed deal yet. Doing this inducement resolution today is part of an incentive package that we have been working on that kind of puts us one step closer to the finish line.

Councilor Bencomo asked on the 41 jobs, what is the expectation on that being that they are from Las Cruces, that they are from the area, that they are not being brought in from wherever else they are from?

Jeff Batura, Member of the Public said I am President and CEO of Endurance

Technologies. So, the property that we are looking at in the Industrial Park is vacant.

It is about 45,000 square foot and it sits on 15 acres, 7 acres are developed, i.e. paved that have the building and 8 acres is still raw land, so it gives us expansion capabilities. The jobs we list are 41. We envision starting with 25 in the first year of operations. That will be part way in 2026. So, there is going to be a lot of investment in upgrading the property to allow us to do our process. So, the 41 staff we are looking local. There could be training in Canada. There could be Canadians coming here to train employees, but we feel we will start with 25 and build the 41 in a three- year period.

Councilor Corran said I want to thank you all for this process and I think weirdly we just coincidentally have been learning about industrial revenue bonds over the last month or so totally apart from this, so it is a very opportune moment for us to be having this conversation and considering it as a council and so thank you for considering Las Cruces. We appreciate your consideration, and I am sure you will love visiting and it will be an easy sell to get folks to come down and train folks especially during green chile roasting season.

Davin Lopez, Member of the Public said on behalf of the MVEDA Board we do support this project. We have been working with Jeff and his team since January of this year. We think that the investment that they are making and the job creation is not only great for the community but a stimulus to the Las Cruces Innovation and

Industrial Park, something we have been trying and striving to grow for a while now and I will say you are all learning about the industrial bond revenue process through different means and right now but it has been a tried and true tax abatement mechanism that has been used around the county, around the state for maybe many years and it is a very responsible tool as well so I encourage you to learn more about it and I think it is a great opportunity that we are leveraging this tool to entice what would be this company’s first investment in the United States and we would like to welcome them to Las Cruces.

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

Approve Resolution No. 26-041.

9. BOARD APPOINTMENTS 9.1 Councilor Mattiace appointed Jason Ferguson to the Thomas Branigan Memorial

Library Board. 9.2 MARTHA GUERRA Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to appoint Martha Guerra to the Senior Program Advisory Board.

Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores 9.3 JOHN TRUJILLO Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to appoint John Trujillo to the Senior Programs Advisory Board.

Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores 9.4 ADOLFO ZUBIA Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Yvonne Flores, to reappoint Adolfo Zubia to the Oversight Committee.

SECONDER: Councilor Yvonne Flores

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 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-005; ORDINANCE NO. 3097: AN ORDINANCE

AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF A SUBORDINATE

LIEN LOAN AND SUBSIDY AGREEMENT (“LOAN AGREEMENT”) BY AND

BETWEEN THE CITY OF LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO (“GOVERNMENTAL

UNIT”) AND THE NEW MEXICO FINANCE AUTHORITY (“NMFA”), IN THE

TOTAL AMOUNT OF FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS ($15,000,000),

EVIDENCING A SPECIAL LIMITED OBLIGATION OF THE

GOVERNMENTAL UNIT TO PAY A MAXIMUM REPAYABLE PRINCIPAL

AMOUNT OF NO MORE THAN THREE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY

THOUSAND DOLLARS ($3,750,000), TOGETHER WITH INTEREST, AND

ADMINISTRATIVE FEES THEREON, AND TO ACCEPT A LOAN SUBSIDY

OF NO MORE THAN ELEVEN MILLION TWO HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND

DOLLARS ($11,250,000), FOR THE PURPOSE OF FINANCING THE COSTS

OF CONDUCTING A LEAD SERVICE LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT AND

ASSOCIATED ACTIVITIES DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO PLANNING,

