[Music]
You're live.
Well, good afternoon everyone. Welcome
to city council meeting. Today is
Monday, July 21st, 2025. It's
approximately 1 p.m. I'm Mayor Eric
Enriquez. Before we start, I want to
acknowledge that we have the ASL uh
American Sign Language up front if
needed. Uh they're here at every
meeting. Thank you. And uh we will start
with a moment in silence for the brave
men and women of the United States Armed
Forces as they protect our interests
around the globe as well as our
courageous men and women of Los Cruus
Police and Fire Department.
Please join me in the pledge. I pledge
allegiance to the flag of the United
States of America and to the republic
for which it stands, one nation under
God, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all.
We'll start out with some presentations,
certifications, proclamations.
Okay. Well, again, good afternoon. And
uh the first ones we want to recognize
is the Sons of the American Revolution.
If they could come up, please.
You join me up here up front.
He's going to get a photo already.
what we do here.
Okay. In your name,
Bill.
Bill Canella
because that's basically
Okay. Well, we just want to recognize
the the Sons of the American Revolution.
And Bill Canella here has some words he
would like to share and so I'll turn
that over to him so that he can read him
what they're about and what we're
celebrating here in the near future.
Thank you. Thank you.
And thank you. Uh good afternoon mayor
and city council members and every
everybody else that's present. Um my
name is Bill Canella and this year and
next year we're celebrating the
semiquinn centennial of the United
States in regards to the Declaration of
Independence.
Now we're members of the S which stands
for the Sons of the American Revolution.
The Sons of the American Revolution is
an organization a national organization
of people who have ancestors were
patriots and helped help the American
Revolution.
Uh we're we're involved in promoting
patriotism, serving our communities,
educating, inspiring future generations
of Americans about the founding
principles of our country. There are
about 36,000 S members nationally, and
there are over 400,000 members of the
Daughters of the Revolution. So, you can
see we're kind of outnumbered, but we
are we are a working u organization. In
New Mexico, there are three branches of
our of our society. One is in
Farmington, one is in Albuquerque and
one is here in Los Cusus. Totally we
have about 100 members and 50 of them
are pretty much 50 of them are in here
in Los Cusus. In our chapter alone we
have a member who's a ancestor was a
second cousin to George Washington. His
name is his name was William Washington.
Anybody that knows something about the
American Revolution will recognize that
name. But he was a basically a colonel
that fought in almost every battle of
the American Revolution. and uh he had a
house not that far from George
Washington's cousin. My ancestors were
Spanish precidio soldiers up in Santa
Fe. People say why Spanish precidio
soldiers? Well, in regards to the Spain,
Spain was an ally of France. France was
an ally of the United States. Spain
fought the British. One of the things
the king of Spain did was make everybody
in his colonies give two pesos to help
support the American Revolution. Two
pesos doesn't sound like much, but it
turned out to be several million dollars
of pesos. As a matter of fact, that's
where we got our dollar sign from, from
the Spanish peso.
In regards to the Gatson's chapter, we
have uh we are engaged in ed educating
the people of Los Cusus and other other
places. As a matter of fact, we have had
presentations at Sierra Middle School,
Vista Middle School, Msia Valley
Christian, Holy Cross Catholic School,
three times at the Farm and Ranch Museum
and with three times at least with
groups of homeschoolers and others who
were interested in the American
Revolution. And we also we tell them all
about the United States American
Revolution and also regards to the
Declaration of Independence.
In regards to patriotism, we have
provided honor guards for funerals of
World War II soldiers recently
identified through DNA who were either
died as PS from the Batan Death March or
from the European operations.
They have been brought back to New
Mexico for burial because of DNA
analysis. We also support wreaths across
America every Christmas at Fort Bay
National Cemetery. Our S honor guards
have been at the dedication of liberty
in Farmington, plaques for precedio
soldiers in Santa Fe, the Liberty Bell
at the state fairgrounds, various D
events, and in May the 200 the 2025 US
naturalization cere ceremony at the
Lasus Convention Center along with the
Lasus Veterans Parade with our many of
our members being veterans. When we do
the parade, a lot of people think we're
the Pirates of the Caribbean for because
the way you're dressed. We have also
held a cookout, a Thanksgiving dinner,
and a pizza party for them formerly
unhoused veterans living at the
transitional apartments on Oak Street
here in Los Cusus.
Our SAR also presents medals
certificates to acknowledge honor and
honor people from Los Cusus, Msia, El
Paso, and southern New Mexico.
We do in the following fields of
service, first responders such as law
enforcement, firefighting, EMTs, and
life- saving. We also honor the the
college RO program, ROT program cadetses
and the junior ROT cadetses here in uh
like Clovis, TRC, Deming, uh uh
Mayfield,
uh
Onate and uh Lasus High. Our chapter has
a special medal that we give out also to
people with do outstanding service to
the community. It's called the Gatston
Medal.
Since this is the year of the semi
quintentennial, we would like to do
something with the city of Lassus to
honor our our country's first patriots
and veterans. Our chapter has a
specially designed coin that was
designed by Dave Curtis who's in the off
who's present today
and for the 250 anniversary to present
to you. I would also like to thank
Captain Don Williams for all the support
he's provided for the S and the veterans
of this community over the years. And
he's present too. Thank you. Oops.
Thank you, M.
That's it. That's it. That's it.
Okay. Again, we want to thank them. Uh,
Captain Williams, if you want to come up
and we'll take another photo up here
from uh Jen here with our community
communications department. I'm sorry,
said community. And uh I just want to
say thank you. Thank you for all that
you do. the Sons of the American
Revolution as serving as a fire chief
here in this community. Um th this group
was one that would acknowledge our
police department, our fire department,
and our emergency responders. Uh it was
an opportunity not just for
firefighters, but we could select chiefs
uh leaders of the the organization for
their contributions to our
organizations. And and it was great for
them to to honor them. And I just want
to share um that Chief Daniels was one
of those that was recognized by the Sons
of the American Revolution as our fire
chief uh battalion chief at the time of
the year. So they they did a lot of
these things for our local community and
I'm very proud of them and I thank them
for all that they do. Thank you.
[Applause]
Hello.
Hold on.
Next, I'd like to call up Mr. Art Morio
to come up.
We'd like to take this time right now to
introduce our new Messia Valley Public
Housing Authority Executive Director,
Mr. Art Murio.
And I'll give him a few minutes so he
can introduce himself and share some of
the things that he's going to be doing
for our community. Thank you. And
congratulations on your appointment.
What did you say?
I'm sorry. It's Maruo. That's on me. Art
Maru.
