[Music]
okay well good afternoon everyone
welcome to for many of us uh this is our
last council meeting this is also the
last council meeting of the year and if
you just joined us for the first time we
had swearing in ceremonies of the uh
city council and mayor at 12:30 but
although we did say our say our Pledge
of Allegiance then it doesn't hurt to
say it again so if you please join
me begin I pledge alance to the flag of
the United States of America and to the
Republic for which it stands one nation
under God indivisible liy and justice
for
all
so earlier I was I was showing my son uh
first off my my wife Rosie first lady
Rosie and and my son Carlos are here but
I was showing my son Carlos about how
before Madden came out how they would
have these little football players and
they just move on this field electronic
field and that was back in the 70s but I
haven't heard what you said had
counselor FLOTUS since first grade since
the 60s so ready began so anyways thank
thank you for for uh the the 50s okay
well I didn't want to say that but
anyways we're going to and get started
here so we're gonna as always we start
our pets of the week so we have Amy def
Felix on Zoom are you there
Amy hello yes I'm
here hello everyone up me to Felix the
Animal Services Center of the Mia Valley
let's go ahead and get started I'll let
share my
screen um as always we're going to start
with um our cat of the week um her name
is Mew and I know she was previously cat
of the week I believe one of the first
weeks in November believe um but her
number is
69133 and she says I'm the longest term
cat at the Animal Services Center right
now I don't know why I'm truly the
sweetest cat who just loves rubbing my
head into your hand hands and flopping
make air biscuits other cats do stress
me out so I'd prefer to be the queen of
my own castle I'm dreaming of a s comfy
home for the
holidays and then we have our dog of the
week um her is Princess her number is
44165 and she says I've been in and out
of the Services Center for a while now
she's been here for about two years she
came first came in in 2021 um but her
family would be the most perfect
Christmas present I can sometimes be
afraid of men but I just need to know
that there're safe and Trust when I feel
safe and comfy I'm a playful and
energetic girl who loves walks car rides
and being pet and love on and as for our
events of course we're still having our
home for the holidays adoption special
going to be all December long all
adoptions are $75 from here on out which
is definitely a great discount highly
encourage people to come um stop by and
hopefully find your next family member
for the holidays we'll have an offside
adoption event at pets March we'll be
there Saturday December 23rd from 10 a.
to 1 p.m. and of course if you need the
address that's going to be 2200 East
lman Avenue Los crus New Mexico
8801 and I feel like it's a little
appropriate to um start to talk about
holiday pet safety just in case I know
last month I did touch a little bit on
specifically Thanksgiving pet safety but
this can um this will more relevant
towards like Christmas Hanukkah gift
giving holidays as well as New Year's um
so definitely we can start off with
accommodating pets who may be nervous
with house guests if you are the one
hosting if at your home and
accommodating your pets can look like
you know setting up a quiet crate or
room with white noise and a long-term
enrichment like a frozen lick matat
Frozen Kong long lasting chew anything
that'll occupied for the duration that
you're going to be hosting and of course
white noise to help drown out um if
there's any you know like cheering loud
loud conversations anything that might
stress out your pet on the White Noise
can kind of help down that kind of
similar to maybe like what you would do
during like the Fourth of July during
fireworks kind of have something like a
like a sound but of course there are
foods not to feed your pets that are
pretty common during the holiday season
and of course this can be things like
bones like definitely like pork beef
chicken bones candy uh Citrus and any
ped the pits of any pitted fruits U
garlic onions grapes or raisins and of
course excess salt and excess fat uh
some of these foods like candy
especially if it has a Xylitol if it's a
sugar-free candy um garlic onion grapes
or raisins that can be toxic to your pet
especially your dog um and that can
cause definitely can cause problems um
excess salt and fat can link to other
sort of health problems of course excess
salt um can lead to hypernia so it's
like excess sodium in the blood and that
can lead to a whole bunch of health
problems and of course excess fat like
I've mentioned before can lead to uh
pancreatitis especially in large doses
or liver problems even so definitely if