DESIGNING AND REPLACING OF LEAD SERVICE LINES, INCLUDING AN

INVENTORY/SURVEY TO DETERMINE IF LEAD EXISTS IN THE

GOVERNMENTAL UNIT’S WATER UTILITY SYSTEM LINES AND SHALL

INCLUDE DRINKING WATER FACILITY CONSTRUCTION PROJECT

WORK AND REVISIONS NECESSARY TO COMPLETE THE PROJECT AND

SUCH OTHER RELATED WORK AND REVISIONS NECESSARY TO

COMPLETE THE PROJECT (“PROJECT”), AND SOLELY IN THE MANNER

DESCRIBED IN THE LOAN AGREEMENT; PROVIDING FOR THE PLEDGE

AND PAYMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL, ADMINISTRATIVE FEES AND

INTEREST DUE UNDER THE LOAN AGREEMENT SOLELY FROM THE

NET REVENUES OF THE JOINT UTILITY SYSTEM OF THE

GOVERNMENTAL UNIT; APPROVING THE FORM OF AND OTHER

DETAILS CONCERNING THE LOAN AGREEMENT; RATIFYING ACTIONS

HERETOFORE TAKEN; REPEALING ALL ACTION INCONSISTENT WITH

THIS ORDINANCE; AUTHORIZING THE TAKING OF OTHER ACTIONS IN

CONNECTION WITH THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF THE LOAN

AGREEMENT; AND AMENDING MASTER ORDINANCE NO. 1593 AS

AMENDED BY ORDINANCE NOS. 1250 AND 2837. Council agreed to bring it forward. 10.2 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-006; ORDINANCE NO. 3098: AN ORDINANCE

AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF A WATER PROJECT

FUND SUBORDINATE LIEN LOAN/GRANT AGREEMENT BY AND

BETWEEN THE NEW MEXICO FINANCE AUTHORITY (“NMFA”) AND THE

CITY OF LAS CRUCES (THE “BORROWER/GRANTEE”), IN THE TOTAL

AMOUNT OF $3,000,000, INCLUDING A LOAN IN THE AMOUNT OF $300,000 EVIDENCING AN OBLIGATION OF THE BORROWER/GRANTEE

TO UTILIZE THE LOAN/GRANT AMOUNT SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE

OF FINANCING THE COSTS OF DESIGNING, CONSTRUCTING AND

REHABILITATION IMPROVEMENTS TO THE TWO MILLION GALLON

TELSHOR TANK, AND SOLELY IN THE MANNER DESCRIBED IN THE

LOAN/GRANT AGREEMENT; PROVIDING FOR THE SUPER

SUBORDINATE LIEN PLEDGE AND PAYMENT OF THE LOAN AMOUNT

AND AN ADMINISTRATIVE FEE SOLELY FROM THE NET SYSTEM

REVENUES OF THE JOINT WATER, WASTEWATER, AND GAS UTILITY

SYSTEM OF THE BORROWER/GRANTEE; CERTIFYING THAT THE

LOAN/GRANT AMOUNT, TOGETHER WITH OTHER FUNDS AVAILABLE

TO THE BORROWER/GRANTEE, IS SUFFICIENT TO COMPLETE THE

PROJECT; APPROVING THE FORM OF AND OTHER DETAILS

CONCERNING THE LOAN/GRANT AGREEMENT; RATIFYING ACTIONS

THIS ORDINANCE; AND AUTHORIZING THE TAKING OF OTHER

ACTIONS IN CONNECTION WITH THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF

THE LOAN/GRANT AGREEMENT. Council agreed to bring it forward.

11. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BOARD REPORTS AND COMMENT 11.1 COUNCILOR MCCLURE I just wanted to quickly say that at the MPO Board meeting we kind of discussed if the

City of Las Cruces would sign on to Target Zero for pedestrian deaths and I think we are going to explore what those options are for the city. I think that we want to actually make sure much like the kiddos that walked here that that future remains for everybody here. 11.2 COUNCILOR MATTIACE I just wanted to share with Chief Story. I know we have had conversations on Salopek

Park and if you have any suggestions. I think they brought up maybe camera surveillance or more patrols, I would like to hear from you on Salopek Park comment.

