e
[Music]
and you're
on
good afternoon welcome to the city
council meeting today is Monday April
1st uh 2024 it's approximately 1 pm. I
mayor Enriquez uh before we start I want
to mention that we have a ASL American
Sign Language interpreter available for
every regular council meeting and she
will be at the front for anyone who
requires interpretation services
uh we will start with a moment of
silence for the brave men and women of
the United States armed forces as they
protect our interests around the globe
as well as the courageous men and women
of the Lost crues police and fire
department as they keep our city safe
if you join us in the Pledge of
Allegiance IED Al to the flag the United
States of America and to the Republic
for which it stands one nation under God
indivisible liberty and justice for
all yeah next we have a presentation of
certificates a proclamation that uh
mayor proen Beno
um for distracted driving Awareness
Month present it to Barbara to is
Barbara
here hi do you want to come right over
here whereas motor vehicle collisions
are the number one cause of preventable
death in our nation and distra
distracted driving is one of the fastest
growing safety issues uh on the roads
today and whereas distracted driving
causes more than 1 million crashes each
year across the US costing the lives of
more than 3,000 people an average of
Nine Lives each day and whereas
distracted driving is a non-driving
activity that takes that takes your eyes
off the road hands off the wheel or
interrupts your concentration while
driving increasing the risk of crashing
and whereas distracted drivers are the
threat to everyone on the Road and that
the citizen of the citizens of Las
Cruses deserve to live in communities
that promote safe driving behaviors and
whereas preventing distracted driving
deaths and injuries requires the
cooperation of all levels of government
of the general public and whereas a
month dedicated to programs and
activities focused on reducing
distracted driving will raise awareness
and may result in the reduction in
traffic fatalities and injuries now
there are therefore we the mayor and
City Council of Las Cruses New Mexico do
hear but hereby proclaim the month of
April 2024 as distracted driving
awareness
[Applause]
month thank you mayor and council
members thank you so much distracted
driving is an epidemic in our
country more than eight persons every
single day lose their lives because of a
distracted driver and that's absolutely
unacceptable in particular because
because those deaths were
preventable when a driver deliberately
puts the lives of others at risk it's
both irresponsible and
disrespectful and we certainly must do
better thank you for thinking about
those important things this month and
Beyond I'd like to challenge each and
every one of you to re-evaluate your
practices on the road decide to drive
undistracted please
every single
trip and share this message and model
safe driving
behaviors to everyone within your sphere
of
influence thank
[Applause]
you
again thank you Barbara next we will do
the recogn recognition of the
neighborhood Leadership Academy we can
have also uh Katrina and Grace come join
us and uh mayor protm will will'll
read um the recognition and I'll go down
there to join as well I'll start while
you're making your way down because it's
kind of
long in 2017 the city council adopted a
strategic plan that included the the
goal of Greater engagement between the
community and local government through
establishment of its
citizens Academy this led to the
establishment of the neighborhood
Leadership Academy come on down the city
of Las Cruses offers the neighborhood
Leadership Academy for residents who
reside in the city limits participants
receive firsthand information about city
services and programs through
comprehensive presentations from City
personnel and on-site fuel trips to
various public facilities the program
began in the fall of 2018 was held each
fall and spring until the spring of 2020
when the covid-19 pandemic curtailed
inperson programming due to great
interest from the current city council
and the community the city resumed the
program in the spring of 2024 with the
same structure for weekly classes the
mission of the city of Las Cruses
neighborhood Leadership Academy is to
provide improved knowledge of city
government to Residents so they can
become effective neighborhood Advocates
and Community leaders this free program
helps residents better understand how
their city government operates and how
they can work with the city to preserve
and improve the quality of life in their
neighborhoods through weekly workshops
of presentations and scheduled field
trips participants receive firsthand
information about government operations
the scope of services and programs
offered by the city and the appropriate
way to bring about change within our
community's neighborhoods some of the
weekly sessions including meeting your
city Administration and City councilors
Electric bus demonstration and bus ride
parks and recreation activi to help
build a a public park utilities
demonstration of all the services
utilities provides and a codes game of
is it a violation both Chief and police
both chief of police and chief of fire
gave their their respective departments
presentations in person the class
members were very grateful and showed
much respect to them Public Works was
another great Department that spoke
about the pavement management system and
the class learned how the budget to keep
streets in the green status we would
like to take this opportunity to
congratulate our participants of the
neighborhood Leadership Academy they
have struck they have stuck through 11
long weeks of presentations
demonstrations and a lot of
participation we hope you received many
takeaways from the academy and we trust
you will continue to work toward our
common goal of improving the Las Cruses
Community thank you and of course a huge
shout out to Katrina and Grace for
leading the
program
and these are the Academy graduates I
think if you want to come down and take
a picture please go ahead and do so
Maria Molina
counsman Juan
Garcia Carolyn
hunt Laura
Jensen Paul Mack I hope I got that right
Joy Nelson Martha Rodriguez Diane
Starbuck
raduo n
townend Lisa Wilson Santa Fe
Zubia Tylen Jacko and Julia
Ru give them a round of applause
everybody you want say
something you want to say anything or
no let me just real quick J
I just want to say that uh there was a a
graduation ceremony for them earlier at
11:00 where all the certificates were
presented to them and there was staff
that was also there that that provided
presentations on this 10-week uh Journey
that they went on to to learn and and to
know more about the city of Los Cruses
and its organization again I want to
thank the participants thank you for
your time your energy your effort uh to
make the commitment to see it through to
graduate so thank you and thank you to
again Katrina and Grace for coordinating
it and putting it together so thank you
thank you
[Applause]
all thanks
[Applause]
all
next we have jobs of the week uh Sarah
rainy
good
afternoon all right for jobs of the week
for this week April 1st 2024 for the
city of Las cruus we have a scale house
attendant position starts at 1502 and
the posting closes on the 8th we also
have for the city a library manager the
support services that position starts at
60,000 a year and the posting closes on
the
22nd for wh Sands Missile Range we have
a systems administrator um the position
is posted until
filled we have for American Medical
Response an administrative assistant
that position starts at 28,000 and the
posting closes on
4:18 we also have a MSA Valley hospice
um position position for a registered
nurse posting closes on the
21st whoops we have for adalante we have
a cook and site attendant or site
assistant the position starts at 1375 an
hour and the posting closes on the
19th for these and all jobs that we have
posted for the city of Los crues for the
doniana area and then throughout our
region we have all of our jobs listed on
the job website you can join us on
employ andm or come see us at the Alama
office if you have any questions please
reach out to
us thank you thank you
sir next we have pets of the week Amy do
Felix hello everyone I'm Amy def Felix
with the Animal Services Center of the
msia valley um so we can go ahead and
get started we always start off with our
of the week our cat of the week this
week is Madonna her number is
73969 and she says I'm quiet and
reserved but I do enjoy being pet and
loved on my favorite kind of pets are
neck scites I can't help but lean into
them and start purring wildly I'd much
prefer a calm home where I can lounge
and relax in if you work from home I can
be the perfect office
buddy and then we have our dog of the
week his name is Chevy his number is 649
31 and he says I'm a sweet and friendly
boy who gets along well with other dogs
dogs and possibly even cats too if I'm
given the proper introduction I've even
been proven to be a great farmers market
and picnic dog thanks to my time as a
sleepover Foster I just need a loving
home to give me a
chance and then for our events coming up
um we have all all month long starting
today until the end of April we have our
spring flee adoption special all of our
adoptions are only $50 so that's both
altered and unaltered animals um we also
have an offside adoption event at
McCoy's Building Supply this Saturday
April 6th we will be there from 10:00
a.m. to 1: p.m. and then all of our
website links our main website ascmv org
all of our social media links we're on
Facebook Instagram Tik Tok and then our
podcast is on YouTube and Spotify and
apple podcasts as well that is all I
have thank
you thank you
Amy next is a conflict of interests does
any member of City Council city manager
or any member of the city
staff have any known conflict of
interest with any item on the agenda
none none gr none none
none next is public
participation uh will allow up to 3
minutes uh as long as it's no discussion
of items that are on the non-consent and
I want to make a an announcement uh
before we start the the public
participation uh I've been made aware
that the New Mexico Municipal league has
an evaluator that come and evaluate your
City Council meetings and this is a
Direction I want to go I've always
wanted to run a good uh meeting a good
business meeting for for the city
council and our work sessions so I had
mentioned we were going to move the
public participation to the end of the
meeting we're we're not going to do that
now we're going to postpone it I want to
get the evaluation first so that once we
get the evaluation then we can look and
see what moves we make I don't want to
make numerous moves just uh wanting the
whole intent is to try to run a good
business meeting so with that we can
start on the first
row on my left or not the second row yes
sir go
ahead three minutes
good afternoon uh my name is David
Rutherford uh I have a couple issues the
first one is
U the water issue uh which I think
should be on on the top of the
list uh I live in somoma Ranch
Road and it's the Moongate Water
District I believe
right have that correct I think it is
yes so I was told that uh we've
got 200 years worth of
water um and I tried to do a deep
dive so to speak um on the internet to
try to find out if that was accurate or
not I looked at some hydrologist reports
Etc from uh Mexico State and I couldn't
really find anything
definitive but in my humble
opinion I think uh water should be on
top of your list because I did speak
with one of my neighbors who told me
that she discovered that we only have 20
years of water
left so which is it 200 or 20 years
that's a big difference all right and um
I really would like to know from you and
make it very transparent to the public
exactly how much water is there
left that should be on the top of your
list all
right and the next meeting or maybe in
this meeting maybe somebody could give
us the answer of that because I hope
hopefully I'm not the only one who's
concerned about water here oh sir if you
could speak directly to the mic okay
yeah I hopefully I'm not the only one
that's concerned about water here um but
uh it's yes yes okay I'm not the only
one so does anybody have do you have a
definitive answer of how much water we
have uh sir if you want to leave your
name and number uh with the clerk and
we'll make sure that the director of
utilities will get to you with with that
information and then we'll do everything
we can to to to get that open in public
right so it should be open should be
transparent and we should be discussing
about uh because you have you're
developing you're growing how are we
going to use this water how it's going
to be allocated how can we uh save
water um recharge the aquafers ETC
recycle the water that's issue number
number one top of the list another issue
is I like cycling I would like to be
able to drive not drive excuse me I
would like to be able to take my bicycle
from where I am to lman Avenue and uh if
you looked at great I've been all around
the world if you looked at Great cities
around the world they have great public
transportation and they have great uh
roads so people can move around walk and
cycle around that's another
issue times up I wish I had more time
but anyways okay thank you sir if you
want to leave your name and number with
the city
clerk up here on the dice okay thank
you no that's the intent yes sir come on
still in the second
row good afternoon my name name is Dan
parrot I'm here on behalf of myself and
my wife Lisa parrot I'm also
representing several families and
Neighbors in the high-range
neighborhood we are currently requesting
no changes be made to the current
ordinances restricting commercial
businesses and single family dwelling
neighborhoods we're also opposed to
multif family zoning retail businesses
including cannabis sales and Commercial
businesses in the city in our single
family
neighborhoods if these type of zoning
changes are approved it's expected that
the values of our homes will be
reduced uh I'm urging the city council
to very carefully consider this uh in
relationship to the values of the homes
the future of the city and the growth of
the city for the better uh thank you for
your time consideration on this
request
thank you
sir still on that second row is there
anybody hello good
afternoon my name is Albert and I'm here
uh as part of uh Los cruus for Palestine
I just noticed that the timer hasn't
restarted just wanted
to thank
you so as We Gather here today I urge to
confront the Stark realities unfolding
in Gaza since October 7th Israel has
Unleashed over 25,000 tons of explosives
upon Gaza this is equivalent to the
devastation levels brought on by two
nuclear bombs to put things into
perspective Gaza is 27 times smaller
than donana County and holds twice the
population it is vital to recognize the
disproportionate impact of violence
inflicted upon its
inhabitants we're actively funding and
supporting a genocidal campaign of
collective punishment as Israel
continues killing Palestines at
unprecedented rates while bombing
hospitals ambulances and universities
reducing them to
Rubble Palestinians are dying in their
homes churches and their shelters as of
today most civilian infrastructure in
Gaza has been flattened and rendered
uninhabitable these Relentless bombings
have not only claimed innocent lives but
have also shattered the pillars of
Palestinian history and stifled the
educational opportunities for future
Generations robbing Palestinian people
of their
Heritage the toll on human life is
equally appalling over 309 healthcare
workers including doctors nurses and
ambulance drivers have been killed while
serving their communities at least 352
schools representing over 70% of
educational institutions in Gaza have
been targeted and bombarded claiming the
lives of over 200 teachers and educators
we're accountable for the future we
Forge ahead I have four nieces and two
nephews oldest one turns 15 today when I
look at them I feel an enormous amount
of
responsibility I want nothing more in
the world than to be able to provide
them with a safe space I want them to
know love compassion and unity this
aspiration is shattered when I consider
the 13,000 Palestinian children who have
perished in Gaza due to Israeli attacks
when I think of them I feel an enormous
amount of responsibility
too the average age in Gaza is just 18
years old about 40% of its population
consists of children 14 years old or
younger the constant fear of air strikes
the loss of loved ones the destruction
of their homes deliberate forc famines
and human rights violation under
Israel's Siege will leave psychological
scars that will shape their lives and
the future of their
communities we can't be complicit in
creating a reality in which we turn a
blind eye to these atrocities the
consequences of our inaction will Echo
for generations to come therefore I urge
this Council to take a stand against the
injustices being perpetrated in Gaza and
demand an immediate ceasefire it is now
time to display our principles through
our actions and work tirelessly towards
a lasting peace that ensures the freedom
safety and dignity of all Palestinian
people thank you
thank
[Applause]
you good afternoon city councilors um my
name is Devon narvis and I've been a
resident of Los Cruses for 10 years now
and I'm here today to speak on behalf of
Las crused for
Palestine in the last 6 months at least
,700 civilians have been killed by
Israeli forces including more than
13,000 babies and
children we know that the actual death
toll is much higher given that there are
more than 8,000 people currently missing
under the rebel so far 27 people 23 of
them children have starved to death due
to the blockage of Aid by Israel this is
intentional man-made famine when one
side controls whether the other gets to
eat or starve to death it is not a
conflict nor a war it is
genocide I know that some folks in this