Thank you, Mayor, City Council. Uh,
prepared a little speech today because
sometimes I just go off the rails, so I
wanted to keep things in line. Uh, good
afternoon, mayor, city council, and
community partners. I thank you for the
opportunity to speak with you today. My
name is Art Muho, and I am honored to
serve as the new executive director of
the Mia Valley Public Housing Authority.
I am a lifelong resident of Los Cusus
and my roots run deep in this community
52 years strong. For those familiar with
the area, I grew up in the corner of
Rigs and Hermosa Heights. What many of
you know as Beverly Hills neighborhood
and I want everyone, even the new
residents here to understand the history
of the neighborhoods that we serve.
Beverly Hills, Chiva Town, and the
Mosquite District. That was the origin.
I've had the privilege of witnessing Los
Cusus and our surrounding communities
grow and evolve over the years. This is
home and serving in this role is not
only a professional responsibility for
me but a deeply personal commitment. I
bring over 15 years of experience in
affordable housing and community
development. I began my career with
Teros Sold Housing Corporation and I
went on to work with national nonprofit
organizations, the housing assistance
council and RCAC supporting rural and
tribal housing efforts across the
country. At MVPHA,
I've joined a committed and hardworking
team. Over the past two months, I've
been rolling up my sleeves, reviewing
operations, understanding our culture,
and identifying opportunities to
strengthen our mission. That mission is
clear. To provide safe, decent, and
affordable housing to the residents of
Los Cusus and Donana County.
But at its core, this work is more about
than housing. It's about dignity,
stability, and community. And I know we
can't do it alone. I'm here not just to
lead, but to listen, to learn, and to
collaborate. I look forward to building
strong partnerships with the city, with
community leaders, organizations, and
with you, the community, as we address
the housing needs of our region. Thank
you again for the warm welcome and
continued support. I'm excited about the
work we're about to do going ahead in
the future and look forward to what we
can accomplish all of us together. Thank
you.
[Applause]
No, you're good. You're good.
All right.
Thank you.
Okay, next we have jobs of the week,
Sarah Rainey.
Good afternoon. Thank you.
There we go. My name is Sarah Rainey.
I'm the onetop coordinator for the
Southwest Region of America's Job Center
New Mexico. For jobs of the week, we
have for the le city of Los Cusus, we
have a diversion specialist. It starts
at 1740 an hour and at this time it's a
continuous posting. We have an engineer
for the city as well and it starts at
69,000. The top was 99,000 and at this
time it's a continuous posting. We also
have for C senor a dishwasher starting
at $12 an hour. The posting closes on
August 6th.
An automotive mechanic for brake masters
for $ 13 to $40 an hour depending on
experience. The posting closes in
August. And then for FYI, we have
multiple openings. Actually, this is
just four of their openings that they
had listed. a transitional living for
youth um for the youth residential
um department, innovative community
solutions manager, youth systems
coordinator, and innovative community
services strategist.
And then July is flying past us. We're
already into August for our events. So,
we have Mountain Shadows. Again, they
come every month. If anyone is looking
into the caregiving um nursing fields,
please come by the office. Um on the
August 6, Mountain Shadows will be in
office doing interviews on the spot.
Also, we have our career essentials
which help helps job seekers do
one-on-one employment assistance,
program referrals, and everything else
that's needed there in office on 87. And
then our community of hope monthly
event, we're going out there to
community of hope. Right now we're in
the Elcadito um soup kitchen. So anybody
can come see us for job assistance out
there. That is all. Thank you.
Thank you Sarah.
No pets of the week. Okay. Uh next is a
conflict of interest. Does any member of
the city council, city manager, or any
other member of the city staff have any
known conflict of interest with any item
on the agenda?
None.
Next, we'll go ahead and
none. Okay. Thank you. Next is public
participation. Allow up to three
minutes. No pending litigation or items
on non-consent. You'll be given three
minutes. uh speak directly into the
microphone please and Katrina will usher
you to the podium. Thank you.
Mayor, council, all the folks here
today, and those watching online. I'm
Lyn Moore. The lead and copper rule
improvements is key to asssuring that
drinking water provided by water systems
is truly safe. The chief feature
requires all lead piping be replaced
within 10 years. We keep discovering
more instances in which the city is
failing to comply with the new rule.
Many of these discoveries involve
apparently intentional efforts to
mislead and cover up. Today, I bring to
your attention two new discoveries. The
first relates to galvanized requiring
replacement piping. This is primarily
made of galvanized steel which is or was
downstream of a lead pipe or an unknown
service line. Like lead piping, it's
hazardous and must be replaced. On octo
on June 4, councelor Corin reported to a
radio station that aired her comment
that only two properties have been found
that have galvanized requiring
replacement piping. In fact, the Las
Cusus utilities inventory shows at least
56 properties so designated. C handout
one. Of these 56, two were noted in the
inventory after councelor Corin's
inaccurate statement on June 4th. This
means that on June 4th, at least 54
properties were known by the city to be
galvanized requiring replacement. If the
city disappears, these records, too, I
have hard copies. Keep in mind that many
more may be found if the other half of
their properties left out of the
inventory are included. The second new
discovery is that the online inventory
in indicates that city personnel conduct
inspections such as they are on Sundays
and holidays. According to the
inventory, they conducted at least 114
inspections on Sundays and two
inspections on Christmas Eve. Handout
two provides a list. Las Cusus Utilities
has now disappeared all inspection
dates. I can provide a hard copy with
inspection date for any record you'd
like to review. If these inspections did
occur on Sundays or Christmas Eve, a
city holiday, there's no reason to pay
these employees overtime. This cannot be
regarded as an emergency in light of the
10-year period the new rule provides for
completing the work. If these
inspections did not occur on Sundays or
Christmas Eve, the online inventory
continues to reveal its utter
unreliability.
Handout three is the disclaimer Los
Cusus Utilities posted on the website
July 9 saying it does not guarantee
accuracy of the information in the
inventory. Effectively, this
acknowledges violation of EPA
requirements. Handout four, an EPA
document dated October 2024, says water
systems must use a validation process to
ensure the service line inventory is
accurate. This means the city does not
have the option to hide behind a
disclaimer. It would be wise to hire a
truly independent engineer with
management experience to evaluate how
the director and staffers are doing in
complying with the new rule. Not someone
to carry out some of its tasks for them
like the engineering firm it previously
hired, but someone who will
comprehensively evaluate what's
happening in the department. Now, thank
you for this opportunity to speak.
[Applause]
Mayor Council, I'm Liz Rodriguez
Johnson. At your June 2nd meeting, I
brought to your attention the fact that
the new lead and copper rule requires
water systems to offer to sample the tap
for lead for any consumer who requests
it who has a lead galvanized requiring
replacement or unknown service line. I
also pointed out that the city continues
to fail to comply with this requirement.