Jeremy Story, Police Chief said I think that if we zoom out and look at the number of parks that we have to cover in the city that gives us some perspective and so of course we just had a tragedy occur at that particular park but the reality is that we

would like to do a better job of covering all the parks and so staffing is a matter of officers versus calls for service versus proactive time. So, it is a formula that we want to improve. We have 25 graduating from the academy this week which they will be in field training for a little bit but once they are out of field training that has a potential to change a lot for us right there, staffing on patrol. So, by January of next year that will give us a lot of options to deal with these things. I have been having discussions with

City Manager and others on how do we expand the Real Time Crime Center so that we cover some of the gaps that we fill some of the gaps and that is one of them, trying to find places, especially our parks. Right now, we already have infrastructure at all of the major parks, Young Park, Apodaca, Lions, even Veterans Park but we have some of the smaller parks that don’t have anything to expanding it out to the smaller parks.

11.3 COUNCILOR GRAHAM I wanted to thank Chief Story for inviting us to a demo of the Real Time Crime Center.

It was amazing to watch. Also kind of nerve racking to sit there and see things that are happening and you just sit there and watch but it is amazing to see real time how this will enable our officers to do better policing but also offer them protection that they need so desperately and it was also great I got to attend a session that also had some participants of regional law enforcement agencies and it made me proud that we had this because I saw the reaction from the officers from other agencies and realiining like I wasn’t the only one who was like this is so cool. So, I really appreciated the opportunity to come and see that and actually it is a PD heavy comment session for me. I would like to thank Officer David Udero who had me as I learned his 10/12 for ride along. He had to report to dispatch, I have 10/12. I am like wait does that mean me? He is like ya, that just means I have a rider. So, I really appreciated his insight, his willingness to answer my questions and to let me get just a small glimpse of one of his days. So much appreciation for that. 11.4 COUNCILOR CORRAN I also wanted to elevate what Councilor McClure said about the state program that is called Target Zero. It is kind of similar to Vision Zero but statewide NMDOT led project that provides technical assistance so I would also love for us to get engaged with that.

I think it involves some cross cutting teams within the city, and it seems like a great opportunity to also represent for Southern New Mexico because it sounds like they have really been focused on Santa Fe and Albuquerque mostly in their work so far so

I also want to say that I would love for us to get on board with that.

I want to highlight this Thursday from 10 to 1, I think it is the Griggs/Walnut annual open house. I have gone to this every year. I won’t be able to go this year but it is one of the coolest things if you are interested in environmental health and environmental justice and also making our water drinkable and all of the work that goes into that and all of the diligence that Utilities has put into this project to make water that was contaminated with forever chemicals potable again. It is a really great opportunity to see what the city Utilities really do and how committed they are to thinking about our water. It is at the Griggs/Walnut super fund site which is at 153 North Cottonwood and

I highly recommend if you haven’t been able to go to check it out. It is very fun, very nerdy, and typically great swag as well, so I wanted to recommend that to folks.

I also wanted to thank Officer Udero who took me around and shared a lot about understanding how he is experiencing work and the things that he really appreciates about LCPD and the things that we should make sure that we putting in to make sure that LCPD remains the best in Las Cruces and also really thinking about what the daily life of an officer is. It was a great experience for me as well so thanks to Officer

Udero for that invitation. 11.5 COUNCILOR FLORES None. 11.6 COUNCILOR BENCOMO Also, real quick, shoutout to the Real Time Crime Center and Chief for scheduling that demo. It definitely helps to see it in person just to reduce my paranoia around Big

Brother. I am just going to say that I am very glad that we invested in that and I think it is going to help a lot, especially with things like these park situations. So, thank you for scheduling that and answering all of our questions.

I just have two things really. Councilor Corran and I have been working together to make improvements and update our welcoming city resolution. Just for some context that I don’t think that I have to give but I want to. In the last few months several things have happened that have made me realize that our current welcoming city resolution is wholly inadequate to meet the moment that we are in. The big betrayal bill passed in Congress last month, I don’t know at this point whenever that was set aside $170 billion for immigration enforcement and border security. This is new money. Of course, we know that Las Cruces is in a border community, and we know that whatever will happen across the country will happen twice as bad in our community and I am scared about that. I have talked to people who are scared about that, and I want to make sure that as a city we are standing strong by our community.