room are thinking why should I care or
what does that have to do with me or the
city of Los crusis and to that I say you
are human beings and your fellow humans
are being starved and massacred and you
should care about
it if this were happening to you I'm
sure that you would want people to speak
up for you I urge all of you to look
within and find your
Humanity some people may think we need
to focus on the issues happening here
and help Americans and to that I have to
say I agree with you every single year
the US sends $3.8 billion to Israel to
fund its violence against
Palestinians to steal their land destroy
their homes and kill their people that's
more than 13 million of new Mexican tax
dollars or $1.6 million um of our Los
cruus tax dollars every s sorry every
single
year according to the US campaign for
Palestinian rights that money could
provide 191 Las Cruses families with
public housing for a year more than 500
children with free or lowcost healthc
care more than 4,500 homes with solar
electric
or even completely cancel the student
loan debt for 42 Los cruus students so
just imagine what 3.8 billion um a year
could do for communities across the
country instead of funding the slaughter
of innocent
people not only as elected officials but
as human beings with a conscience I am
calling on you to use your power and
your influence to call for an immediate
and permanent
ceasefire
it is estimated that 130 children are
killed every day more than 10 children
lose a limb every day so it's imperative
that we act now thank you for your time
free
[Applause]
Palestine anyone else anyone else on RAD
to
hello I'm Gwen Stacy and I am also with
last christas for Palestine and I just
want to be upfront with what we want I'm
sorry what's your name again
Gwen
Stacy so what I want is for Los the city
of Los crusis to support a ceasefire
resolution um for Israel and Palestine
and it is for a few reasons the first is
that of course there is a massive amount
of Civilian deaths and casualties but in
addition there is another commonality
that it has with other countries
like Ireland China and India and even
many tribal nations in the United States
and that is that there there is an
imminent danger of a famine in the
region however in this case it is
exceptional because it is not only a
famine it is a preventable one that also
includes massive amounts of violence and
conflict in the
area without a ceasefire resolution it
is very likely that lots of Aid trucks
will continue to be blocked in the area
that all kinds of people will be
starving almost 1.4 million civilians
dying from
malnutrition and we've already seen what
has been happening with um malnourished
mothers and babies being born in the
area so we I feel that it is the
responsibility of the Los cus city
council to join other cities in the
United States in supporting AC Fire
resolution thank
you
hello good day honorable members of Las
crucia city council my name is yovani
Sebastian ernandez I'm a 23-year-old Los
crusan New Mexican and child of
immigrants from Mexico and I'm also a
Community member organizing with Los
crusis for Palestine
I have a variety of identities a variety
of allegiances buts but what matters to
me the most is our shared identity as
human beings in the spirit of our shared
Humanity I believe that it is our shared
right to life to freedom to live without
fear that are amongst the most important
values that we can fight for it is for
those reasons that I humbly stand before
you all today in solidarity with the
people of
Gaza with our Palestinian siblings who
suffer day after day night after night
from a genocidal Colonial Terror
campaign from the state of Israel
supported by the United States
government silence and in action is
nothing more than shameful complicity
with the genocidal and Colonial
aspirations of Israel and those of our
federal government I look at my
neighbors my fellow lost crucians and I
cannot help but see the same faces of
those being bombed terrorized displaced
reflected in my community the brown eyes
that look at you today are the same
brown eyes that watched B bombs fall on
Gaza thus far the federal government has
failed to make any mo moves towards
serious talks about a SE fire in Gaza
and has only increased sending funding
arms and political support for the
purposes of per perpetuating genocide
against Palestinians our Congressional
Representatives have done what they can
and now it is our turn as New Mexicans
Los crusin to take up the mantle to
stand on the right side of History
against genocide to that end I urge you
all our Los Cru city council to call for
pass and stand behind a permanent
ceasefire in Gaza and call on our
Congressional Delegation to make take
further Progressive action the community
has spoken and will continue to speak
out against genocidal actions carried
out by our federal government by
terrorist States and against oppression
thank you Viva
[Applause]
Palestina okay anyone on the third row
on my left yes
[Music]
ma'am
good afternoon city council members and
mayor my name is Dolores Bernal and I am
the lead organizer for Save the
Roadrunner save the Road Runner is a new
Grassroots nonpartisan organization in
Las Cruses looking out for residents and
the wildlife displaced by unchecked
Development and Construction in our city
learn more about us at save thead
runner. org save the run.org
I'd like to present a short photo
montage of bird species that Dana
Parsons one of our members has observed
in the 56 Acres plan for the Mora Villa
Dam and apoda blueprint projects at
Travis and Madrid
[Music]
Avenues
[Music]
oh
[Music]
oo
[Music]
as you can see these desert areas are
not empty there is abundant Wildlife
that calls those 56 Acres Home and our
group is asking that you review these
projects and the scale of construction
that will displace the wildlife that
lives there we need environmental impact
studies done for this project projects
and all future projects in Las Cruses
protecting Wildlife is also your mandate
thank
[Applause]
you thank you Miss berol and just for
your information Miss berol did submit
the video last week and it was vetted
through St staff and approved thank
you anyone else on that
row
hello my name is Dana Parsons I'm a
passionate bder especially interested in
the birds and wildlife found in doniana
County I got involved with save the Road
Runner after hearing about the plans for
development at Madrid and D I am
concerned with how recent development is
affecting our natural habitats in Los
crusis development that has already
aided in displacing species like the
burrowing owl which used to be prevalent
in the city and is now gone
I visited the area around Madrid and T
recently over 7 Days collectively
walking around 10 miles over 9 hours I
found that this area is more than what
it appears it is a very unique and
diverse
ecosystem in addition to the 25 species
of birds there are mammals reptiles many
native plants including cacti yucka
trees grasses some only growing in water
channels going through the area there
are wild flowers and Native pollin such
as bees butterflies and moths which Aid
in the production of our natural
resources Raptors like owls and kestrels
that control the local rodent population
I'm worried and concerned that the city
is not taking the proper precautions to
protect its natural habitats and is not
aware of the unintended consequences of
developing some of these
areas thank
[Applause]
you thank you anyone else on the third
row good afternoon I'm Spencer Taylor
lifetime Los cuson enemis new master of
Fine Arts professor at nemus unac family
visitation supervisor for Kaplan and
Associates former freelance writer for
the sun covering community events so
please know I speak to you from a
perspective rooted in deep personal care
and investment in our community for over
half a century Palestinians have been
marginalized killed displaced and robbed
in a process of a settler Colonial
project similar to colonization
inflicted on indigenous peoples of the
Americas including in New Mexico the
colonization inflicted on Palestinians
is rooted in the anti-semitic politics
of Zionism with the express goal of
expelling Jews from Europe Zionism fails
to justify the illegal occupation of
Palestinian lands by the state of Israel
as it displaces Palestinian people and
the West Bank via illegal ments while
enforcing merciless border policies on
Gaza that for decades have prevented
material Necessities from entering Gaza
and has prevented civilians from leaving
experts call Gaza the world's largest
open air prison and the world's largest
concentration camp from over 20 from
October 2023 to this minute Israel has
with support and billions of dollars
from the US massacred civilians using
modernized Weaponry bombs and drones
killing over 32,000 innocent civilians
over 12,000 children Israel has
destroyed thousands of hospitals mosques
schools and households while pressing
roughly 1.4 million survivors into
crowded Rafa where they face the largest
catastrophic hunger in history
Palestinians have been forced to eat
grass and drink boiled salt water while
injured survivors are amputated without
anesthesia or basic medical care after
promising Rafa as a safe Zone Israel has
killed civilians seeking Refuge there
the UN has proposed three globally
supported ceasefire resolutions all
vetoed by the US despite the fact that
significantly more Palestinian and
Israeli hostages have been released
during times of ceasefire the
international court of justice led by
South Africa with its own apartheid
history has convicted Israel of
plausible genocide ignoring a confirmed
UN resolution for a brief ceasefire
Israel continues to break international
law with killings these war crimes have
been documented and often live streamed
Israeli and Us Media failed to report
accurately and in full including the
proven exaggeration and Fabrication of
events reported by the New York Times
last October 7th what do these
international events have to do with the
community of Los cruus Beyond vital B
Bic human empathy a few things to
consider billions in federal money spent
on genocide as lost cruin go without
housing health insurance food and
education certainly some of this Federal
money could alleviate suffering in our
community what what about Palestinian
members of our community students and
others threatened by this normalized
dehumanization not to mention fear for
their family members here in the West
Bank and in Gaza the city must serve all
members of our community a community
that is only for the select is no
community at all let us take a moral
stance in history I call on this City to
stand for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza
and the West Bank restoration of funding
to unrwa which provides vital
humanitarian Aid free passage of
humanitarian Aid to Gaza and commitment
to reparations for the Palestinian
people thank you for your
[Applause]
time good afternoon councelor
my name is
jir I'm a small business owner and
employer and resident of Las Cruses and
I'm here because bringing back the topic
to local issues of so of course we I
also support the like we should
pronounce I guess our city against
genocide but anyway I'm here because a
lot of the issues facing our our
community are caused by
poverty and poverty doesn't happen in a
vacuum right it's created by artificial
uh
scarcity uh and it causes desperation
and it often leads to violence and crime
and theft right so supporting the police
I support the police too but we also
supporting the police means
understanding their
limitations uh and they cannot even with
the best of budgets uh solve the root
issues of the problem which again is
poverty so how is the city promoting
poverty uh well we deserve a City built
for Citizens and not for cars cars are
Machines of poverty so this is why I
would like to request the removal of
building setbacks and parking minimums
from the city code legalize housing
asphalt is expensive and requiring it
arbitrarily increases the cost of doing
business in the city and the cost of
Street Maintenance in the city's
budget a city designed for cars
encourages driving even for the smallest
of distances wider roads and plentiful
free parking encourage demand for
vehicles which increases traffic which
increases more demand for wider roads
which increases the cost for
everybody in a cycle of ever increasing
cost but not solving the
problem the problem of transportation
for our citizens parking lots are free
but we are paying for the free parking
lot and have that free Avenues with the
isolation of our communities even people
who shouldn't drive are forced behind
the wheel because there are no safe and
practical Alternatives a cityz for cars
also restricts the freedom and growth of
our youth he renders them unable to move
about the city without an adult driving
them around effectively supervising them
like children limiting their
independence unless their parents can
afford to pay double their cost of
insurance this is why I would like to
request again the removal of
requirements for building setback and
parking minimums from the city of Las
crues free our investors and business
owners to adapt their new buildings in
the way that makes the most sense so
they can build whatever meets the
demands of their customers instead of
the need to adhere to a city ordinance
thank
you
good afternoon Council uh mayor uh my
name is Israel Chavez I'm a civil rights
attorney here in our Fair city um couple
of things I I'm very proud of the group
that's come out I I would uh assert to
the council and to the mayor that
probably the majority of our community
at least in my experience believes
everything you're hearing um while my
name is Israel my namesake is not the
country and I don't support uh what's
happening in in the Middle East and I do
think that all politics are local and we
all have a role to play in the
betterment of the world if you don't
believe that you wouldn't be sitting on
this dis and if you are sitting on this
dis then you also have a role to play in
condemning what's happening in the
Middle East um I want to uh mention that
narrowing lman and Amador was a
conversation we had we were promised we
were going to make it more walkable as a
city uh there's been crickets since uh
the recent election and so I would call
on uh the mayor and councel to bring
that back up another person has died
again at lman and Amador um I don't want
it to be one of us and so please please
please make it more walkable please make
it accessible um I also want to address
uh in my office I've gotten quite a few
more um civil rights uh issues from the
city uh I know attorney samples has
probably seen my name a couple more
times more recently I'm I want to in no
uh uncertain terms condemned the uh
anti- people anti-st struggling people
sentiment that seems to be uh uh
emanating from certain levels of the
city um we should be
anti-homelessness we should want to get
people housed we should not be anti
people and that's what I'm seeing I'm
seeing contractors of the city that
security force that you pay for downtown
I'm seeing really egregious conduct I'm
seeing mistreatment of people who are
preserv perceived to be homeless and
look I I live here I don't want the city
to have to pay through all these
lawsuits but I have no I make me
unemployed please fix the problem uh
lastly I want to condemn the expensive
private studies that the city continues
to pay like the lights in the mosquite
district now we have to pay a half a
million dollar study to put in lights
come on it's a waste of money you have
so many staff internal and you and
previously and I say you it's sort of
the royal you nobody in particular um
the had said that they were going to use
internal people and now again we get
told oh well it's going to cost a half a
million we only have like 600 grand for
lights and I don't know who these out of
state folks are who keep getting paid so
much money but you can ask the community
and the community will tell you where
the lights need to be we walk the
streets we get harassed by folks and
city employees sometimes in the streets
of our own Community we'll tell you
where the problems are just listen and
do not move public comment to the end of
City count City Council because that
seems to me that it it shows what the
city thinks about public comment so I
appreciate all your work immensely I'm
happy to meet with any of you whenever
you'd like my office is just across the
[Applause]
street anyone on the fourth
row
good afternoon mayor and City councilors
my name is V Cavo I'm a resident of Las
crusis in District 1 when I was thinking
of what I should say today what would be
the best thing to say I decided um that
nothing would be more important than
what Palestinians are saying I'm here
with Las Cruses for Palestine to ask our
city council for a ceasefire in Gaza so
I'm going to use my time to quote
Palestinian attorne Lara albo's words
from a December 13th interview when
asked what was the worst
Day quote every day has been the worst
day Israel outdo itself in brutality and
destruction every day so every day is
the worst day the day that Yu have
Galant called Palestinians Human animals
and announced that we would be denied
food water fuel and electricity was the
worst day the day Israeli officials
announced that they were rolling out the
Gaza nakba was the worst day the days
Israel sieged and raided alifa Hospital
bombed the Maternity Ward and bombed the
outside Clinic was the worst day the
days that media Outlets confirmed one by
one that Israel was lying about asifa's
hospital but it was too late because the
damage was already done those were also
the worst days the day Israel dropped
six one ton bombs on the jabia refugee
camp killing hundreds of civilians was
the worst day every day has been the
worst day because every day is the worst
day for families in Gaza and we are as a
community everyday grieving Every Act of
brutality as an act on us and our
families