At your June 16 meeting, Lynn Moore
again brought this reality to your
attention and to the attention of the
Lascus' utilities director who attended
the meeting. She also provided you a
copy of the federal requirement the city
is violating. Handoff 4, which Lynn
Moore just gave to you a minute ago, is
another EPA document that sets out the
requirement. It is now 7 weeks since
this significant problem was brought to
your attention and the utilities
director's attention. Nothing has been
done to rectify this violation. The
citizen who asked during the town hall
to have his tap sampled has not been
contacted. The website still clearly
states that the city does not do
sampling and this is a blatant violation
of the rule that potentially jeopardizes
public health. Rather than comply with
the rule, it appears Lasus's utilities
office continues to ob to attempt to
obscure the issue. We've heard of a
staffer who does PR visits where he
tells public without evidence that
everything's just fine and declares that
there are no issues or concerns with the
water Lasens receive from the city. This
can be seen as a deliberate effort to
discourage property owners from asking
to have their tap sampled even though
the rule requires the city to sample it
if consumers request it and this is
unconscionable.
As we've pointed out frequently, funding
is available if the city asks for it.
The funding is available among other
sources from the drinking water state
revolving act, the infrastructure
investment and jobs act, the water
infrastructure finance and innovation
act, the bipartisan infrastructure law
and water infrastructure
infrastructure for the nation act
grants. In addition, EPA also provides
water technical assistance to help
identify lead service lines, develop
replacement plans, and apply for funding
to get the lead out. And although the
city has applied for funds for inventory
preparation and a replacement plan, the
city should also apply for technical
assistance to help all the disadvantaged
neighborhoods in Laserus, as well as
apply for funds for water sampling for
citizens. We urge you to give direction
and oversight through the city manager
to Lasus's utility staff who continue to
fail to comply with the rule and
continue to demonstrate disrespect for
and indifference to the health of
Lasusins. Thank you.
Hi folks. I'm Dana Hopkins. I'm a
resident of Cruis and I live in District
4. And I'm not here to complain about
anything, but I am here to uh to ask for
some support or maybe for community
members and city council, anybody else
to reach out to me about this. Um I'm
guessing some folks are aware that we
are having an influx of refugees from
other states. Um, I have reason to be
really intimately aware of this and
we're seeing more and more people coming
from Texas, coming from Florida, coming
from Utah, for example. Um, and what
I've seen in the last couple of weeks
that has me particularly concerned is
that some of these are people my age or
close to my age. And although we've been
seeing a lot of young folks, in
particular trans folks um moving that
feel safer in New Mexico, um for
somebody my age, I see a lot of people
who are really shell shocked, who have
left behind a lifetime of community and
family, and people who are looking for
work, for resources, for any kind of
connection. And I don't want to say
publicly more about how I know this.
Those of you who know me know how. Um,
but if anybody here would like to reach
out to me later and talk about what what
can we be doing in addition to what
nonprofits are doing to serve our influx
of refugees. I had someone recently say
to me, somebody from a nonprofit say,
"Oh, they're all going to Albuquerque."
That is not true and not everybody can
afford Albuquerque.
Um, so we have people who are here
because they feel safer here and I would
love some support in seeing what we can
do to support and care for for these
folks. Thank you so much.
City Council mayor. My name is Eddie
Thomas.
Um, as you probably heard, we had our
police appreciation day last Tuesday. It
was quite the success uh as local
restaurants donated an abundance of food
and we happily collected it and enjoyed
sharing it with uh the officers and
staff. A good camaraderie was engendered
and we all had a good time serving those
who serve us. We got the sense that they
appreciated our efforts and recognized
them for the liferisking and thankless
job they perform when they put on their
badge and uniform. They keep the people
in the city. They keep the peace in the
city but oftent time are disrespected
and mischaracterized even as they put
themselves in harm's way. They deal with
the less savory side of our citizenry.
recall the murder of officer Hernandez.
Towards the end of our event, one
officer said he would be gentle with me
if I should ever get arrested.
Just kidding.
No one ever said that. I'm just making
sure I got your attention. To that end,
let me make clear I would comply with
law officers orders. I have the good
sense to not escalate the matter. I
trust the LCPD will treat me
appropriately,
but there seems to be an anti- police
sentiment here in Los Cusus to note an
LCPD officer was wrongly convicted for
doing his job.
Tonight there is a benefit uh uh uh on
behalf of uh Brad Lun Lunsford and
another uh officer at the the um Farm
and Ranch Museum. And I'd like to just
briefly announce it to make it available
to all. I hope you all will come.
Anyway, kids here, however, are taught
from an early age to hate cops. They're
taught to resist arrest is an expected
norm. That's how they're raised here.
It's the culture of criminality that's
instilled here because it's the it's
cool to be a rebel. Kids are influenced
by the environment they grow up in. It's
our job as parents to steer our children
from this bad road that leads to
predition and an early death.
Incarceration is not a bad thing if it
scares a kid into going straight. Think
about it. Where do you want your kids to
end up if you don't guide them and
correct them? If you don't do that, you
don't love them. Let me end with this.
The Bible says it clearly. Spare the rod
and spoil a child. Proverbs 13:24.
Mayor Council Juan Garcia, today I want
to talk about abuse of power. On May
19th, Mayor Prom Bencomo, second in
command at city hall, settled the dis
and in my view, lied outright. She
accused citizen Tim Jenkins of quote
putting the council's address on the
internet. That accusation was a
fabrication. Never happened. Como's
statement was a wasn't a slip or a
misunderstanding. It was a calculated
move, an intentional abuse of authority
meant to smear a private citizen for
denying to speak up. I filed an ethics
complaint attaching Beno's own words and
a clear record of Facebook posts showing
that Jenkins never put the council's
address on the internet. The document
was notorized and sent up the chain to
the city clerk who sent to an outside
investigator. The truth is all there in
black and white, but in this city the
truth appears to be buried, particularly
to protect a politically powerful
counselor. from article one municipal
code and I quote code of ethics. The
operation of a representative democra
democratic government must require that
those individuals elected to undertake
such operation serve the public in an
impartial and responsible
manner in order to protect and preserve
the integrity integrity of the public
administration and sustain the quote
trust of the public being served. On
July 14th, I got the official response
to my ethics complaint. Big surprise.
The so-called quote independent review
council decided there was nothing to
see. No violation of the code of ethics.
