presentations and proclamations. Uh
we'll have councelor
mccclure. Hello
everyone. All right. If I could call
forward, I believe Jennifer
Gorum. This is going to be for the
National Public Safety
Telecommunications
Week. Got to get closer.
Sorry. All right.
Whereas when an emergency occurs, the
prompt response for police officers,
firefighters, and paramedics is critical
to the protection of life and
preservation of property. And whereas
the safety of our police officers,
firefighters, and emergency medical
personnel is dependent upon the quality
of accuracy of information obtained from
citizens who telephone the Messia Valley
Regional Dispatch Authority
Communication Center. And whereas
professional public safety
telecommunicators are a vital link
between citizens and victims and are the
first and the most critical contact our
citizens have with emergency services.
And whereas public safety
telecommunicators are the single vital
link for our police officers,
firefighters, and emergency medical
personnel by monitoring their activities
by radio, providing them information and
ensuring their safety. And whereas
public safety telecommunicators of the
Messia Valley Regional Dispatch
Authority are the first responders who
contribute substantially as part of the
public safety team. And whereas each
dispatcher has exhibited compassion,
understanding, and professionalism
during the performance of their job in
the past year. Now therefore, we the
mayor and city council of Las Cruus, New
Mexico, do hereby proclaim the week of
April 13th to 19th, 2025 as National
Public Safety Telecommunications Week in
honor of the men and women whose
diligence and professionalism keep our
communities and citizens safe.
[Applause]
Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor and City
Council. My name is Vanessa Ordonius,
and I'm the police chief down in
Anthony, New Mexico. I have also been on
the MVA board for almost seven years and
the past year as a MVDA chairwoman.
Thank you for having us here today. I
have witnessed firsthand both while
sitting on the board and during my
response to calls for service how
important our dispatchers are to our
community. The tragic event of March
21st was a reminder of how critical
their roles are in being the first link
to survival. This month is a month to
recognize our dispatchers for assisting
our citizens and our first responders
during emergencies. And we celebrate
their efforts to keeping our community
safe by providing critical life-saving
services every day. I would like to
introduce an amazing leader in our
community who takes great pride in the
oversight of over 50 employees at
Marissia Valley Regional Dispatch
Authority. a remarkable woman who leads
with great passion and purpose to help
others. The Murvda executive director,
Miss Jennifer Goreham. Thank
you. So, good afternoon, mayor, city
councilors. Hello, sir. Um, on behalf of
Msia Valley Regional Dispatch Authority,
I want to sincerely thank you for
proclaiming the week of of April 13th
through 19th, 2025 as National Public
Safety Telecommunicator Week. This
recognition means so much to the
dedicated men and women of MVDA who
serve as the critical first point of
contact in emergencies. Since our
formation in 1995, MVDA has proudly
served the city of Los Cusus, Doniana
County, and the and the other
incorporated municipalities within the
county. In 2024 alone, our team handled
over 347,000 telephone calls, each one
each one representing someone in need.
Our telecommunicators are the first line
of defense in public safety. They
provide the common chaos, clarity in
confusion, and life-saving support
before we first responders recite arrive
on
scene. It is time that in the state of
New Mexico, these dedicated
professionals are officially recognized
and reclassified as first responders.
They have earned that title. And I thank
you again for this proclamation and your
continued support of our team.
[Applause]
Next we have child abuse prevention
month if you're here for
that. Not sure
who Oh, there we are.
Come on
down. Come closer. It's okay. It's
okay. Are we waiting for anyone else or
we This the gang's all here.
All right, I'm going to say that's a
yes. All right. Whereas the city of Los
Cru's Families and Youth Innovations
Plus, FYI plus, New Mexico Children,
Youth and Families Department, and other
community partners recognize April as
National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
And whereas every child deserve to grow
up in a safe, nurturing environment free
from harm, fear, and neglect. And
whereas child abuse and neglect are
serious issues impacting the well-being
of children and families in Los Cusus
and across New Mexico as indicated by
272 cases of child abuse reported in
Diana County over a recent one-year
period. And whereas child abuse
prevention is a community responsibility
and effective support systems including
strong families, engaged neighbors,
educators, social workers, and advocates
are vital to protecting children and
preventing abuse before it occurs. And
whereas organizations like FYI plus, New
Mexican children, youth and family
services department, first responders,
schools, child welfare organizations,
and dedicated community members play a
critical role in providing support and
protection to children in need. And
whereas child abuse prevention month is
a time for communities to come together
in raising awareness, supporting
survivors, and working towards solutions
that create a safer, healthier future
for all children. And whereas the city
of Los Cruus stands committed to
building the culture of awareness,
advocacy, and action to ensure that no
child suffers in silence, and that
families have access to the resources
they need to thrive. Now, therefore, we,
the mayor and city council of Las Cusus,
New Mexico, do hereby proclaim April
2025 as child abuse prevention month in
Las Cusus, New Mexico, and urge all
residents to join in this observation by
taking action to protect children, to
support families, and to help foster a
community where every child is safe,
valued, and empowered to reach their
full potential.
April is child abuse prevention month. A
time for all of us to come together to
protect the most vulnerable
member of our community, our children.
As mayor of Los Cusus, I have had the
privilege of working alongside
incredible organizations like Family and
Youth Innovation Plus, New Mexico
Children, Youth and Families Department,
and the Los Cusus Public Schools. Every
day I see the heart of this city in
teachers, social workers, first
responders, parents, and other neighbors
who step up to protect our most
vulnerable. Their dedication reminds us
of the well-being of our children is not
just a
responsibility. It is a collective
commitment we all
share. April is child abuse prevention
month. A time when we must reaffirm that
every child matters and deserves to grow
up feeling safe, nurtured, and
supported. Yet, there is still work to
do. According to CYFD's latest 13-month
report,
1,880 cases of child abuse were reported
across New Mexico with 272 of those
right here in Dona County. These numbers
represent the lives of children, our
children, who rely on us to stand up,
speak out, and take action. I think
particularly with CYFD, one of our goals
is to work not only with um families and
individuals, but also community
providers such as FYI Plus in ways that
allow us to understand that in reality,
we all hold an opportunity to help
families thrive, to help families
achieve things. And the goal behind a
continued care for child abuse
prevention is connecting individuals,
families, community members to the
resources, the supports, the services
that they need in order to be successful
and in order to be successful in the way
that they define success.
Been working with children, youth, and
families department gosh, for well over
20 years um in different capacities, not
just child abuse prevention and
intervention or child abuse awareness.
really our partnership spans across
juvenile justice. Um we look at serving
the age group of you know really from
birth all the way up to 22 with them. Um
and we come alongside them just like
they come alongside us to really uh
support our families that really need
it. Um for us here at FYI, our continuum
of care model really includes um
resources, supports, and services. And
so um as Scott talked about earlier,
you'll see that that really aligns
closely with what they're trying to
accomplish. also. And so again, it's not
just in child abuse and prevention, it's
also in family resource center. They
supported us in in really launching a
family resource center here um in our
agency and they have supported us in so
many other ways to help get these um
resources, supports, and services out
there to our families. And another thing
we're doing at CYFT is really focusing
in on foster parent recruitment. So,
we're really looking for how do we
partner with um individuals, adults,
folks in the community to build
opportunities for people who've been
thinking about I have a lot to offer and
I could be a resource parent. I could be
a respit resource parent. We invite
local businesses to show their support
by joining the Make Cruis's Royal
campaign and showing their commitment to
child abuse prevention. Businesses can
take part by displaying a royal blue
ribbon in their storefront, creating a
royal blue themed product or service,
sharing participation by tagging fy
plus.nm and
nmcfd for kids with the hashtake cruises
royal. Here's how you can take action.
Look out for signs of child abuse in
your community. Consider becoming a
foster parent or supporting foster
families. Advocate for resources and
services from organizations like FYI
Plus that help children and families
thrive. To access Families and Youth
Innovations Plus's resources, supports,
and services, you can visit one of our
locations in Las Cru's, call us at
575-5224004 or visit our website at fy
plusnm.org.
[Music]
As a city, we cannot turn away from this
issue.
If even one child is suffering, that is
one child too many. Together, we are not
just building a city. We are shaping the
future where every child has the
opportunity to grow, dream, and succeed.
Thank you for making April Child abuse
prevention month.
[Applause]
Thank you.
[Applause]
Next is fair housing month for those who
Come on
in. All right.
Whereas fair and equal housing is a
right guaranteed to all Americans. And
whereas the principle of fair and equal
housing is a fundamental human
entitlement. And whereas the month of
April 2025 represents the 57th
anniversary of the signing of the fed
federal fair housing act by then
President Lyndon B. Johnson. And whereas
all citizens have a right to live where
they choose within their financial
means. And whereas people must not be
denied housing because of their race,
color, religion, sex, national origin,
disability, sexual orientation, gender
identity, or marital or family status.
And whereas we must as individuals
assure equal access to housing for all
in our communities. And whereas New
Mexico acknowledges the importance of
assuring fair and equal treatment to all
citizens. Now therefore, we the mayor
and city council of Los Cusus, New
Mexico, do here proclaim April 20125 as
fair housing
[Applause]
month. Good afternoon. I'm Natalie
Green, the housing administrator for the
city of Los Cusus. And I just want to
thank the staff because they spend every
day um answering dozens of calls, taking
fair housing and um and addressing
landlord tenant issues. And it's really
tough to hear people at some of their
worst and have limited ability to help.
So kudos to the staff for all they do.
[Applause]
What's
next? Little switcheroo there. mixing it
up, please. Dark sky folks, come on
up. Um, this is in recognition of dark
skies month. Whereas aesthetic beauty
and wonder of a natural night sky is a
shared heritage of all humankind. And
whereas the experience of standing under
a starry night sky inspires feelings of
wonder and awe, encouraging a growing
interest in science and nature,
particularly among young people and
visitors to Los Cusus and southern New
Mexico. And whereas the pervasive issue
of light pollution has been
scientifically linked to significant
economic and environmental consequences
adversely affecting the
ecology ecology and human health. And
whereas 80% of the world's population
lives under a dome of light pollution,
excessive artificial lighting at night
that disrupts natural darkness and may
never experience the visual wonder or
ecological health benefits of living
under a dark sky. And whereas light
pollution represents a waste of natural
resources, accounting to roughly $3
billion per year of wasted energy in the
United States, and contributes to
diminished energy and security. And
whereas the city of Los Cusus values
natural dark skies and encourages our
residents to adopt lighting practices
that help preserve them. And whereas
Dark Sky International, the globally
recognized authority on light pollution,
recognizes international dark sky week
to raise awareness of the effects of
light pollution, provide n to write to
provide free education, resources, and
solutions to the public, and encourage
the protection of and enjoyment of dark
skies and responsible outdoor lighting.
Now therefore, we the mayor and city
council of Las Cusus, New Mexico, do
hereby proclaim the week of April 21st
to 28th, 2025 as International Dark Sky
Week, and ask each resident to join us
in not only observing and pondering upon
this important week, but also raising
awareness and support for protecting our
precious dark sky as a resource.
[Applause]
Thank you, counselor. Thank you, mayors.
Thank you, everyone. Uh my name is John
Holtzman. I'm a local resident, ameritus
professor at NMSU and also chair of the
state council of the New Mexico chapter
of Dark Sky International. Uh the
recognition of Dark Sky Week by the by
the by the council is a great
opportunity to recognize and celebrate
an important natural resource that we
have that not that many people think
about that much, which is our night
skies. A lot of people don't realize
that we are in a privileged place. Uh
80% it's estimated of the US population
has never seen the Milky way. How many
people have seen the Milky Way?
lot, I hope. Anyhow, it's a great
resource and it's one of these things
that we don't want to wait till we've
lost it to recognize what we had. Um,
viewing the night sky gives us
perspective on where we fit into the
grand scheme of things. Inspires
curiosity, wonder, and a not to mention
just allowing us to relax and get ready
for the next worldly battle. But a
natural night sky provides a lot more
than this. A lot of other species like
birds and pollinators depend on a
natural night sky and we in turn depend
on them. Several studies have suggested
that artificial light adversely affects
human health. I think we all know that a
lot excess light coming in our windows
keeps us from sleeping well. Uh putting
artificial light up in the sky where
it's not needed, no use of anyone,
wastes energy and uh waste money. and
having a natural night sky as a boon to
local economies as astroourism is an
increasing um increasingly popular draw.
In fact, New Mexico True has a whole
website and page on New Mexico's dark
skies. And I just want to say that
protecting our night skies does not mean
that we cannot light our communities the
way that we need to light them. It just
means we need to implement lighting in a
responsible way. Uh the organizations
Dark Sky International and the
Illuminating Engineering Society have
outlined five basic principles for how
to implement responsible lighting. And
essentially they just mean they just say
use lighting where uh when and in the
amount that it's needed and if possible
use redder rather than bluer lights.
It's easily to accomplish these uh uh
these objectives by using light fixtures
that are shielded that don't let light
up in the sky to use lights of a lot
lower color temperature and we're
approach appropriate to put lights on
motion sensors and timers. Responsible
lighting puts light on the ground where
it's needed. Doesn't put it up on the
sky or it doesn't do anyone any good.
Also, responsible lighting can actually
increase safety and security by
minimizing what we call glare. Many
people have had the experience if a
light's shining directly in your eyes,
you're actually blinded to be able to
see stuff. We need to put the light on
the things we not to see, not directly
in our eyes. New Mexico does have a
night sky protection act that requires
shielding at some degree. And the city
also has some ordinances um that that um
that uh uh are refer to lighting.
Unfortunately, these have not prevented
light pollution from increasing. It's
estimated increase about 10% each year.
So, we can and need to do better. And
how do we do that? By educating people
and talking about the issue like I'm
talking to you. Uh potentially by
strengthening our ordinances and by
figuring out how we can go about
enforcing our ordinances. So, I hope
this proclamation will raise awareness
of the issue and lead to improvements.
Of all the issues we face, this one's
actually a straightforward one that we
can solve in a win-win in a win-win way.
Just keep the lights down to what we
need. So, thanks again to the council.
[Applause]
Next up, I invite my public health
colleagues to come on up
uh for National Public Health Week.
Hey, good to see you. Good to see you
guys. Whereas the week of April 7th,
2025 is National Public Health Week and
the theme is it starts here highlighting
the importance of making a difference in
our home, community, and state. Whereas
this year is the 30th anniversary cate
celebrating national public health week
and in the past 30 years significant
strides have been made in public health
including the following public health
successes. Number one smoking rates
which were as high as 25.5% among US
adults in 1994 have now fallen to 11.4%
due to comprehensive smoke-free
policies, public awareness campaigns and
taxation of tobacco products. Number
two, childhood mortality which was at a
rate of 13.8 8 deaths per 1,000 live
births in 1994 has now fallen to 5.4
deaths per 10,000 live births due to
vaccines, better health care, and access
to better nutrition. Number three,
mental health awareness and treatment.
With 40% of people with mental health
conditions being untreated in 1994, this
has progressed with increased awareness,
parody laws, and integration into
primary care, which has expanded access
to mental health services and reduced
treatment gaps. Number four, health
impacts of climate change, such as
rising heat related deaths, were
underrecognized in 1994, but are now
being mitigated by actions such as
public health campaigns, local
adaptation plans, and cooling centers,
and other preparedness plans to protect
the public from extreme weather,
wildfires, and preparedness, which was
in its infancy in 1994, has now grown.
Pandemic prep preparedness, excuse me,
it was in its infancy in 1994 and has
now grown, especially after the CO9
pandemic, spurring significant
advancements in m mRNA technology,
global vaccine development, and
increased investments in infrastructure
stockpiles and global surveillance, all
of which must be sustained. Whereas
racial and ethnic minority populations
in the United States continue to
experience disparities in the burdens of
illness and death as compared with the
entire population of the United States.
And whereas a person's health status can
differ drastically by the zip code due
to differences in the built environment,
environmental health quality, community
context, access to healthy food, access
to education, and access to health care.
And whereas public health organizations
use national public health week to
educate policymakers, public health
professionals and the public on issues
that are important to improving public
health in the United States. And whereas
Los Cusus and Dona County have many
public health professionals and students
at DACC and NMSU in training, Brome de
Saloon, allied healthcare workers and
others who work every day to ensure the
health of our
community. And whereas efforts to
adequately support public health and the
prevention of disease and injury
continue to transform a health system
focused on treating illness into a
health system focused on preventing
disease and injury and promoting
wellness. Now therefore, we the mayor
and city council of Los Cusus, New
Mexico, do hereby proclaim the week of
April 7th through 13, 2025 as National
Public Health Week in New Mex in Los
Cusus, New Mexico, and call the people
of Los Cusus to observe this week by
helping our families, friends,
neighbors, and co-workers. Recognize the
contribution of public health in
improving the health of people in Los
Cusus and achieving health equity. As
the theme, as the theme says, it starts
here.
you want to come up and seat.
[Applause]
Hi, I'm Becky Pearson and I am the
department head for NMSU's public health
sciences department. And I will say I I
have the real privilege and and just
honor of having gotten to choose to
return to Los Cusus um about 20 years
before I was here before. I was reared
as a public health focused academic and
advocate um in NMSU's MH program, Master
of Public Health program. And I thought
I would go straight into the field and I
did not. um someone told me about a a
big fellowship for a doctoral program
and it was in Arkansas and I said kind
of two strikes I don't want a doctorate
and I don't want to go to Arkansas and
but I wasn't getting a job and so 20
years ago I applied for that thing u got
it went and got my doctorate and then
got my first job as a faculty member in
Washington state um central Washington
University I was there for about 15
years and I had the opportunity to
choose to explore whether I could indeed
get hired back or hired here um come
back here um as department head for this
great place that that again kind of
raised me and so I applied I got the job
I've been here since July 2023 and I
have to tell you I love more and more
seeing how public health works here I
saw 20 years ago as a grad student how
it worked I see how it still
works I see that in my students. So, I
don't always get to work with students,
but I've gotten to teach so far our
undergrads and our doctoral students. We
have a new doctoral program. And in
talking with them about coming and
sharing a few thoughts today, one of
them said, you know, I was at a training
the other day and someone said, "New
Mexico is known for doing public health
well." So, that was really exciting for
me to be able to share.
Just
personally again I was I was reared into
thinking about what public health means,
what it can do for all of us, why we
fight about it, why we can find the
places where our values are shared u and
we can we can
understand why public health is so
strong and why it needs to be part of
who we are. Um, for me it's it's about
the things that other people and other
groups, paid and unpaid, do that we
can't do for
ourselves. I cannot make the skies dark.
I cannot stop child abuse, right? I
can't do these things on my own. I can't
ensure that I always have access to
healthy foods. I can't ensure that my
water is clean and that my air is clean,
right? But there are people working
every single day around the country and
around the world to do those things and
it just it happens in the background.