Additionally, the Supreme Court of the United States recently really set forth the path to allow racial profiling by federal immigration enforcement and in the future really who knows and so really, I think the writing is in the wall about this administration’s intent to target immigrant communities and really just many communities as a whole. As a naturalized citizen I can tell you that I have certainly been nervous about what the means for people like me as well. So, like I said I believe currently our welcoming city resolution is wholly inadequate to meet that moment and I want to ask for consensus from this board to bring it forth to for discussion on the October 6th agenda. I asked

Christine and she said even a thumbs up will work. So, I am asking for a consensus from this board to bring that forth so that we can get it on the agenda?

Mayor Enriquez asked in order to bring this forward we need a consensus of 4 to 3? If we can show whoever is in favor? Okay.

Councilor Bencomo said thank you and I just have one last item. I happen to be watching the Emmy’s last night and they had this really great sort of running joke to help the celebrities getting awards cut down on their speaking time and the host said that I am going to give $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club and every time someone goes over the 45 seconds I am going to take $1,000 off for every second you go over.

It was very funny and if you went under 45, they would add money to it. All to say is at the end it was at a -$27,000. At the end of course the host and other celebrities ended

up giving $300,000 to the Boys and Girls Club. All that to say is that I met with the

Boys and Girls Club here locally not too long ago and so I officially want to make a pitch both honestly I also called my colleague at the county commission,

Commissioner Sanchez for both the county and city to support Boys and Girls Club locally to help make their $7.1 million goal by the end of the year so that they can break ground. Right now, they have $6.1 million. Most of it from private donors,

Nusenda was a really big recent donor. Of course, we know some of our ARPA dollars went to the Boys and Girls Club so that they could purchase the facility on El

Paseo and honestly, I am really hoping that this is something we can do us and the county because I think one it is the right thing to do. We obviously heard passionate community members about things to do for our young people, and this is an investment we should be making. Number one, that is period. Number two, the Boys and Girls Club new facility is in the El Paseo MRA and I really think it could be a catalyst for what the rest of this MRA could look like and if we the city and the county can pitch in some funds to help to meet that $7.5 million goal I think that would be really important and powerful. 11.7 MAYOR ENRIQUEZ I just want to echo about the Real Time Crime Center. That is a long time that we have been waiting for this. Thank you Chief Story and the Police Department. Thank our Legislators and even members of Congress that have supported this so that we can improve our public safety in our community with innovation and technology and so that is something that we are looking forward to.

Later this week, some of us, I know I will be attending the New Mexico Municipal

League in Ruidoso to continue those talks on public safety, mental health and things that we need for our quality of life. Not only in our community but statewide.

Last week we did have a groundbreaking or ribbon cutting for the new Valley View

Park and Councilor Graham, Councilor McClure, that is one of the parks that divides their district but it was great to be there and to see and I understand when people and community comes up and there is issues and concerns but we are working at it. We are doing as you can see the Mayor’s Top Teen here trying to get kids involved in academics and activities and also revitalizing our parks and looking what the new

GRT at recreation centers that we can get in our community. It is not that anyone doesn’t care, it just takes time, and we are moving in that, and we want to continue.

The Mayor’s Top Teen I just want to let you know on Saturday at 8:30 a.m. at the

Walmart off Walton we will be walking along Triviz doing a cleanup on that day. So, we will be doing that Saturday, anybody that wants to join us is welcome for that cleanup that morning and then on Sunday is the Mayor’s Bike Ride and we are going to start here at City Hall at 10 a.m., be here before that. So, we will start at 10 and we will ride to University and South Solano where the other event that is taking place there is Las Ruedas Unidas. That is going to be there on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., South Solano and Wofford to University. So, we have a few things planned this weekend if you can come out and join us and we will continue to work hard for this community, and we do care about the children and our youth and our seniors and everyone else in this community.