So apparently in Las Cruz a counselor
can just lie and it's perfectly quote
ethical. Never mind that the code of
ethics is supposed to make sure elected
officials act responsibly and earn the
public's trust. The investigator and
attorney paid by the city tossed the
whole thing out as without merit. In
other words, not worth their time, not
worth anyone's attention. And here's the
kicker. The investigator never bothered
to call me or Mr. Jenkins.
Lack of transparency leads me to believe
she made her decision in a vacuum to
protect the mayor promp.
It's obvious they're just circling the
wagons. Mayor Prom Ben Como has a habit
of making racially loaded comments. And
in my opinion, she threw out this bogus
accusation because Mr. Jenkins, a white
man, quote, dare to criticize her for
being soft on crime. And there's more.
In the Santa Fe, New Mexican on Sunday,
Council Ben Ko had the audacity to
state, and I quote, "I strive to lead
with integrity."
Integrity.
Thank you.
[Applause]
Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council,
Chief of Police. Tim Jenkins here.
Number one, I would like to thank Bill
Matise for his continued support and
joining us at the town hall on July 16th
in an effort to support this city in
public safety and to bring the citizens
of this city together to fight for and
to support our police department. I
speak not only for the police
department, but also for us citizens of
Los Cruus that are doing everything in
our God-given power to unite the city
and to bring this city together to make
it safer for all. But it seems that
certain members of city council are not
of the same mindset and vision and goal,
but rather suggest that our police
department need more oversight.
But from where I'm standing, the only
people that need more oversight are the
progressive Ben Komos that are perfectly
fine with throwing me under the bus and
boldface lying about me and saying I
posted all their addresses on social
media. And then when an ethics complaint
was filed with the ethics community
department, they determined that the
complaint filed was without merit. So,
this reads to me that certain members on
city council can lie in council chambers
and say whatever they want and never be
held accountable. Then you wonder why
this city is in the trouble it is right
now. Thank you.
[Applause]
Name is Jim Hurst. Um
yeah, uh police need more
accountability. The the uh city is
paying out millions in settlements that
we ought not to be paying.
Uh yes, citizens have a responsibility
to the privacy and safety of our elected
officials. Anyone who is socially
conscious at all realizes the risk they
have put themselves and their family in
simply by serving us. Discussing their
children, discussing where they live on
social media is a bad thing to do and
you ought to be called out for it. Thank
you very much.
[Applause]
My name is Fred Huff. I've sat here and
listened to several comments today
concerning the allegations
by councelor Ben Como that Tim Jenkins
posted all the city councilor's
addresses on Facebook.
As a reminder, these statements by
councelor Ben Como were at the
conclusion of the May 19th, 2025 city
council meeting where the petition to
bring realize Los Cusus to a vote by the
city residents.
So, this Facebook post had to be done
prior to this meeting.
My question was, what did it say and
when was it done?
Thankfully, councelor Ben Como had count
had captured the offending post and
shared it with several people in this
room.
And so, I'm going to read here what Mr.
Jenkins actually posted.
And it says, it doesn't in this
particular post that uh councelor Ben
Como sent, it doesn't say what site it
came from or anything. It just said Tim
Jenkins, top contributor.
This is very interesting and very
telling. It just baffles me to the core
that certain city council members refuse
to be the voice for we the people.
But yet that is what we they were
elected to be. And then there's an emoji
and some dots and then see more.
And this is where it gets interesting.
There's an almost invisible line there.
And then we see the words partial map
records. All records indicate ownership
of said property.
That's from another statement, another
paragraph. Where did that come from? And
that really caught my attention.
And
when what she claimed to be uh and below
that is where she claimed that the city
councilors
lived. And um I'll come back and read
that in a minute. But when she said that
this this post was disclosing their
addresses,
I don't see that. But below that, it got
interesting. It was a post by Sarah
Smith. And here's what Sarah said.
Listen closely. This is a husband of a
Los Cusus city counselor explaining his
rationale for getting rid of single
family. NEI and I'm assuming that means
neighborhoods. What was this post about?
I'm running out of time, but the bottom
line
that was a post by somebody by the name
of um James Miller and he was responding
to Sarah's comment and that was one of
129 comments. Mr. Jenkins probably never
saw that post at all. Thank you.
[Applause]
Next is a acceptance of the agenda.
So move.
Second.
This is on the motion to accept the
agenda as presented. Councelor Mccclur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Graham,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Flootus,
yes.
Councelor Bencoml,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Now we'll move to resolutions and
ordinance for discussion. 7.1 resolution
number 26-012
a resolution authorizing the city of Los
Cusus to accept fourth quarter budget
adjustments.
Move to approve Graham. Second.
Okay. Go ahead.
Good afternoon, mayor, city council, and
city staff. My name is Vanessa Pettis,
and I'm one of your budget analysts. I'm
here today to bring forth a resolution
to accept various internal budget
adjustments to close out fiscal year
2025.
Before we get started, I just want to
point out a few key reminders. Um, the
adjustments presented here today will
primarily focus on updating the
available balances within our existing
budget and the following slides are only
a summary of what was requested, but if
you would like further information,
please refer to your packets.
The housing program is requesting to
increase their budget by about $42,000
for an affordable homeownership
revolving loan. The city has agreed to
provide lowinterest construction loans
for affordable housing to the deloul
housing corporation through resolution
23-102.
The del soul housing cor sorry there was
a sale of property in fiscal year 2025.
Um that sale will fund the request on
your screen. The quality of life
department is requesting to increase
their revenues and expenditures by about
$4,700.
And this is due to program income from
congregate meals. Um we provide meals to
senior citizens and when they are able
to they donate for these meals. The
quality of life department then uses
these revenues to cover other
expenditures. They are currently
planning on using these to cover some
vehicle maintenance costs.
public works department is requesting an
additional $60,000 from the Telra
facility fund and this is to cover
expenses for the Griggs walnut
monitoring well. They came in a little
bit higher than anticipated.
Lastly, public works is requesting
$140,000 from the gas tax fund and this
is to cover the increase in vehicle
repair and maintenance costs. They
require supplemental budget
before you are your standard council
options and I do stand for questions.
Any questions? Councelor Flores.
Thank you. And thank you, Miss Pittz,
for your uh presentation. Um I'm
concerned about the Meals on Wheels
program and I'm wondering what the
future looks like for our city
specifically and um how it's going now.
Um I will answer to the best of my
knowledge, council, and then I will
defer to the quality of life department.
It's my understanding that these meals
are provided through the title three
grant. It's an annual grant or an
entitlement that we we receive every
year and we fund those meals through
that program. Um they then receive
donations which are not required. It's
just a donation from citizens that are
able to help and then they use those
funds to cover additional expenditures
um in the program. I will defer any
further questions to quality of life
director Carol Bray.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, Mayor uh Councelor
Flores. Uh so basically what Vanessa
said is correct. Uh the funding is
provided by title three which is federal
funding under the older Americans act.