And we have this little cliche that
public health is invisible when it's
working well. And so I think that
invisibility is something that has
changed over the last several years.
It's become much more visible for many
of us,
right? With that visibility has come new
opportunities to argue about it, to to
feel bad about different directions that
public health is going in, to feel bad
about the ways money and time is being
spent, to raise our voices, right? but
to also learn and feel proud of those
things as well and to recognize when
they work for us. So, I'll just stop
there. Um, I'm pleased and proud to be a
part of public health. Although I'm not
a public health professional, I'm a
public health thinker and teacher and
administrator of of a busy department of
faculty members who all contribute every
day to what public health in the future
looks like here. So, I'm really proud of
that. So, thank you.
[Applause]
Good a good morning, mayor, city
council. Thank you for this proclamation
of a very important um role that we all
play within the community. My name is
Don Sanchez. I recently retired from the
department of health after about 30
years there. And I just wanted to really
commend our city too and all our
partnerships over the many years for
creating healthy environments for our
families and folks that live in our
communities. and actually been a
tremendous partner during the pandemic.
We did a lot of work together to make
sure that our communities and our
families were safe and we got through
that situation. I just wanted to
mention, you know, public health is a
partnership amongst all of us. We all
have roles to play. We all have roles to
play as as mentioned earlier with public
safety with child abuse from individuals
to our policy makers on how we create
those policies that guide and govern our
communities and our and who we are. So,
I just wanted to commend the city for
this important proclamation and again,
it's a role that we all play and and
work together to create healthier
environments for our communities to for
us all to thrive and survive and be
successful. Thank
[Applause]
you. Thank you.
Next, we'd like to do a recognition for
the Neighborhood Leadership Academy
graduates. So, if I could have them come
join me up here. And Katrina
Scott
Should I have Ed read
this? The voice of the Aggies.
So in 2017, the city
council adopted a strategic
plan to increase community government
engagement leading to the creation of
the neighborhood leadership academy. The
academy available to Los Cusus's
residents provides firthand insight into
city services and programs through
presentations by city personnel and
on-site visits to public
facilities. Launched in the fall of
2017, the program ran until spring of
2020 when the pandemic paused in-person
sessions. Due to strong interests, the
program resumed in spring of 2024 and
now in spring of
2025. The academy mission is to equip
residents with knowledge of city
government, enabling them to become
effective neighborhood advocates and
community leaders. This free program
helps residents understand how the city
operates and how they can collaborate to
enhance neighborhood quality of life.
Weekly workshops and field trips covered
various city operations, services, and
ways to bring about positive change.
Sessions include meeting with city
leaders, parks and recreation
activities, utilities, codes,
demonstrations, and touring the new
transit facility. Participants also
learned about the public works, pavement
management system, and how our fire
department has expanded services to
ambulance and mental health calls. We
congratulate the participants for
completing 12 weeks of presentations,
demonstrations, and active involvement.
We hope the academy provided valuable
insights, and we look forward to your
continued efforts to improve the Los
Cruz's community. Thank you very much.
[Applause]
So, so earlier today we had a lunchon
that was provided to our graduates and
also certificates and photos and they
shared a few thoughts and words. But,
um, what I'd like to say to them in
front of all of you is thank you. Thank
you for your time, your energy, your
effort to get to know the city of Los
Cusus better and the services and the
organizations that that provide what
they do for this city. But the key thing
out of all this, and we've heard about
caring, and we've heard about
information and knowledge and all those
things, but what really takes place is
they got to meet individuals from this
city such as Katrina and Scott and Ed.
He's also a city employee. Uh but but
you establish that relationship and
that's what it's about for our community
to grow, to thrive. It's building that
relationship. One individual said, "Now
I go and when I'm in the parks, I look
to see if that was one of the
individuals that that had participated
in one of the presentations." So, you
get to know him firsthand. And it it
really means a lot when you get to know
your city, you get to know the people,
and we get to know you. So, thank you.
Thank you for for participating in this
program. And Katrina, did you want to
say anything?
Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council. Uh
my name is Katrina Godinez. I'm with the
community engagement program and I would
just like to con congratulate our our
graduates today and uh we really
appreciate you coming out every week and
uh being enthusiastic about um the
programs that we have and our
departments and I would also like to
thank our departments for uh coming out
presenting to this group of uh folks and
uh being enthusiastic about it as well.
Thank you.
Thank you all. Congratulations.
[Applause]
Okay, next on the agenda we have jobs of
the week. Sarah Rainey. Is Sarah here?
Oh, here she comes.
Thank you, mayor. Thank you,
council.
Oops. As stated, my name is Sarah
Rainey. I'm the onestop coordinator for
the Southwest Region of America's Job
Center, New
Mexico. We Whoops, wrong direction
there. For our jobs of the week, we have
a building service representative for
the city that starts at 1740 an hour and
the posting closes in June. We also have
also have a commercial plumber for the
city. Um that posting starts at 2120 an
hour and the posting also closes in
June. We have an operations maintenance
tech for Zia Natural Gas. Um that
posting closes in
May. A program manager senior for
Manpower New Mexico Department of
Agriculture. That one closes in May as
well. We have a housing choice voucher
specialist for Msia Valley Public
Housing Authority. That posting closes
very soon at the end of this month. That
we also have a landscaper construction
for MVT Holdings and that posting closes
at the end of this month as well. Um
just wanted to point out that we did
have a very successful um heroes hiring
heroes event. It was it was awesome to
have it at the at the um convention
center. We had a lot of participation
from employers and we had um I believe
it was 50 veterans come out. We had four
people that were offered jobs on the
spot. So, just to get a word out for the
next event that's coming up, those
things do happen at our hiring events.
So, come see us at the next ones. Thank
you.
[Applause]
Next is pets of the week and
Carol. Good afternoon. I'm Carol Nilson,
digital content specialist for the
Animal Services Center of the Messia
Valley. Uh, as a reminder, anytime our
dogs and cats of the week are promoted,
they're available all week at no cost.
Um, and if you're looking at an animal
in foster in a foster home, please
contact the center to arrange a meet and
greet before coming to the center. Uh,
good news. I feel like we've had a lot
of good news lately. So, our cat of the
week, Joey Marvel, was adopted, so he
was a pretty sweet cat. No surprise
there. Uh, and our dog of the week is
Oreo, who is still available. Um, and
his adoption, or sorry, her adoption fee
will be uh, free all week. I'm an
affectionate pup looking for my forever
home. I'm a smart little bundle of joy
who loves to run and play. Belly rubs,
bum scratches, and all the love you can
give are some of my favorite thing
things. I'm highly treated and working
on improving my leash manners and social
skills. With some patience, training,
and consistency, I know I can become a
wonderful companion. If you're looking
for a fun, loving, affectionate dog to
join your adventures, I might just be
the perfect match.
And then we also want to highlight some
of our long-term residents, which we
still have our top four. Dora has been
in our center now 454 days. Alice 307
days, Luna 297 days, and Tony 290 days.
And so they are discounted at just $25.
Uh they make excellent companions, too.
So we would love help getting them
adopted.
And for this weekend's events, we're
going to be at both PetSmart on Friday
and the farmers market on Saturday. And
this during this month, um we're having
a sleepover at the end of the month. Um
pickup will be April 25th. Um and drop
off will be April 28th. So, it's a great
time to if you can't be a long-term
foster, these are great temporary foster
opportunities to help our animals get
out of the center for a break they need.
and our on-site event will be uh Sunday,
April 27th. Um, and as always, for more
information, visit our website or feel
free to follow us on social media. Thank
[Applause]
you. Next on the agenda is a conflict of
interest. Does any member of the city
council, city manager, any member of the
city staff have any known conflict of
interest with any item on the agenda?
None. Notice.
Next, we'll have public participation.
Allow up to three minutes. No pending
litigation or items of non-consent.
Again, speak directly into the
microphone. State your name uh clearly.
And above all, let's be respectful uh
during your three minutes. Katrina will
usher and help you. We'll start on the
left hand side on row one and then
continue
forward or
upward. My name is Lori English and I
live on the East Mesa. And at this point
in time, I have no idea who in the heck
my representative or counselor is. But
for 24 and a half years, I have been
complaining to the city council, to
councelor
uh Gil Johnson or Jones, councelor Gil
Sorg, councelor Kuran. Uh haven't had an
opportunity to hit up councelor Flores
yet. I think she's my new
representative. But there is a street
and it's a short street. It's a little
street. So this is a short story. It's
named
Stewart's Street. It's between Mesa
Grande and Mesa in that little in little
area in between the two where you have
like um midway. It runs north south of
Mesa Grande and Mesa. You can access it
from Clifford which is off of Mesa
Grande. That street is less than a
quarter of a mile long and has probably
and in fact I'll I'll make a bet right
now that there's not a single one of you
or person in this building that can
drive down that street and not have to
avoid or run over a pothole. This is 24
years I've been complaining about this
street
sorts. It runs from
Cortez to I think
Midway, but it's North South Street and
actually a whole section of the street
is not even madammed, black topped or
any it's not even paved. It's like a
mudbog out there in the wintertime or
when it rains. So, I'm asking again,
please somebody, because I know
councelor Kuran looked into it and I
think the streets department gave her
the wrong information because she even
courteously sent me pictures of what I
was supposedly referring to and it was
not the street. So, they gave you
misinformation. up the streets
department and I've been told by four
different counselors that we've been on
the agenda to be repaired since
2003. Uh it ain't happening. They're out
there pot filling in the potholes. And
if you go deep enough in one of those
potholes, you'll probably find a 1968 VW
bug that went into the hole and never
made it out. So, please somebody send
somebody out there that can do something
about the street and take care of us for
it. It is a welltraveled, highly
traveled street. Thank you very much for
your time and thank you counselors and
Mr.
Mayor. Good afternoon to leadership and
public. My name is Yoli Diaz. First, my
thoughts and prayers are with all all of
our community on the Young Park
massacre. I am here to provide my
opinion. This is to inform you that
there were four residents who could have
been put in the pilot project for cancer
treatment through Donana County's
contract with Memorial Medical Center. A
contract specifically for four residents
and up to
$200,000. I provided notice of these
four residents to leadership as follows.
in 2024, September the 25th, November
22nd, December 5th, and March 20th,
2025. Among my many concerns is that
when Donana County Board of County
Commissioners receive a report of the
success of this pilot project, I do not
want anyone to think that these four
residents were not in need because they
were and are. I believe that this pilot
project is unfortunately a failure to
these residents who contacted me for
help because they were not put in the
pilot project. Was this pilot project
planned, designed, and implemented
effectively for success? Uh was there a
uniform policy and procedure for
provider patient navigation for care
coordination?
Had these four residents been processed,
qualified, and enrolled, this contract
would have been fully executed. Barriers
created these residents to experience
additional financial hardship in
addition to the physical anguish of a
cancer diagnosis, a potentially fatal
disease, a life ordeath situation, the
second cause of death globally. The
December 2024 resident was not
originally assisted when MMC asked, "Is
she a US citizen or a legal permanent
resident?" Three of these four residents
have children. Please think of the
children. Mayor Prom, three of these
residents reside in your district. I
hope you get
involved. I still want to know what is
happening with MMC to ensure all Donana
County residents receive the care they
need when they need it. It is past time
to tell our community what is happening.
Let's discuss many important subjects
related to Memorial Medical Center like
the asset purchase agreement, MMC
policies, MMC's discrimination towards
the non US citizen that resides here,
MMC's removal of cancer care from their
policy, the county's indigent care
resolution, the New Mexico constitution,
and how Doniana County has much room for
improvement toward how this county's
responsibility of indigent care has
operated the last 10 years. Let's
discuss current concerns like the Senate
budget committee bartis bipartisan staff
report of January 25 profits over
patients the harmful effects of private
equity on the US healthcare system which
includes discussion on lifepoint and
Apollo global management referencing MMC
and the 2024 Shakarelli award by the
loan institute ranking memorial medical
center the winner of the fifth most
egregious example of profiteering and
dysfunction in healthcare in the United
States reported January 7 2025 Five.
Thank you.
Mayor, Council, and those watching
online, I'm Lynn Moer. It's more than
four months since significant concerns
were first presented to you by citizens
regarding Lasus Util's implementation of
the new lead and copper rule. Other than
finally sending out a deficient letter
in Spanish, it appears that nothing has
been done to address these concerns.
Instead, unfortunately, the concerns
continue to grow as we discover more
fact-based information. Las Cusus
Utilities has now revamped the online
inventory map. Scanning it makes clearer
why the city doesn't want to talk about
city-owned pipes. Pipes for numerous
neighborhoods, many in the middle of the
city, don't show up on the map at all.
Pipes for more than half of the city's
elementary schools likewise are not on
the map. Keep in mind that health
effects of lead on young children can be
especially devastating. For lots of
properties that do show piping, the
information listed is obviously
incorrect or missing. Here is a record
for a property not far from here that
says the customerowned portion of the
piping is non-led plastic. Yet, it says
this service line was installed in 1952.
34 years before the lead ban and it
lists no basis whatsoever for
classifying this pipe as non-LED. In
many other cases, the inventory says the
basis for designating the property as
non-LED is that the piping was installed
after the lead ban, which occurred in
1986. But the inventory indicates these
installations actually occurred before
the lead ban, 1961, 1973, 1979, for
example. The city has taken this
indisputably incorrect action regarding
piping next to Los Cusus High School,
Mayfield High School complex, J. Paul
Taylor Academy, St. Paul's United
Methodist Church, which hosts a daycare
in addition to all its other activities,
Lions Park, Young Park, Apadaka Park,
Cardan Park, Raymond Impa Sports
Complex, the Community of Hope, and
numerous residences and businesses. Look
at any of these named places on the
inventory map and you'll see that it
says the installation occurred before
1986. Yet the city classifies this as
non-LE. This signifies it doesn't need
replacement. It seems doubtful that this
is just a massive recordkeeping problem.
It suggests incompetence threaded
throughout all the so-called
investigations Los Cruis utility says
it's conducting. Not only is just
checking the meter box inadequate,
there's no evidence in the thousand
records I've reviewed online that Los
Cusus Utilities is doing any
verification whatsoever of the materials
the service lines are made of. You
should know that EPA requires at least
two methods of verification for every
pipe. If any piping were to be verified,
the city is the question is what method
the city would use. The city's initial
method for determining the nature of the
pipe is inadequate. As delineated at a
previous meeting, the judgment of the
people who are making the decisions must
be examined by one or more independent
engineers since there's so much evidence
that they are not doing a competent job
so far in so many areas. Thank you for
this opportunity to speak.
[Applause]
Mayor, city councilors, I'm Liz
Rodriguez Johnson. For more than four
months, the local citizens have been
trying to call your attention to the
deficiencies in the city's
implementation of the new lead and
copper rule. The only identifiable thing
accomplished after prolonged refusal was
a letter in Spanish that was finally
sent out, but it was loaded with web
links to sites that are not in
Spanish. Where's the map showing all the
city own piping? That's an issue that
was raised four months ago, too. I'm
worried about
65% of property owners who may not have
received a notification letter because
the city inventory doesn't even show
their property has service
lines. The huge gaps in the inventory
map suggest, among other things, that
the inventory the city submitted to EPA
in October 24 was non-compliant with the
new rule. Plus, the map designations are
highly misleading, if not wholly
inaccurate. A green dot for a property
is supposed to signify non-LED material
class. However, when you actually look
at many of these green dotted
properties, you discover that the record
designates only the cityowned portion of
the piping as non-LED. And this is based
only on installation date after the lead
ban in 1996 and is not based on actual
field
verification. The customer arm portion
of the line shows
unknown apparently because it was
installed before the lead ban. So the
green dot designation of non-LED is not
really accurate. At most, only the city
owned part of the line might be non-led,
but there's no proof that the
customerowned part of the line is not
lead. This is another piece of the
troubling picture regarding Lascus'
utility substandard performance on this
issue. Citizens are potentially being
hurt when they are asked to rely upon
inaccurate and/or misleading information
from the city regarding piping. Citizens
are being required to bear a
considerable expense to replace lead
piping. While the city either doesn't
know the true situation regarding
whether piping is lead or doesn't want
to tell
us. Lead is a dangerous pollutant with
serious health ramifications. The city
needs to find at least one experienced
manager/engineer who can take a
strategic look at this problem and come
up with a managerial approach that deals
with it comprehensively, not through
patchwork. You should be throwing your
very best at this, not just attempting
to look like you're trying to comply
with the new rule. The city council has
been made fully aware that the city is
not dealing with this issue properly.
And even if the city council did try to
claim ignorance, everyone knows
ignorance is not a valid legal defense.
Thank you.
[Applause]
Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council, and
Chief of
Police. A holistic approach to
crime. Discipline, respect, and fear is
a holistic approach to crime. Growing up
as a kid in my neighborhood, every
single child knew that we had to be home
when the street lights turned on. If
not, we had mothers and fathers from
every porch and window screaming for us
to get our asses home or they were going
to call our parents. We all had
discipline, respect, and fear. That is
what this generation needs. Deming has a
curfew and I believe that we need to
start there and hold kids and parents
accountable. 4 days before the Young
Park incident, a member on city council
was screaming that our police need more
oversight. Police in this town are held
to a higher standard and a higher
accountability more than anybody in this
room will ever be held to.
The only people that need more oversight
are the people sitting on city council
demanding that our police need more
oversight. Our police department needs
to be given the tools they so
desperately need to effectively make
this city safer for all and to be able
to hold juveniles and parents
accountable for their actions. That is
how we jail ourselves out of crime.
Thank you,
Tim. Tim.
Tim, sir, I don't think you stated your
name. Just so we have it for the record.
I'm sorry. Sorry about that. Tim
Jenkins.
Hello, Mayor, City Council. Uh my name
is Yolani Sassan Hernandez. Um I res I'm
a resident of Los Cusus. Um and uh I'd
like to say three things. Uh love, care,
and respect are greater values than
fear. Um and
authoritarianism.
Um our community has suffered a lot um
and will continue to suffer as wounds
heal um and irreplaceable people uh
continue to be missed. Um the answer to
uh youth violence um is not punishment.
Um it's not authoritarianism. It's not
being scared. It sure is in a curfew.
Um it's a um it's a holistic approach,
right? Involves many different things.
Um it starts at home, extends into the
community, and is reflect reflected here
in our city council. So, I just like to
say that um you know, speaking loudly
doesn't mean you're always right. Um
speaking with compassion, with care and
understanding is more important uh than
um than just being an angry person all
the time. So, as our community um heals
and uh continues to heal, I hope we all
keep that in mind. Uh much love and
respect to all of you. Thank you very
much.