the state at aim time and again has been
nothing short of genocide and therefore
the target is Palestinian life itself so
every day has been the worst
day now in the months since she gave
that
interview we reached the day where the
number of children killed by Israel in
Gaza past 10,000 children and that also
belongs on the list for the worst day
and yesterday Israel ended another two
we Siege on asifa Hospital which
constitutes 30% of the Healthcare in
Gaza killing over 300 patients doctors
nurses refugees children so yesterday
was also the worst day I'm also here to
provide additional signatures to our
ceasefire petition on March 4th Las
cruus for Palestine delivered 352
signatures to this Council today we have
an additional 56 from Las Cruz's
residents who I can turn into the clerk
the text of our petition mirrors the
asks and resolutions passed in over 50
US cities we're asking to bring the
United States into compliance with
international law and basic human
decency as of day 178 of this genocide
Israel has killed as you've already
heard over 32,000 Palestinians including
13,000 children has injured another
76,000 Palestinians and has kidnapped
tortured and is still imprisoning over
7,000 Palestinians we here in the United
States have a responsibility to do
everything we can to stop this thank
[Applause]
you
um good afternoon Council and mayor my
name is abigil suan um and I currently
reside in Los cruus as a future
counselor one of the most important
foundations in the counseling profession
is advocacy so that means advocating for
the marginalized and the oppressed
advocating for those whose voices are
either not being heard or just being
ignored and advocating for those who are
not able to advocate for themselves so
with that being said I am here today
solely to Advocate and amplify the
voices of Palestinians and demand a
permanent ceasefire on Gaza now as you
may know Ramadan began and lent continue
throughout March a holy month that
provides opportunities for
self-discipline spiritual growth
reflection fasting prayer and community
and doing so while being in the presence
of friends and family well all that
seems to be pretty limited and
challenging for Palestinians observing
the month of Ramadan and lent right now
because they are currently going through
a genocide Israel is committing more
than 1.4 million godons are currently um
displaced in Rafa now the most densely
populated area on Earth they were forced
to leave their communities homes and
lands disrupting their culture
livelihood stripping off their identity
the act of displacement on Palestinians
have been ongoing for 75 years we are
witnessing a repeat of the nakba 1948
which killed around 15,000 Palestinians
and displaced more than
750,000 nearly 200 herit Heritage um
sites including mosques Christian and
Catholic churches have either been
destroyed or damaged 100 days in the
genocide and according to the United
Nations um Children's Fund they have
estimated that at least 17,000 children
in Gaza are either um un unaccompanied
or separated from their parents so let
me ask you this how are Palestinian
children parents and families able to
enjoy this holy month without each other
and their Community how are they able to
reflect an increase spiritual growth
next to the rubbles of what was once
their home where the smell of death
linger in the streets reminding them of
how long the genocide has been going on
how are they able to break their fast
due to the limitation of Aid entering
safely into Gaza how are they supposed
to persist in self-discipline without
having any rest for 6 months how are
they able to spend extra time reading
the Quran or the Bible and perform
special prayers when they're
anticipating on when the next bomb is
going to occur bombs that have been and
are currently being funded by the US
bombs that have killed more than 32,000
Palestinians that's 25th of the
population here in Las crusis those were
people with families friends and
aspirations who deserve a future who
deserve to go home after a long day
complain about their day watch the
sunset with their loved ones who deserve
to enjoy The Simple Pleasures in life
just like us we need to act now 77
Palestinians have been murdered and 108
injured just on Eastern Sunday this
nation under God has sent billions of
dollars to murder our Christian and
Muslim brothers and sisters as
challenging and thought-provoking to
hear these questions and statements they
must not run our morals obsolete we have
to embrace the respons responsibility of
collective care and respect for the
value of human life dignity and equality
and that our empathy and compassion
remain guiding principles of our
decisions but we need to act
now all right thank
[Applause]
you good afternoon all my name is Anna
Chi and I'm here as part of the group
lost for
Palestine you all are sitting here right
now after a night of rest in your own
warm beds you might have even had
breakfast or lunch multitudes of people
and families in occupied Palestine are
not so
lucky a huge part of the city you
represent is a community- serving
Institution New Mexico State University
which has many locations throughout our
state it is an integral part of our life
here I'll remind you now that NMSU is as
a minority serving institution in our
land of
enchantment please show your Humanity by
voting to pass an immediate and
permanent ceasefire resolution on behalf
of our wonderful City do you stand
against genocide do you support the
minorities in your community both local
and
Global I urge you to take a Firm Stance
against the brutal terrorism and
genocide perpetuated by the terror state
of Israel on innocent Palestinian lives
for what has now been Generations upon
Generations look inside yourselves
inside of your souls as people who share
this Earth with other human beings
please pass an immediate and permanent
ceasefire
resolution on behalf of our city be on
the right side of
History via
Palestina thank
you um I believe we're still on row
four okay row
five row
six row
seven come on down you know the
drill mayor excuse me mayor council ju
Garcia for the record I do support
Israel and the Israeli people who
suffered a brutal attack back on 7
October my comments here today are about
inducting the little shop on Maine into
the Las crusis Hall of Shame a list of
Forgotten victims of the Las crusis
criminal element Patricia is the owner
of the small shop on Maine latest
casualty this small business started
about four years ago with a spark of
hope of living the American dream
Patricia like many other forgotten
victims wanted to support the community
and make a decent Liv living through
hard work and commitment to our
customers no handouts Patricia like many
others borrowed or saved every penny to
invest in their
dream only to see their dreams go up and
smoke many wanted a business downtown in
the pride of Las Cruses the small shop
was a thriving business specializing in
Southwest clothing furniture and jewelry
the inflation closed the business no
mismanagement no about 2 years ago the
drugs and crime started to increase
vagrant breaking windows in her shop
smoking crack doing drugs in front of
her store but you know this she came and
pleaded for your help like dozens
perhaps hundreds of others some closed
and others continue enduring the
criminal element like the Oregon
Mountain Outfitters who just scored
their fifth Breakin this
weekend the thousands upon thousands
upon thousands of dollars in losses
sleepless nights stress from vagrants
striking over and over door locked for
her safety and broad daylight was too
much the vagrants stood in front of her
main window and spit flam and who knows
what else dried and gross looks like
yellow oatmeal stuck to the windows they
knew nothing would happen to
them why because they can this is what
the this is what the building looks like
it's an empty building soon to have a
new business in the same place this is
the former little shop so whose fault is
it the council no you guys have done all
they can do LCPD no they can only
enforce the laws on the books our state
elected officials who are coming up for
reelection the same ones who never raise
a finger to help because if an issue is
not a priority like banning plastic bags
or providing free tax dollars to
pregnant people no the fault lies at the
feet of every one of us
donana citizens continue to elect State
officials who were not interested in
public safety so the question remains
Quantas how much longer are we going to
take this thank
[Applause]
you anyone else on the seventh
row
on the
[Music]
eth mayor my name is Diane Williams I'm
I'm here regarding the um
proposed um change in the Zoning for the
bandore Estates I think it's called on
okay ma'am uh you can have public
comments when we get to that item oh
okay I'm sorry okay thank
you go ahead kudos to Cassie McClure um
she's not I'm not in her District but I
stumbled across her on Facebook and
really appreciate your efforts to inform
the citizens and help us understand the
complexities of how the city works thank
[Applause]
you so I think that was the eighth row
anyone else on the eighth row uh ninth
[Music]
row anyone else on the left side okay
moving to the right side anyone on the
first
row
good afternoon Mr Mayor um City
councilors my name is Donald
Wilson um my first comments today are as
a member of the vulnerable Road users of
New Mexico you met Barbara to earlier
when you um announced the proclamation
for distracted driver awareness month I
would just like to add to her comments
that our website which is
www.v
nm.org
as a place for every citizen in Los
cruus to take a distracted
driver um a non-distracted driver pledge
offers you the opportunity to commit to
focusing on driving when you're behind
the wheels of a motor vehicle so that
the other Road users in our city can be
safe uh next I'd like to address you as
president of Vel crusis vusus is local
bicycle advocacy organization you've
already heard from a couple of citizens
since today about their interest in
making sure the roads in Los cruus are
safe for all users and I would like to
reiterate once again the request from
veloc Cruses that the city of Los Cruses
join many nations many states many
cities in adopting a vision zero pledge
the idea of a vision zero pledge is that
the city of Los cruus would use its
resources and its efforts in designing
roadways to make sure that all Road
users are safe with the goal of
eliminating Road user deaths within 10
years B lausus is ready to stand with
the city and be a part of the city in
making this effort come to fruition so
that everybody that lives in Las cruus
that needs to move about the city can do
so safely once again we ask you to ex uh
take up the
challenge uh accept the vision zero
Challenge and then let velcu be a part
of the solution for the city of Los
Cruis thank you very
much all right thank you that was the
second row anybody else on the second
okay on the third row on the
right my name is blae Gunderson I have
lived here my whole life and so of my
parents um I've heard many citizens
speaking of how they have had issues
with the homeless and are told by
sitting employees to have compassion
does the city or the council have
compassion for these people I don't
believe you
do Council showed that when they did not
care when on June 21st of
2021 James Garcia's head was cut off in
one of our most popular
parks what was the council and City's
response nothing a man's head was cut
off and nothing had has changed it's
only gotten
worse this is what has created the
environment that led to the killing of
Officer Hernandez when officer Hernandez
was killed I cannot think of one person
that was
surprised and we all knew we were
heading in this direction and everyone
could see it I work in section four
between the Community of Hope and the
bur the bus terminals all day me and my
co-workers are subjected to threats of
violence and fear of harm I hear
homeless people screaming as they walk
past pass our place of work screaming
threats of other people or someone that
is not there most recently a homeless
man walked around our property three
times and threatened us with an electric
drill months ago another man stripped
naked and threatened to rape our office
manager and he went into great detail
the cops arrived and all they could do
was have him redress and told him to
leave but of course he came back and
stripped
again when I say homeless what comes to
mind when I and others in this community
come here and speak of the homeless
people here in Los crusis we are
speaking of the Lost Souls you see
barely able to hold themselves up
sleeping on concrete arguing with
someone that is not there these lost
souls being homeless is a symptom of a
far deeper situation that they find
themselves in these people need a lot of
help drug rehabilitation mental health
in intervention and in some cases they
need to be placed in a care facility as
they are unable to take care of
themselves does the city have the
ability to help the these lost souls no
we don't and I don't think you have a
plan on helping them if you really want
to
change and help these lost souls you're
encouraging to live here reopen the
donana crisis center make it open a
rehabilitation center a rehab
anything what is the council's
goal there is a huge project to
revitalize downtown for what a visit Los
Cruis building was put downtown for what
we have been told that these people
visit for sporting events and they told
they look around and they do not want to
return the city should be embarrassed
and ashamed local businesses have been
coming in here and asking for help with
this situation and you consider it a
personal attack if you think chain
businesses would like to build here then
why they'll know they'll be broken into
and vandalized and their employees
threatened why would they want to be
here
either what do you consider to be worse
a man's head getting cut off an officer
being killed when do you consider this a
problem and then needs to be
[Applause]
fixed okay that was the third row anyone
else the fourth
[Music]
row good afternoon city council city
managers my name is is Jack Eckman I
here today to ask for some assistance
the last meeting of the oversight
Committee of the city of Los Cruses was
held on September 20th of
2023 so we have missed meetings in
October November December of
2023 January February and March of
2024 and I have a stake in the ordinance
the accountability and government
government ordinance uh number
2881 uh we're in default of that
ordinance at this
time I'd appreciate your assistance I'm
the only voting member left and I have
not resigned I don't know if I've been
removed or not but I have not resigned
we need two more voting members I
understand two non- voting members have
been appointed by this Council two City
councilors and so I very much am just
looking for community unication I'm just
looking for what is going to happen next
or what are the thoughts the policy
thoughts of City Council on this as you
direct the policies of the city and the
ordinance being one of those I have to
assume that uh you'll you're doing
something about this or you're about to
do something about this we need a voting
member from the law community and one
from the accounting audit committee uh
on September 20th two of our voting
members resigned for different reasons
and I am very much looking for direction
and what you would have me do because I
stand also as a servant of the city
thank you so
much thank you
[Applause]
sir anyone else on that
row
hello my name is Dylan Davis um I am a
mother of three beautiful children two
of which are twins my twins were born at
29 weeks gestation and weighed only 2
PBS at Birth I'm not sure how many of
you have witnessed the fragility of a
premature baby but it cannot be
overstated pries require very special
care a specific temperature provided by
incubators feeding tubes and an oxygen
supply in November of 2023 there were 36
premature babies trapped inside of alifa
Hospital niku inside of Gaza due to
Israel cutting off water and electricity
to this Hospital medical staff were
forced to leave behind their patients
including these 36 premature babies to
die if this is a war what crime did
these innocent babies commit to deserve
such a slow painful and lonely death
early this morning Israeli troops
withdrew from the same hospital after 2
weeks of total Siege what they left
behind is a scene of utter horror and
Devastation the few living journalists
that remain in Gaza are reporting a
gruesome nightmare that is their reality
Israeli forces executed 300 people
including doctors surgeons and patients
of this Hospital hundreds of bodies
surround the medical complex many of
their hands and legs tied behind their
backs completely flattened by a
bulldozer every single square inch of
the hospital which was older than the
state of Israel and once constituted 30%
of the Health Care system in Gaza is
completely torched and destroyed
including the bodies of these 36
premature babies the damages are
irreparable and the complex along with
all of its equipment will need to be
rebuilt from scratch there is no need
for this level of Devastation and it is
almost completely funded by American
taxpayer dollars New Mexico is one of
the 33 States set of Cooperative
agreements with Israel in the last few
months alone the US has spent $18
billion to fund Israel's genocide
against the people of Palestine I would
like to request the representatives of
our city to introduce a resolution
calling for an immediate and permanent
ceasefire and an end to the mass
destruction in Palestine our resolution
along with the resolutions introduced by
cities and towns across the country has
the capability of making a real tangible
difference and saving countless innocent
lives thank you for your
time
next would be row five anyone on row
five good afternoon all my name is
Elizabeth Bennett I am an alumni of the
Public Health social work program at