Uh and um in addition that funding is
supplemented by some state funding as
well as our own city funding. So
probably about a third of the funding uh
for all of the programs that are funded.
So that would be congregate meals,
delivered meals, respbit care, home
care, and grandparents raising
grandchildren. All of those programs are
funded under the these title three funds
and the supplemental funds. So probably
we get about a third of that funding
from federal funding, another third from
state funding, and another third is our
fun our own funding. Um some of that is
revenue, which is what is reflected in
uh this budget adjustment. It's just
that revenue went up a little bit that
we got for congregate meals last year.
Uh and that was partly because we are
just seeing more people coming for
congregate meals and uh that means
donations go up a little bit as well. Uh
I don't know hope that answers your
question. At this point, what we're
understanding is that uh the title three
funding is going to be just about equal
to what we received last year uh except
for one area, which is the um the NSIP,
and that's a a supplemental program that
uh we aren't clear yet if we're getting
the entire amount, but we will have
enough to get us through the first six
months, and then we will see where we're
going from there. So, uh, but the Title
3 funding is, uh, I think we're we're
going to be, uh, decreasing about
$2,300, which we believe we can make up
with our our budget for FY26
with our bubblegum spare money that we
have.
Yes. Yes, ma'am.
Thank you, Miss Bray. My My concern um,
frankly, is uh, the state of our federal
uh, leadership and um, and the threats
that have been made. And I'm just
wondering if uh we're bracing for any of
that or preparing for that or will the
state kick in uh will the state uh have
find it in its um what what do you say
um with all their heart to burst that uh
that fund that has billions of dollars
in it.
So Mayor Councelor Flores uh I don't
know that I can speculate. I'm basically
telling you what I know. But I will say
this that uh there is the Meals on
Wheels America organization that I
believe has been threatened in terms of
funding. Our funding does not come
through that agency. It comes uh
directly from the federal government and
then is um administered by uh the
non-metro area agency on aging. So we do
not get funding from Meals on Wheels
America directly.
Okay. and Meals in U on Wheels America
is tied into the state.
It's a separate federal agency, I
believe, and we can try to get more
information on that for you.
Yeah. Well, yes, I appreciate that. I'm
I think all of us um all of us are
worried about, you know, worst case
scenario. So, thank you for your efforts
and I appreciate that very much, Miss
Bray. Thank you.
You're welcome. Thank you for your
concern.
Anyone else?
Uh, Christine.
This is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-012.
Councelor McClur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Graham,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Fletus,
yes.
Councelor Ben Como,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Next is item 7.2, to resolution 26-013,
a resolution authorizing the city of Los
Cusus to accept various budget
adjustments.
Move to approve grant second.
Good afternoon. Vanessa Perez, uh one of
your budget analysts again for the
record. Um this resolution is to present
the first set of adjustments that will
get us started for fiscal year 2026.
Uh just like in the previous
presentation, a few key reminders. These
adjustments are focusing on adjusting
current available balances and this is
also a summary of the adjustments
requested, but if you would like further
information, please refer to your
packets.
The adjustments on your screen are
currently all related to the general
fund. The information technology
department is requesting to carry over
about $329,000
for the VA core upgrade. The housing
program is requesting to carry over
about $186,000
and this is for the Hardin de los Nino's
re-roof project. The parks and
recreation department is requesting an
additional budget of about $159,000
and this is to cover expenditures
related to overtime for the first
quarter of fiscal year 26. Lastly, the
quality of life department is requesting
to carry over about $57,000
and this is related to the East Side
Senior Center um remodel project. The
adjustments on your screen total about
$732,000.
Moving on to requests outside of the
general fund, the police department is
requesting a $66,000 increase from the
vehicle forfeite fund, and this is to
purchase software for traffic studies.
The public works department is
requesting $20,000 from the flood
control operations fund, and this is to
purchase chemical supplies. They're also
requesting about $78,000, and this is
supplemental funding for the annual
storm water system mapping.
Last on your screen is a request from
the Telure Telshore facility fund for
the housing program in the amount of $2
million. This is increasing their budget
for the Peach Tree project and this is
to reflect an accurate remaining
balance. There were $4 million allotted
for the project from the fund. During
the budget process, only $2 million were
budgeted for. This is because they had
anticipated spending $2 million, but
because none of that money was touched,
we're only increasing their budget to
what was originally allotted for them.
Public Works is requesting four
adjustments and they're all from the GRT
Street Maintenance Fund. Uh they total
about $1.6 6 million and they will be
designated for the annual street
lighting and traffic signal program, the
annual pavement marking, the annual
sidewalk program, as well as funding for
transportation system modernization.
Before you are your council options and
I stand for questions.
Any questions? None. Christine,
this is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-013.
Councelor McClur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
no.
Councelor Graham,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Flores,
yes.
Councelor Beno,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Next is item 7.3, resolution number
26-014,
resolution approving the June 30th, 2025
quarterly financial report.
Move to approve. Second, Graham.
Good afternoon, mayor, city council. My
name is Josh Safel and on behalf of the
finance department of the city of Los
Cusus, I'd like to present a very brief
overview of the uh quarterly reporting
requirements for DFA as well as uh some
brief highlights of the report.
So to start with the background
information, this is based on section
6-6-2
of NMSA 1978. Uh these are of course
state requirements. Uh as part of this,
as a municipality or and any local
public entity really is required to
present periodic uh financial reports
and of course we do this on a quarterly
basis. These are filed with the uh New
Mexico Department of Finance and
Administration DFA uh with their local
government division, the LGD.
Along with those basic requirements,
there are some specific requirements. Uh
so as we submit these reports, uh the
DFA also requires that a resolution from
city council approving the FY25 fourth
quarter finance report also be submitted
to them. And that's what we're
presenting this uh this afternoon. Uh in
order for us to do this, the uh uh FY26
budget approval is contingent upon
submission of this. So DFA will not
approve our budget unless we can submit
this report and the resolution. And of
course, our deadline for submission to
DFA is July 31st, uh, 2025.
Of course, uh, DFA utilizes these
reports to determine one very important
thing. Um, the city will submit to DFA a
budget and of course, uh, then the DFA
will look at that budget and decide if
they like it or not, and then we'll
finalize and approve that budget. And so
then as we submit our quarterly reports,
they're making sure that we are in
compliance with that budget that was
submitted. So this fourth quarter report
does show that we are in compliance with
that approved budget that was submitted
to DFA.