[Applause]
Hello uh mayor and city councilors. My
name is S Guerrero. Um I live in
district 1. Um and I grew up here um my
whole
life and it's really tragic to see what
happened at Young Park uh last
month. Um and
as a youth that grew up here, as a youth
who had siblings who were not
um not like me, for lack of a better
word.
Um it
wasn't because they wanted to be that
way. It wasn't because, you know,
they they were bad. It was because there
was no resources available to them.
my family and I struggled in poverty,
um, through child abuse, through
domestic violence, and I think the last
thing that we needed at any given moment
was someone being arrested, someone
being tough on us just for the fact that
we were alive.
Um, and that's just to say that I am not
the only child in Los Cruis that is
dealing with that. Um, we had some folks
up here come up and talk about child
abuse and that is if anything a huge
catalyst for change sometimes usually
always for the worst. My brother was an
example of that. Um, and although my
brother had that opportunity to change,
a lot of young folks don't. A lot of
people don't have the safety nets, the
community resources to reach out. And a
lot of them are scared and rightfully
so. And I think to really like get to
the root of this issue, we must look at
everyone with compassion and with
kindness and with love that we might not
we might not even give
ourselves.
Um, and I hope that the city works to,
you know, do more for our youth. I I
grew up here and I never saw anything
until I reached the age of 21, which is
really great. It's it's nice that this
is happening now in our town, but we can
do more. We can do so much more to have
these resources a available to youth,
give them activities, give them things
to do, you know, like the whole thing
where people go and look at the
different departments that the city has,
right? Um, extend that to the youth, you
know, outside of like government classes
or whatever you want. Have these kids
engage with the city and maybe these
things can change for the benefit of the
entire community, for the youth, for the
parents, for the
everyone. Um, that's all I have to say.
Thank you very much.
[Applause]
Good afternoon, city council. My name is
Lucas H. Hearnden. I'm a resident of
District 2.
Um, I'm
a person who spent my whole life here,
grew up as a child here, went to high
school here, went to college here,
bought a house here, and have raised my
daughter here. Uh, my daughter was a
classmate of one of the young men who
was killed at the park. Um, and one of
my neighbors, it was his nephew. And so,
like almost everybody in this town, this
tragedy has affected my family in
personal ways. Um, it's been hard to
have a conversation with my 16-year-old
daughter about um, gun violence that has
affected us in our town.
Um, we're a family that has firearms.
She has been shooting with me since she
was four and one of the conversations
we've always had is
um, how to make how to make guns safe.
Um, and the issue is is that you can
make guns safe, but you can't make
people
safe.
Um, and and one of the things that we've
talked about is that um what makes us
unsafe is
um when there are not resources
available to make us feel
safe.
And when I was growing up, I mean, we at
least had a bowling alley. We at least
had a putt putt. Um, we at least had
cheap seat
theaters. Um, our kids don't have even
those
things. Um, and I'm I do want to address
that something that was said about fear.
Um, and anger. Um, the chief of police
said the day of the shooting, "This
horrendous, senseless act is a stark
reminder of the blatant disregard people
in New Mexico have for the rule of law
and order.
and went on to say that as angry as he
was right now, he wasn't going to make
the conference
political. That is a political
statement. That is a call out of every
New Mexican. He said it. You could roll
the tape
back. Your chief of police says that
every New Mexican has a disregard for
the rule of law and order.
I don't
know. We've the people in this community
have come up here and talked about fear
a lot and that fear is often directed at
the most marginalized members of this
community. When the guy who has the gun
in the room right now says he's angry
and that he thinks everybody hates him,
that's what you should be scared of.
That's what everybody in here should be
afraid of.
[Applause]
Hello. Good afternoon, council and
mayor. My name is Abigail Saluk Sugan
and I am and have been an L cruen
constituent for over 17 years. Um, I was
raised around the parks and wreck area
district 1. Um, every summer I would be
at Mersite where they provided free food
for the kids. Um, get us moving around.
Uh, there would be stuff happening at
Youngs Park. Um, Youngs Park was mostly
where I was at. There were so many youth
engaged events. These fund these funded
youth organizations are the reason I
love the city so much. And as I grew
older, I knew I wanted to stay here in
Cusus and continue to work with and
support the youth as much as
possible. After this recent shooting at
Youngs Park, which I want to take this
time and give my condolences to the
families, friends, and the youth who
have been impacted by the shooting, it
is very telling that our youth is very
underreresented represented in the
community. I also want to take this time
to comment on Jeremy's story's statement
which he said um this horrendous
senseless senseless act is a stark
reminder of the blatant disres disregard
the people of New New Mexico have for
the rule of law and order. Um the
statement is not only a blatant disres
disregard to the families, friends and
youth who are still grieving from this
but it is also a blatant disregard to
the real systemic issues that our most
under reppresented community faces. Um
listen to our youth more engage with
them. Act upon those issues and concerns
they have. Jeremy, you're quick to blame
on the people in the community I so
deeply care about is dangerous and
reckless. It's defeous and nihilistic to
spew these to the public. I want to take
the rest of my time to thank our city
councils and community who provided
resources for the community in these
times such as the victim's resource
center um inform me if that's still
happening at the convention center. Uh
thank you to NM Cafe for opening up
spaces for the community, especially for
the youth to grieve. Um let's engage
with the youth more. Prioritize youth
behavioral services. As James Baldwin
said, the children are always ours.
Every single one of them. And as always,
Viva Paliscina and Viva Los Nños. Thank
you, Mr. Mayor. We've got a problem here
in the crowd. Everybody's clicking their
fingers. We can't hear what's being
said. It's very disruptive.
Okay. If you're clicking your fingers,
please, if you could be respectful to
everyone else so that they can hear
what's being said.
Hello, city council, mayor, and members
of the Los Cruis's community. My name is
Liz Bennett.
As we come together to do better for our
community, I have a few follow-up
questions for Chief
Story. First, I would like an update on
the storage locker idea that you
proposed back when you were advocating
for taking shopping carts away from
people living on the street. Is that
plan still moving forward?
My concern is that when we push for
carceral policies that promote fines and
jail time, your rhetoric, chief story,
is that this punishment will lead to
services and support. But more often
than not, the second half of that
equation is left neglected because it
requires ongoing consistent investment,
action, care, and concern, and doesn't
lead to the same adrenaline spiked
political payoff as being tough on
crime.
During your January town hall chief
story, you mentioned that you are unsure
as to why there are so few supportive
services for youth and adults struggling
with mental illness and violent
behavior. I'd like to recommend a
documentary to you called The Shakeup.
It details how in 2013, the Martinez
administration destroyed the
community-based behavioral health care
system through a rigged audit process,
resulting in the closure of 15 mental
health providers, all of which were
later found to be clear of any
wrongdoing. The providers were replaced
by five Arizona companies hired on no
bid emergency contracts, all of whom who
have since bailed.
New Mexico has been trying to rebuild
supportive services ever since. And
despite your clear and publicly stated
opinion that the blatant disregard of
the people of New Mexico, this
legislative se session did see the
approval of a $62 million investment in
behavioral health services throughout
the state. I'd like to encourage you,
Chief Story, this council, Mayor
Enriquez, and the community to commit to
the long-term work of cultivating a
community that our young people want to
be part of by taking advantage of the
opportunity that these funds may
offer. And speaking of the blatant
disregard for the rule of law and order,
in the January town hall chief story,
you stated that the LCPD would not
interfere with ISIS's ability to do
their job. And I'd like to know if that
statement still stands as we see ICE
abducting legal residents off the street
and detaining and deporting them with no
due process often as punishment for
critical
speech. So finally, Chief Story,
Council, Mayor, my question is, will you
commit to restoring community support,
recognizing the humanity of all Los
Cusus residents, and expanding our
strategy beyond detention? Thank you.
[Applause]
Hello, Mayor, City Council. My name is
Sylvia Yansy and I live in District 2. I
didn't fully prepare a statement today
and just kind of wrote this up today,
but last month's shooting hit our
community very hard and it's not
something that we will fully recover
from anytime soon. The rise of gun
violence and mass shootings in this
country is apparent and I want to see
our community do its best to prevent
something like this from happening in
the future
again. I want to address Jeremy's story
specifically.
You said after the mass shooting last
month, "This horrendous, senseless act
is a stark reminder of the blatant
disregard the people of New Mexico have
for the rule of law and order. It's also
a reminder of the utter lack of fear and
accountability in New
Mexico. I don't know if you lack media
training or what, but I and many others
were incredibly offended and disgusted
by your statement. I think my friends
that spoke here today said better words
on why this is blatantly not true and
why we need love and support instead of
fear in our
community. To put the blame on our lack
of respect for authority on this tragedy
is sickening as well as disrespectful to
any citizen that have valid concerns and
criticisms for LCPD and other law
officers in the state of New Mexico.
Frankly, I'm also very concerned that
every time I come to a city hall meeting
that you, Jeremy's story, are on your
phone half the time. This shows that you
are not truly listening to any concerns
brought up during public
comment. Please do better and listen to
the citizens that you and LCPD are
allegedly supposed to serve and protect.
Thank you very much.
[Applause]
Um, hello. My name is Gwen Stacy and I
am a resident of Los Cusus. Um, and I
would also like to speak about the
tragedy that happened in Los Cusus and
about the response that Jeremy's story
has had to it. um and about his comments
not only about New Mexicans's blatant
disregard for law and order, but also
his comments regarding um House Bill
proposals, talking about how it is, but
also by claiming that he didn't want to
politicize a tragedy. And I would just
like to point out that both those
statements inherently have political
aspects to them. And I would actually
appreciate if there weren't so many
politicizations because recommending a
house bill from the New Mexico
legislature as a political body is
inherently politicizing an event. The
other part of it is that anyone who
knows anything about preventing
tragedies
um suggesting a bill that increases
sentencing duration is something that
only happens after an tragedy has
already occurred. It doesn't make any
sense to say that those prevent
tragedies. And even on that, the idea
that instilling fear into youth is going
to stop them from committing heinous
acts is also just not true. Any
sociological look at what does and does
not prevent these things shows clear
indications that the prevention of
childhood poverty is the largest
preventative measure for acts of
violence and aggression in youth and
teenagers. And I can also just say from
my own personal experience that I used
to be an angry kid. And when you're an
angry kid, you don't really care. You
need someone to reach out to you before
you do something stupid or irresponsible
because the angry
kids, they don't care about themselves.
They don't care about anyone else and
that's why they do it. And attempting to
instill fear on someone who is a
disregard for their own life doesn't
prevent anything. Thank you.
[Applause]
Uh for the record, my name is Michael
Harris, uh mayor, council. Thanks for
your time today. Um I've been a resident
of Los Cusus for very long time, well
over 30 years. Um and obviously the main
main topic of this is uh crime
prevention and the recent tragedy. Um
and the the question that is asked,
everyone's asking is what are you going
to do about it? what's the city council
going to do about it? Um, and the
assumed answer in a lot of circles
is make the police do something about
it. Put put all the effort onto Chief
Story and his department. Um,
and that that's the answer and somehow
magically that'll uh fix things. Uh,
frankly, this is a very lazy take. Um,
it's easy to say that and it's easy to
say give more work to the cops. Um, they
get roughly. So the question was asked I
guess about why there aren't more
preventative programs and youth
programs. The police department gets
roughly uh one-third of the city budget
as you're well aware of the non- capital
budget at least. Uh so what are they
doing with all that money? They're doing
important work and they do have a job.
They have a very specific job of solving
crimes. Uh that job is specifically not
preventing crimes. They show up after
crimes have been committed and and help
solve them and help bring justice uh to
the people who committed them and
hopefully justice for the victims. Uh so
to that end, there are some things that
I think the city council can do that are
well within your purview uh mandate and
and legal powers um that contribute to
just safety and health of the community
um in general and downstream you know
reduce crime. Um I think this has has
also been brought up um ensuring healthc
care access for all citizens. There's
very passionate statement about Memorial
Medical Center earlier today. Very well
taken. We we have a big problem in the
country in the community with access to
health care. If you're healthc care
poor, you know you're living in poverty.
Um the city has the things that they can
do. They have some direct power over
Memorial Medical Center. They have a
lobbyist in Santa Fe who they hire and
could advocate for for some state
programs like Medicaid buyin. Um can
ensure that everyone in the community is
safely housed. I think that goes without
saying if you're secure in your housing
you're a lot less likely to commit petty
crimes so that you can spend the night
in jail. Um and then also there there's
some discussion on this too, but shift
the focus of public works uh to
prioritize safety of the community. Uh
there's various things the public works
can do to ensure that citizens are safer
just overall. Um we can design roads
better for safety. Um reduce road rage
and such. We can design lighting. Uh
that was that was a very interesting
thing from from earlier today. Design
lighting to prevent crime and you know
put put it where it is. Um we can design
for safety but that direction has to
come from the top. And that's all I got
time for. So thanks for your time.
[Applause]
Mayor Council Juan Garcia. On March
21st, my 17-year-old son came home with
shadows in his eyes. His voice described
the horror that had unfolded at Young
Park, the crack of gunfire, and the
desperate scramble for safety. While he
and his girlfriend found refuge in his
car, others weren't granted such mercy.
She witnessed a stranger's final
moments, his blood seeping into the
grass. Three souls were stolen that
night, 15 more, forever marked by
bullets and trauma.
My son and his girlfriend survived, but
something in them died at Young Park.
Now the place where children once played
will be forever known as the Lasus Young
Park massacre site. Yes, it was a
massacre. Joining the Bley Alley
massacre site, they are a reminder of
how quickly violence can shatter our
illusions of safety.
KOB. As and I quote, "As for the
juveniles, they have been suspects or
charged in aggravated burglaries,
vandalism, sexual assault, robbery,
attempts at selling guns, shoplifting,
drug possession, suspected in batteries,
domestic violence, and aggravated
assault." One was charged with smuggling
illegal immigrants in
Texas. And I continue with my quotes.
Investigators said the 15year-old quote
walked down one of the victims shooting
him in the at the ground the ground like
a standing executioner. Yes, like a
standing
executioner. So why were these kids not
stopped while on the criminal career
path? or as District Attorney Bregman
asked for the throughout of the
legislature, and I quote, "I want you to
hold these young people accountable when
they violate the law and start when they
first first violate the law. When they
steal their first car, make sure they
understand there's a consequence to that
behavior. They're going to be
accountable so that down the road we
don't have situations where the first
time they're being held accountable is
when they're being prosecuted for
murder. Does this sound familiar? Let me
continue with my quote. His Rivas's
defense attorney stated and warned
against using the incident to push for
harsher juvenile sentencing laws. Really
believe that? Why did the laws remain
unchanged? The progressives watch the
juvenile crime crisis unfold like a
reality show, entertaining from a
distance. But heaven forbid they
actually do something about it. They
have plenty to blame. Guns, skin color,
poverty, but dance around deterrence and
consequences. Why lock up criminals when
you can process them and send them back
to terrorize the community? Meanwhile,
small businesses and citizens are being
picked clean like carcasses in the
desert. But they at least our lawmakers
can sleep soundly knowing they're not
being too harsh on criminals. And we
support LCPD and Chief Story. Thank you.
Good afternoon, um, mayor and council
members. I want to first start by
saying, um, and acknowledging and
thanking all the first responders and
victim advocates who responded to the
mass shooting at Youngs Park. Thank you.
Um, my name is Anelica Calderon. I am
the executive director of La Pinon. Our
mission is to empower survivors of
sexual assaults and child abuse with a
community of support and healing through
comprehensive services, advocacy, and
prevention education. We believe that by
offering unconditional support,
information, and a safe environment for
change, the person who has been sexually
assaulted can take the steps to regain
control of their life and make the
transition from victim to survivor.
We strive to seamlessly provide
highquality intervention services to
children and their families to reduce
trauma and minimize long-term effects of
all forms of child maltreatment, abuse,
and
neglect. La Pñon on average um provides
wraparound services to over 1,000
survivors a year. We are the second
largest sexual assault service provider
in the state. Our service area covers
Donana County, Luna County, Sierra
County, and Hilago County with satellite
offices in deming and truth or
consequences. Why are our services
imperative in our
community? A recent victim data survey
conducted by the Katherine Cutler
Institute for Health and Social Policy.
According to that policy, um, a total of
54 of New Mexicans reported sex being
sexually assaulted within their
lifetime.
54%, let's sit on that number just a
little
bit. Of those 54%, 40% of respondents
reported being sexually assaulted before
they were 12 years old.
When our services are available to all
community members, it provides the hope
the victims and survivors need to start
their healing journey. La Pinon is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
to respond with crisis intervention,
whether the assault or abuse occurred 5
minutes ago, 5 days ago, five, or 50
years ago. Our victim advocates are
there to provide compassionate care and
advocacy. Our team connects all of our
clients with imperative services at no
cost. The city of Las Cru's support for
many years has played a role in that,
ensuring services are available to
victims and survivors. The continued
grant funding that has been awarded to
La Pinon has provided vital medical care
for victims of sexual assault and child
abuse. I want to thank the entire
council for your
support. I would also like to invite you
all to meet with me and discuss further
how the city of Las Cusus can continue
supporting victims and survivors. Thank
you to Mayor Prom Beno for visiting our
facility and having conversations with
myself and my staff. Thank you for
believing survivors. We all play a role
in preventing violence and helping
victims on their healing journey. I will
leave my card and our information for
your review. Thank you.
[Applause]
Good afternoon, mayor and city council.
Thank you for your time. My name is
Horge. I'm a local citizen. I would like
to share a couple of
thoughts. The first one is in support of
realized Las Cruises. Uh there was a
lady that was evicted at the end of
December and there was a huge community
uproar even as legislators said that it
was the landlord's fault uh because they
should leave money on the table instead
of evicting somebody. And I think the
real problem is supply and demand. We
don't have enough houses. It's
unreasonable to ask landlords to leave
money on the table. We just need to
produce the housing that we need to uh
not have people take advantage of
tenants. Uh thank you for voting for for
it though. The zoning status quo
protected the comfort and property
values of a few at the cost of increased
inequality,
homelessness for too many and growing
poverty for and crime for most. Um
without houses, people end up on the
street. some an imbism causes
homelessness. So, thank you again.
Second thought is about the shooting. I
don't agree that the police presence
alone would have prevented violence
maybe, but it's likely also that police
presence would have made it worse. A
great taxpayers's cost. It's been so
before. The solutions of the past cannot
solve the problems of the present.
Sometimes they are the cause of them.
And the police system is an old
institution that was not built with the
tools to deal with the multi-layered
problems like the ones our community is
experiencing.