NMSU and a proud member M of L Cruz's
Community even though we are a big
little town tucked away in the dusty
desert of New Mexico we have made
history in a lot of meaningful ways not
afraid to do the right thing even when
it's unpopular or unheard of in other
parts of the state or
Nation as a local community we are
strong and as a global Community we are
Mighty today I want to challenge you to
continue to show courage and join the
other US cities and international
officials who have called for an immedi
mediate and permanent ceasefire in
Gaza the horror of the indiscriminate
wrathful Slaughter of the innocent and
holy people of Gaza has echoed across
the globe a nation's cries for help
reverberate through the deafening
Silence of the world where the rest of
us sit and watch unmoved to lift a hand
in their defense some of us going as far
to deliberately turn away or regulate
and sanction others into not talking
about it if you aren't already to
disturbed by the Relentless death and
destruction I implore you to look beyond
the sanitized stories of the mainstream
Media or the official reports of the IDF
press office but rather have the courage
to Bear witness to the hours and hours
of unfiltered footage of a smoldering
nation that is being live streamed from
people on the ground in
Gaza if you are telling yourself that
the problem is too far away and none of
our business you don't have to look any
further within the US Mexico border to
see the impact of state and federal
Partnerships with the Israeli government
to develop test and deploy border
weaponry and surveillance Technologies
such as the Hermes drones and integrated
fixed Tower systems which are currently
being used to deter migrants from
seeking refuge in the
US Palestine is a hub for battle testing
the tools used in the escalating
militarization of American cities and
borders to stay silent as the Israeli
government un leashes its genocidal
Rampage across Palestine is to allow for
a new Global precedent of Oppression in
the form of mass murder displacement
maming starvation and land theft is that
the world you hope to create as
counselors I'm here today to urge you
all who I respect as a wise and
impactful body to join in calling for an
immediate and permanent ceasefire and to
end all us Aid to Israel who have
clearly demonstrated their disdain for
Palestinian life and land as a body that
claims to represent your community for
the purpose of maintaining its safety
and well-being please do what you can to
stand for the humanity of our local and
Global communities free
[Applause]
Palestine anyone else on that row and
the
six
row my name is Fred huff and I want to
express my gratitude for the public
comment time not being moved to the end
of your business meeting I respect the
mayor's reasoning for the idea of moving
the public comments to the end of the
business meeting when he noticed that
almost everyone left after the public
comment period he felt that the
counselors did not have an opportunity
to address some of the public
concerns unfortunately with the current
format the public and the counselors are
just talking at each other and not to
each other regardless of when the public
or the counselor speak maybe the
councilors could address the public
concerns immediately after the public
comment time and before your business
meeting um or have a fixed time set
later in the council meeting for public
comments this is why we are asking for a
work session with the city council to
better address some of the very
important issues of crime vandalism car
theft and vagrancy that are affecting
our quality of life one very easy and
noticeable step to restoring our quality
of life
would be to pass a grocery card
ordinance that gives the city authority
to remove this litter from our streets
maybe this ordinance could even have the
ability to arrest and charge the thieves
that are removing these carts from the
business
properties another very noticeable
Improvement to our Quality quality of
life would be for us to be able to drive
the streets and not be accosted at every
major intersection and store parking lot
by people asking for money this last
weekend at the intersection of Walmart
and walnut an organized group was
walking within the traffic Lanes
soliciting donations regardless of the
traffic light colors I am very surprised
that one of them did not get hit or
cause an accident I have actually asked
my wife not to go to any of the stores
in the area of Walmart and Best Buy on
lman by herself because of all the pan
handlers walking around in the parking
lots please support any ordinances
addressing these issues when they are
presented to you myself and a whole lot
of other people want to work together
with you to help solve these issues
thank
[Applause]
you
good afternoon mayor and councel I'll be
brief
today in fact I was going to say I only
had eight seconds left no if you could
just state your name for the ref Henry
young I'll be brief today I am in the
process of putting together a
comprehensive report and presentation
showing a beginning that we could use in
our city to overcome the
crime homelessness address the entire
package because it has worked in other
places with some tweaks that we could
use in our own
City and I would be ready if we when we
have a task force assigned to that to
make a presentation to
council or anyone that wants to listen
and I'd be glad to do that
we need to all work together we can only
do so much within our own confines
whether that be the city as a
whole me at the mission Community of
Hope it is imperative that we do work
together to overcome the problems that
are facing us as a
community but I hope that maybe what I
am putting together can be a beginning
so that we can then work from that
and find a compromise and the money to
fund it thank
[Applause]
you anyone else there on the sixth uh
seventh
[Music]
row
thank you City councilors and mayor I'm
Sarah Smith thank you mayor Enriquez for
keeping the public comment at the
beginning of the
meetings councilors McLure and Flores
have expressed support for having a
legislative team that would more
effectively advocate for the needs of
our community with the legislature when
we concern citizens of our community
contact our local lost cruus senators
and representatives we rarely get any
response I hope that you will move
forward with creating this legislative
team since your voices as an elected
body could be so much more powerful in
advocating for what we need I presume
there is probably more happening behind
the scenes than I can see but in case
you don't know Los cruus Public Schools
takes an active role in advocating for
their specific needs with the
legislature maybe it would be helpful
for the city council to model the
legislative team on their experience for
instance Las cruus public schools has a
legislative Forum where they meet with
legislators to discuss what is needed
they also participate in the interim
committee meetings of the legislature
those committee meetings will be
starting on July 17th this year in
preparation for the 2025 legislative
session for monitoring the bills
proposed during the last couple
legislative sessions there were quite a
few that had the potential to help our
crime situation in Los cruus our Los
cruus representatives and Senators
generally voted against these bills but
maybe if you show support for them
things could be different I'm going to
follow up with an email to all of you as
well as Chief story with a list of some
of the bills you might be interested in
advocating for in the next session these
include bills that you have mentioned
supporting already such as changing the
bill reform laws and addressing
incompetencies so that we can stop the
catch and release of many repeat
offenders in Los cruus but there are
also other bills that you may want to
look at including ones that would
fortify the three strikes law increase
penalties for felons in possession of
firearms as well as trafficking drugs in
possession of a firearm increase the
penalties for organized residential
theft attacks on law enforcement
shoplifting fence Al related crimes and
additional violent felonies you may have
heard that Oregon is backtracking on
their legalization of drug possession
one thing they are going to implement is
the option for drug treatment instead of
jail time and that seems to be in
alignment with the approach that you are
wanting to take here in Las crusis for
some offenses maybe that is something
you would want to advocate for in some
of the state laws as well we can work
together on this if you are able to get
momentum building for these crime bills
in the legislature then we can
potentially help by mobilizing in the
people of Los cruus and our Statewide
Grassroots Network to show Mass support
for the bills as well in order to
increase the P the chance that they will
pass in the legislature thank
[Applause]
you anyone on the eighth
row ninth
anyone else okay thank you thank you
all next is to read the closed um
meeting statements that took place on
March 18th and March
20th so Las crus city council met in
Clos session at 11:00 a.m. March 18 2024
the following members were in attendance
mayor Enriquez was via
teams uh councelor McLure councelor
matis councelor Graham mayor proam bomo
councelor Karan councelor Flores uh
staff were present were Joe Richards and
JC Borgo from Human Resources the
meeting adjourned at
12:43 uh mayor hriz left at
12:19 state statement for the record the
Los crusa city council met in closed
session and only discussed those limited
items as stated in the posted notice the
purpose of the closed meeting is to
discuss the limited Personnel matters
regarding the hiring of the city manager
which is closed pursuant to nmsa 1978
section
20th the Los crusa city council met in
close session at 10:49 a.m. on March
20th the following members were in
attendance mayor hriz councelor McLure
councelor
matis uh arrived at
1054 and left at 5502 p.m. uh councelor
Graham coun uh mayor protim bomo
councelor Karan councelor Flores staff
uh Joe Richards HR Director Joe left at
11:03 JC Borgo HR deputy director Linda
samples our City attorney David sidos
Public Work Director entered at 11:04
and left at 11:47 Sonia Delgado
assistant city manager entered at 1258
p.m. and left at 138 p.m. Ian tamop pel
entered at 2:36 p.m. and left at 3:30
p.m. the meeting adjourned at 5:18 p.m.
statement for the record the Los crusa
City Council met in closed session and
only discuss those limited items as
stated in the posted notice the purpose
of the closed meeting is to discuss
limited Personnel matters regarding the
hiring of the city manager which is
closed pursuant to nmsa 1978 section
D12
next will the acceptance of
agenda move to approve Corin second by
Flores this is on a motion to accept the
agenda as presented councelor McClure
yes councelor matis yes councelor Graham
yes councelor cran yes counc flotes yes
councelor bomo yes mayor
yes
next is Section 8 resolutions and or
ordinance for discussion 8.1 resolution
number
24-100 a resolution approving an
employment agreement for Eon Tel as city
manager move to
approve second by
Floris uh to present will be the deputy
director of HR JC
Borgo
good afternoon mayor mayor proam and
Council my name is JC bgo Assistant
Director of Human Resources for the
record um in front of you resolution
24-100 is city manager appointment and
employment contract Employment
contract uh as you're aware article 3
section 3.01 A through C of the city
Charter provides that the city council
has the authority to appoint a a city
manager on March 18th 2024 in a Clos
session city council discussed the
internal hiring process and reviewed the
applicants to
interview um that that meeting was
noticed and
published um there were nine candidates
that applied um three candidates were
selected for interview at that time on
March 20th
2024 city council interviewed those
three candidates in a closed session um
which was also uh published and noticed
um and the city council's uh candidate
top candidate was iani
Tomo the employment agreement the
three-year employment agreement provides
for a base salary of
$216,000
annually a $500 vehicle allowance
monthly access to City Health Care
benefits medical dental and vision etc
those are the same benefits that all
city employees have access to um a two-e
paid vacation 16 hours of personal
leave 160 hours of annual leave to be
accured annually 96 hours of sick leave
to be accured annually and the city
manager must contribute to Pera um those
are the monetary um Provisions within
the the contract there are other terms
and conditions within that contract
which I'm sure you've all read
thoroughly um and with that the options
uh for Council are to vote Yes to
approve vote no to deny vote to amend or
vote to
table I stand for questions
any questions from
Council okay I just wanted to have a
comment since we have almost a full
house here today um I just want to note
that the city manager position is
247 it is not a job that you get to
clock out at 5:00 p.m. or 6:30 or 600
p.m. it is
247 and so folks might look at it and
say wow that salary or wow those
benefits but honestly it's because this
job is incredibly difficult um in this
especially in a council manager form of
government um the city manager's
position is vital to the success of our
city and um I just want to note that I
think those those two weeks are actually
mandatory time off because we need a
city manager who is who is taking care
of their own mental and emotional health
um as well as taking care of the city
the entire city and so I just want to
point that out before we move forward
because um this is no small decision
it's no small position and I I just
wanted to make those notes before um we
move forward to a vote okay thank you
mayor proam I was going to ask if
there's any members of the public that
had any
comments
okay thank you
Christine this is on the motion to
approve resolution
24-10 councelor McClure no councelor
matis yes councelor Graham yes councelor
Karan yes councelor flotes yes councelor
Beno enthusiastically yes and mayor yes
motion
passes
congratulations yes congratulations e
Connie and uh yeah at this time um like
to turn it over to Eon he wants to say a
few
[Music]
words thank you mayor Andries mayor proo
and to all the city councilors thank you
so much
um I am am
humbled I'm
blessed and honored uh to have been
selected and thank you for your support
um I just want to uh say also to um
counselor McLure um I I I appreciate her
and I I respect that and I appreciate
her uh pulling me off the side in the
beginning as she shared um the as she
shared what she was going to do with the
vote and I really uh appreciate you
doing that and I have nothing but
respect for you because you you did that
and I promise all of you um that I will
give you each 120% of myself um and
that's I can do that because there is a
staff of 1 1700 of qualified intelligent
um staff that will give the shirt off
their back ready to impress impress you
this is a position that is not
easy um but it's it's possible because
of the staff that are here of this
organization
I just want to share um it it takes
courage to go internal uh in the
recruitment for for how important uh
this position is but the confidence that
you had in staff for the belief that you
had in staff to go internal uh speaks to
how qualified a staff we have in here
it's not an easy decision but uh the
same confidence you have is the same
confidence I have uh in the staff and
that's why I know uh I can do uh this
job because of
them and I just wanted to to share that
um you mentioned the the salary um my
commitment to you that I um I will be
worth that and more honestly um if
there're um and I I will let action
speak for itself um again staff they do
the heavy lifting and um and that's all
I'll I'll say with that lastly I'll
share this um I'm a sports person as
many of you in this room are um and I I
was thinking of something to share and
to end with you and something that has
kept me going throughout life um I've
had coaches probably shared with you all
that before you go into the game they
try to give you an inspiration and they
try to lift your spirits up and the
coaches uh when they have shared several
times has resonated me uh resonated with
me throughout this time and it's it's
leave it all on the field don't leave
anything left in the tank that when that
quarter or that round or that set or
that half is done at the end of the game
that they're going to have to carry you
off the field and I promise you Mayas
mayor proen benom and city
councilors that they're going to have to
carry me off the field I'll give it I'll
give you
120% um that's my commitment to you um
city councilors that's my commitment to
staff and that's my commitment to the
community whatever you need my door is
always open and if you catch me in the
street or or or wherever I am I along
with staff we're here to serve you all
thank
you thank you city
manager now um 8.2 resolution number
24-11
a resolution approving the quality of
life
Department 2024 2025 fees schedules and
charges and repealing resolution 16- 244
19- 0118 and 20
041 move to approve Graham second
Corin presenting will be quality of life
director Carol BR good afternoon mayor
and councel Carol Bray director of the
quality of life department and it's my
pleasure to present to you this
afternoon the quality of life Department
fees and charges for the remainder of
this fiscal year as well as uh fiscal
year
2025 so we do an annual review of our
Department's fees and charges our
advisory boards and we have two the
library Advisory Board and Senior
programs Advisory Board review those
fees and charges and uh they have uh
recommended this action as well we look
at fees and charges that are Equitable
and at fair market value and our um
intent is to make sure that we make our
facilities as accessible and open to
everyone as possible here in the city of
Los
cruus I'm going to go through each line