you want to avoid the emergency uh visit
during your holidays avoid kind of you
know treating Your Pet a little too
excessively definitely of course keep
your trash out of your pet's sort of
range of accessibility this can um be
relevant towards both food scraps of
course like these potentially toxic or
hazardous foods that your pet might get
into or even gift trap gift uh trash um
if you're a cat if you're like one of my
cats like I was going to mention um they
love eating paper and chance they get
they see like the the ribbon the
shininess they want to chew on it they
want to eat it so definitely as soon as
your gifts have been unwrapped dispose
of it make sure your pets can't get to
it because of course if they do consume
something like that's undigestible it
can cause an OB an obstruction and that
is just not fun to deal with another uh
emergency visit during the holidays um
decoration safety in general your pets
from Shing like Christmas tree limbs
espec like um the plastic limbs can also
cause like
obstruction issues but even like real
like pine trees if you have a real like
a real tree Christmas tree um ingesting
the pine needles um they can be sharp
enough and they can potentially cause
injury like um to the gastrointestinal
system of your pet and that's definitely
not fun to deal with um tinsel ribbon of
course anything like similar to the gift
wrap that's kind of like shiny
attractive to them they just want to
like you know get their little their
little mouths on but it's definitely
dangerous and hazardous for them to
swallow but they don't know that of
course so definitely um do your part to
help keep them away from getting into
stuff like that uh don't leave any
candles unattended in areas especially
areas that your pet has access to um I
feel like this can go with that saying
but just in case um if you happen to
have a candle like holiday candles going
um burning make sure that especially
like a cat then get into high places if
they want to make sure the cat access
any sort of um lit Flames um because in
the off CH that they knock it over that
that's a fire hazard and that will cause
a major problem and same thing with dogs
um especially like a larger dogs you
know if they have the happy tail they
don't know where they're wagging their
tail they're just having fun and they
can accidentally Wag the tail off like
the candle off the counter or the little
um end table or something like that and
that can also that's a a fire hazard of
course so if you're going to have lit
Flames keep them um completely safe um
make sure they your pet cannot access it
whatsoever even on accident um there are
some toxic holiday plants that some
people might have indoors so definitely
keep your pets away from this um like
Ivy Holly mistleto and poin cidus um if
ingested these can cause problems to
your pets um so if you have them hung up
or used as decoration um make sure your
pets are staying away from that um if
you happen to be traveling for the
holidays and if you're not the one
hosting um you can carefully consider
whether or not your pet should be
traveling with you especially if it's um
via flight because uh flight travel is
extremely stressful to pets um and I
guess consider um if it's worth it to
try and either find a reliable pet
sitter or boarding kennel feel like by
this point um this late in the the month
it might be a little bit um like
boarding will be pretty booked already
for the next couple weeks because of the
holidays but definitely um don't it
doesn't hurt to look of course but if
you are going to travel with your pet um
definitely speak to your vet to see if
there's anything you can do regarding
like Stress Management some vets um will
have you maybe try like a sort of like a
sedative and anti an an an anti-anxiety
medication beforehand to see if it works
well with your pet and then you can use
that during traveling to help kind of
mitigate the stress if you need to take
you um but either way if you're either
traveling or or leaving your pets behind
definitely make sure your pets have
collars with ID tags um microchips as
well and make sure all of the contact
information is up to date because it
would it's a it would be really awful um
if either while you're traveling your
pet gets away from you or while you're
um like your pet is also away from home
like you are and they get away in like a
strange area um you definitely would not
regret having these um updated ID P
identification to make sure your pet
gets back to you as soon as possible and
as as well as if you're traing your pet
behind and it happens to get out either
with a sitter or a family member they
just somehow get out of your home um you
you
definitely um the updated contact
information will be a relief and will be
at least one less stress for you to