No, almo. On the other hand, it's not
the first time Young Park and people
gather in this place to socialize and
show off their cars and the situation
gets out of control. There was this
accident where they were doing car
stunts and it was pretty tragic, too. So
I don't know what the integral solution
would entail, but perhaps some of it
would be the city taking leadership in
helping organize these gatherings in a
you know organized way and channel this
demand for spaces to help them gather
and show off their cars to each other
and socialize without the risk of them
doing it by themselves with guns and car
stunts. Lastly, um the intentional
slowdown of the American economy by the
US president has decimated the stock
market today. They're calling it Trump
Monday, Orange Monday, Black Monday, and
it will cause job loss across the
country and poverty for the near future,
including our city. Many Americans may
lose their homes, and we may see a rise
in the number of people needing help
here. Big companies will surely get
bailed out, but we, the working people,
are probably not going to get help from
FEMA or any federal agency or anybody,
just each other. So, I just tell you all
this because I hope that you realize
that when the stuff hits the fan pretty
soon, our community will need your help
and your leadership to help them
navigate these dark times. Thank you.
[Applause]
Good morning, commissioners. My name is
Jim Hurst.
Um, a few weeks ago, there was a
shooting at a
uh Sonic Burger.
there was only one death, so it didn't
get the coverage that three deaths and
16 other casualties
get. Um, but that person happened to be
known to me and is a I consider him
family.
Um, it was he's 20 years old.
uh he was a troubled
youth and his friend was a troubled
youth and they got in an argument and
there was a gun and there was a gun
death. Um there are 290 mil or excuse me
390 million guns in America, 1.25 guns
for every
American. That's why we have the
violence we have. No other country has
anywhere near the gun violence we have.
Yes, indeed. It is the
guns.
Um, we're not going to change these
realities, these
events without dealing with
guns. It's just that simple. We've tried
to dance around it for 50 years. There's
no way around it. The only way is
through it.
I suggest we have liability insurance
for gun
owners that will deter the amount of
guns and the amount of irresponsible gun
ownership.
Thank you very
[Applause]
much. Uh hello, city council. My name is
Jay Chot. I reside in district 5 and
I've been here for over a decade. Um I
think there's a lot of thoughts I have
here. Uh, first of all, I I'm studying
for my master's in political science and
in public administration at NMSU
currently. And having studied public
admin, I guess it's a statement for the
police chief. I think it's ill- advised
to generally say that you know better
than the public because you're always
going to get backlash for that and
situations are complicated and nuanced.
So, I don't think it's best to speak as
if you know better than everybody. Um,
as far as the problems themselves, I
don't think it can be solved through
punitive measures. I don't think we can
keep trying the same thing we've been
doing for decades and decades just
smacking our face into the brick wall
hoping we get a different result. Trust
me, it'll be different this time. It's
it's not going to be. We have seen what
happens when we try this approach. I
think we need to look at it as a
rehabilitative community measure. We
need to be ensuring that everyone has
access to affordable housing. We need to
ensure they have access to fair paying
jobs. They need to have access to
affordable uh food, necessities,
clothing. They need to have access to
resources in the community, places where
they can gather. I know since co a lot
of places closed down at 10 now. So all
these kids they don't have a place to go
and socialize and let alone recreational
facilities that we already have. We have
the park we have the parks. We have
hiking trails but maybe not everyone's
interested in that kind of stuff. We're
all forced to buy a car pretty much
because of our car centric society and
infrastructure. So it makes sense to buy
a cool car and want to show it off to
your friends. But we need to make it so
they have organized places to hang out,
more things to do. And that requires
engaging them, asking what they want in
the community and working with them to
achieve that. And I think not
representing them and leaving them out
of the loop just makes this problem
worse over time. Just telling them they
need to be in home before the lights go
out. They're kids. They're going to go
on and do what they want. You can yell
at them as much as you want, but I grew
up as a teenager and I feel like we all
grew up as teenagers at one point. Most
of us were rebellious, raunctious
sometimes. And maybe it's not good to do
that, but ultimately if they're going to
do it, we want to work with them and
make it so it's safer and make it so
they have access to resources and people
that actually care about them as opposed
to just speaking down to them assuming
they're going to listen. So I I think we
just need to approach things
differently. I'm glad that you all did
pass realize Los Cruus. It's not
perfect, but no policy ever is, of
course. Um and it'll really help to
build out the character better in the
city. I think building more places
closer to our homes where we can
actually socialize, where we can get
food, clothing, stuff like that. That's
how you build community. Not by telling
them how they need to live, by
orchestrating their lives and telling
them you need to be home by this time.
You need to do these things here, here,
and here at this time, this time, this
time. It's not how society works. We're
humans. We're not machines. We can't
just be put into boxes. So, that's
everything I had to say. So, thank you,
council.
[Applause]
[Music]
Hello, Mayor Enriquez, City Council. My
name is Fred Miller, and I'm going to go
on a quieter note here.
I'm asking for increased support for our
public libraries. About a month ago, it
came to my attention that the library
next door does not have a
full-time collections development
librarian. I've since then talked to two
or three other librarians. They all have
diverse ideas about exactly why they
they need a full-time collections
development librarian, but the notion
that there are so many different ideas
about why they need it just adds to the
notion that they do need it. It's my
understanding the city manager will be
getting some kind of report from quality
of life department and that will be
among the requests for museums and
libraries is specifically a request to
implement a position for a full-time
collections development library for
Brandan Memorial Library. Thank you.
[Applause]
Good afternoon, mayor and city council
persons. Uh my name is David Steel. I
live on the east Mesa and uh represent
and city council and Flores is my
counselor and thank you for uh your
contributions to our area and our city.
Uh I'm here today to commend those who
have been involved for many years now in
negotiating and the an improvement in
our animal welfare
ordinances. Uh, and I know that that is
a vote that's to be taken today. I
strongly support that and I hope that
the uh, city council will uh, move
forward in improving. Sir, since that's
one of the items on the agenda, you
can't speak to it at this time. If
you're here, when it comes up, you can
you can have some time there. We'll open
it up for I'm sorry. I apologize. Okay.
Thank you.
[Applause]
Next is the acceptance for agenda. Move
to approve. Second.
This is on a motion to approve the
agenda as accept as
accepted. Councelor Karan,
I'm sorry. Yes. Yeah. I'm sorry.
Councelor McClure, yes. Councelor
Matise, yes. Councelor Graham, yes.
Councelor Karan, still yes. Councelor
Flores, yes. Councelor Beno, yes. Mayor,
yes. Thank you.
We're good.
Next on the agenda is item 7.1. That's a
public hearing. So, the public hearing
is now open. It's 2:39 p.m. Is there
anyone here for or against the issuance
of this liquor license?
Seeing none, the public hearing is now
closed at 2:40. Move to
approve. Second, Graham.
Okay. Thank you, sir. Adam, community
development. For the record, uh before
you we have a proposed liquor license
for the Korason Deoro LLC, which is
located at 1300 El Paso Road, sweet 13
uh 302. Uh the application is for a
restaurant A type liquor license with
beer and wine only uh with on premise
consumption only. Uh the alcoholic
beverage control uh did go ahead and
provide preliminary approval to the city
on February 7th of this year. uh staff
didn't need to reach out to request for
an extension in order to meet all the
advertising requirements and notice
notification requirements. That
extension was approved by the state. Uh
majority of reviewing staff uh saw no
issues with application. There was only
the one issue that the uh proposed uh
liquor license is located within 300 ft
of a religious institution directly
across the street. Uh but council does
have the authority to wave that waiver
uh to wave that uh uh distance
requirement.
shown here uh roughly right around here
is where the restaurant is at Cresoro uh
the uh religious institution directly
north here north side of Idaho uh near
the intersection of El Peso and Idaho
just to give you an idea of what it is
that we're that we're talking
about. So your options council is one to
vote yes and approve the proposed liquor
license or two to vote and deny. Uh the
alcoholic beverage control will be
notified of the vote and we'll continue
the application process after your vote.
Uh, that is the conclusion of my
presentation and I stand for questions.
Thank you, Adam.
Anyone? Mayor Proton. Thanks, Mayor.
Thank you, Adam. I don't have any
questions. I just, uh, really wanted to
thank the owners of this establishment
and the owners of other locally owned
establishments in this area. This is, as
we know, um, part of the MRA and, uh,
just we want to thank them for their
continued investment in this part of
town. And I know that um maybe from our
end it feels a little bit slow, but we
really we're really really committed to
um El Po and in this area through the
MRA and and hope that we can deliver
right back. So, thank you very much.
Anyone else?
Somebody's
snapping.
Um, yeah. No, I also want to uh say
thank you to the owners for uh stepping
up. I know that they had already an
establishment there with the liquor
license, but since the name change, this
is uh has to go through the process
again, but it's been something that's
already been there. So, thank them for
pursuing and keep doing what you're
doing.
Okay. With that,
this is on a motion to approve
resolution number 25-112.
Councelor McClur, yes. Councelor Matise,
yes. Councelor Graham, yes. Councelor
Karan, yes. Councelor Flores, yes.
Councelor Beno, yes. Mayor, yes. Thank
you.
Next is item 7.2, resolution
25-113, a resolution authorizing an
existing contract purchase agreement for
VA core and network hardware upgrades.
Good afternoon, mayor, counselors.
Donnie Proise, purchasing supervisor for
the record. I
move to approve Graham. Second, Corin
got you. Okay, Donnie. Thank you. Sorry
about that. Always trying to jump the
gun. Once again, Donnie Provice,
purchasing supervisor. For the record, I
just wanted to introduce Alicia Zamora
Morales. She's a recent addition to the
purchasing team, and this will be her
first presentation to council.
Good afternoon, mayor, city council,
city staff. My name is Alicia Zamora
Morales, and I'm buyer 1 with the
purchasing program. And before you today
is a resolution to authorize an award of
an existing contract purchase
agreement. The city of Las Cruises
utilizes L3 Harris radio program
software which is a unified platform
designed to manage and deliver
missionritical voice data and
application communications across public
safety and utility networks. This
software will replace our current
outdated software. The P25 core or
master site will manage critical
functions, direct voice and data
communications, encryption and
authentications, and network
management. The Las Cruis's Municipal
Code authorizes the city to utilize
contracts from other entities. This
allows for effective and costefficient
proc procurement of goods and services
to meet the city's operational needs.
License and support provided by Daily
Wells Communication Inc. are available
through Houston Galveston area council
contract number
RA05-21 which is valid through July
31st, 2025. The information technology
department is requesting authorization
to contract with daily and wilds
communications in the amount not to
exceed
329,24 and4 cents subject to budget
appropriations. Before you are your
options and I stand for questions.
[Music]
Councelor Flores. Thank you, mayor, and
thank you, Alicia, or Miss um Samura
Morales. Um I um I guess uh I just want
to know um what the length of the
contract was. Is it an extension or
renewal of what we already have? Is
there anything new? Um no, this will be
a new contract that will end July 31st,
2025. It's a existing contract with
Houston Galveston and then the end user
I it's to buy the software. So the end
user would be able to develop just
purchase the services but we wouldn't
have to contract with them further than
the installation of the contract of the
services the services but um so it's
just a three-month contract. Um it
started before it was September.
Oh it's a retroactive contract.
Never heard of that.
Donnie Pros purchasing supervisor for
the record. So this is a contract that
was bid out by the Houston Galveistston
Area Council. It's a purchasing
cooperative. So the contract is already
in place. We are just accessing that
contract for the um purchase of the
licenses and the installation. So the
city didn't do the procurement. We're
just accessing the contract with the
vendor uh that's available to us. I see.
I see. Thank you, Donnie. And thank you,
Alicia. You're welcome. Sorry. Thank
you, Mayor.
Seeing no other. Oh, welcome back,
Christine.
This is on the motion to approve
resolution
25-113. Councelor McClur, yes. Councelor
Matise, yes. Councelor Graham, yes.
Councelor Cran, yes. Councelor Flores,
yes. Councelor Bencoml, yes. And mayor,
yes. And thank you, Alicia. Good job and
welcome to the city. Thank you, Mayor.
Thank you, council.
Good job.
Next is item 7.3, resolution number
25-114, resolution authorizing the city
of Los Cusus to accept grant awards for
various city departments. Move to
approve.
Second.
Good afternoon, mayor, counselors, city
staff, community members. My name is
Gabriela Prattz. I'm the grant manager
in the financial services department.
Excuse me. Before you is a resolution to
accept several grants for the
city. The first is a grant from the New
Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority in the
amount of $ 1.5
million for the Amadore Crossing Housing
Complex. And this of course is awarded
to the city manager's
office, housing and neighborhood
services department. This additional
funding uh works alongside all the other
sources of funding that have been um
awarded for this particular
project. The second
grant was awarded by the New Mexico
Department of Transportation to the
Messia Valley Metropolitan Planning
Organization or MOO. The amount of the
award is
$70,000 and the match is $14,000.
The purpose is to assist the MO's
traffic count program by funding data
collection, analysis, and processing.
This is the third uh pot of funding for
MO for fiscal year 25.
The next
grant is for the police department
funded by the New Mexico Department of
Public Safety in the amount of
$37,350. It is slated to fund the
purchase and installation of ballistic
windshields on approximately 10 police
vehicles. Um each windshield replacement
um including installation runs about
$3,500. And the police department is
using this in combination with other
grants that they've um been awarded to
upgrade as many first responder vehicles
as possible. And it is the plan of the
police department and uh grants to
assist them in finding more funds for
these particular projects that include
um that improve safety for first
responders. The next grant is also for
the police department through the New
Mexico Department of Transportation in
the amount of
$62,315. This funds the NDWI buckle up
and step projects. All of these are in
um are aimed at increasing the safety of
mo motorists and pedestrians. Um they
provide funding to set up items such uh
projects such as checkpoints uh
additional units uh in the um rounding
the the city. Um buckle up is to
specifically look for folks who aren't
wearing their seat belt because we all
know seat belts save lives.
The STEP program is uh is aimed at the
safety of pedestrians and these
particularly aim at busy intersections
or where there have been previous
accidents involving
pedestrians. The next grant is um
through the New Mexico Highintensity
Drug Trafficking Area Program or Haida.
It's to police department um Metro. it.
This particular one is actually two
modifications, modifications two and
three, which um together increase the
the budget by
$71,650, which then increases our total
grant from Haida
uh to $783,326.
This funds
operations of the Haida program in Las
Cusus and the surrounding area to reduce
drug trafficking and related
violence. The next grant is uh made by
the New Mexico Tourism Department to
CMO, our city manager's office, Visit
Las Cruises, is a $10,000 sponsorship
for the 2026 Missya Valley balloon
rally. With these funds, um, Visit Las
Cruus will be able to promote the event
as well as the New Mexico True
Brand. And the last grant is to the
Parks and Recreation Department from the
New Mexico Energy, Mineral, and Natural
Resources Department in the amount of
$249,6685 with an equal match. Um, this
project or rather this program requires
a dollartodoll
match and this particular one is to uh
fund the ongoing work to complete a
major renovation of the Pioneer Women's
Park. Here are your council options and
I stand for questions.
Do we have any questions? Councelor
Florus. Thank you, mayor, and thank you
so much. Uh, what exactly do you know
any details about the uh, Pioneer
Women's uh, park? I I do have a little
bit, but I think better equipped to
answer detailed questions on the project
is Steve Bingham, the parks and recck
director. So, thank you. Thank you,
Councelor Flores. Mayor Steingham, parks
and recreation director. The um grant is
to
um continue the renovation of Pioneer
Park with lighting and with um the
sidewalk replacement and improvements
around the park.
Um what about the structure that's
there? Is there going to be any the
renovation
or it's not included the
gazebo?
Um, I think David Sadil is probably best
to give a response on that as his
department's managing
that. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.
David Cidio, public works director for
the
record. Mayor, councelor Flores, to
answer your question, the the gazebo is
its own project itself. These funds that
are being allocated are actually going
to be going to the improvements of the
master plan there at parks. So that will
include the sidewalks, if you will, if
you remember the park itself. There's a
central point where the gazebo is and
then from each corner you have sidewalks
coming into the center. Those will be
upgraded irrigation and there'll also be
some pergola installations as part of
that plan. The reason I ask is because
um I know the League of Women Voters has
been wanting the gazebo to be restored
and also the women's um building there
and um I I you know I haven't been up
with that organization for a while. I'm
still a member but um but has there been
any movement in that or have you
received any calls from the League of
Women Voters regarding the gazebo? I
mean they'll be very happy to know that
there's you know all this other stuff
going on.
Mayor, councelor Flores, like I
mentioned, the gazebo is right on its
own project right now. Yeah, we have had
some questions regarding it. Right now,
the gazebo has been rebuilt. We're
waiting on the decorative panels to come
in to be installed. Oh. Along with some
lighting around the area. Oh, okay. On
the center. So, there is something going
on. Yes, there are improvements going on
at this point in time. Thank you so
much, Mr. Civo. And thank you. Thank
you. You're welcome,
Council Matise. Yeah. Uh I don't know
who could answer this. There's a
building there with the uh the women.
Would that be parks and recck it?
Definitely not
me. I'm not aware of any. It's uh Miss
Herado. I believe Miss Herado got
contacted city manager. Well, uh go
ahead. Sonia Delgado actually has her
light on if you want to respond to that.
Thank you, Mayor, members of council.
Sonia Degalo, assistant city manager.
Uh, councelor Matise, I just met with
them last week and we're talking to them
about the WIA building that's right
across the street. Um, I am working with
facilities. Uh, we did do some
improvements on the roof. We do have a
few extra funds that are going to help
with that facility as well. We've
already done a complete assessment and
now we're just prioritizing uh what we
can do with the funds that we receive.
Thank you. That's great.
Seeing none other Christine.
This is on the motion to approve
resolution
25-114. Councelor McClur. Yes. Councelor
Matise. Yes. Councelor Graham. Yes.
Councelor Karan. Yes. Councelor Fletus.
Yes. Councelor Bencoml. Yes. And mayor.
Yes.
Next is item 7.4, resolution number
25-115, a resolution amending the FY
2025 2030 capital improvements program.
Move to approve.
Second. Okay. Good afternoon, mayor,
city council. My name is Cynthia Lamo,
CIP manager with planning and
implementation. And today I'm here to
present a few CIP
amendments. Today we have four specific
CIP amendments. One of them is because
recently we accepted a grant. We have
another one to add additional funds to
the project. And we have two amendments
so we can reflect the available funds
for each of those two projects.
The first amendment is to reflect the
recently grant accepted for LaCasa. On
March 17, city council approved this
grant and we would like to update the
CAP document so it can reflect the newly
funds of 301,000.
The second amendment is to increase the
funds for this specific project which is
East Mesa Public Recreational Complex
and we are adding
41400,000 for uh the continuation of the
project. The third amendment is for the
Brangan Library renovation and
expansion. And as this project has moved
forward, there has been expenses and we
have reviewed our accounts. So the
amendment you have here is to reflect
the funding that the project has
available to continue with the
project. Uh for this project, I would
like to invite Sarah Booth from the
library to provide more details.