of business very quickly just to give
you a couple of highlights uh for the
fees and charges from each line of
business so first with senior programs
uh we offer Recreation classes for
seniors and we're increasing that number
we offer you can see a variety of of uh
programs from arts and crafts to to uh
social recreation activities those are
our dances and other activities
Recreation classes in general such as
Zumba Gold which is one of our newest
ones and uh sometimes kits are extra so
you're doing a jewelry class that is
might be a $50 kit but in general as you
can see they're very reasonably priced
and the reason there's a range here is
it has to do with the kind of class
they're taking uh how much we pay the
instructor and how much the materials
cost we basically just try to recoup our
costs I did want to note also that we
charge uh for congregate meals for
guests under the age of60
$750 as you know we have a grant that
pays uh for our meals uh for Meals on
Wheels as well as our meals that are
served to those who are over
60 for last Cruis public libraries uh
most of our programs and services are
free but we do charge for lost and
damaged items as well as as you can see
there um our Wi-Fi hotspots and kits we
do actually check those out occasionally
that equipment so people can have Wi-Fi
at home if they don't have it and we and
if those kits are returned to us damage
we charge for those we do not charge
fines for overdue Library
materials and here's our museums uh
charges admission to all museums is free
thanks to your support for that that is
not true in many cities and we are proud
to be one of the few cities that does
allow our M museums to be open to the
public that way uh we have Museum camps
for young people and those range in
price according to the kinds of
sponsorships we can get for those
classes those camps Studio programs
those are our evening studio art classes
and again that range is due to who the
instructor is what they're teaching and
how much the supplies are uh field trips
we do occasionally and then our room
rental charge is there for you to
see uh we recommend that you adopt this
proposed fees and charges schedule for
the quality of life department for the
remainder of FY 24 and for fy2 exhibit a
that's in your packet we also are asking
with this action to repeal previous
resolutions related to fees and charges
and those are listed
there so your options here are vote Yes
to approve no to deny you can vote to
amend or table and I'll stand for any
questions you might have thank
you any questions coun councelor Karen I
not questions I just want to thank you
for presenting this and I really do want
to thank you for the commitment to
serving Los Cruis when I have people in
from out of town and we go to a museum I
always they're they always say like oh
can I pay for something thing and I say
oh yeah you can you can pay for for it
when we go to the museums and um so I I
think that I really appreciate your
commitment to providing accessibility
there uh so many free services and and
the fact that people can take a little
longer to read and not panic is is
beautiful so I just want to thank you
for for your ongoing commitment to
really providing services at at the
lowest cost possible always um in
quality of life and so thank you and
thank you for your presentation today
thank you
councilor flotes uh thank you Mr Mayor
and thank you Miss Bray I just want to
thank you for the energy you've brought
to the department and um and the
Innovations and I especially support uh
thank you for your support for the City
Art board it's uh the best board I've
seen in the seven years I've been on it
so they're doing a fantastic job and you
have a lot to do with that as well so
thank you thank you very much thank you
councelor florus
thank you mayor um yes ditto to my
colleagues absolutely agree with that um
and thank you for bringing this forward
and I know our city clerk Riva will tell
me if this is not an appropriate
question for now but um a couple of
weeks ago during my Council comments I
raised um the issue of the ESL classes
that were very popular and so I just
wondered if you could speak on that and
if there's anything you need from the
council to continue those because that's
I I keep hearing that that is a great
service that that you all offered yes
thank you mayor proam and mayor and
mayor proam I just want to mention that
uh this is I guess it's all right
because Christine has not said no so
again Carol Bray for the record uh so uh
yes we were providing those classes the
English as a second language and GED
preparation and also citizenship classes
as part of a grant that we received and
uh that Grant ran out but uh we looking
for ways to continue providing that we
had a volunteer instructor who left us
unfortunately uh we would like to hire
someone but uh we have a a new request
for a position for fy2 we don't know yet
where that will go but we also agreed
that is a very important service and we
will continue to look for ways to
provide it so thank you thank you I
appreciate that so much and hopefully
our Grants Department is tuning in and
can um continue working with you to find
um some of those funds again yes thank
you thank you mayor
portm okay at this time are there any
members of the public that have any
comments okay saying none
Christine this is on the motion to
approve resolution
24-11 councelor McClure yes councelor
matis yes councelor Graham yes councelor
Karan yes councelor flotes yes councelor
bomo yes mayor yes
yes thank
you thank
you next we have Council bill number 24
023 ordinance number 365 an ordinance
approving a zone change from r4c
multiple dwelling high density and
limited retail and office conditional to
R4 multi- dwelling high density limited
retail and office for property
encompassing
2.98 plus acres and located at 1712 and
722 hne place and 725 Basha Ark
submitted by M&M Building Solutions
Representative move to approve Graham
second
Corin to present Adam
mooa good afternoon Council Adam Ooa
Community Development for the record uh
before we do have a zone change for
properties at 712 722 Hy and 725 B uh
Bosa
Arc currently the property is Zone R4
which is multi-dwelling high density and
limited retail and office conditional
that condition being that buildings to
be constructed on this R4 property are
limited to one story in
height subject properties uh combined
totally uh to totally combined uh uh
I'll start over the three properties
combined Encompass approximately 2.98
acres and they are all three currently
vacant or
undeveloped showing the zoning map here
here are those three properties here
shown in the back part of what is the
banmore estate subdivision that was uh
uh subdivided uh not too long ago as you
can see just a hodge podge of zoning
within the area it's got commercial
North on Commercial zoning North on
Stern multif family zoning to the South
and uh of course Interstate to the the
interstate to the East and a single
family to the West
predominantly showing here the aerial
again those three vacant properties here
single family here to the west and we do
have multif family development here to
the South as well as some twostory
multif family here a little further
south on Stern to give you an idea of
what what what's all around in this
area uh what is being proposed is a zone
change to R4 multi-dwelling high density
limited retail and office essentially
remov
that condition on height restrictions
this would allow the applicant to uh
develop a multi-story development or
multi-story apartment complex uh it
would increase multif family units uh
they will meet all the site design
elements that are required from their
development and uh just to let you know
the applicant did let this the applicant
um is the same owner who did the entire
subdivision of bandore Estates they did
let everybody who purchased Lots or
homes in that badore States directly
adjacent to these three lots uh in their
covenants let them know that that they
were going to go before city council
going to try to get another zone change
to go to multi sto so everybody in that
new subdivision who purchased those lots
or those homes are aware of the uh um
The Proposal that's coming before you
today as
well here are those three lots uh shown
here uh when staff did our analysis we
did see no health safety or welfare
issues associated with the proposed zone
change uh we did see that the proposed
zone change is compatible with the
surrounding prop uh surrounding area but
do do have multif family and multif
family two-story development just the
south and east of this property
Additionally the proposed zone change
aligns with Elevate last crues this is a
Suburban Place type uh which has a mixed
juice environment which with multiple
uses single family uh uses multif family
uses retail uses office uses another
anary uses so it's just another uh check
mark If you will that is within the
Suburban Place type is what what they're
being proposed
today public notice was sent out to
surrounded Property Owners within 500 ft
of the subject property uh staff did
receive one Fen call uh in opposition uh
two emails and additional two emails
today so four in opposition to the
proposed zone change uh staff did
receive also one phone call and support
additionally we did get two phone calls
just ask asking for information of the
proposed zone
change on January 23rd 2024 the Planning
and Zoning commission did meet uh to
review the proposed zone change uh after
very minor discussion because there's no
public input at the time um nobody spoke
up against the zoning change the plan
and Zoning commission did vote to
recommend approval for the proposed
zoning change based on the finings
within their staff report and I found in
one of your exhibits as
well those are the finds shown here uh
the pro zone change is supported by
Elevate L crues allows for development
of vacant property in a in a rather
established area of the Town f as more
rational development between different
residential line
uses uh what could be consistent with
the residential developments of the
surrounding neighborhood and subject
property is located adjacent to a minor
interial roadway or multif family
development and Zoning is
encouraged that is the conclusion of my
presentation uh but uh your options
today are one to vote Yes
and will to approve uh this would align
with the recommendation of the planning
zoning commission and the prop and the
subject proper is to be rezone from r4c
to R4 uh two to vote no and deny uh
proposed zone change three to vote to
amend uh and add conditions that deemed
appropriate or for to table postpone
direct staff and the applicant
accordingly uh that is the conclusion of
my presentation again and I stand for
questions thank you Adam mayor protm
thank you thank you Adam just so that
I'm clear Adam um in 2020 my very first
council meeting ever lasted till about
8:00 pm that day and we were talking
about this Sim the same area is this a
totally this is a totally different
proposal it is not an amendment to what
we decided then correct um mayor uh
mayor Pomo uh this is in the same area
actually so this this is part of that
banare state subdivision this is just a
portion of it as you can see the very
Southeastern portion of that band War
States the remainder of the the area
still on r1a and this is the only area
that was owned R4 with that condition of
limiting the height of Destruction so
it's it's the same property we're
looking at I understand so it was part
of that initial conversation correct the
request now is
for the to remove the conditions great
thank you thank you so much I just
needed to be
clear sorry councelor fores thank you Mr
Mayor thank you Mr Ooa what's the
difference between um R for C because
the C is commercial in that R4 C right
Mr bger uh councelor Flores no ma'am the
C in the end basically stands for
conditional and that condition being
being that it's limited uh limiting the
height of structures to one store story
on those properties so that's the
difference R4 C has a condition R4
there's no conditions on it so it can be
as it could be a three-story building
because I think three stories is our
maximum right in the city of Las Cruses
except for that big building that old
Wells Fargo mayor council FL don't we
have a restriction or a limit on how
many stories mayor council florus yes
ma'am the R4 zoning District allows for
up to 60 ft in height which
is how how how 60 ft
mayor council Flores that would be
roughly about four
stories four five stories I thought it
was I thought it was a three story limit
is that res well this is residential
though okay well I had that wrong but it
allows it to be higher than that may uh
CC florid is that is correct and oh no
so under the proposed R4 zoning
designation the cap is still maximum
height plus 60 ft in height I don't
believe the applicant is looking to go
that tall but that is what's Allowed by
right in the R4 zon
District what is it
for I mean what what effect will that
change make mayor council Florida is
what will allow them to do is still do
multistory because currently under the
conditions with the zoning they're
limited to one storing height only by
removing that condition they could go to
multi stories two three stories when you
make these proposals or these changes
internally do you um ask the surrounding
Community what they would like or do you
just uh bring it to city council mayor
council Flores we do have public
hearings uh at the planning zoning
commission they have the opportunity to
voice their opinions there as well we do
send out notices we advertise on the Sun
News and we post a sign on the property
as well when it's ready to come public
hearing at that time we take any public
notice they could come to those meetings
provide their input as well uh but like
I said at the plan Z nobody was We There
literally the only person in the crowd
was the applicant and then once this uh
say it was to go into effect what uh
sort of structure can the owner uh
build uh anything
that that is 60 feet high or what
council floes mayor uh essentially what
they're limited to are our apartment
apartment units I uh is what's is what
they're proposing is is apartment
complex that's a purpose well thank you
very much Mr Ooa thank you Mr
Mayor councilor
mccl some of my questions have already
been answered but um I do also wonder
about um if something had been set into
Motion in 2020 why that was not given as
a background for planning and zoning and
how does that not factor into our
decision- making right
now Council M clar mayor uh essentially
the condition was placed under at city
council uh it was trying to be brought
forward as just straight R for zoning by
staff and the applicant uh but that
condition was placed on uh the limiting
the height of the building uh by at the
city council meeting by Council um
because of public uh public input and
the surrounding neighborhood uh wanting
to put that condition on that property
is the applicant here um I believe
they are here some they might have
stepped out to the restroom
man because I would also like
clarification on what they're aiming to
build because partially why it might
have been till 8:00 at night is that
there were a lot of people in opposition
to this especially for multiple stories
and I'm all down for housing but if you
look at what's being built there the
part of the conversation in 2020 was
affordable housing and I'm not sure if
that's exactly what they're aiming to do
right
now Council McClair um um May or no they
are not looking at doing that they're
doing trying to do just straight regular
apartment complexes that they're trying
to do if you read in the uh in their
actual covenants that they sent out to
Property Owners when they signed it what
they're proposing is a two-story
apartment complexes on those on those
thank you
yes Adam I know that um when it was
brought up before one of the big issues
was the traff trffic study so has uh has
that been uh addressed in this
case mayor I believe the traffic impact
analysis was done with the actual
creation of the subdivision that's why
those roadways were built out the way
they were if we remember um bouts and
Stern were both just essentially two two
lane roads they have been widen in front
of the subdivision uh additional traffic
analysis are probably going to be
required by the engineer by our
engineering section for whenever they
propose whatever it is that they're
proposing on the property depending on
the number of units that they'll be
putting on there and whatever traffic
generation it creates
sir okay Mr we you
have mayor and city council I'd just
like to
add a few more comments back in 2020 uh
the whole entire subdivision was uh
platted for development and also the
zoning was placed on it so with the
property remaining R4 the density is the
same proposed today as it was at that
time um the the developer could
potentially get the same number of units
they just may need to be smaller and not
as large of units at a one story um at a
twostory it allows them to uh they still
are con constrained by that R4 zoning it
just would allow them to be build big
bigger units instead of a studio or one
bedroom apartment they may be able to to
build two or three Apartments um those
are all just from a technical of what
the property is owned and what the the
buildout of that took place uh with the
um subdivision itself U we would still
have to go through that building permit
review and just um some other history
when that initial U project was proposed
there was a lot of comments about the
intersection and the developer was
required to make those improvements
which are in place there was also a lot
of discussion about the drainage the
area and a lot of water used to pool in
that area and so those were also
addressed with the construction of the
subdivision and just as another note um
the R1 area or the single family area
has a height of 35 ft so there is the
potential for those single family homes