worry about while you're away from them
and of course um not to mention just
like Christmas and Hanukah and this kind
of holidays but also um new New Year's
New Year's Eve New Year's Day um there's
going to be a lot of noise especially if
you're hosting at your home of course so
similar to the Fourth of July in general
keep your pets in a safe secure crate or
room with white noise as well and
that'll help kind of and like a
long-term toy but the White Noise will
help suppress you know like Party
Poppers loud cheering um sometimes there
are fireworks on New Year's as well um
so this will help kind of mitted their
stress um kind of help them feeling as
comfortable as possible and so you guys
can both both of you guys can have a
safe and happy holiday season and here
we go I find these two adorable but yes
we hope you all have a happy holidays
thank you all right thank you very much
Amy we appreciate those helpful hints
and um happy holidays to you and and U
happy New Year thank you okay next is uh
Sarah Rainey from the New Mexico
workforce connections she too is also on
Zoom Sarah good afternoon everyone thank
you so much um let me share my
screen going turn off my
videos all
righty for our jobs of the week
oops I'm
sorry we have a community advocate that
is for the city of Los cruus the salary
begins at 45,000 and can go up to 64,000
that posting closes next week on 12:25
we also have for the city of Las cruus a
crime scene investigator the position
starts at $22 2285 an hour um and the
posting closes on 12:25 as well
for wh Sands Missile Range we have a
senior Electronics maintenance
technician um that the salary wasn't
posted so depends on experience um that
position is open until filled as
well for Crescent City or sorry Crescent
Electric Supply Company we have an
account manager um that position starts
at 31,000 and the position is open until
filled um for deers and charities that
they have a resident monitor a relief
resident monitor um it is a part-time
position um posting starts at $20 2061
an hour and the posting closes
on5 then for the American Red Cross we
have a Workforce scheduler that position
starts at $12 an hour the posting closes
on December
30th that's all we have for now as
always please come see us at our
Workforce Connection office on Alam B
Ard if you can't reach us there You' you
can reach us on any one of our social
medias um that's Facebook Instagram
LinkedIn YouTube and now Tik Tok we also
have our app but feel free to come see
us thank you everyone I appreciate
it thank you
Sarah and um happy holidays to you and
Happy New Year as
well okay
so when I tell you that Michael Jordan
is in the house this is a true story
he's actually here he's an athlete but
uh he likes to go by Mike so I'm gonna
ask uh coach Mike Jordan to join me up
[Applause]
here
so I don't know if I ever told you this
but when I was in Elementary in
beginning of sth grade I used to play
volleyball I was was really good
actually I have to if I say so myself I
was really good and but this was before
you know back then they would I think
you would hit it this way and go up you
know now it's it's like a tennis swing
but uh my teams were were kind of like
yours they were really really good and
undefeated many times but I wanted
to I wanted to give you something here
for all the excitement that you've done
over the you've been with New Mexico
state in fact that's the only University
you've been with head coach 26
years your record is 544 wins and 228
losses that's pretty incredible you are
the winningest coach in the history of
Aggie volleyball and
so you you've provided a lot of
assistance to many of these athletes
throughout as they start their careers
we see many of them who've gone on to
successful careers and and other fields
besides Sports and sports and so we
wanted to give you a token of our
appreciation for all that you do it's
called the mayor's distinguished service
Award presented to coach Mike Jordan New
Mexico State University for your
dedication and Excellence to our
community December
2023 thank you very much appreciate it
thank you all your years of service
you're welcome to say a couple
words thank you to everyone for this um
coaching is not for the faint of heart
and I've been doing it a long time and
it's been a pleasure uh my 26 years at
NMSU um serving the community and uh
we've got a lot to brag about of course
beating up on our Rivals to the north
and south over the years but U you know
I lost my mother eight years ago this um
I've gotten many Coach of the Year
Awards and things like that she would
have been most proud of this um being
recognized by the city and the community
of flos Cru is a big deal thank you very
much appreciate
it and and Co
[Applause]
oh thanks again appreciate you and as
you know um I'm going to be having a