Good afternoon, mayor and counselors.
I'm Sarah Booth, library deputy
director. The Thomas Brangan Memorial
Library renovation and expansion project
is currently in the design process. This
amendment shows the funding for
completing the design process for both
phase one and phase two of the
renovation and expansion. The design
process project is expected to be
completed in late summer 2026. I would
like to thank Orlando Granado, project
manager for public works for his input
and assistance to this pro in with this
project. Desert Peak Architects working
with our consultant Brad Waters have
created a conceptual design statement
that embodies the representation of the
library and its impact to the Los
Cruis's community. The Branigan Library
that we are re renovating and expanding
was originally designed to reflect
indigenous forms and that then this
statement builds on that original
design. The statement is the Branigan
Library is a vessel where earth and sky
merge to accommodate the retention of
information and to compel the community
to share in rituals of
knowledge. Thank you for your continued
support of this project and our library.
I would like to now turn it over to
quality of life director Carol Bray.
Thank you, Sarah. Good afternoon, Mayor
and Council. Carol Bray, director of the
quality of life department. And I just
wanted to add a couple of things. Uh
first I wanted to say I am so pleased to
see that our architects are recognizing
the original design of this Branigan
library because uh I remember when I
became director of the libraries in the
late 90s, Don Dresp who had been the
director for 25 years before me and some
of you knew him uh was very proud to
show me the indigenous uh aspects of the
design of that building. Something that
isn't always so obvious today. We don't
think about that unless you look at it
from certain angles and then you can
really see it. Um so I am very pleased
that um our architects are recognizing
the value of that design and continuing
with that in this new design for the
renovation and expansion. Um they even
noted in their concept summary that the
original library structure um drew
inspiration from native architectural
forms like the ka which some of us have
visited kas as in um near silver city
for example. Um a sacred space often
carved into the earth to serve as a
vessel for knowledge and
reflection separate from the
distractions of the world above. I love
thinking of a library that way as a
space for knowledge and
reflection. I also know that libraries
can be so good for our community. I have
seen libraries change lives throughout
my entire career. And you know, I was so
sorry that I was kind of out of pocket
during the tragedy in Young Park, but I
know that our librarians, our museum
workers are working every day with
people that come into our facilities for
helpful resources, information, a safe
space, and solid alternative activities.
So, we will continue to do that good
work and we look forward to renovating
and expanding the Bangan Library to be
able to provide that kind of service for
everyone in our community for years to
come. So, thank you again for your
support. Cynthia Lamio, for the record,
I just want to quickly
um continue with our last amendment for
today. This is for uh the drainage
infrastructure improvement. At a past
council meeting, we present the two CIP
amendments to reflect the com the
completion of the Midway uh project and
the Bellahham Drive project. So after
the completion of those two projects,
the remaining funds will be allocated to
the drainage infrastructure pro
improvements project to continue
completing more projects. So now I would
like to invite uh David Sadijio public
works to give more information on those
two recently completed projects.
Again good afternoon mayor council David
Sado public works director for the
record and I want to share with you like
Cynthia stated two projects that have
been completed within our community. The
first is going to be Bellamma Drive.
This is in district three. The
improvements were a full reconstruction
of this roadway from Le Drive to Luna
Street. So that encompasses four
blocks. In that four blocks, there's
three intersections with Dove Lane,
Locust Street, and Klein Avenue. As you
can see right here on your picture, this
is what Klein Avenue used to look like.
And I'll go into some more details here
in a little bit, but through this full
reconstruction, all utilities were
upgraded, water, sewer, gas, street
lighting. There was the full replacement
of the roadway cross-section, which
included the subgrade base asphalt that
you see and as the curbon gutter and
sidewalks. The other aspect of this
project is along Bellma, there were
improvements from various properties
that encroached into the ride ofway. So
when we did this full reconstruction
project, we expanded our improvements
all the way to the right ofway lines.
That included relocating improvements
that were within the rightway. This
included either walls, different types
of walls, CMU, chainlink fence, wood or
metal. Those as part of the project were
moved back to the property lines to take
full advantage of the
rebuild. With that, we were able to
install 5-ft sidewalks, the curbon
gutter, the roadway, and other
improvements. Now, I did mention that we
would be looking at other things that
were done as part of this project.
Again, this is what Locust Street looked
like prior to construction. As you can
see, there's two points of entry in a
very short distance that makes it very
unsafe for other modes of
transportation, specifically
pedestrians. As part of that design,
this was used to make a full T
intersection right here with
locust. Eliminated that Y. It shortened
that crossing now for pedestrians. So
now they're no longer exposed to
traffic. It's a shorter period of time.
To repurpose that area, we added a
detention pond. Because there is no
underground storm drain and it's all
surface flow that collects in our
systems further downstream, which are to
the west, we use this opportunity to
capture some of that runoff, hold it,
and as the levels get higher in this
pond, they slowly release. Does a couple
of things. It collects that water, but
more importantly, it slows its velocity
downstream. So now with the
improvements, and even though it was
paved before, that water's slowed down
now. And that water that remains there
either infiltrates or evaporates. So
we're having less drainage into our
system
downstream. You will also notice that we
made other improvements. There were
things that our staff looked at for
safety. If you notice here in the
picture, you're going to see a little
advanced warning sign. That is the
advanced warning for a speed cushion.
There were speeding issues on here. So,
as part of the design, staff when we
designed this included these measures
right off the bat. There's three of them
along along this stretch, which is four
blocks. And as you can see, it's it's a
fairly long straightaway. And that was
what staff recommended and we built as
part of the project. And lastly, when we
finished this project, there was a cost
savings of
$262,000 came in under
budget. Our next project is Midway
Avenue. This is in district 5 north of
US70. This is between Mesa Drive and Gas
Line Road. Gas Line Road is an
intersection that goes over a large
petroleum transmission line. Uh, prior
it was owned by Mellin, but this
transmission line goes all the way down
from El Paso up
north. We historically have not been
able to build improvements over that.
More recently, we have been more
successful in building those
improvements over that easement.
So this is Midway and on its lefthand
side is its current condition. This
again was a full reconstruction project
which included upgrades of the utilities
and as you can see from its existing
condition there is no curbon gutter,
there's no sidewalk and there's no
street lighting. So if the picture on
the right are those completed
improvements. Now with those people now
have an opportunity to not only you know
get out of walking in traffic but have
an area to where they can safely
move. This also connected other
improvements west on Midway that
actually connect all the way to Mesa
Grande.
So now people have a full connection
along with the infrastructure that's
been in place in making these
connections down in this picture here.
Again, the same conditions. However,
this is closer to Gas Line Road looking
east. And again with those you can see
the street lighting, sidewalk, curbon
gutter. The most important part of this
though is that
connection, right? We are giving all
modes of transportation opportunities to
move around with these improvements. So,
what this project did by adding
sidewalks on both the north and the
south side of the roadway, we closed
1,770 ft of sidewalk gaps with this
project. Those efforts also continue
with other funding, but for this project
here, it made that full
connection. And now I'll go and turn it
over to Cynthia.
You had a question, Council. Go ahead.
This is a tangential question, but it
brings up the uh issue of um this kind
of work in other districts and I was
just wondering if there's anything like
that happening in district six in the
house acres and if it's not, can you
keep that in
mind? It's just a it's just a nice ask.
Mayor, councelor Flores, there's
absolutely a project going on in
district 6 and that's with Cortez Drive.
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's a full
reconstruction adding that connection
between I believe Dunn all the way out
to Porter. Yeah, that I'm very happy to
hear that. I'm, you know, after I think
I've talked to you about this till, you
know, till and I'll be talking about it
till kingdom come. Actually, no, I
won't. I won't be talking about it after
December of this year because I will no
longer be on the council. So, I am um
just hoping that it gets done one day.
So, thank you very much, Mr. city. You
You're welcome, counselor. And thank
you, Mr. Mayor. I have a question, too,
David. Mayor, if you don't mind, go
ahead. I'm going to give lots of finger
snaps to your presentation, David. I I
um just really want to I know you know
this because you do this work every day,
but just like to put a finer point
to how this kind of project improves
immediately the qual quality of life for
people. Um, so I just I just want to say
that and I I think so much of the work
that was done in Realize was to ensure
that neighborhoods like this never have
to experience this kind of thing ever
again. Right. That's so important. Um,
can you just talk a little bit about how
what was the total cost of this?
I have that right here. Thank you. to
Mayor Councelor Bencomo. The total cost
for Midway
without GRTS was 780,000. Okay. And $31.
What was the length of it? This covered
920 ft. So that was the full block from
Gas Line Road over to Mesa Drive. that
from the start of those improvements to
the center line of Mesa Drive is 920 ft.
Yeah. Thank you, David. I just, you
know, obviously these this is the goal,
right, for all of Los Cruus's and um it
takes it takes a lot of investment and a
lot of resources. And so just thank you
um David and and these are very much the
kinds of things I had envisioned when we
talked to voters about a GRT increase
and and how this can improve people's
quality of life. So thank you. Thank
you, Mayor Prom, and definitely kudos to
staff.
Cynthia, let me for the record. Uh,
thank you, Sarah, Carol, and David.
Council, oh, with that, we have your
council options for the four CIP
amendments that were presented.
Oh, you had a question, counselor. Just
a quick comment. Sorry about that. Um,
so excited to see Bellma wrapped up.
That was kind of my baptism to council.
I came in um and got to see um all of
staff, particularly public works,
particularly David and Tony's ability to
make really difficult information much
easier to understand. Um especially for
me. Um, and you really helped me learn
how
to interact with constituents um, with a
range of concerns. Um, and also thanks.
You always make me Google stuff, David.
And just from the last presentation, I
now know the difference between a gazebo
and a pergola. So, thank you for that.
Thank you.
Okay, seeing no other uh Christine,
this is on the motion to approve
resolution
25-115. Councelor Mccclur, yes.
Councelor Matise, yes. Councelor Graham,
yes. Councelor Karan, yes. Councelor
Fletus, yes. Councelor Bencoml, yes. And
Mayor, yes.
Next is item 7.5, resolution number
25-116, a resolution approving a
reimbursement agreement between the city
of Los Cusus and Sierra North
development for an improved neighborhood
public park. Move to approve. Second.
Good afternoon. Um Katherine Harrison
Rogers for the record. Um let us see
here. Let's go ahead and get started.
So, we are here today uh to request a
reimbursement agreement, approval of a
reimbursement agreement for the
construction of a neighborhood park in
the Metro Verde area. As you know, um
parks really do bring value to our
community. Um they foster positive
social interactions. They increase
social capacity. um people of all ages
and income levels uh races and
ethnicities uh use these spaces and
generally um create a healthier
environment for our community. I think
we all know that um as uh members of our
community that they do wonderful things.
We have the ability uh to work with
developers um whereby they construct
neighborhood parks and then we reimburse
them for said construction using our
park impact fees that are collected in
the neighborhoods they build. This
particular park um that we are speaking
to today is located in the Metro Verde
area. Uh essentially it is part of
what's called Metro Evolution phase two
sandwiched between um Red Hawk Road and
Soma Ranch just south of um Lisa Lane
and north of Peach Tree. Uh you can see
uh generally the outline of the park
here. Um this lovely little wedge um
highly accessible from several roadways
with a lot of on street parking um to
accommodate that park. This particular
park uh in district 5 um will consist of
turf playground uh a bike skills course
which we're really excited about for
small children or entry level uh riders
uh and of course landscaping. Uh there
is also um uh a sports field area. I had
indicated there would be turf uh that's
approximately 2 acres. The total park
size is a little over three acres. Um,
if you recall, our park impact fees that
are collected at the time of
construction for individual units is
$2,600 per unit. Uh, this particular
park will uh service approximately 595
residential lots. We'll be collecting
fees from those lots as they're
constructed. Um, that total park impact
fee amount is a little uh above $1.5
million. So, a lovely nest egg. And um
based on the estimates in terms of
construction of this park, um the the uh
the developer is requesting a little
less than $1 million in reimbursement,
nine uh
$959,000. Um I have some photos for you
just so that you can see what we're
talking about in terms of the bicycle
skills course. Um you can see that uh
this portion of the park, which is the
western portion of the park, uh is
intended for that bike skill course. And
there's some representative imagery from
the company who is uh constructing the
bike skills course. And again, it's
intended to really encourage young
riders and new riders to develop those
skills um and have fun while they're
doing it. Uh we are also um having a
playground installed at this location uh
with some features that are somewhat new
unique um to our park system. Uh you can
see some really fantastic rope climbing
areas and some slides. Again, these are
just renderings um of that particular um
feature. And at this moment, um council
has several options. You can vote yes to
approve, no to deny, you can vote to
amend, or vote to table. And we're here
to answer any questions you may have.
Okay. Thank you, Katherine. Uh councelor
Kur, thank you. Very exciting um new
park. I one just want to put a pin in
our idea of park impact fees. I'm always
uh hoping that we'll continue to have
that conversation and I hope that we do
um keep having it. But I also just want
to ask sort of what the timeline is for
what this process um and sort of what
kinds of accountability is built into
the timeline. I know that that's part of
um reimbursement and developers doing
parks. So um that's the first part that
I would ask if you could just share a
little bit about please. Absolutely. Um
Mr. Mayor, members of the council, um
councelor Kuran. Um so this particular
park, so the the the subdivision itself
is under construction. Um typically the
way um Metro Verde has worked in the
past is large swaths of those
subdivisions are sort of sold up front
to um to home builders. And so they're
constructing essentially as quick as
things are are finished. That is
historically what is has happened. So we
start collecting those fees as soon as
those individual units are permitted
through community development. Um and as
that nest egg is um sort of built up
then we we can either pay the um
contractor i.e. Metro Verde um John
Mscato in one lump sum or in
installments as those are collected. Um
he is uh very well under construction.
He did send me a note before this
meeting was un able to attend today, but
um they have done the earth work and the
perimeter sidewalks already been
completed. Uh they're working on
irrigation systems next week. Uh the
play equipment, site furnishings, bike
skills ramp have all been ordered and he
anticipates the construction will be
completed by August uh 2025. And so as
we collect those fees uh in the area
that had been outlined uh for the Metro
Evolution subdivision and there's one
other subdivision that's part of the the
total lot number was which is Metro
Verde West um I believe phase 2 uh once
those fees come in and we have enough to
then submit to the developer we will do
so and then exchange the land and it
will be available to use. Uh but we
anticipate August. Awesome. Thank you.
That was a very long explanation. No,
that was perfect. Thank you. I really
appreciate that. Um, and I'm really
excited for us to have another park in
District 5 for the residents. And I just
want to say how excited I am. I I want
to give a shout out to Ashley Curry
who's always encouraging people like me
who don't ride bikes very often to do
dangerous things and ride more. Not
dangerous. Um, but but I just want to
give a shout out to our our safe routes
of school/ um bike encourager for kids.
Um because I think bike skills I know
when I took my motorcycle class, they
literally just threw a 2x4 in front of
us and we had to ride over it and it was
very harrowing. Um this seems like a
much better approach for kids to to
practice their bike skills. Um yeah,
motorcycle class. Um so I will be sure
to see folks including Ashley perhaps at
the at the park in August. So thank you
again, Katherine. Great. Thank you,
Council Flores.
Thank you uh and thank you Katherine um
for your thorough uh presentation. I do
have a question about the um park fees.
Yes, ma'am. So those park fees are paid
by the
developer and so Mosscato is uh privy to
that. I mean he's actually he works for
what's his face? I can't think of his
name right now. Royal Jones. Royal Jones
is one of the Royal Jones. Yeah. Royal
Jones. Yeah. So um h how does that work?
I mean they um so they provide uh the
money upfront but then they expect uh
money back. Hi. So are they making
enough money? Is it Royal Jones rich
enough? So I'd be happy to answer the
question. Uh members of the council
mayor um councelor Flores uh ultimately
what happens um in this particular case
and not always. Sometimes we have a
developer who develops the land and also
constructs the houses. In the case of
Metro Verde, um the developer uh
basically builds out all of land
including the park in this case. Um but
the park impact fees are actually
collected from the individual um uh home
builder who is permitting out um those
individual units and we collect from the
home builders and then ultimately uh
then we reimburse um Mr. Mscato um and
his company. it's not his he's just a
representative of the company for um
these particular features. Um and so all
of those costs and I can't speak for Mr.
Mscato and how they deal with all of
that, but all of those costs and the
assumptions are built into whatever real
estate deals they have with the
individual um home builders.
And um so that is a general accepted
business practice in that field. Uh to
my knowledge, yes. Um it's it's done
here and has been done here for years
and uh is a legally um I guess it's a
bonafideed practice. Bonafide practice
in other places. Yes, ma'am. Great.
Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor.
Councelor Matise.
Katherine, thank you. Maybe you have
um some totals for me. What's the total
impact fees on on a home for a home
buyer? It's park fees and there are
other fees. Councelor Matis, members of
city council, Mr. Mayor, I Yes, there
there's several fees. Um there's
generally the the park impact fee is
one. Uh there's a utilities impact fee
that is assessed at the time of
construction as well. And there public
safety impact fees that are assessed um
as well throughout the process. I can't
speak to the exact amount, only the
amount that we collect, which is the
$2,600 for park impact fees per unit.
Okay. And I bring that up because we've
had several people come doing the public
comments how housing's getting
expensive. So, it's actually the
homeowner that probably pays for all of
these. It's probably in the cost of the
of the home.
Uh, Councelor Miss, members of council,
I would assume like any construction,
uh, any fee, uh, whether it's permitting
fees or what have you, is usually
wrapped up into the total price of
whatever that person is purchasing.
Okay. Thank you.
Anyone else? None. Christine,
this is on the motion to approve
resolution
25-116. Councelor McClur, yes. Councelor
Matise, yes. Councelor Graham, yes.
Councelor Cran, yes. Councelor Flores,
yes. Councelor Bencoml, yes. Mayor, yes.
Next is item 7.6, 6 resolution number
25-117 resolution authorizing the city
of Los Cruus to accept budget
adjustments for the sports field
lighting replacements through an
amendment to the city's adopted
FY2024 I mean yeah 2425 budget move to
approve grant second Corin
good afternoon mayor counselors city
staff and public my name is Jaclyn
Rubelava budget and grant administrator
with the finance department. I am
presenting today a resolution to
reallocate funding to repair and
restore repair and replace sports field
lighting. Due to safety concerns, the
lighting system at the sports field
needs to be replaced. As a result, we
are requesting to reallocate $3.4 4
million within the 2023 SSGRT or state
shared gross receipts fund. There is no
net increase to the FY25 budget. This
would ra this would shift um the
accounts needed to track the
project. I will hand it over to Cynthia
and she'll go over the CIP amendment
portion.