to be built at a two-story level also so
oh and also they could go to three with
Creative
Design just wanted to add that to for
your consideration
today okay thank you David I have
additional comments mayor go ahead thank
you thank you David for that um
information I uh you know I as I was
reading this I could have sworn that we
had allowed two units for the apartment
complexes back in 2020 that were on
Stern Drive is that a correct
recollection
Mayo B what do you mean I'm sorry
because the everything else as you can
see here is Zone R Anda the only ones
that are res for multif family are those
three lots in that that subdivision area
man okay um mayor and mayor protim I um
there is an apartment project to the
south in this area that is constructed
at at two stories so it's um not a a new
development type within the area Okay um
just a long time ago my memory betrays
me from a week ago frankly so um I did
just want to point out though that last
time
we also heard a lot of comments about
um there was a lot of misinformation
about the kinds of people that live in
apartment complexes and so I hope that I
know there's a lot of folks here today
that I hope that that is because the the
concerns about traffic were super
accurate the concerns about the bouts
Lake were super accurate um and some of
those pieces have been corrected I think
bouts for a long time they those folks
we've talked to Public Works about the
concerns about traffic traffic calming
there as well so for me it's always you
know hogland and bouts and um all of
these different McClure these different
streets that have these requests for
traffic calming um that are I think both
a separate issue as well that needs to
be addressed but I do hope that as
public commenters come up here that you
you know that there is um that I hope
that you're not talking with the same
misinformation pieces regarding
apartment complexes who lives at
apartment complexes and that quote
unquote those people will um lower your
property values that is those things are
not proven those things have proven to
be not true um and I think in a moment
where we have a rental unit shortage
whether it's affordable or market rate
we have a rental unit shortage of 5,600
rental units and those are the pieces
that also go into the consideration for
um at least myself so I just wanted to
make those points before we move
on Mr
Mayor if I go ahead Council M Mr Mr we U
is the condition two stories I mean is
there a cap on two stories when you say
60 fet that could be three stories four
stories and it could even be five
stories is it a two-story apartment
building being built mayor matis uh from
the documentation that the applicant has
provided staff uh all all signs point
that they're turning into a two-story
apartment complex
sir okay and that's for sure yes sir uh
but again the the the zone change is for
just to remove the condition so in other
words 60 ft would be the max if you will
but they're not looking at going at Hall
Sir Mr
we Mr chair and uh councelor matis U
something that the the council can
consider is instead of using the
language stories you could go to a
height um your third option was to amend
this resolution so um if you were
concerned about the maximum height in
that area you could match the 35 ft
that's allowed in the single family Zone
and not use the stories and then it's a
matter of the developer um what project
he can propose within that those
parameters I canc with that thank
you okay you said the developer was here
or is
somewhere I did see him sir I haven't
seen him yet so he he might be working
on other project but uh uh if we do need
to work with that uh I'll try to get a
contact to get them back in here sir
okay we we'll we'll get to the public
comments and I'm sure there's uh public
that wishes to speak to this issue can I
see a show of
hands okay do do you all have a certain
spokesperson for your group or it's all
individual individual then then we'll go
ahead and go with with 2 minutes you can
all come up and speak uh just start
working your way down and you can come
up and
speak
good afternoon again my name is Dolores
Bernal I represent uh save the
Roadrunner at safe theot runner. org I
am a little appalled about the way a
city employees like Mr Adam and Mr David
weer operate I was at the PNC uh
commission meeting last week and the
Commissioners were asking questions just
like you are and they're like what about
this and what about that and Mr Adam was
the only one providing him input um a
minute ago he said that the developer
went to the bathroom and now he says I
don't know maybe he's working another
project I think you need to be looking
into some of the statements being made
by your city employees a little closer
um I think a lot of people here are a
little confused as to the input that is
provided um minutes before this meeting
during this meeting and then they're
dismiss automatically when it's time to
take it to a vote so what is really the
process here people come here offer
input and then boom the PNC
Commissioners vote because these two
gentlemen tell them to and then same
thing here uh they present something to
you you just take them for their word
and then boom you you approve it uh so
they're not respecting uh residents
input and let alone even the idea of
having Wildlife surveys on these areas
that are being developed so gentlemen
I'm going to be coming to all the
meetings and I'm going to be pointing
out just how ridiculous this whole
process looks thank
[Applause]
you if you wish to speak you can start
making your way down to somewhere in the
front if you'd
like good afternoon again my name is and
Williams um I attended several of the
meetings back in 2019 and 2020 there
would be more of us here now if we had
been notified of what was going on my
understanding was they only notified
people with f in 500 ft which is a park
a few um duplexes and a subdivision that
hasn't been built yet but it's making
very good progress being built all of
the residential areas beyond the
subdivision none of us were notified our
main
main point of protest is traffic traffic
you know we hear heard all this stuff
about oh 15,000 vehicles for bouts well
maybe that's true on the five Lane part
of bouts that answered Valley we are a
two-lane road after that we have no
lights I mean we have no lights in the
streets there are lights on bouts there
are no sidewalks there are no curbs
there's very little shoulder um the
shoulder on one side abuts to add
drainage Canal it's a hazard for the
kids in the neighborhood it's a hazard
for cyclists it's a hazard for people
walking um that is our objection it was
approved for the three single story um
back then um you know we would have been
at the zoning meetings uh we would have
provided more input formally had we
known about it most of us found out
about it on
Friday
that's
all all right thank you
ma'am good afternoon mayor good
afternoon mayor proam members of the
city council my name is Patrick Dawson
I'm a resident in the uh immediate area
of this proposed change from an r4c with
a condition of one story to an R4 with a
condition of up to 60 ft currently
has uh uh reported sir could you speak a
little closer to mic a little louder
sorry about that is that a little
better I'm sorry just a little louder
okay is this a little
better oh thank you
sir again my name is Patrick Dawson I'm
a resident in the immediate area I did
attend the last meeting that we had
regarding this that imposed that
condition a lot of it did uh have to do
with obviously the concerns of the
traffic flow which has not been changed
significantly there has been some work
done on the road uh but it still remains
a two-lane uh bidirectional Road there
is a turn lane that's been Incorporated
for access to uh one part of the um
development on the I would say Northwest
side and also on the uh northeast side
but apart from that the traffic flow is
is saying there is no light that goes uh
in the southbound direction or
Southwestern B uh direction from bouts
it's as you uh enter B from Valley
southbound or Southwest bound it goes
from a uh basically a four-lane road to
a two-lane goes under a bridge the
interstate uh 10 overpass it's a 35 mph
Zone at that point it reduces to a 25 M
hour zone right after the intersection
with Stern uh there is some curbing that
has been placed there that curbing has
been hit multiple times already by
vehicles uh you can see the the skid
marks on those uh there while this
construction was going on there was
actually a vehicle that hit one of the
fire hydrants uh at one of the
residences on bouts uh just opposite
this construction that's going on
currently uh cause a flooding situation
for some of the residents in the
immediate area uh traffic does not
necessarily go from 25 to 35 that
quickly uh we do have traffic that goes
through is my two minutes up sorry about
that I'll let let you go that but
traffic flow is it remains to be a
concern and secondly there are no sing
uh two-story residences anywhere near
those three lots you go down south maybe
a half a mile and you'll find your first
one and the only one thank you sir thank
you
[Applause]
sir
my name is jaella Garrison and I live in
that
uh uh babista area housing area and I
used the road almost daily until I got
sick but I'm going to be going back out
there doing it we used to ride our bikes
and everything it was 25 miles hour and
even then before this
development came
into um ration to have all these other
homes the traffic was still going down
that road about more than 25 35 miles an
hour and uh we were being concerned and
that was one of the reasons why that
back in
2020 that we came here because it was
impacting the safety of children who do
not have a park nearby their homes to to
play or ride their bicycles and now this
gentleman wants to put a twostory
building which if we Chang the zoning it
could they could change their minds and
want to put a three story because they
don't want to do the one story and it's
all because of money and I was hoping
that we would be able to use it that
land for a park for the kids that are in
the residential areas are surrounding it
there is a a park down further towards
the university but it's it's not a very
large Park and uh I think the benefit of
a park there for people who have their
dogs and stuff uh would be a much better
choice than an apartment building that
will add to um speeding and uh
unsafe uh uh
um usage of the road uh thank
you thank
[Applause]
you good evening again my name is Dan
parrot and I'll make this fairly brief
this uh relates back to my previous
comments concerning zoning and Zoning
changes uh from what I've observed there
was a lot of confusion about about the
way this is proposed and the way it was
presented uh from my perspective I would
request plans from the Developers for a
firm plan as to what they're planning on
doing are they planning on a single
story twostory or multiple stories up to
60 ft um there's different options on
what can be decided here either a yes no
amendments or to table the discussions
for the day uh there's been previous
discussions of traffic issues uh
gentleman's asking for backass we've
heard that the streets are fairly narrow
in this area and uh the
one um suggestion that was made was to
limit the height of the building to 35
ft would would basically be a 30 or
twostory 35t tall building uh I would
request just as a simple matter of
courtesy the plans be approved prior to
the zoning changes being made so that we
know what's going
there um last comment that I'll make
about the zoning changes in the city and
This concerns the city as a whole is it
in the high range area from time to time
we see planning signs that are up but
the print is so fine that unless you
park your car hike across the lot to see
what's actually being proposed you have
no clue as a resident I would propose
the city put up a large enough sign with
a property number on it a phone number
an email or a text number where the
citizens can make comments as to what
they would propose and what they would
like to see done with that property
thank you for your
[Applause]
time mayor city council my name is jool
Rock
and uh I wanted to say first of all that
uh Planning and Zoning had no protest at
their meetings well they notified the
subdivision which nobody's living there
property owners are building houses
before I was here in 2020 the mayor at
that time said we had the largest
protest outpouring that he had ever seen
in his entire terms as mayor the whole
object was traffic and the character of
the community at that time he wanted six
houses per acre we got that changed to
third acres and quarter acres and we
restricted the apartments to one level
trying to
continue the character of the area and
the traffic well all they built was
basically an extra Lane to turn into the
subdivision and I don't feel that there
was any adequate notice given to the
community around the
subdivision I mean I don't drive on
Sterns I drive on bouts I don't see a
little sign on Sterns I saw nothing on
bouts
whatsoever and I don't feel that this is
anything but an attempt by the developer
to go around what the previous city
council and Community had put in place
for valid reasons he's trying to get
this passed so that it doesn't come up
to the community again and again I hope
you all will just flat out refuse it
because it's nothing but a an attempt to
go behind what was already done thank
[Applause]
you Henry young once again I didn't even
know this was coming up today but as a
former member of Planning and Zoning
commission as well as chair from uh
can't remember the entire time 2005 to
2010 the last three years as chair I'd
like to clarify some of the things for
Council that have been brought up as I
say I don't have a dog in the fight I'm
neither Pro nor con but let me explain
something that U that I've heard two
things the way this was approved
originally a par cannot go in there
because it wasn't put into the
restrictions at that time so they can
build under the previous plan and put in
um anything that would go with the
previous
recommendations now changing
from
r4c to
R4
if they go three stories high they would
probably go
beyond their required number of
tenants on three
stories you follow it doesn't matter how
what the height is if they went to three
stories it would already be higher than
the R4
limit so we can't go so much by the
height go by the
R4 unless you want to make sure that
there can be no more than a certain
amount then you go with a height
requirement thank
you hi my name is Patricia neevu I'm a
resident of the area that is south of
the new subdivision I have grandchildren
who take the bus on bouts we don't have
any sidewalks the bus drops the children
off on a dirt sidewalk we have four
traffic lights we love our neighborhood
it is rural looking you would not
believe that you are in Los crusis we
what all we're asking is to keep the
character of the neighborhood we have no
problem with the apartments we do have
problem with traffic we have a two-lane
road like I said the buses drop our
children off on a dirt strip on only one
side of the road the other side of the
road there are trees and bushes it is
dangerous for the children we ask that
you keep this apartment to a smaller
size because of the traffic flow on our
narrow roads and because our children um
like I say they have no open areas if
they want to visit each other they have
to cross these roads it's dangerous as
it is but to add more traffic to the
area is going to be a hazard for our
children and our grandchildren thank
[Applause]
you my name is Dell Hansen I live at
11:05 M Lisa Lane with my wife Donna and
we've lived there for 34 years uh I was
here the previous time that we had these
discussions and the gallery behind me
was full it went long we had done our
research there was a video presentation
that went along with it and I thought we
we made our Point very
clearly what the commission and the
mayor needs to realize is that the final
result for
r4c was a compromise
our neighborhood wanted no
Apartments we wanted larger Lots than
were proposed the developer wanted
Apartments multi-story Apartments after
long
discussion the commission and the mayor
decided that there would be uh there was
a compromise that said there would be
Apartments but they'd be limited to one
story and so we shook hands and left not
everybody was completely satisfied with
it but we left that meeting knowing that
there would be on story apartments here
comes the development we're watching it
unfold in front of us right now and out
of the blue we are told that it's going
to be well that promise that we made
back in 2020 we may amend that now to
some specious idea of what might come
about maybe it's two stories maybe it's
three we don't know where's the
developer we're not
sure it doesn't it smells like a a fish
factory when the ice runs out is what it
smells like right now and what I want
you to realize is that it was a
compromise and that you have an
opportunity to make good on your promise
to this neighborhood that was made
before thank
you
and good afternoon mayor
counselors um a lot of what's been said
was what I was going to say but that's
okay because the main emphasis here is
about the traffic and I'm sorry Robert
mccorkel Robert mccorkel my wife and I
live on Marisa Lane across from Dell we
were here at the first meeting I see
familiar faces Kom and Von Flores they
were there and they know all that went
into this and so here we go again uh
it's fitting this is on April Fool's Day
because I think we're being played for
fools okay and um I want to know what's
changed in in that four years and why
all of a sudden this is going to be
proposed uh we we'll have enough
problems with traffic uh with the
existing subdivision going in a
one-story apartment that's going to add
a bunch bunch of vehicles two story
three story many more vehicles and for
us who live on Mara Lisa Lane there's