12. CITY MANAGER REPORT 12.1 IKANI TAUMOEPEAU As some of the councilors and Mayor mentioned we have GRT public meetings coming up and they are going to happen in the next two and half, three weeks. The first one, District 1, September 30th, is going to be at the Branigan Library

Roadrunner. On October 1st we are going to have it at Mesilla Park, District 2. On

October 2nd, we are going to have it at District 3, Munson Senior Center. On October

7th we are going to have it at District 4, MacArthur Elementary School. On October

8th we are going to have it at District 5, Monte Vista Elementary School and on

October 9th we are planning to have it at Dona Ana Community College, East Mesa,

District 6. This is something that our Communications Department, we appreciate our

Community Outreach, Catrina and Mandy working together with Sara Gonzales and

Cynthia Alamillo to make these outreach things happen along with the councilors. We will put this on social media platforms so that all will be updated. Please come out as we mentioned. We have heard from public comments today about more community centers, more rec centers, more capital projects. Our elected officials support that.

There is so many needs but come let your voice be heard with your families and friends.

Talking about another CIP project that is near and dear to our heart, but it hasn’t quite came through fruition. There is a new skate park that we partnered with a contractor vendor at Hadley, it’s our Hadley Skate Park that hasn’t opened yet and so this is something that just hit social media right now. It is an update and I will share verbatim.

The City of Las Cruces is aware of concerns regarding the delayed opening of the

Walnut Skate Park on 165 North Walnut Street. However, we have encountered some unexpected issues with the construction of the project. While we appreciate the eagerness to make use of this exciting new facility the city is committed to delivering a final product to the community that it is nothing short of excellent. We have been in communication with the contractor responsible for construction and are committed to resolving these issues as soon as possible. We understand your concern and appreciate your patience, and we thank the community for waiting patiently alongside,

I know it is tough, but we have capital projects. We have a new skate park in the East

Mesa that we are hoping to open in the upcoming weeks with ribbon cutting. More to come on that but thanks to the team working to resolve the skate park on Walnut.

Economic Development, the 2025 New Mexico Economic Development Excellence

Awards have just been announced and MVEDA and the city jointly won on the

Blueprint for Growth Award. The award recognizes a community organization or agency that has demonstrated exceptional foresight in planning and advanced long- term economic goals. They have been working on pre-spec development as site readiness strategies then really being the front runners of innovation and creativity on that front in the state. So, thank you Davin and Elizabeth for working closely on that.

The awards will be handed out at this year’s Governor’s Conference of Economic

Development on September 24 and 25th.

Parks and Rec, get ready for Fall National Cleanup Day this Saturday, September

20th. Keep Las Cruces Beautiful is providing free roll-off dumpsters at several locations around town to help you get rid of bulky junk and clean up your space. The

dumpsters will be available from 8 a.m. to 12 noon or until they are full. Free dumpster locations at Henry Benavidez Community Center, Young Park, East Mesa Rec

Center, Apodaca Park, and Frank O’Brien Papen Community Center. Also, if you want to do more you can volunteer for the Fall National Cleanup Day event, help make our community event and help make our community even cleaner. To sign up visit Keep Las Cruces Beautiful website page or call 575-528-4526.

Last but not least, you are invited to a free community movie night this Saturday,

September 20th at the Amador Live space for a special screening of the brand new

2025 live action musical Snow White. Bring your family, friends, blankets and chairs for a magical night under the stars. The gates open at 7 p.m. and movies will begin at dusk.

Mayor Enriquez said there was one more thing I forgot to mention. The Rotary Club had a reception on Friday, and I was there to read the proclamation at their reception, but I just want to say kudos to them for their leadership, their inspiration, they were celebrating 50 years of existence here in Las Cruces. Thank you, Carol, for the invite and for all that you do but I think that is huge that when a club has been around for 50 years and continues to serve in dedication to the community is awesome, so I just wanted to give them a shoutout for 50 years of existence.

13. ADJOURNMENT 13.1 Councilor Yvonne Flores moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, adjourn at 3:23 p.m.

MOVER: Councilor Yvonne Flores

Mayor

City Clerk