Cynthia, CIP manager with planning and
implementation with the adjustment or
the reallocation of the funds to this
specific project of replacement and uh
replacement of lighting. We are
presenting one amendment that has a
twofold purpose. The first one is to
create a new CIP project called sports
field lighting that will encompass
replacing lighting at the sports fields.
And this will also be a fully funded
project as we're allocating the total
funds needed to complete the light
replacements which is 3.5 million. And
this amendment is to reflect the funding
adjustment. So the CIP document is
reflected of this new project that is
fully funded.
and I'll pass it along to Jacqueline for
options.
Mayor Prov, thank you. Just clarity on
is it all sports field across the city
or
I believe did you say Hadley? My
apologies if I missed it. I did not. No,
I did not say Hadley. Um, we do have the
parks and recck director here. um and he
can elaborate on exactly what the funds
will be used for. Thank you,
Mayor
Promo. Mayor Steven Bam, parks and rec
director, the um lights at um a number
of fields are not being replaced. Roy um
Ron Gayo is remaining. Apadaka baseball
um some soccer fields, East Mesa
complex. The lights that are being
replaced is at Mag Hardy Pause and
Apadaka
softball. Thank
you. Anyone
else? Uh just just another question. You
said this is new. This is this is new.
Uh, Cynthia, sorry.
Correct. This will be a new project, new
I I thought we had already allocated
some funds for for the lighting
when it had gone down in Hardy Field a
couple years ago. I thought there was
funding that was allocated for this
project. So, can you explain the new
Yes. Uh, Cynth Cynthia, CIP manager. We
currently have another project related
to lighting specifically is for Hadley
Fields lighting. The reason why we are
presenting a new CIP project is because
this we want to encompass more than one
location. So we're providing a little
bit more flexibility to the department.
So we instead of having individual
projects for each of the fields, we're
going with one that will encompass all
of them. So, we went with sports field
lighting. The only project that I recall
for lighting related to parks is for
Hadley Field. So, there might have been
one in the past and I don't know if it
was completed or if there was a change.
I will need to go back to see the
historic goals to see if I can find more
information on specific lighting
project.
Okay. Thank you,
Christine.
This is in the motion to approve
resolution
25-117. Councelor McClur, yes. Councelor
Matise, yes. Councelor Graham, yes.
Councelor Cran, yes. Councelor Floris,
Will, yes. Councelor Beno, yes. Mayor,
yes.
Next is item 7.7, council bill number
25-020, ordinance
3091, an ordinance repealing and
replacing chapter 7 animals of the Los
Cusus Municipal Code.
Move to approve Graham. Second, Corin.
Good afternoon, Mayor Council. Brad
Douglas, city attorney for the
record. Feels as though we may have been
here
before. So, I'm here to talk to you
today about the proposed repeal and
replace of uh the animals ordinance
within our municipal code. And so, here
is a quick discussion of the key
revisions that we've made. We've
clarified the care the care and
maintenance requirements for companion
animals. Uh there are more comprehensive
protections for those animals in place.
Um, if you'll recall, there was quite a
bit of discussion regarding whether the
path that the city wanted to go down was
mandatory spay and neuter for all
companion animals, unless there was some
sort of enumerated exemption, which
we've built into the draft, or whether
there would be a sort of what I would
refer to as a compromise approach. Uh
the approach that we've decided to take
is that there would be mandatory spay
and neuter requirements for companion
animals who are found to be in violation
of restraint requirements two times or
more in a year. Or the rationale behind
that was if your companion animal is
repeatedly on the loose or running at
large, well then we really ought to look
at seeing about sterilizing that
companion animal to avoid unwanted
overpopulation, unwanted breeding
behaviors. And so that's what we're
proposing to you all. And there are
still enumerated exemptions even for
those animals. So, if say uh it would be
unsafe for the I'm going to say pet. I
probably shouldn't say that, but if if
it were to be unsafe for the pet to be
sterilized and there's a note from a
veterinarian, well, then uh that would
not apply. Obviously, if it was a uh
police service dog, that would not
apply. There are several enumerated
exemptions. And so we felt like this was
a more fair and equitable approach while
also taking into account the concerns
that this governing body uh has raised
in the
past. Uh I just mentioned that if the
spay and neuter requirement is adopted,
there is a list of exemptions for
qualifying companion
animals. Uh we have proposed new
restrictions on when tethering a
companion animal would be allowed. Under
the rewrite, you would only be allowed
to tether your companion animal for a 1
hour up to a 1 hour period in a 24-hour
day. Now, I've heard some concerns about
this
uh very recently. U and the concern was,
well, what if my what if my dog has to
go to the bathroom more than once a day?
And it's important to notice that this
is all going to be or at least the
tethering restriction is going to be
complaint driven. um if there's a
health, safety, welfare
uh concern for the animal, that's when
enforcement would come in. I don't think
that animal control is going to be
driving past the house at 6:00 in the
morning and saying, "Okay, the animal
was on the tether for 23 minutes. Let me
come back at noon. Oh, the animal's not
there at 1:00. Oh, 18 minutes. They've
only got 19 more minutes today." That's
not the intent. The intent is for the
health, safety, and well-being of the
animal. Of course, tethering has its own
safety concerns. Studies have shown that
animals that are tethered for long
periods of time often become uh they
exhibit aggressive behaviors. And so
we're trying to get rid of that. Um
under the rewrite, there are more
comprehensive prohibitions on abuse,
neglect, and abandonment of companion
animals. So for example, defocalization
of a companion animal would be rendered
illegal. uh declawing of companion
animals would be more limited and there
is a lot more
um uh my my favorite word mayor prom
there's a more robust enforcement with
regard to the prohibition on animal
fighting and possession of any
paraphernalia related to animal
fighting.
Uh irresponsible pet owners convict
convicted two or more times of violating
this chapter in a calendar year may be
prohibited from pet ownership for a
prescribed time
period. As I've mentioned earlier, if
the spay and neuter update uh is passed,
then residents may apply for intact
animal permits pursuant uh to those
qualifiers. There are revisions to
community cat and community cat
caretaker standards. And while I'm on
this bullet, I think it makes some sense
to uh let you know that I was very
recently approached by animal control
and LCPD within the last week or two. It
wasn't very recent, within the last week
or two. And the one amendment that they
would like to propose today is with
regard to the community cat and
community cat caretaker standards. Um,
what I would recommend is I'm going to
tell you what their proposed amendment
is and it's up to you obviously. Uh, but
since it is an amendment on the day of,
I would recommend letting public
participation play out just in the
interest of fairness. But of course,
that's up to you all. Uh, so their
proposed amendment uh would be that if a
community cat is impounded three or more
times, then that community cat would not
be returned to the area where it was
captured.
And I'll let
uh I guess I I won't let him. Gino,
where are you? Look at him hiding back
there. I'll let him
u state his position with regard to that
possible amendment. I'm really excited
about number 12. The Las Cusus Municipal
Court would have more clearly defined
authority regarding dangerous dog and
potentially dangerous dog designations
with the authority to enforce handling
and registration requirements. We have
that now.
uh but quite frankly parts of the code
as it's currently written are confusing
are ambiguous seem to conflict with one
another and also potentially the state
statute. So we've done a lot of revision
and clarification on that section and I
think it'll be uh in the best interest
of public safety if that were to
pass. And then we've clarified the
reclamation requirements at the ASCMV.
Again, just to summarize, the overall
goal is to achieve a more comprehensive
code that prevents animal suffering
within the city, improves public health,
welfare, and safety, and also addresses
overpopulation concerns for those
companion animals who are habitually
found to be running at large or in
violation of restraint requirements.
uh to empower our animal control
officers in their duties, to remove
ambiguity and confusing language where
possible, to reduce unnecessary
euthanasia of companion animals, and to
identify those appropriate exemptions
for mandatory spay and
neuter. I've gone over this before, but
just a quick recap. Uh spay and neuter
requirements have been held to be
constitutional in New Mexico. There are
published cases on point. Um, our goal
should be to avoid criminalizing
otherwise responsible pet owners who may
be unavailable to afford uh spay and
neuter procedures. Uh, there is language
within the proposed ordinance that
states that the city of Los Cruus's
shall strive uh as part of its budget to
provide funding. It doesn't quite commit
us to do it. It's a little aspirational,
I'll be honest. Uh but thanks to
councelor Corin and others uh we have
been providing those funds to assist
with low to medium income individuals
who may need that assistance and getting
it uh when they want
it. Of course factors to consider are
availability of qualified vets to
perform those services within the city.
Um something to consider uh whether the
fees collected should be remitted to the
general fund or redirected to
ASCMV. Um the fees would be the fees
that I'm describing are, you know,
special animal permits, multi-animal
permits, and the language of the
proposed ordinance is that at a later
date, this body would set those fees via
resolution. I don't like having fees set
in an ordinance. I like for the
governing body to have more flexibility
when setting those fees and it's also
more of a hassle to repeal and replace
an ordinance. Whereas, uh, if it's done
via
resolution, that's something that gives
all of you, like I said, a lot more
flexibility. If things need to be
updated, they can be updated in an
easier manner.
Um, and like I said, we're trying to
strike the balance between protecting
vulnerable animals and upholding public
safety while not penalizing uh people
who may not otherwise be able to afford
spay and neuter
procedures.
[Music]
Um, Mr. Gimenez, anything. Did I leave
anything out? Got it. He says that I got
it, but afterward he's going to tell me
everything I forgot.
Um and so your council options today
would be vote yes to approve, vote no to
deny, vote to amend. Um the one
amendment that animal control and LCPD
were proposing is that there be a new
paragraph uh underneath community cat
and community cat caretaker
requirements. And their proposed
amendment would be uh that a community
cat that is impounded three times or
more shall not be returned to the area
where it was captured. And of course the
vote to table uh to another date if
necessary and I'll stand for questions.
Uh thank you Brad. Um
um Mr. Menace Gino did did you want to
speak to
to the item the issue you were talking
about. I don't know if Brad had
mentioned, let them give their
presentation, then we'll ask questions.
Mayor, council, for the record, my name
is Dino Himemenz. I'm the animal control
supervisor. The reason that uh Mr.
Douglas brought that up was for
clarification if needed on that three
strikes or that community cat um being
impounded three times within that
calendar year. there's any uh
explanation needed for that, I am more
than willing to explain.
Okay. But what you're advocating for is
to return them not to the same location.
Is that correct, Mr. Mayor? That is
correct. Right now, the way that the
shelter there isn't it is simply a
policy with the animal service center.
It's not part of our ordinance. So, all
we're asking you is to make that u
agreement between the director and our
into the ordinance. Whereas if a cat, a
community cat is impounded three or more
times within that calendar year, it can
no longer go back to that same colony,
it could be placed in a uh enclosed
colony uh adopted any other place. Um
once a cat has been impounded such um it
is showing signs of domestication. So it
has a great chance of adoption really.
Okay. Thank you J. Um any questions my
council councelor Footus? I I have a I'm
I'm dazed and confused. And so it seems
like um that the cat thing um isn't
quite uh clear
or there's something not quite right
with that part. Can Can you clarify
it? I mean, the way it's written and the
way it would be
enforced. I know that um I know there's
been a lot of people who a lot of u
people who attend the animal service
center uh meetings uh were against it
and when all of this was being proposed
like I don't know five or six years ago
to codify everything uh there was a lot
of push back. So I'm just wondering how
that language it just doesn't seem
complete. So,
Mayor Council Flores, uh, again, that
agreement was already in place or that
practice is already in place. Um, it was
an agreement between Mr. Thater at the
time, the director at the time, that any
cat that was impounded three or more
times would not be returned to the area
that it was initially impounded from or
captured in. All we're doing is putting
that into the ordinance to state the
same thing. A cat, like I said
previously, a cat that has been uh
captured or impounded is basically
showing signs of domestication. So that
cat has a better chance of being placed
in a forever home rather than being
placed back out into a colony.
Thank you, Gino. You're welcome. Thank
you, Mayor. And thank you, uh, Brad.
Thank you, Councelor Current.
Thank you, Brad. You know, um, all of
the I just want to give really a a huge
appreciation to all of the community
folks who have been talking to us about
this for a really long time. I know that
the city has been thinking about things
like TNR in the past, thinking about
spay and neuter, thinking about our
youth in Asia, right, thinking about the
shelter in all of these different ways,
and the big missing piece was our
ordinance. and and I really appreciate
the persistence of the community folks
who have committed extraordinary amounts
of time and hours to this to animal
control for being there in those
conversations and for for you all um
contributing to this different vision
which is we expect people to care for
their pets in our community and we're
going to support them in the ways that
we most most meaningfully can um and
keep animals out of our shelter. I I
just really want to give a shout out for
years, literally years of work that you
all have done and and thinking about
this um and compromising and coming to
different places and having
conversations about what it means to
take care of animals in our community um
in a whole bunch of different ways. So
um I just really want to give extreme
appreciation for bringing this forward,
all of you who contributed to this and
and have been thinking about this for a
long time. Um, I think it's really
meaningful and I do hope that we can
with this I think a really important
symbol regardless of um enforcement
details that I know are included as as a
part of this too. But I really hope that
one of the things that we can say is
everyone should be spaying and neutering
their pets. We're here to support you.
That's part of our norm in our
community. Um, and really getting to
the, you know, not 30 dogs going into
the animal shelter every day. um which
is which is really the sad part of this
that I think um drives the need. So
changing the norms and and and our
rhetorical approach to how we say we're
caring for animals in our community. So
I thank you for your efforts in in this
um and I commit to continuing this
conversation in in the public sphere and
and communicating about this as much as
possible. So thank you again. Thank you.
Thank you councelor uh councelor Matise.
What what I'd like to bring up is when
when you rewrite something, you know,
you you have a lot of new enforcement
strategies in this uh new
ordinance. Can I find out how much the
budget will be increased and how many
more animal control offices will be
hired? And um you know, this is why I'm
asking for a compliance officer in the
city of Los Cruus because we we rewrite
things. We bring in new
ordinances, but we have to back it up
with a a big increase in in in the
budget uh and new codes
acco people. So, is that happening? Is
that on in the books? Is that in
the in the planning?
Mayor, uh, Councelor Matise, with regard
to this ordinance,
um, no, this ordinance does not address,
you know, anything like additional
hiring, additional resources that will
be needed. What I can tell you is that
when, and it's a it's a bear of a
project to rewrite an entire chapter. To
echo councelor Corin, I I'd like to
thank animal control supervisor Gino
Jimenez, Lieutenant Joy Weeda of LCPD,
and I want to give a special shout out
to at least two of our community
partners, Kathy Stark and Jerry Wheelis,
who are here today. Uh, with regard to
this ordinance, I'm not
exaggerating. Just the meetings that
went into this, probably somewhere
between 30 to 40 hours. And that's just
for the meetings. that doesn't include
all of the rewrites, all of the
conversations had over the phone, over
emails. Uh, but with regard to the way
that the ordinance is written, we tried
to be conscientious about the way that
we drafted it because we didn't want to
give animal control just this unfunded
mandate. You've got all of these new
duties now, and you don't have nearly
enough people. I'm sure that Mr. Himenez
would gladly take a few extra animal
control officers. Correct.
Uh, but we were thoughtful when we
drafted this. Uh, as that's something
that could probably come up in the
future. I'm sure that that it could and
probably should. Uh, but I repeat
myself, I'm a broken record sometimes.
The way that this ordinance was drafted
was so that it could affect the maximum
possible change without adding
additional just you know unbearable
stress or additional requirements on our
ACOs. The intent of the ordinance was
really twofold. To protect companion
animals throughout the city, but also to
empower our animal control officers and
I believe counselor that we've done that
with this rewrite.
Okay. And with that said, in other
words, on April 14th when we come up
with some priorities for the budget, uh
this will be a priority that I'll bring
up if if that's not a problem. You know,
I I I think if you're going to have a
rewrite, and I notice you do have a lot
more enforcement provisions in it,
right? I I cannot see the same staff
handling all those new provisions and
the growth in the city and now the
respect and care for animals will have
to be enforced because if it's not then
it's just a token you know it's just a
token ordinance and and people will say
well they're not doing anything about it
and then we we'll be in the same place.
So, uh, I'll do that on on April 14th,
and hopefully our city manager, Connie,
will respect my, uh, request. Thank you.
Thank you very much,
Council Florence. Uh, thank you. Oh,
thank you again, Brad, and thank you,
Gino. It seems to me Well, so is there a
budget for the additional officers that
you're going to be
needing? because I know I know that you
know you're
overwhelmed with uh you know so my
question is and are we fully funded uh
to provide additional officers? Mayor
Council Flores. Um, yes, ma'am. There's
always a need for additional support.
Um, the request has always been made.
So, you know, my experience with uh
Jerry Willis, uh, dear friend, um, has
gone it goes back years, you know, like
I don't know, six years or so. and then
with the other members of of of that
committee or that group and um and I
know that there were there's just been
so many discussion you know like how
many chickens can you have you know can
you have horses and you know yada yada
and but the cat issue is the one that is
uh probably you know the most uh
difficult because um I I just see I just
don't know I mean is it really
enforcable Or are we just putting it
down to appease the um you know the just
to appease the community and not the
community cats but the community that is
um of people who are um participating in
this process. With all due respect
I mean I know you attend all those
meetings. Do you know mayor councelor
Flores? Yes. that discussion or that
topic is always greatly emotional. Um
there are citizens that feel great that
um the cats should be left alone and
then there's the enforcement part of it
where we can't actually just turn our
back to it. We've got to address those
issues. So I think in the last rewrite
which I believe was in 2019 is when this
compromise of community cat came to uh
to the table. Um so over the past couple
of rights into the proposal that you
have now is something that I believe
like uh uh uh Mr. Douglas said earlier
is a huge compromise on both parts. You
know everybody is understanding each
everybody else's role and then how does
the county is is the county going to
have a similar um some
similar you know legislation
or how is that going to work out?
Councelor Flotus, I know that in the
past, we the city and the county have
always tried to mirror our uh
ordinances. However, there's different
requirements and different restrictions.
You know, of course, in the county, the
plot sizes are much greater than those
in the city. Um so, they are allowed to
have more animals and such. Um but we do
our best to mirror each other. Um I
haven't gotten with Mary Lou Ward yet to
see her u opinion or feedback on this
part yet. So, as soon as we're approved,
I will reach out to her. Okay. So,
you're saying that if we approve it,
maybe they'll do the same thing. Maybe
um and maybe not. And I mean, you know,
it'll be my crystal ball at home. So, I
can't I just I you know, it's just very
um it's an emotional issue, I think, for
a lot of us.
Um, but I know that uh Barbara Beno and
I worked on uh revising the JPA, you
know, the agreement between the city and
the coun in the county.