only one way out of our neighborhood and
that's going down bouts road so if
you're heading into the city you come to
that traffic lighted Valley and bouts
and this traffic is going to stack up I
can guarantee you it does occasionally
now so that's a big issue uh the way
this whole thing was oos the notice that
was given was minimal uh there's one
little yellow sign in the subdivision
facing inward talking about this
upcoming public hearing that is not
adequate by any means and I want to know
how somebody can stand up here and talk
about international issues for three
minutes and we're limited on a local
issue to two minutes that makes no sense
to me um so I hope yall will reconsider
this I hope you'll re reject it I think
it's a bad idea and and I don't know how
much of these apartments going to cost
to rent I know how much these houses are
they're going 400,000 to 600,000 plus
dollars thank you for your
[Applause]
time afternoon mayor
congratulations to our new city manager
welld deserved counselors um my name is
David Stout I live in the area of West
bouts at the Far West in papon Lane all
the Lots down there are Halfacre all of
you that were here the last several
Council meetings that we've addressed
this problem um we wanted the larger
Lots where the gentleman that they're
talking about is Scott banister he's
nowhere to be found he never is
uh I've addressed several things with
him over this subdivision everything
thing that you all heard before I don't
need to repeat it because you're all
aware of it he hasn't kept his promise
on any of it yet one of the major issues
that I discussed is the irrigation ditch
that runs down bouts Road and there was
a comment made there's an irrigation
ditch well it's there but now it's going
to be the first home that has been built
that ditch sits inside the property line
so it's in somebody's
backyard and the guys doing the rock
wall they actually buried the
ditch had to get him to dig it out out
it's been full of weeds it's a problem
uh the rock wall that the city required
him to put up by the sidewalk now that
dirt ditch it leaks under the walls and
into the street they asked for wider
wider roadways he did he did what he
said he was going to do he did put the
Turning Lanes in but for some reason the
engineer decides that there needs to be
an island put in there for people to run
over the top of their vehicle that drive
larger Vehicles not everybody drives a
little sport fancy sports car so it
tears up their vehicles it's filling up
with dirt and weeds right now there's no
Outlets for the water to run out of it
so it it holds water in ponds there um
the whole deal was just wasn't planned
properly
um I was glad to see somebody take over
that property that's sat vacant for so
long and build build homes there it is
turning out to be a nice subdivision the
deal was to keep it as single story that
was a compromise just like what was said
previously and I think we need to take
that into consideration but we also need
to hold him
accountable make sure he does his job
thank you for your
[Applause]
is there anyone
else may mayor I have some thoughts yeah
mayor Pro go ahead thank you so much um
thank you sir I'm glad you brought that
up earlier as um you all were coming up
I told mayor i' wanted to raise
something else because I I actually
really do wish the developer was here um
I think that would clarify a lot of
misinformation a lot of
doubt whatever that might be and so I
feel like that's important additionally
I really wanted to actually address the
issue of the irrigation ditch I've had
many phone calls and I've told you all
many times that um while those lots
remained empty or even if purchased and
the house is not being lived in yet the
irrigation on the south side of bouts is
the responsibility of the property
owners and many of them clean them out
themselves I know that one of of the
neighbors further down bouts actually
one day went out and cleaned all of that
irrigation ditched on his own and so I
do feel like um there's been many
compromises made on both sides and one
of the sort of you know trying to be a
better neighbor um as they build this
new subdivision is to clean up that
ditch and so I was kind of hoping that
they would be here um yes Mr try I can
see you're wanting to say mayor mayor
Pro I don't know if you saw me on my
phone I was actually in communication
with my staff I believed I saw the
applicant's representative here earlier
in the front desk he actually was not
he's actually out sick but so I
apologize about that ma'am he is not
present today I do apologize mayor if
you don't mind I would like to at least
table it for two more weeks so that the
uh developer is here I think it's
important that the developer talk about
the plans um and is able to answer some
of the
questions I would just say two weeks
well if you have a motion we have a
motion and uh second
second oh
second okay so we have a motion to table
for two
weeks no I'm saying what the motion is
as you put are you putting a date on it
a time yes thank you mayor I would
say April 15th is that that is the next
meeting okay thank you yes that would be
my motion to table to April 15th
okay
this is on the motion to table ordinance
3065 to April 15 2024 councelor McClure
yes councelor matis yes councelor Graham
yes councelor cran yes councelor flutes
no councelor Beno yes and mayor
yes Mr
Mayor question for
Mr yeah M thank you Mr chair Mr Ooa well
we we've already close that item no oh
we've closed it we can't talk about it
yeah we're
done sorry but you that that's really a
disservice
okay let me yeah so next on the item is
board
appointments so councelor bomo appoints
Denali Wilson to the library board and
Alana Bradley to the parks and recck
board and reappoints Joe Castillo to the
Health and Human Services advisory
committee councelor McLure appoints
Charlotte libson to the Health and Human
Services advisory committee and
reappoints Stefan Jones to the library
Board councelor Graham appoints Jessica
streer to the library
board so each one of these
individually okay so we need a motion
and a second to vote for the
following a vote is required for the
following appointments Fred
Rayes rash a reappointment to the parks
and rec board move to approve second
[Music]
Graham this is on the motion to
reappoint Fred rash to the parks and
recck board councelor mccl yes councelor
matis yes councelor Graham yes councelor
Karan yes councelor flotes yes councelor
bomo yes and mayor yes and I need a
motion in a second to appoint mayor Mary
diesel reappointment to the transit
board move to approve second
gram this is on the motion to reappoint
Mary diesel to the transit Advisory
Board councelor McClure yes councelor
matis yes councelor Graham yes councelor
Karan yes councelor flutes yes councelor
bomo yes mayor yes
also need a motion in a second uh for
Michael Harris reappointment to the
transit
board move to approve Graham second
Corin this is on the motion to reappoint
Michael Harris to the transit Advisory
Board councelor McClair yes councelor
matis yes councelor Graham yes councelor
cran yes councel fles yes councel bomo
yes mayor
yes need a motion in a second uh for
Daniel Buck reappointment to the transit
board move to approve Corin second
Graham this is on the motion to
reappoint Daniel Buck to the transit
Advisory Board councelor McClure yes
councelor matis yes councelor Graham yes
councelor cran yes councelor flutes no
councelor boml yes and mayor yes
need a motion in a second for sari Allen
a new appointment to the Ada committee
move to
approve second
Graham this is on the motion to appoint
salari Allen to the Ada committee
councelor McClair yes councelor matis
yes councelor Graham yes councelor cran
yes councelor flotes yes councelor bomo
yes mayor
yes next is Isaac Taylor Weise we need a
motion and a second reappointment to the
Ada committee so move by
Flores second
Graham this is on the motion to
reappoint Isaac Taylor wise to the Ada
committee councelor McClair yes
councelor matis yes councelor Graham yes
councelor cran yes councel fles yes
councelor bomo yes mayor yes
next is uh reappointment to the Ada
committee Ronald
Riva so moved Corin
second this is on the motion to
reappoint Ronald Rivera to the Ada
committee councelor McClair yes
councelor matis yes councelor Graham yes
councelor cran yes councilor flutes yes
councelor benom yes mayor yes next I
need a motion in a second for Joanne
Rodriguez hot reappointment to the
senior program Advisory board so move by
FL
second this is on the motion to
reappoint Joanne Rodriguez H to the
senior programs Advisory Board councelor
Mur yes councelor matis yes councelor
Graham yes councelor cran yes councelor
flus yes councelor Beno yes mayor yes
yes next a motion and a second for David
Hernandez reappointment to the senior
programs Advisory
Board move to approve Corin second
Flores this is on the motion to
reappoint David Hernandez to the senior
programs Advisory Board councelor
McClair yes councelor
matis yes thank you councelor Graham yes
councelor cran yes councelor fles yes
councel bomo yes mayor
yes next is a second and a motion for
Larry Alam Mirano reappointment to the
senior programs Advisory
Board move to approve Graham second
Corin this is on the motion to reappoint
Larry Alano to the senior programs
Advisory Board councelor McClair yes
councelor matis yes councelor Graham yes
councelor cran yes councelor flus yes
councelor bomo yes and mayor yes
need a second and a motion for Debbie
Moore reappointment to the affordable
housing committee so move by Flores
second this is on the motion to
reappoint Debbie Moore to the affordable
housing committee Council McClure yes
Council matis yes Council Graham yes
Council cran yes councilor fles yes
councel
bomo yes mayor yes
we're done okay next is a notice of
proposed
ordinance bring it
forward thank you
counselor so this is 10.1 Council bill
number 24- 024 ordinance number
366 and ordinance com confirming the
successful completion of the Local
Economic Development act Lita project
with
x2n sat
uh Inc and authorizing its termination
to include the project participation
agreement intergovernmental agreement
and the release of the 150,000
guaranteed that has served as security
for the
project Bring It
Forward I'm carrying it for you
councelor
flotes so we have for order
Christine okay so we're bringing it
forward thank
you next we have
the yeah city council member board and
reports um I'll start at the end with c
councelor
McLure thank you mayor I just wanted to
say that um I also have faith in the
city manager's ability to do his job and
have had nothing but good interactions
with him even before I was a counselor
um what I feel is that as a writer I
place a huge premium on communication
and this is still a very uncomfortable
forum for me to speak in public but I
think communication builds trust and I
feel like we failed in that for this
round and I think going forward that's
the drum beat I will have on Council um
I would point to for example the placing
of the yellow signs in an empty lot I
drove by there the other day you cannot
see it from Stern you cannot see it from
bouts we have the ability to put a QR
code on there to link them directly to
the documents we do not do that things
like that we can
change we want to establish trust I
think that's where Chief story has done
a great job he's been able to build
trust by communication so I think we can
do that going forward and I look forward
to working with consti and my colleagues
on Council and with the city manager
thank
you councilor mes no
comments councelor
Grant yeah just two quick things uh
thinking about zoning Brit large not
talking about anything specific coming
up um I don't think I have faced a
single zoning change
that didn't come with push back um
people just dislike change and I think
good food for thought is that if you
live in a subdivision or particularly if
you live in a planned Community when
that was being brought forward there
were people who were railing against the
neighborhood that you now value that you
cherish that you want to protect um so
yeah just just food for thought and
second um just want to say aani how very
excited I am to be able to continue
working with you um I want to thank you
for choosing to remain here to continue
to bring your gifts and your heart and
your kinho to the council and to the
city and you know and also thank you to
your family for hopefully enjoying being
lost cruin for some more time thank
you thank you um I'll have a I have a
few quick notes the Los crusin for
Palestine have presented a resolution
and I do ask that we bring It Forward um
to council and um consider it uh as part
of our our duty to our community and the
things that were presented today so I
hope that um we can consider that as a
future action the the next item is
related to I want to congratulate my
friend and colleague Monica Torres for
becoming the president which of NMSU and
and uh the NMSU system I'm really
excited for her to be at the helm um as
a as a human being I've worked with her
for for my entire time in Las crusis in
some capacity to other I consider her um
a pretty extraordinary leader and I
think we're at a moment I'm I'm really
proud uh to be at this moment to see mon
at the helm of NMSU and Ian here in the
city to see to see us moving forward in
ways that I think are really
extraordinary and I I love the
opportunity that um the future holds for
us so I'm super optimistic um in that
way and as lead inspiring leaders all
around I would say um and I also just
want to follow up on the question of
zoning I think
um uh fundamentally I think we in a lot
of ways our zoning our approach to
zoning has led to our housing crisis
it's been a significant factor across
the country to contributing to to
housing crises um and I think that we
owe it to our community to reform that
process and and stop um sort of putting
limits on things that that result in
fewer housing units available at all
price points for folks in our community
and so I think that's why I'm really
glad that realiz is is up and available
and it is uh aiming to to to shift that
uh what I would consider sort of
um a significant contributing factor to
our existing housing crisis and so I I'm
really also hopeful about the changes
that we might be making but I do um urge
my colleagues to read about some of some
folks alluded to what has changed
between 2020 and and now um and there's
a lot of research now that shows the
ways that zoning contributes to to
housing in Security in our communities
and in our cities and I think that that
research um would would be really well
served by um us considering it while we
consider our zoning reforms generally um
again not related to anything that we
were talking about today except folks
mentioned what's changed and and I think
the access to information about this um
is different now so uh those are those
are my main comments
thanks
sorry councelor
fres thank you Mr Mr Mayor and um so I
have a few things to share uh first of
all Las Cruses seeks comments for major
codes and Zoning changes so for those of
you who are here and for those of you
who are on channel
22 or maybe our media I would ask uh of
Mr Garcia to to publicize this I saw
this in the bulletin Friday's bulletin
um March
22 announcing that um the city of Las
Cruses is seeking public input for a
draft of realized Las Cruses a massive
overhaul of zoning and codes that govern
how when and where different types of
buildings can be erected comment period
which opened March 13
2024 and lasts until April 5 which is
this Friday
2024 is meant to gather public input
about the real realize Las cruus
draft so this specifically involves Land
Development codes related to Historic
preservation zoning regulations subdivis
Vision regulations development standards
roadways Transportation analyses parking
drainage and storm water so if any of
you want to learn more about
this uh you can contact David Weir uh
deputy director of Community Development
however uh this does not give his email
address uh you can call him um you can
get his email address on our website I
don't I don't know what is it might be
dwe at
lis.gov is that what it would be and
well it's just you know people have
whatever anyway d as in David uh we're
Weir Las Cruses
dogovor Chavez yesterday was his
birthday he was born born on March 31 in
1927 and he died
on
um was it April well he died in
1997 I should remember I was there um he
served in the US Navy and he um
organized the Farm Workers of America
and then it became the United Farm
Workers after it joined the AFL CIO the
AFL the American Federation of Labor
CIO Congress of U industrial
organizations were formed that was
formed back in the late 40s I believe or
maybe early anyway it was formed
ironically uh they did not want uh and
it was especially the AF ofl didn't want
the the
uh the Farm Workers Union to be a part
of it because you know they were AF ofl
and um you know so uh eventually back in
' 65 I believe it was then that uh it
was
1964 the braso program ended and what
happened was that the the government
would allow um really almost like
endangered indenter in indentured
servants to come from um primarily
Mexico to uh work the fields and you
know throughout the United States but
I'm focusing primarily in California
because um of all
the you all the it's a big state and uh
there's just a lot of growth of a lot of
things almonds
oranges uh grapes and
um uh lettuce and other stuff at any
rate um so then um that was when things
started to move but they never were able
to really form a union until or excuse
me yeah to uh join a a force
and uh under the direction of Saul
Alinsky who started the community uh
Services organization who trained Fred
Ross in Chicago and his son Fred Ross Jr
was the one that worked directly with
the lores wera and and Cesar
Chavez so
um they finally once they were accepted
to the AF of LCI they still didn't have
any way to have arbitration about their