Finally, these are some preliminary
results that were taken as of July 8th,
2025. So here we show in the report that
we are sending to DFA preliminarily uh
the general fund we're showing revenue
of 173,837,725.
Our expenditures are $119,18,841
and that's in the general fund. For all
other funds, we're showing revenue of
$221,970,681
and expenditures of $187,510,849.
And that's part of the report that we
will be submitting.
Here are your council options, and I
will stand for any questions.
All right. Thank you, Josh. Uh,
councelor Flores.
Thank you, Mayor. And thank you Josh. Um
Mr. Sappel um you know we haven't had a
report I mean this brings to mind
necessarily the um the uh certified
public accountants that uh review our
books. Is is this related to any of
that? I mean, does it when when
submitting this to the appropriate uh
agency, do you have to show that uh you
know that we're in the pink?
Well, council Flores, um it it is kind
of related. Uh the DFA reporting um they
require that we send in this resolution
with the fourth quarter report, but they
recognize the fact that we're not going
to have all of our expenses and
everything at that time by July 31st. So
what will happen is in the next year
FY26 our second quarter report that goes
to DFA it we're also required to submit
our ACFR which by that time should be
complete
and that's next year.
Yes.
Okay. I won't be here but too bad. Thank
you so much.
Yes. Anyone else? Oh Christine.
This is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-014.
Councelor Mccclur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Graham,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Flores,
yes.
Councelor Bencoml,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Next is resolution number 26-015,
a resolution to approve the fiscal year
annual internal audit re audit plan.
Move to approve. Second
Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor, Council Viola
Perea, city auditor. Um, please forgive
me. I'm feeling a bit under the weather
today, but I would like to present our
FY26 internal audit plan to you today.
Internal audit is a program in the line
of business of the city manager's office
and the city auditor manages the program
and reports directly to the city
manager.
The mission of internal audit is to
provide compliance and assurance
services to city council, the city
manager, and all organizational units of
the city. So the public will be
confident that city government is
protecting valuable resources and
operating ethically, effectively,
efficiently, and transparently.
The accountability and government
ordinance uh requires the city auditor
to submit an annual audit plan to the
oversight committee for review and
comment. Um, we addressed this with our
oversight committee at our July 2nd
meeting.
It also requires the annual audit plan
be approved by city council by
resolution and the audit plan may be
amended during the year after review
with the city manager.
In order to um provide the risk
assessment for review um we do complete
annually a risk assessment process and
this is in accordance with the institute
of internal auditors or the IIA global
standards which requires an annual audit
plan which is based on a risk uh the
city's risk exposure.
Uh to accomplish this, a citywide risk
assessment survey was conducted and
designed to measure certain risk factors
and to gather and assess potential audit
topics. The survey was sent out uh this
past May citywide. And the audit
universe of audit auditable areas,
excuse me, uh is comprised of the 13
city departments, several lines of
business, programs, and partnering
agencies.
The risk assessment identifies areas
considered to be the most important by
management and in compliance with our
standards and ensures activities with
the greatest risk are audited to the
extent audit resources allow.
This uh slide here uh reviews the audit
topics or excuse me the risk factors uh
that were um included in our risk
assessment survey. The survey this year
was expanded um quite a bit uh to not
only accommodate the new standards that
went into effect this past January, but
also to allowed individuals uh
responding to the survey some free text
options to provide comments within uh
each question that was asked that can be
considered as well.
Uh the II standards require that we
receive input from senior management and
that it be considered in the risk
assessment process and audit topics that
were uh pulled from the survey were
discussed with uh city directors and the
city manager. The FY26 internal audit
plan was also reviewed as I mentioned by
the oversight committee this past July.
In your packets, I know this slide is
relatively small, but in your packets,
you have a copy of the FY26 audit plan.
It is comprised of several audits that
are either completed and are in their
final review phase or they have been
started in FY25 and will continue on to
FY26.
We also have four new audits that will
be scheduled for FY26 and some follow-up
audits that um are already in process as
well. Here
are your council options and I stand for
any questions you might have.
Council phones.
Thank you, mayor, and thank you um um
Miss Beta. Um I um who's on the
oversight committee? I don't know.
Mayor and Councelor Flores, the
oversight committee is comprised of
three um non city members. It is uh our
chair is Adolf Zubia and our two
additional members are Mike Canella and
um Michael Cochran.
Okay.
We also have two members of council.
It's Mayor Prom uh Bencomo and uh
councelor Matise.
Oh, okay. Great. Wonderful. Very good
committee. Thank you.
Anyone else?
Christine,
this is on the motion to approve
resolution 26-015.
Councelor McClur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Graham,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Flores,
yes.
Councelor Bencoml,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.
Next is board appointments and I believe
we have one. Yes. Um is this going to
require a motion? Okay. Uh Crystal
McCasslin. Uh new appointment to PNZ.
Move to approve. Graham.
This is in the motion to appoint Crystal
McCasslin to PNZ. Councelor McClur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Graham,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Footus,
yes.
Councelor Ben Como,
yes.
And Mayor,
yes.
Next we have notice of proposed
ordinance and there are two
council bill number 26-00001
ordinance number 3093
and ordinance approving various zone
changes to correspond to the Soma Ranch
East to master plan amendment number
five.
Bring it forward.
The second one is ordinance number 3094,
an ordinance formally approving a
community energy efficiency development
block grant from the New Mexico State
Engineer, I'm sorry, New Mexico State
Energy, Minerals, and Natural Resources
Department.
Bring it forward.
Next, we're at city council member board
reports and comments. Councelor
Mccclure.
No, thank you, Mayor.
Thanks, uh, Councelor Matise.
None.
Council Grant,
just a couple things. Um, wanted to
shout out Parks and Recreation for their
ongoing work on the Young Park master
plan. I know there were meetings uh last
week and over the weekend, I think at
Lynn Middle and at the farmers market.
Um, so I appreciate that. And if you
still want to add your voice to what
you'd like to see Young Park look like
in the future, there's a really great
interactive map on the parks and wreck
website where you can uh drop a little
marker on the map and give your ideas.
So really appreciate that. Um, just a
procedural note. I'm going to make my
last call to um encourage us to continue
thinking about public comment, how we
best structure it. Um particularly since
our city clerk has received feedback
from the New Mexico Municipal League who
um we took advantage of their free
service to review our meetings and make
recommendations about how we can make
them as fruitful and productive as
possible. So I know I I've said this
every year. So one more time I'm going
to recommend it. Um, and then finally,
my last comment was uh actually
previewed in public comment. Um, but I
want to shout out our mayor prom Ben
Como um for a really amazing oped that
the Santa Fe New Mexican posted over the
weekend and um going to not call you out
but call you in and hope that you'll
offer a few words on that as well. And
that's all I have. Thank you.