Um, and it was like and we went through
it with a fine
tooth comb and u and I don't I don't
know if this really really affects
anything
except the manpower. I mean it I mean I
don't know I I just don't I I think uh
or the person power the people power
power to the people. Um yeah I think
there's a I don't know I I just don't
see how it could really work. I mean I I
can see the the thinking behind it, the
humanity, the
empathy, but I don't know. I mean I'm
really I'm really torn without a doubt.
Mayor, councelor Fus. Um, with the
passing of this ordinance, of course,
it's not going to affect the JPA. Um,
just a, uh, you you brought up the topic
of manpower. Animal control hasn't had a
increase in manpower since 2009, right?
So, and it's not um, there's always been
that request made and I believe that
with the passing of this ordinance, it
may increase that have the opportunity
to increase that. It may increase, it
may not increase. I'm just wondering if
there's going to be legislation on the
books that can't be enforced and they're
just there to, you know, to look pretty
or something, you know, to look nice. I
don't know. Anyway, I'm really torn
about this. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And
thank you, Gino. Thank you, Brad. Thank
you, Councelor Krin. I just really
quickly to this end I think I think in
the budget presentations uh councelor
Graham actually included animal control
as one of her priorities as as a funding
priority in dece December when we did
that. So I just want to say that it's
it's in it seems like it's in
conversation. So thank you for pointing
that out um early on. But I also just
want to point out, I think in some ways
the work that happened with
TNR, you know, the shelter was putting
to sleep many cats um that were that
were being taken in um many community
cats prior to us passing a rule and kind
of just changing the conversation.
Recently the shelter has had very few
cats coming in like they and and it's
been an extraordinary like there have
been weeks where they have had no cats
in the shelter for people to adopt. Um
and that that has been a yearslong
conversation and that has to do with
many community partners and a range of
policies and practices. that that was a
community sort of statement on what we
want to do about cats in our community
and we didn't want to put them to
sleep and that we did it sort of
haphazardly I think in the way that we
wrote that original ordinance. I don't I
think there were a lot of loose ends and
not necessarily thinking about the
resources but those have come steadily
since then and I think there has been a
change in how we approach that. So, so
to me, I would say I don't know that
it's always the perfect is the enemy of
the good, but to me saying collectively
that we we want to change our values and
the ways that we talk about this and
think about it
um does make a difference. I think and I
I that's why I think this is really
promising to me and hopeful because I
think we can say we're we're changing
the way we think about this. We're
changing the way we talk about this.
We're changing the way we support animal
control in what they do and the animal
services center. So I I just feel like
there is
hope, counselor Flores. Hope springs.
I'm sharing it to you now.
Hope springs eternal. Thank you.
That's it.
Mayor, just one last thing, Brad. Thank
you. And I just want to echo everybody.
Thank you for the work that you've put
into it.
Um I know it's been long and so you
know, I want to just acknowledge that
for sure. I just I have sort of one
request around
um particularly around uh spay and
neuter
um citations that may be given out and
how many of those municipal court is
seeing. Obviously, I was a early on um
sort of criter of this piece that we're
just, you know, this might just
criminalize more people. Um which is why
I also talked about um animal welfare in
during our budget retreat um just like
councelor Graham did or Leon um
and especially in spay and neuter
funding and those kinds of things. I do
I would like to see like six months in a
year out Brad just are are our are
people being funneled through there our
people being sort of intervened early on
and and enga and asked to you know
participate in the many efforts in our
community that's just really my request
um but I do want to just thank all of
you for the many hours thank you mayor
prom and I'll get with uh you know if
this measure passes I'll get with Mr.
Jimenez and Lieutenant Weedela. I'll get
with my internal staff and uh we can do
some updates for you and and and make
sure that it, you know, hopefully it
does what we what we want it to do. Uh
but if it has unintended consequences
that that we don't like, we could always
come back and amend at a later date, but
we will um we'll keep you apprised of
those numbers.
Okay. Again, thank you Brad, uh
Lieutenant Weider, and Gino. Thank you
for all your work and to the members of
the community. And with that, I'd say,
is there anybody from the community? Any
public participation? Anybody that would
want to speak? Okay, I'll give you a
couple of
minutes. Good afternoon, Jerry Willis,
Animal Advocates for Change. Um, mayor,
counselor, councelor Flores, just wanted
to address one item that you brought up
and that was um the coordination with
the county. Uh, Kathy and I have been
having many meetings as well with the
county and Mary Lou is on board to try
and mirror as much as possible with the
city. So, that should not be an
impediment.
Thank you, J.
Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council.
I'm Dana Dargo. Last month, I had the
honor of lobbying at the state capital
with animal advocates from all across
the state on behalf of Animal Protection
New Mexico. I came away knowing that Los
Cusus is much too big to still be
considered kind of the Wild West and
whatever goes with animals. Um, that's
just not who we are as a community
anymore. Uh,
HB113 is the animal welfare program
fund. It passed both chambers nearly
unanimously and is currently on the
governor's desk waiting to be signed.
That fund allocates $5 million for
government agencies and nonprofit groups
statewide to better serve animal
control, sheltering, rescue, and
population control. Uh these funds will
be available as early as June 20th of
this year. I respectfully ask you to
pass the new animal ordinance in time to
apply for funding for a greatly expanded
and easily attainable lowcost spayneut
neuter program as well as public
education and enforcement of the new
ordinance.
Uh this is an opportunity to get a
handle on animal overpopulation and make
a lasting difference so that our
shelters and animal control departments
aren't permanently overwhelmed and pets
don't continue to be abused, neglected,
abandoned, or euthanized simply because
there are too many of them. If we love
animals, let's make that love matter by
taking action to protect and manage them
in a way that reflects our humane
values. And I have copies of the fact
sheet for that House Bill 113. Um the
governor has until the 11th, just five
days from now, four days to sign that.
So I'll leave those copies with you if
you'd like.
Thank you. Thank you, ma'am.
Mayor and counselors, first of all, I'd
like to introduce you to a Missia Valley
Animal Services Center success story.
I've had her for 12 and a half years.
She was scheduled to be euthanized the
day I adopted her and her name is Brandy
Alexandra and she was one of the pet one
of my pets that helped raise over
$20,000 for the Donana County Humane
Society uh several years ago and was
recognized by this August body. Uh I
definit definitely want to make sure
that the spay and neuter action program
is continued. In fact, their
budget probably if you approve this
measure uh we can get it in in time to
get some of this money that's going to
be available coming up here from the new
legislation spay and neuter action uh
center. I've been working with them for
years just as I have with the uh Donana
County Humane Society and it it is a
successful program. It is working and uh
we need to get more animal animal
control officers out there. I know that
has to be a budget item, but definitely
we need to produce and promote
um the spay and neuter action program as
a high high priority. I I'm requesting
that you approve this measure. Thank you
very
[Applause]
much. Okay.
Thank you.
Okay. Going to do the
I um I I did want to just bring up the
matter of the amendment. I didn't hear
any sort of public comment on that as
Brad maybe was hoping for. Um I I
generally want to sort of say yes to um
the recommendation from the folks on the
front lines. in humans. I don't love the
three strikes rule. Um but I recognize
that there were um this could
potentially be different and so um I did
appreciate the the uh further
clarification you provided. Um I'm okay
with it. I but I did want to make sure
that uh we made room for that
conversation for folks if they're
feeling any other way. Brad, if you have
it written, um maybe you can provide
that to one of us.
Thank you, Mayor Prom. Uh, so,
uh, if there's a motion for for an
amendment, I would recommend language to
the following effect, and it would be a
new
paragraph under section
7-32A, community cats and community cat
caregivers.
The proposed language would be if a
community cat is impounded three or more
times, it shall not be returned to the
area where it was captured.
I move we amend it to
that second.
Okay. So, this is on the amendment as
proposed by Brad. Um, councelor Mccclur.
Yes. Councelor Matise. Yes. Councelor
Graham. Yes. Councelor Karan. Yes.
Councelor Fletus. Yes. Councelor
Bencoml. Yes. And mayor. Yes.
This is on the motion to pro um approve
ordinance 3091 as amended. Councelor
Mccclur. Yes. Councelor Matise. Yes.
Councelor Graham. Yes. Councelor Karan.
Yes. Councelor Flores. Yes. Councelor
Bencomo. Yes. Mayor. Yes.
[Applause]
Next is board appointments. We have one
uh David Stroar, a new appointment to
the CIAC. I'll need a motion in a
second. Move to approve. Second, Graham.
This is on the motion to appoint David
Strobar to the CIA. Councelor Mccclur,
yes. Councelor Matise,
yes. Councelor Graham, yes. Councelor
Karan, yes. Councelor Flores, yes.
Councelor Beno,
yes. Mayor, yes. Next is a notice of
proposed ordinances. There are none.
Next is city council member board
reports and comments. Councelor
Mccclure.
Thank you, mayor. Um, I've been thinking
about what I'm going to say today and
I'm hoping I can get through it. Um, a
lot of times it's a response to what I
hear in council comments, but I've been
thinking about this for a long time and
you'll you'll get a sense of why here in
a second. Um, it's hard to say anything
new about the epidemic of gun violence
in our country. Um, aside from the fact
that there are members of our community
that should have gone home a few nights
ago and they didn't. And I grieve with
the parents and the family and the
friends in our city. Frankly,
um, my heart is heavy, but my heart has
been heavy for a long time. And I just
want to elucidate that a little bit. Um,
Coline happened as I was going into high
school. Virginia Tech happened when I
was in
college. There's been a nightclub.
There's been a concert. There have been
theaters. There's been a Walmart.
But the two that stand out the most for
me are when New Town happened and I was
holding my
newborn and first graders and their
teachers lost their lives through gun
violence. And when my daughter was a
fourth
grader, a bunch of fourth graders lost
their lives at the same time. I've
carried gun violence my almost my entire
youth and I am angry and I know that
others are
angry and as a municipality it's really
hard to make changes that are going to
make a difference but we can try so let
me change it to a different tact after
that Friday was the first meeting of the
Donna County Juvenile Justice Consortium
as I'm a person of let's do some stuff
that always gets me in trouble and now
I'm the chair of
that which was a very strange
conversation to have that week and we
actually wanted to have a conversation
about let's make this a working board.
What does that look like? What can we do
for our youth in Los
Cusus, the youth that I have in my house
that are going to grow into this city
hopefully. And it was a really
good place for people to be vulnerable.
Honestly, in that day, we were saying
what what did what did how is this
impacting your organization? We had LCPS
there. We had peak behavioral health. We
had LCPD represented. We had the county.
We have parks and wreck. We have youth
diversion, FYI, uh CYFD. We're all there
at a table and at Waxes and Wanes. And I
have Chief Ordonz, who you saw earlier
with the um MRVA board. She is my
co-chair right now. and we're talking
about what can we do and that day was
more about how we are feeling and how
that impacts us. But there's a flaw in
our system right now for us specifically
that I'd like to address. And I'd like
to make that plea to the to the younger
crowd that was here that always leaves.
But I understand like I have been the
youngest person in many rooms and my
hair is starting to get gray and now I'm
still bringing down the the the age
limit on some of the meetings I go to. I
want to encourage kiddos to come to this
and I think kiddos really respectfully
like I was there. I was in my 20s.
People in their 60s were super happy
that I was here. Sorry if that's that's
a horror statement to hear, but yes, I'm
I'm aging up into it. So, I'm excited.
Join us for these meetings. Our next
one, we meet every two months. I'm
praying that I'm getting this right. May
22nd, noon at city hall. We want you at
the table to tell us what exactly we can
do, how we can do this better because
we're all there. We're all doing what we
can. And I'm just also someone had
stated there too, I think it was Robert
Nunes who had said um there are
successes in our city and we have to
focus on that too, what we can do and
how we're doing it. Start small a lot of
times. That week it was just them
talking about how they were feeling. or
um Weeden Seed had one of the students
like they they had they were impacted.
They were talking about it. So again, I
want to see some of the younger people
at these meetings. I'm calling y'all
out. You can come and have a
conversation with us here and then see
what the resources are. So that's it.
That's all I have.
um kind of along the same lines. I've
lived in Los Cusus uh 57
years and that um event was quite
shocking to me and so therefore I think
everyone on this council wants to
introduce something that could help and
my aim would be the community meetings.
I I think that's an excellent idea with
the youth, but I also like to see the
city of Los Cusus
u budget more money for really good
afterchool programs. I like to see those
programs uh expanded. I like to see more
social workers and therapists hired at
Los Cru's public schools. I've been
talking to the
superintendent. I did a tour of Llinica.
There's quite a lot of services out
there for those that that have uh
behavioral or or personal problems and I
think the afterchool programs would be
an excellent way to bring parents. I
remember when we uh we expanded the
afterchool programs with Dolores
Archeletta in 2002, 2003 and
2005 we actually included an expense for
for food. So after the afterchool
program, the schools offered uh meals
and this brought the parents down and if
you have more parents bonding and eating
with the kids and then you have
therapists there and social workers and
and the teachers being paid after a you
know I guess that's after school time.
It brings the families back together and
we know more about the children. and the
children know more about us and and the
parents are a big influence in in what's
what's happening today. Many of these
young adults have maybe a single parent
or a grandparent or sometimes no parent
at all when they they go home from
school. So, I like to see that made a a
priority. Uh the second item I have is
um it's a little more complicated
um because I'd like to see job
development. Uh I looked at the economic
development numbers and the jobs created
whether by Mavvita by the city of Los
Cusus or the county and and the jobs are
are just not there nor are there good
paying jobs and that's where the
industrial park needs to be uh supple
supplemented and it can be done by the
El Paso Electric
Company and that can be done with just
sitting down and likeex the city manager
if he could put together a meeting uh
with our economic development
department, our our new economic
development director and and see what we
can do to actually get that that extra
grid built through the rightway. By the
by the rightway, I mean what we already
have the rightway. And so a line can be
made to to go up to the industrial park
to provide more megawatt, more power.
And and I think if we have the power up
there and we have have the grid
supplemented, then we could attract
bigger companies, better paying
companies. I mean, it it it just
surprises me that Los Al Los Lunis can
get Facebook uh Facebook's doing a big
expansion in Los Lunis. I mean, and then
Callsbad getting a 2 million square foot
warehouse. Portalis,
Farmington, uh, Los Cusus needs to get
there and we need to spend the millions
of dollars to serve more people. And
we're spending millions of dollars
sometimes on projects that are only
serving 50, 60, a couple hundred people.
We need to spend the millions for
example in the afterchool programs and I
mean millions to serve more kids, more
youth, more recreational parks, more
parks as we see more fields, maybe more
club f like club fusions or Amodore
Live, more places for the kid, maybe a
bowling alley, maybe we need to support
uh more recreational facilities and
reach more people. We're we're we're
spending millions of dollars and not
reaching thousands. We should be
reaching thousands of kids.
Thousands. And then we should be doing
the same thing, reaching people that can
get jobs. We just have to prioritize
where we're spending our millions right
now. And we need to spend
less in certain projects to actually
serve more. And and if and if we can do
that maybe with uh Council Mccclure's
idea, my idea, and everyone on on this
council coming up with a bold new idea,
uh maybe we could prevent
uh more tragic happenings. Thank you.
Thank you, Council Councelor Grant.
Well, I don't have a bold new idea, but
I am going to talk about my bold ongoing
idea. Um, Councelor Mccclure, I love
your call out to young people to come to
our table and I want to expand that to
say we want to come to your table. We
want to come where you are. The impetus
does not have to be on you to come to
us. Um, and I speak as somebody who has
um the great pleasure two nights a week
of spending time with some of the best
people in Los Cusus. And that are those
are the elementary, middle, high school,
and young adult um fighters who call the
Los Cusus Police Athletic League Boxing
Gym PAL gym home.
Um, one thing that soothed my heart a
little bit on March 21st when we started
getting word of what had happened at
Young Park was that I knew that a big
chunk of our boxing team uh was in
Roswell, New Mexico at New Mexico State
Golden Gloves Championships. Um, and not
just PAL House of Pain Boxing, Cross
Town, Doniana Boxing Club. I'm focusing
on one sport because that's where my
history and my heart is, but I watch
these programs work. Um, and so much of
it is what I've learned, especially from
Mayor Prom Beno, is making it
accessible, lowering barriers, and
opening your door to anyone who wants to
be there. And over the past four years
that I've been on council, um the city
has
consistently supported my outcry for
more support for PAL and it it is seen
and it is something that is currently
working and we need more of it. Um so
that is my um that is my comment. I also
um talking about job development um I
know at least two current Los Cusus
police officers who came through the PAL
boxing gym and I think we've got four
firefighters right now um who came up at
PAL. Um it's a great place to come and
recruit your next class of public
servants. um they're warriors with
hearts. And um I think that's another
place
where I'm seeing how we can
expand something that is maybe quote
unquote just a sport into something that
can have a bigger impact on our
participants lives. Um yeah, that's
that's what I got. Thanks.
Thank you. Thank you, councelor Kin.
Uh, thanks to all the insights and all
the insights that came earlier. I first
just want to really give enormous
gratitude to LCPD and LCFD who I know
saved lives that day. Um, I am very sure
that our first responders
um did things in a in such a timely
fashion and and in such a wellskilled
way that that we can be extremely proud
of of their contributions. And I I just
want to share my appreciation for
knowing that you you work for our city
and and care about our our folks in the
ways that you do, including that day.
Um, and then I also want to give a
followup to all of the community
organizations that were part of the
victim resource center. Um, we I had the
opportunity to to visit with those folks
who really stepped up and into um,
unfortunately something that they knew
was that they trained for. So that was
very apparent when we when when it got
set up in a really quick way and and was
able to help and support community
members who were visiting there. And I
suspect as this crisis evolves, many
folks who who experience trauma of many
sorts will need ongoing support. And I
know that our city has that um after
visiting with the the victim's resource
center. So I just want to share enormous
gratitude to all of the folks who
responded in the various ways and
brought their talents to bear to save
lives at that time and now saving lives
in an ongoing basis. Um, I think I
I am perplexed and and talking to
everyone that I know about what what
should we do and I don't think I've
heard any singular answer that said that
could say this is what will fix this
problem and I think anyone who has a a
singular answer is is not really seeing
or hearing what folks are saying. Um, so
I look forward to all of the
opportunities that we have to have
conversations about that. And I say that
um the next week we visit we did our
Thrive visits to schools. Um and the I I
say this is as one of the most
heartening things. I visited Mrs.
Cisada's um fourth grade bilingual
class. Um and the student who was there
that this was during um a time when the
uh Allen Theaters was hosting a film
festival for all of the uh LCPS schools,
including these kids in fourth grade,
many of whom had acted in a in a I don't
know
avantgard dinosaurs in space movie with
one of their classmates. And it it it
reminded me that we can never see young
people as
as a a risk only as a hope. And I say
this as someone who works with works at
the community college and and I see and
feel hope from my students all the time.