collective bargaining agreement they
didn't have any way of really they
didn't have the uh standing to actually
join a union to join it so they uh
created in 1975 under uh Governor Jerry
Brown in California they were able to
have the agricultural Labor Relations
Board and uh it was that that that
allowed them to have a collective to
join a union form a union and um
have a collective bargaining agreement I
think that a lot of people think that um
well anyway he um the the upshot of all
of this is that he gave a lot of um he
gave a lot of uh dignity to to the
worker to the agricultural worker and I
had the um I had the privilege this is
very near and dear to me because I I
walked the picket lines for him when I
was in law school um the law I went to
is uh in The Tender Loin in San
Francisco and we'd go into the all the
all the it was a reason there's a reason
it was a Tender Loin everything has been
kind of cleaned up now but this was back
in the 70s and um there was just a you
know just tons of little liquor stores
and we were able to get Gallow wine off
of there cuz Julio and cesa Julio and
and Ernesto Gallo are the biggest have
the big biggest Vineyards and um at any
rate even at gunpoint we were able to
take the Gallow off the shelves we were
able to have the bigger stores pull
their green grapes and uh iceberg
lettuce off their shelves so um it's
very near and dear to me and my then
husband and my older son were actually
um were actually Paul bears at his
funeral the Kennedy were there
especially she and uh uh Robert
Kennedy's family
um and so I just wanted to share that
and all this came to mind um yesterday
was his birthday and I think one year
there was a proclamation for Cesar but
you know I just thought about him and he
died relatively young because he would
he really was a believer in U Gandhi and
and peace and doing and and fasting so
he really wore out his little body and
uh he just you know up and died
fortunately thees wera continues uh with
uh her program in San Bernardino
County anyway and back to the mundane um
the SCD is expanding routes um they're
incorporating hatch and then they're
trying to get buses to you know
throughout the different counties um
that scrtd serves um and um the perspect
the prospective
um uh money that's coming in is we're
getting more and more Federal money um
the electric buses uh are in line to be
rolled out and um the other I would like
to um I'd like to follow up on what
counselor um what counselor uh McClure
just brought up those yellow
signs I mean I don't know I don't know
what you have to because I have been
talking about that for I've been on coun
this is my seventh year and and there's
so much development in the East Mesa and
I brought this up to because it was the
same problem people just happen to run
into a sign that had just flown off
because it's so they're so small and
they're placed in these weird areas and
and the irony though is that they want
Community input or notice or whatever
and so I don't know what the city's
going to do about that all I know is
that it's they've got to do something um
the City Art board is going to it'll be
its second annual chalk the plaza and
that is part I think it's called mid Las
Cruses if I recall correctly yes because
you're definitely yes thank you Ian and
is it April 24 it's Saturday April 24th
or the 27th yeah okay so it's Saturday
um April 27th and I want to encourage
all of our artists to participate
because last year's was absolutely
fantastic I not only on well participate
with the chalk think so they they're
calling on artists and the theme is um
this is Las Cruses oh my God I'm so
sorry but um so a postcard it's the the
name the theme is postcard from Las
Cruses which means that the artist has
to draw something in chalk that is
exclusively Las cusis not a
self-portrait not anything else but that
so um anyway um there's a lot of other
stuff but I've talked enough thank
you mayor
protim mayor I want to just jump back in
for one quick second and um yes go ahead
add my add my voice to councelor corin's
uh I would also support seeing the resol
solution mentioned during public comment
today for L Cru for Gaza or for
Palestine thank you okay
thanks thank you thank you both um thank
you all of
you I do I have a little bit of a list
but I'm going to try to get through it
pretty quickly I do just want to note
that April 11th is the 56th anniversary
of the fair housing act that made
discrimination in housing transactions
unlawful and I think um we have still a
long long way to go toward towards
equity and Justice in housing policy the
way we invest in housing the way we
build it the way we rent it all of that
so um I did just want to note that um
that is April it marks the 56th
anniversary of the fair housing act um I
would also like to have us um discuss
and vote on a
ceasefire resolution um I think a lot of
people might say well don't you have
better things to do but I my answer to
that would be there's always time to do
the right thing and I would personally
like to be on the right side of history
and um even if we thought well that
sounds like a really scary thing to do
um when there's so many other things
happening um but we can be expansive
enough to hold many truths at once and I
will also say that we wouldn't be alone
um there's been over 70 cities who have
already
um stood on the right side of history
and I think Las Cruses has never been
afraid to do so and I would like to see
us do that um and follow the lead of so
many community members who are
organizing and who understand the Deep
intersection of that work I wanted to
remind people about my District 4 open
houses
um the first one is tomorrow at 4:30
p.m. at the wi building um near Pioneer
Park and it's from 4:30 to 6:30 there'll
be multiple depart departments there
that you can speak with it's open open
house style so you can come in at any
time between those two times there is no
formal agenda um but you can talk to
myself to constituent services to any
Department uh the Departments that we've
chosen to be there which are you know
the high frequently talked about
departments anyway um and then the
second opportunity you have it'll be the
exact same format so if you come to one
you won't miss anything on the second
one but if you can't make it tomorrow
April 9th is the second one at 4:30 p.m.
same time 4:30 to 6:30 at Picacho Middle
School um so I look forward to seeing
many folks there and talking to a lot of
people our new city manager will be
there as well if you want to come talk
to him shake his hand ask him how to
pronounce his last name so that you can
get it right it's very important um and
then I will also just say to my
colleagues before I speak on Municipal
Court real quick that for my colleagues
and members of the council that if there
is something you don't
like the best way to change it is to
propose something new and we can stay
mad we can stay mad that it's one way
and that it's been one way for a long
time or you can be mad acknowledge it
and then say this is this is a different
way I think we should do it um and case
in point one of those pieces was
Municipal Corp I was always had a lot of
concerns about the way we um appointed a
second municipal judge and I brought
that forward and um EO and His Infinite
Wisdom before he left made sure that
that uh process was moving forward and
last week I'm happy to report that mayor
Enriquez and I met with um JC from HR
our city clerk and judge filosa and his
court uh manager Melissa shoot I forget
her last name
Melissa Caldwell thank you so much um
and we are moving forward with
appointing a judge number two that is
the responsibility of the mayor and city
council so we will be uh moving that
process forward seven people applied to
be judge number two I think that speaks
highly to um judge filosa and his
credibility in this community and that
people really want to work with him in
addition to many many um um court clerks
applied as well and they only had six
positions open but many people applied
and for the case manager position at
Municipal Court about 20 people applied
and of course there's only one position
and I I think that speaks highly to the
investment that we're making in
Municipal Court but also that people I
think really want to work with someone
like judge filosa and I'm excited to
move that forward because I think
Municipal Court is a critical piece of
the puzzle when we're talking about
Community safety and um adequate and
meaningful interventions for community
members who are struggling so very
excited about that um and
then I do want to just I think there's
some misconception about um lobbying and
S NF for the city do I think there could
be improvements yeah absolutely I think
there's always room for improvement um
and for a better way for us to do uh
cnfa as a team but we have a lobbyist um
Larry horen who is frankly an incredible
advocate for the city when when we have
a vote on the pieces on capital outlay
projects that we want to put forth and
in past years we've also done
resolutions on specific policies that we
want to support Larry is an incredible
advocate for the city the times that I
have been to Santa Fe and don't get me
wrong you know we're not just like going
to Santa flailing around hoping to get
attention though that's what it feels
like when you're in Santa Fe in The
Roundhouse that's certainly what I feel
like in this like Circle of Death almost
um but I do every time I've gone with
Larry I notice that everybody in that
building knows him like he has got an
incredible reputation and I think he is
a great advocate for last jues but I do
think that we need to start our um
efforts much faster much sooner than
November December perhaps in the
summertime um so I do think there is
room significant room for
improvement um let me Mark off my pieces
and then I just do want to congratulate
Eon once again and of course every
single person who applied and the people
who we um interviewed and I just have so
much love and respect
for um the public servants of the city
and I've said this many times up us up
here we come and go and you many of you
have committed your Liv's work to public
service and to this beautiful city and
to helping it make it better and grow
faster and stronger and um I have just
the utmost admiration for every single
one of you for the dedication um that
you have for our city so I really want
to thank all of you and the audience and
you know who you are and I just I'm
always so impressed and I did get a lot
of feedback about um how PE how excited
people are about Ian Ian you've made an
incredible impression and your short
time here um and people like you very
much but I also got a lot of feedback
about how Brave it was that we went
internal um I don't know that I felt
Brave doing it to me it was like yeah
duh that's right
four years ago that wasn't you know we
weren't there and this year it felt that
was right and um I couldn't be more
grateful for for the outcome and just to
be exposed to the talent and wisdom that
we have in this city um and then of
course eepo might not be turning tuning
in or maybe he is I don't know maybe
he's bored in West Valley and he's
tuning in um so I if he is and I will
also just his last His official last day
was yesterday and I just want to
publicly name how much EOP meant to me
as a counselor to the city how um how
much of a strong he was such a strong
city manager and um he made a
significant impact and I of course told
him privately um a goodbye but I just
wanted to officially say that on the dis
as well and that will be it for meet
today mayor thank
you yeah yes go ahead no not half an
hour just half an hour timer's on okay I
I was remiss thank you ion for accepting
the offer or have you
accepted I hope so oh you have until
okay I hope no well yeah oh okay so
thank you for accepting the offer
congratulations
it was difficult but we made the right
decision thank you Connie and I just
want to thank you so much for your
commitment to our the growth of our city
the airport especially is you know so
important everything thank you so much
thank you thank you Mr
Mayor okay thank you um just want to do
a couple of invites for the public uh as
mayor protim stated we're we're talking
about municipal court on April 22nd
there'll be a work session it'll be uh
addressing some of those issues uh it's
a budget work session but please come so
you can see what we're looking at doing
to to improve the safety in our
community and addressing a lot of the
comments the public comes with so
that'll be April 22nd there'll be a work
session and then also on April 4th
that's this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the
Downtown Plaza there there'll be a group
of faith-based uh or organization that
has come forward and inviting the public
to do a blessing for the brave so it'll
be a blessing uh at 6 p.m. for our Our
First Responders in this community so
please join us if you can and then
lastly I just also want to say
congratulations to econ um I look
forward to working with you and I know
you'll do great things for our city
thank you and I'll turn it over to you
now thank you mayor andrizz mayor Pomo
and to all the city council again thank
you so much for your support just a few
City uh uh city manager updates I
appreciate uh Barber sending uh me just
a reminder uh to really thank our
neighborhood Leadership Academy this is
a program I believe was happening uh
during covid or before covid it wasn't
happening when I arrived here and I
remember it was being talked about
coming back and it was resurrected so
thank you so much to Katrina to Grace
and to the whole team making that happen
and to all the residents sacrificing
their Knights uh to be here uh that's
great great things to come from Katrina
um and also another helpful reminder
from Barbara that Larry Larry heran will
be here next Monday to present on
exactly that um on um things uh upcoming
a report of what's happened with the
legislative uh update and then also a
bit of the strategy um they'll share on
um it obviously getting your words of
wisdom on on how to approach that but
he'll have some uh some golden nuggets
on that to share this upcoming Monday
appreciate from
Sonia um there was a public comment uh
David Rutherford who was um concerned
about the the waters potentially um
running
out I appreciate Adrian Adrian has a
contact information she's on it she'll
reach out um and and let the gentlemen
know that we're fine so thank
you thank you Adrian and also in very
good hands I really I always sorry
Connie I just always want to shout out
Adrien or utilities director because she
is a literal water expert and so we are
in very good hands she's an expert yes
we are thank you Adrian appreciate that
uh additionally there was a public
comment on lighting situation for the
mosquite neighborhood group uh that was
mentioned by Israel just wanted to let
you know that Public Works uh they do
understand what's happening those shoot
uh report and we'll get that over to you
you know what's happening
there there
is
um
councelor Flores mentioned Midas Cruses
I just have to uh share a little bit
more about that because uh visit Las
cruus would kill me if I didn't just a
reminder the second annual me Las Cruses
Fest will be held on Saturday April 27th
at Plaza deas Cruses highlighting the
tourism attraction and events of our
city this year the event has added
exciting new elements
including an expanded farmers market
experience
luchadors Lucha libbre will be there in
the food truck Fiesta I yes Lucha lib
and Lucha dors will be there uh you
heard right U they'll be there in the
truck truck Fiesta area and radio
control also hot air balloons will be
there in effect you heard correct yes
hot air balloons with the unveiling of
the visit Las crusis MAA balloon also
you can get ready for the event with baa
Las Cruses on Thursday the Thursday
before that Saturday before with free
dance lessons from Soul Ballroom the
monthly event on the Plaza will
concentrate of popular Borderland dances
like salsa Kumbia M Bachata
Nita
um so seriously come out that was uh
really brainchild of of of Staff in
visas crues to come up and invite the
community for some H culture uh
happening
if um that's it from visit Las crusis uh
quality of life Las crusis public
libraries hosted a few charettes last
week the primary purpose of this meeting
was to look at the Branan library and
determine the best way to renovate and
expand
last week the consultant shared some
rough sketches from the LI Library
Advisory Board this is still a work in
progress and more to
come and uh I I would be remissed if I
didn't share um echoing what mayor PRM
Momo and the counselors feel um I I want
to thank all all of my associates uh who
who also applied for this position
um you counselors mayor and mayor protm
would have been in fine hands with any
of those candidates I strongly believe
that and I would have gladly supported
um any of them um it is it is a the goal
um one of my goals as I'm here to when
the time comes up um for the the next
person to take the scene that the
decision to go internal there will be so
many qualified that you have um you have
the momentum to continue to go internal
because we have a lot of qualified
internal candidates so thank you thank
you to all the candidates and to my my
associates who all applied it takes
courage to put yourself out there uh so
thank you so much for for putting in
submitting um it's not easy there's a
lot of work um there's a lot of
preparation but thank you also to the uh
to my associates who uh made it to the
interview as well again um this the
staff does all the having lifting um and
so I appreciate I can't do this job
without them thank you councelors
mayor
all right thank
you I guess we're looking for
adjournment move to adjourn second
Graham this is on the motion to adjourn
the meeting councelor McClair yes
councelor ma yes councelor Graham yes
councelor cran yes councelor FLOTUS no
no yes coun bomo yes and
mayor
e