Thank you, councelor Kurin.
Thank you. I I agree and thought that
was an excellent editorial and hope hope
you all have a chance to read it if you
can. I the New Mexican costs a lot to
subscribe to, but maybe you can use one
of your secret free uh views to check it
out. Um,
I wanted to I had a transit advisory
board last week where we heard a lot of
really great inputs from community folks
and some really interesting statistics.
So, thank you to our transit
boss, Richard Hanway, for sharing some
of these things, including a report that
um Penn State graduate students did with
our um transit system and and our fair
our our fair free model to this. Um they
found a number of really important data
points um related to our support of of
transit users in in Los Cusus. This
includes that the vast majority of folks
using transit are um lower income. That
is people with an average annual income
of $30,000 approximately or less. Most
of those folks are using transit to get
to work um both to and from work. Uh
many of those folks find it use it more
than three times a week to get to their
workplace. and they found that since um
since going fair free the city's transit
has been more appealing and so more and
more people continue to ride and then um
these are folks who in often are in
homes where they're sharing a car or
they don't have access to a car at all
and so I just wanted to call out um this
report which uh I will happily share
with anyone else who's interested to see
just really the demographics and and why
folks are using transit that is to get
to work um and provide for their
families uh and why our fair free many
of these folks would not be able to go
back to using fairs or it would be a
disproportional effect on them.
Similarly, our transit uh ridership was
over 800,000 rides last year. It was a
19% increase over the prior year. Um and
that continues to go up. We we we expect
we I I hope that we'll reach a million
within the next few years of of rides.
it's been an increase increasing by
about 20% or more um over the last few
years since we've since we've
implemented fair free. So, I just want
to give a shout out to the folks um at
transit who are doing that. And really,
I know that a big part of this are our
our transit drivers who have very
long-standing relationships with people
in our community, getting them to work,
helping them out, uh supporting them in
community. And as I've said before,
transit I think saves lives in our
community. Um and so I just want to
really thank all of the folks who
contribute to that and the ex give a
shout out to the extraordinary success
for Roadrunner Transit. um continuing to
be on the move up in in our community.
Um and that's it. Thanks.
Okay. Thank you, Councelor Flores.
Uh thank you, mayor. Um I just want to I
don't have the stats in front of me. Um
but I just want to say that the South
Central Rapid Transit District is um
growing and growing under the leadership
of David Armiko. And um it's amazing how
it started out uh with I think one line
or maybe two lines uh from here to Hatch
and from here to El Paso. Um and now
it's spreading onto uh Sierra and a lot
of other cities in in uh the area. But
um and it's free. So, I just want to
give uh give that a shout out and a
thank you to David Arho.
Thank you, Mayor Pro.
Um thank you, Mayor. Um yeah, just a
couple of things. I have one more
session. Oh, no, that's not true. I have
two more sessions of um office hours in
the evening tomorrow, Tuesday, at 5:00
p.m. Um right here, right across the
hallway. And then again on the 28th and
that'll be my last one. Um, of course,
huge shout out to Katrina and Scott, our
community engagement team. Again, shout
out to them. And we're talking about how
um to do this a little bit differently
um in the fall and next year really
perhaps instead of holding it here going
out to u more centralized community
spots. But I've appreciated um the folks
who've been able to come and hopefully
we'll see more of you um in tomorrow and
next week. Um, I have been in convers
and I just want to say this publicly
because I think it's important
especially after the the brief
discussion that was had here with
councelor Flores and our quality of life
director uh Miss Bray around just the
concerns we have regarding some of the
programs that are funded through the
federal government. Um, I have asked our
city manager um to and and I've I've
stated this here before in the last
couple of um meetings that I I really
think we need to have a team internal
team that is um sort of keeping track of
what um many sort of policies coming
from the federal government, but
certainly how the big betrayal bill that
Congress passed a couple of weeks will
affect us particularly in quality.
quality of life, housing, utilities, and
whatever partnership through like
community schools. I think the
Department of Education is going to
experience um some serious unfortunate
um and awful
um setbacks. And so I think we just need
to be prepared to be good partners. Um
just so I just want to make that public
that that's the conversations um city
manager and I have been having. Um, and
then lastly, thank you, Councelor
Graham, for shouting out my OpEd. I um
yeah, I did. A couple of weeks ago, I um
after the Supreme Court um handed the
Trump administration yet another pretty
awful um indication that they're rolling
back birthright citizenship. um I
spiraled a little bit and so I wrote I
put some uh words to paper and um ended
up writing something that got published
to be an op-ed. Um and
you know encourage other folks thanks to
the folks who read it already. Um and
thanks for the folks who will. Um maybe
I'll just um the title it's titled New
Mexicans must must stand with
immigrants. Um, and it talks about just
like the horrific things we've been
watching the last couple of months. As
an immigrant myself, it has weighed on
me pretty heavily, pretty personally.
Um, and so I just want to I'll read a
little paragraph um because it feels
particularly important today. Um,
this is no longer about politics. It's
personal. These attacks are designed to
silence and erase immigrants, to make
people afraid to speak, to serve and
exist in the halls of power. Well, we
refuse to be erased. Citizenship is not
a gift to prove worthy of. It's a legal
and moral right. And with that comes a
responsibility to participate in
governance and fight for our community
and our country, especially when we're
under attack. I am calling on my
colleagues, especially at the state and
local level, to unequivocally and an and
unapologetically
skate with immigrants. Thank you.
Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim.
Yeah, a few things that I wanted to
report was u we had a retreat with
Mavita and it was held in Rioso. So, we
have a new chair and there's new board
members uh still working with the city
and county to create economic
development growth in in the city and
the county. Um there are some good
things happening. There's a couple of
businesses looking to locate at the
industrial park and we have a group of
individuals coming down that are looking
at investing in Los Cusus and maybe even
some attainable housing uh projects as
well. So some good things coming in the
future with some new board members
change and really the outlook is to as
for Mvita is to start forming with the
community and a lot of the board members
that are working throughout the
community to come together and see how
we can all help with the economic
development here in Los Cusus.
Also I want to give a shout out to our
visit Los Cusus and especially Albert
Hereda. Um the Okay, here we go.
Teawita conference uh was held here last
week and it's where uh it's our 89th
conference. They honor the saint uh
Qatari
um since 1640.