Um and so the contrast of those things
this weekend visiting with the volunteer
the people who volunteer for the city of
Los Cusus. Thank you for the invitation.
And it was an extraordinary event to get
to meet so many people who contribute as
coaches for sports teams at the rec
center, who um are training people to do
food service, speaking of job
development, who are work working as
dosent at the museums. Um, and seeing
all of those folks who are engaged, all
different ages, um, both young people
and older folks, working with with young
people and old folks, um, teaching them
Tai Chi, you know, uh, and Dungeons and
Dragons and whatever else, a myriad of
extraordinary things that folks are
doing as volunteers. Um, I feel the
contrast of the despair that comes from
a tragedy. Um, and the hope that comes
from the the many people who are doing
extraordinary things in our community
all the time. And so, um, I want to give
gratitude to those folks, including
those those volunteers that we saw this
weekend.
Um, that was a really great opportunity
and I hope um to to continue to engage
with those volunteers and and I love the
ways that our city um provides places
for for people all across a range of
spectrums and I just hope that we can
expand that and fill that role um in the
in the ways that make our community
stronger and more hopeful. So that's
that's it for me.
Thank you, councelor. Councelor Flores.
Uh, thank you. Um, I want to share um or
yeah, share with you. I think we're
trying to look at solutions here and uh
maybe they're just uh little grains of
sand uh going into a huge bottle, but um
it should help. I want to share with you
um
uh what Maria Flores, some of you may
know her, she served on the uh Lasus uh
school board for many many uh years, I
think 12 years, 14 years. And um she
would visit classrooms. She would just
go to different schools and sit and talk
to children.
And um on one occasion or in visiting
this class, she saw that this little
girl never went to lunch. You know,
there was kids would go out, you know,
get their little bags or whatever. And
uh and there weren't any free lunches um
there, but she'd sit there with a bag,
her little brown bag at her desk. And so
Maria, Mrs. Flores,
um asked that little girl
um aren't you going to eat your lunch?
And she'd say, "No, I'm I'm not hungry."
And she'd say, "Oh, okay." And this
happened. And then um it happened, you
know, it went on and on. And so what
Maria discovered uh at one point was
that she didn't have any food in that
bag. She had a rock that made it look
like there was food in that bag. And um
and that was that's probably one of the
most heartbreaking stories that you know
that I've you know that I've heard. And
this is our LCPS schools. Um the other
um story that she shared
um anyway so she would s she would
actually go in and and mayor um former
mayor Miaima did this too. Uh I think he
still does it. He goes in and talks to
kids just you know makes arrangements of
course with the school district the
school and in so on another occasion
um Maria Mrs. Flores was talking to the
kids and asking them just going around
and asking them what is your favorite
activity at school? What is it that you
like about coming to school? And the
kids would say oh I see my friends I
like my teacher. I like to read. I like
recess etc etc. She came upon this
little girl who um reluctantly replied
and she and she was a very low voice and
almost embarrassed. Well, she probably
was embarrassed and she said, "I come to
eat." And when Maria shared this story
with me, I I you know, there were just,
you know, about two or three of us who
have been in the classroom. I was a
substitute teacher for LA USD or D while
my kids were were young. Um and you
would see these you would see that
children had problems and um but at any
rate um it was really heartbreaking to
think
that well it's heartbreaking I'm sure
that you're sitting there thinking that
that those are horrible stories and they
are and this is going to um you know
we're trying to look at solutions but we
can't get to solutions unless we really
know uh the uh fountain or the root
of of the the the world we live in today
and um and and and I you know really
salute and praise my colleagues for
their contributions and um but you know
I think one of and I'm I'm not saying
this is the root uh problem because
there's a lot of things that need
correcting in our in our world but um
but you can't function without food I
mean these are children who are going to
school to get food and I know now um I
think that schools are providing uh
breakfast lunch at breakfast and lunch
even during the holiday season you know
like when they're off for summer or you
know spring break or whatever. Um so I
you know what we have now we have uh
again um we have another uh joint powers
agreement with the LCPS. So the city of
Laserus and uh LCPS worked on the um
what do you call it on the the proposal
for the JPA from the state of uh New
Mexico. and I was with the League of
Women Voters at that time and I
participated somewhat not you know I
wasn't one of the leaders or anything
but different to to create this JP
um you know joint powers agreement JPA
so that we could set up community
schools so we do have community schools
and they're thriving and um councelor uh
Graham um sits on that board uh
initially it was Greg Smith
um
esta anyway there were three of us and
then Tessa Tessa was one of them Greg
Smith was another one um and then
um and and you know and I and it was it
was really sad to hear um you know we
meet once a month and um it was it was
really sad to hear how um a lot of these
children a lot of the children in our
schools
uh don't come from uh homes where um
there's a meal, you know, for breakfast,
there's a meal for dinner when they're
home. and um and a lot of other you know
a lot of other issues but what has
happened with the community schools I
think um I don't know if there's a
measure but from from we meet once a
month and um and the the principles are
very uh committed and there's one
principal Sher Love who who uh is at the
Dona Anna elementary school and her her
her area is like in the boonies
sometimes. And when kids are maybe
absent because they had a cold or
whatever,
measles, you know, it's fine. But if
they're absent more than two or three
days, she actually goes out to those
homes to find out what the child, you
know, why the child isn't in school. And
then she takes whatever measures that
are appropriate um to make sure that the
child gets back in school.
and um you know I don't think we have a
report on that in terms of um anyway a
lot of the a lot of the children are
thriving in all of those schools and um
so I think that that's a start and I
think recognizing that um it's our
children come first because if a child
is is not eating if a child is you know
if there's and then you know a lot of
these homes um you know there's
unemployment uh frustration and then
they take it out on the kids and all of
this comes out too which is very very um
very sad very it's a tragedy um but it's
like we have to look at those root
issues before we can come up with
solutions and in the meantime I think
it's good that we're applying band-aids
thank you Mr. weird.
Thank you, Mayor Prom. Thanks, Mayor.
Uh, thanks everyone. Um
um I was a little bit dreading this
moment actually because
um I don't know what do you even really
say um except I guess what's on your
heart and my heart is deeply broken for
the families in Los Cruus who lost their
loved ones much too soon. for the people
that were there that will be forever
impacted that forever carry this with
them. For our first responders that will
also always carry this with them and um
that's hard and no amount of solutions
that we come up with now will take that
away. So that's just deeply
heartbreaking.
Um, and as I started thinking about what
I wanted to say today, I
um found that there have actually been
87 mass shootings in the United States
since the year began. Since 2025,
there's been 87 mass shootings. And
actually, the data was only up till
April 5th, uh, which didn't include a
shooting that happened at a mall in Fort
Collins, Colorado yesterday, where my
brother lives, um, where two died. and
there was one juvenile
suspect. Um, every town, the
organization says that firearms are the
leading cause of death for American
children and
teens. And there's an article recently
that said that six of the nine deadliest
mass shootings in the United States
since 2018 were pe were by people who
were under 21 or
younger, predominantly young men. And so
I don't know if all of those communities
that have experienced this awful tragedy
like we just now we're on this list,
right? Um and I don't know if those
communities also struggle with not
enough laws, bad laws, uh lack of
police, um whatever it might be. I don't
know those details. What I do know is
that there's a very common thread and
the thread is that uh children and teens
can easily access guns.
Um, and people
die. Um, and that I think I've also been
feeling a lot of shame around the like
very normalized cycle that we go through
around mass shootings. We say our
thoughts and our prayers. We some of us,
you know, are very angry for a while and
it sort of sticks with us. I had never
really considered what happens in that
community the day after. What happens in
that community the week after? What
happens two weeks later, a month later,
six months later, a year later, right?
How does that community come
together to
heal? Um, and I hope that we can do that
in Los Cusus. I've se I think I've seen
a lot of things that make me
um sad in terms of responses, but I've
also seen a lot of things that make me
hopeful.
Um, and some of the things that, you
know, I want to commit to are one,
continuing to center the voices of
youth, especially youth that were there
that night. Um, youth that we have
tagged as quote unquote troubled youth.
I want to
understand their lives, their
environments. I I want them to help us,
you know, whatever initiatives come out
of this tra this tragedy, programming,
education, infrastructure, policy that
it's that it's led by youth, by directly
impacted youth. That feels like a
commitment that I'm very strong on. Um,
one of the ways that I hope we can do
this, and FYI has, and you know, you all
saw them here today, they are they're
already committed to this. Um, but they
will be, um, you know, they're willing
and they stepped up to lead some youth
conversations with the city. We'll pull
in the schools. I've invited my
colleague, Councelor Graham, to join
and, um, some city staff to join those
planning meetings. But as soon as, you
know, details on that come out, I I
think we should all go and listen, just
deeply listen about what youth in our
community, especially if they've been
justice involved, have to say about what
they need and wish to see in our
community. That's one. Number two, I uh
sort of immediately started thinking
about what diversion looks like in our
community. And um I found that out of
district court here uh there's no
diversion program for juveniles involved
in uh any kind of violence or crime. Um
the second judicial district court does
have a program that's been tremendously
successful called the community gun
violence intervention program. Um
specifically focused on people ages 14
to 21. They in order to qualify for this
program, they must be just as involved
with juvenile charges stemming from gun
use. They must attend groups in person
and they must be able to engage in
programming. 81% of program graduates
have no new felony offenses to date.
There's been many hundreds of referrals
that to have come from many of the
partners like Bernalo County, the
Bernolio County Sheriff's Office, the
Albuquerque Fire Department, New Mexico
New Mexicans to prevent gun violence,
which I've also spoken to, Albuquerque
public schools, um, and many other
partners that have said, "Yes, we want
to do this because we don't want to wait
until youth commit even worse crimes to
then say, go to jail for the rest of
your life. We want to intervene. If
they're already in the system, let's
divert. Let's focus on diversion. And um
uh councelor Mccclure, maybe I'll give
this to you and this is perhaps a great
project for the juvenile justice
continuum folks um that you are part of.
I feel really strongly about this. Um I
believe that there are many wheels that
we don't have to reinvent. There are
programs out there that exist that I
think um can have re I I want to pursue
things that are evidence-based. I want
to pursue things that we know will work.
Curfews do not work. They're the
evidence in fact shows the exact
opposite of that, right? And so I want
us to respond in ways that will support
our community to thrive.
Um and we'll bring those es especially
if there is some sort of um special
legislative session to come out of this
um later in the year. Um these are the
kinds of things that I will be fighting
for. These are the kinds of programmings
that I will ensure and I will fight to
advocate to bring money to our community
for. Um, and
then lastly, the last thing I wanted to
point out that I really hope the city
engages in conversation with, I was
really happy um that Anelica with La
Pinñon came. I was there last week and
got to meet um so many of their staff um
and talk about so much of what they do.
They actually had a a very similar uh
sort of community intervention program
through the J. Paul Taylor ju Juvenile
uh detention center that focused
specifically on gun violence and and
they had a curriculum that they would go
and and excuse me and and teach the kids
that were there and it was tremendously
successful. They ran out of money,
though they did tell me that there is $9
million out of do uh for this that the
county um sadly decided to turn down.
Um, but I'm hoping Econi that maybe you
or someone on staff can reach out to
Anhelica to talk more about the
potential
um, collaboration opportunity that can
exist here if this pot of money already
exists and they just need that
governmental body to say yes, we will
take that and and provide it to the
folks already doing the work. um these
are the things that I'm committed to and
um hope to you know continue talking
about uh more in detailed but
um yeah thank you. Thanks mayor.
Thank you mayor prom and thank you to
the rest of council. Thank you all for
um what you're bringing up is showing
the the care that we have for this
community and we want to come with some
solutions. We want to have the
accountability, the prevention, and the
intervention. So, I I thank you all for
the comments. And uh before I get to to
some of those comments, I just want to
bring up some of the on the agenda, it's
board comments. And I do have a board
comment with uh Msia Valley Economic
Development. So, last week there was a
couple of meetings. uh the coal storage
unit that has been talks in the works
for several years is now uh they're
looking at April starting the permits
that's this month and then hopefully
breaking ground sometime in June or July
so at the industrial park and then also
uh there was a a group of of of business
individuals from India that the governor
had gone out to meet them last summer
and so they look like they're going to
be starting some uh businesses in
Albuquerque, but they wanted to come
down here and see southern New Mexico
and see what the potential is for
expanding. So, we were able to meet with
them and have some good conversations
and tell them how much better the the
the green chili is down here and uh the
friendly people. So hopefully we we can
convince them. But we we are saddened by
what took place at Young Park and uh it
is a devastation and we never want to
say that that's our community and I know
there's a lot of good there. Uh we we're
sad, we're frustrated, we have anger. Uh
but but we're not here to blame. I mean
it's up to us as leaders of this
community to find some solutions, to
find some intervention and prevention,
but it's just not right. And I do have
to say this, it's it's it's wrong to
come and and blame the police and to
blame Chief Story for a comment that he
makes. This was not his fault. I've said
this over and over about public safety.
Whether it's a police department or it's
a fire department, there is
intervention. There is prevention. There
is education. But their primary duty is
to respond. Is to respond. They never
started the fight. They never started
the fire. they just respond to it. So, I
thank them for all the work they do.
Thank you, Chief Story, for your
leadership. Chief Daniels, for your
leadership in public safety, and we'll
continue and we'll put the resources and
we'll do everything we can to support
that because it's it's a community uh
that we want to protect and and be proud
of with some of the things that that go
on. Um I've been very fortunate
to you know share as other council have
mentioned with thrive concarinho to the
public schools and it's great to see
that there are some students out there
and so when we start looking at all the
negativity I want to say thank you to
the parents and the teachers that are
sending their kids to school and that
are encouraging and motivating them. We
went to Centennial for the first one
that we did and it was uh the high
school students. I believe he was a a
senior
and that classroom was
calculus. Monday through
Friday for two hours every morning
that's how they start their day with
calculus. That's that's amazing. That's
uh that's something to be proud of and
that's something to say we have a
future. So, I was very pleased to be a
part of that. I've mentioned that I've
adopted Hermosa Heights as as my school.
So, every Thursday that I'm in town, I
walk with those kids to school to show
them that leadership cares. And I get
invited to several programs. Last week,
they had the NDI, the National Dance
Institute that came down and different
kids in the class uh performed. And it's
all about movement. It's about movement
and exercise. And the four things that
they they worked on uh were aside from
the physical activity in the movement
was to know these four things. Work
hard, do your best, never give up, and
be healthy. And that's what we have to
do as a community. That's what we have
to do. And those are the programs and
the things that are going on. The
governor came down. She gives her
condolences. We had a meeting with with
uh elect other elected officials,
legislators, senators and um what we've
came up with that is is different
intervention. This summer we will have
the youth program uh between the county
and the city to employ students at the
high school level so they can have the
internships uh with the city with county
and if we get enough funding we can
start looking at local businesses to
also have intern uh high school students
so that we can get them involved in the
workplace and see what it's like to be
responsible and have a job and and have
some accountability in uh what they do
day in and day out. And this is a great
way of doing it and we look forward to
all the funding that we can get from our
governor for that. And I think that's
all I had. And so I'll turn it over to
the city manager. Thank you, Mayor
Enriquez, Mayor Pretend McMullen, city
council, Economia, city manager. And u
just have a few announcements. Um, in
public comment, Steuart's Drive uh was
brought up and I do want to thank public
works um for for the update working uh
with um Sonia ACM. Um apparently the
section of the stewards that's in
question is private property. So u the
challenge that is happening is we're
maintaining um from my understanding the
property that is city property but the
property uh a chunk that is private
property. That's something that hasn't
been in maintenance for in question of
ownership, but we're looking into it.
Um, I have been told that we'll reach
out to a property owner and have some
discussions with them, but I just wanted
to bring some light to those who are not
tracking this. Uh, but thank you to the
resident who brought this to our
attention or continues to bring this to
our attention. Um, another uh issue and
last from public comment uh that I
wanted to share an update, ConX box was
mentioned. This was um something that
was uh um asked to our um our police and
so just an update from Chief Story that
this was uh up and running in October of
2024. So um again just a question saying
um if this was something up and running
and and I just wanted to share that that
chief and and PD has been running this
since October 2024.
Uh thank you chief for that update
there. Regarding quality of life
department, we have a few updates. Lasus
museums uh are gearing up for two annual
events with their education team. One,
the first annual STEM festival on April
12th. And two, our 11th annual
pictograph event resulting in the
painting of an indigenous mural on the
exterior of the museum on April 19th.
Also, last Saturday, just a heads up,
that March 29th was Brang's Libraryies
Wizard of Oz day. We had a Wizard of Oz
themed event. From costume contest to
crafts and trivia, this turned into a
popular event with 75 participants who
stayed most of the day. We'll be working
to make this a regular event. And uh if
you could see a photo that I have in
front of me, there are four employees.
Uh really, really cute. And um it's a
fun picture. it it is themed Wizard of
Oz and I just want to give them kudos
for having the courage to uh share this
with me. Library staff dressed up with
the Wizard of Oz day. Library assistant
two. Beatatrice Rudacell as a Munchkin.
Library assistant 2 John Stout as a
cowardly lion. Library assistant one
Laney Luhan as Glenda. And library
assistant one Megan Romero as Dorothy.
So thank you for quality of life being
so creative with that. And kudos for 75
participants. Last parks and wreck. Uh
just a few updates. Adult basketball
league online registration begins
Tuesday, April 22nd uh at 9:00 a.m.
until capacity is met. KLCB, Keep Lusces
Beautiful, will be hosting a free
community tire dump day on Saturday,
April 12th from 8:00 a.m. to noon that
will allow residents the opportunity to
dispose of used tires at the following
locations: East Mesa Rec Center and
Young Park. Kelcb will also be hosting
free dump your junk. Start Saturday,
April 12th, Saturday, April 12th through
Saturday, April 19th, and the weekend of
April 26 and 27 from 8:00 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at the Amadore Transfer Station. Um, all
residents can dump trash for free at the
transfer stations during this event. And
then just the status of uh sport
fields, Ron Gaya is open for day and
night play. Mag Paws have been open for
daytime programming including weekend
tournaments. Hardy will open starting
tomorrow and Apadaka softball uh field
remains closed until further notice.
Thank you mayor and councel. That's all.
Thank you Econi. I'll look for a motion
to adjurnn.
So moved by flus second.
This is on the motion to adjourn the
meeting. Councelor McCclar. Yes.
Councelor Matise. Yes, councelor Graham.
Yes, councelor Cran. Yes, councelor
Flootus. Yes, councelor Beno. Yes,
Mayor. Yes.