So this has been going on. It started in
New York and uh they came down they had
their conference here and they had a
mass and they honored Albert for all his
hard work. This was to be held here in
2017 but uh was not and then with co
again was pushed back and finally uh
Albert staying persistent and working
with this group had that conference over
300 members came down and participated
in that. So a special special shout out
they honored him by giving him and
presenting him with a blanket. It was it
was really nice to see. I think a
Garinho moment. And then um I also
attended this week the white coat
ceremony uh at Centennial High School on
Saturday. There was 200 new students
welcomed to the Burell College. Uh it's
a great future for our healthc care. So
really a nice uh event. Uh also the
animal companions they had a reception
and an event welcoming five new
veterinarians to our community.
something that uh we have been asking
for for a long time and this is going to
be a tremendous help for our community
for our animal care and our safety. So
uh very much needed and welcomed.
Also, Los Montana's uh high school had a
rename open house on Friday. It's
means pathway. So they're rebranding and
changing. It's a charter school located
off Solano so that kids can come and
receive more of a vocational education,
construction, plumbing, electrical,
mechanical. Um, I know they've already
met with public works and other
community development and other members
of our city to help uh promote a
vocation for these students and help
them to get their diploma, but also get
them get them a leg up on their their
careers. So, it's a great thing
happening here and uh their enrollment
is going up and so we're looking forward
to to bright things with our charter
schools as well. And one other thing, I
had a meeting with the new vice
president. Well, he's been here about a
year. He wanted to make sure he was off
probation and then start really uh as I
say, uh working working with the
community, met with him, and one of the
things that he's going to look into, I
think it's real important to our
community, is public safety. We have at
the Donana Community College, of course,
there's the EMS for EMT training.
There's also the fire science program.
So, he's going to start looking at a
police program to get an associates for
police so individuals can uh see what
it's like to be a police officer, get
some of the hands-on training and things
that's needed. Of course, this does not
eliminate an academy, but it really
gives the education and and can help
with our recruitment and retention of
officers by by giving them uh the
education first so they can see what
it's like. and I know they would partner
up with our local police department to
to make sure the curriculum fits so that
we can start looking at at recruiting
some of those individuals that come out
with an associates degree. So that's one
of the plans. So that's kind of a little
busy week with some of the things going
on, but uh wanted to share a lot of the
things that are going on in our
community. And with that, I'll turn it
over to our city manager, Connie Tamopa.
Thank you, Mayor Enriquez, city
councelor. county city manager and just
a few announcements
and then we'll let you on your way. Um,
thank you to Lasus Fire Department u who
allowed swift water team uh to go out to
Rudoso uh Friday morning. They returned
from Rudoso after a busy Thursday with
more flooding uh in the Rudoso area. So,
thank you Chief Daniels. If you can pass
that along to your team that'd be
greatly appreciated.
utilities uh regarding utilities ebid
pilot project some of you may have seen
that uh burn lake uh there was a pilot
project in burn lake we appreciate the
creativity from JU uh utilizing the uh
water rights for the aqua a aquifer
infiltration at burn lake uh this pilot
project was completed on July 7th uh and
a white paper is being developed and
will be disseminated to uh council
quality alive dental care clinics for
seniors. The New Mexico Department of
Health is starting their dental care
clinics this month at all the senior
centers. Those who are interested should
call the nearest senior center for more
information.
Visit Las Cusus. Relle Michelle
Hernandez uh super exciting information
has been appointed by the governor to
the New Mexico Tourism Commission. So,
thank you and kudos to uh our very own
tourism director, Michelle Hernandez,
being appointed.
Great job, Michelle.
Economic development. The gateway signs
have been installed down.
Um, some of you may have already seen
that there is one on Main Street across
from city hall. One on the other end of
Main Street across from Vizilas Cusus,
and the third is on Msquite and Spruce.
Feel free to go check them out. Let us
know what you think. Uh this Saturday I
had the opportunity to attend the teen
block uh party and kudos to our uh parks
and recck department uh connecting with
Boys and Girls Club uh and all the
community sponsors to get that done.
Boys and Girls Club took lead and we
appreciate them doing that. We
appreciate uh again uh city being a
sponsor to make that happen. It was a
great event and I just wanted to say
kudos to all those who were able to make
it and to all the community sponsors and
especially to Boys Girls Club for making
that happen. Fun times. Um now last I'll
end with transitions happening. Um some
of you may have heard and some of you
could see we have uh here on the days uh
joining us we have David Sado. Um that
is and you're going to see more of him
um up here because uh JC Berago um our
former assistant city manager has u went
to another local government agency in
Arizona which is definitely not as cool
at us as us and is more boring. I
promise uh that he they are more they're
they're more boring than we are. Yeah.
Um, and and I'll tell you, it's a city
that's probably not going to keep him on
his toes as much as as we did because
we're a very dynamic city here. So, um,
just just wanted to say we appreciate JC
and his work, but uh, David, I have
appointed David as the interim assistant
city manager. Uh,
and so we appreciate him uh, being
willing to step up.
So, um, obviously David Sadil was our
public works director, so that that
creates a vacancy there. So I'll I'll um
share exciting news as well. We have uh
great um great staffers um in the
organization. So we have as interim
public works director Kyle Arend who is
stepping up into that position and then
as the interim public works assistant
director we have Jimmy Moreno. And so I
just wanted to recognize them.
Yes. Round of applause please. Round of
applause.
I I do want to mention uh some may have
been wondering um as as I was. So here's
an update. Tony Treveno um we do want to
appreciate his time here uh with the
city of Las Cusus. He is currently our
assistant public works director. Uh but
apparently he is moving on to what he
thinks is greener pastures. Um which as
we know it's just not as dynamic and
it's going to be boring. Um, so good
luck to him not being excited and
sleeping all day um over there because
we did keep him on his toes. Um, but his
last physical day here is July 25th. So
if you want to say your goodbyes uh to
Tony, feel free on that. And then uh can
we give a round of applause for Tony,
too?
Okay, Tony, we appreciate your work with
the city. Thank you so much. Don't
forget us. And then last but not least
uh for city councilors uh elected
officials on the deis and for the uh
community members for any legislative
priorities uh whether it's state federal
on any level we have uh Christine Rivera
uh taking lead and working closely with
Cynthia Alamo on that. So anything that
has to do with municipal league lobbyist
um and anything related to state and
federal level feel free to reach out to
Christine on that. Okay. And then mayor,
that's it. Thank you.
All right. Thank you, Connie. With that,
I'll look for a motion to adjurnn.
Oh, so moved.
Second by Flores.
This is on the motion to adjourn the
meeting. Councelor Mccclur,
yes.
Councelor Matise,
yes.
Councelor Graham,
yes.
Councelor Karan,
yes.
Councelor Flores,
yes.
Councelor Beno,
yes.
Mayor,
yes.