little bit of time this uh 2024 so if
you need a assistant coach uh with
seventh grade experience all right so uh
I'll show you how it was done in the old
days right
okay okay so
next I you know I like to start I'm
gonna I'm gonna kind of switch this
around a little bit so I'm GNA ask
counselor ABA if you would come
here
yeah so oh I should have said unders
Sheriff besides counselor yeah
hopefully
so when I first
met counselor she was a soccer mom she
would always come to our meetings and
I'd see her here and there and I can't
believe your boys are that big because
they were really small at the time and I
think the baby was a baby baby right and
um she was just interested in making
sure that the soccer fields were taken
care of and just make sure that things
work here at at city hall and then she
decides to run for office and wins
and she came on to the council and has
really did a fantastic job and I I could
always uh count on her to do what I felt
was the right thing in the best interest
of the city public safety and I'm glad
to see that you're going to be helping
out the sheriff in in a different role
but one it's going to still be a
challenge for you and I know it's going
to be very beneficial for the residents
of Don County so the city would like to
present to you this it's really nice
looking plaque
I don't see one for me but I uh let me
just read it here it says City Los
Cruses Tessa AA city council District 2
January 1 2020 to December 31st 2023 in
recognition and appreciation of your
dedicated community service and making
Los cruus a better place
so
thank you all so much um so mayor was
right I started out coming here to
advocate for soccer fields and of course
in my first uh legislative session we
helped bring over $900,000 back to the
community for those soccer fields for
bathrooms and lighting and I really
started my term with I'd say an eager
zeal um but I also wanted to make sure
that I learned and listened right away
and I want to take a moment just to
thank staff over this four years what
I've been able to do and what I've been
able to learn would not have been
possible without all of you you are the
backbone to this organization and you
are so smart and the best part of the
community and the best part of what I've
learned here in the city so I just want
to take a moment to say thank you and
thank you to the three not so little
ones anymore that are sitting over there
that were patient and kind you got to
see them when we were doing Zoom
meetings because as it turns out 3
months into our um term we had a
pandemic that happened and so as a mom
of three and the first female city
counselor to serve while raising School
aged kiddos I was like many people that
had to become a teacher too and I had a
kindergartener and I was absolutely
horrible at it as it turns
out but it was a learning and growth
experience um and another one where once
again it was City staff that showed up
uh in very strong ways over the last
four years I've been able to Advocate at
different levels and I found a real
passion for doing it towards the state
level I am proud of being able to serve
as the president of the New Mexico
Municipal league and for all the
perspectives that I've gained through
Mayors and counselors and administration
from across the state it really has been
an honor and a pleasure to serve and I
am excited to be able to bring my
expertise in a new fashion because this
is my home and community and I'm going
to show up for it every day so thank you
so
[Applause]
much okay so next is Mayor protm
Gand
so I met uh mayor proam when she was
running city council
2015 District 1 um one of our mutual
colleagues decided to take a different
path and um
so I remember showed up at a fundraiser
that I had in in 2015 with May mayor
Gail's house but the significance that
mayor proam helped me learn and
understand was that of of public health
and mental health you know so coming
from the county side I was always you
know the County charges a certain
percent of our grossy seeds tax to go
for those type of
services and in the past up until she
got here the city really never never
dealt with that but because of her
education and ability to kind of share
with us on the city council how this
works and why this isn't just a a county
issue this is not just a city issue this
is an issue that we deal with every day
I've been able to learn a lot and I
can't thank her enough for the education
that I've received and and things that
that I learn um you know it's it's it's
it's really um it's been great to work
with you and and I want to apologize a
lot for this last several year probably
last four years um the the work schedule
that I've had was just such that you
know about every other meeting mayor
proam can you do this can you go here
can you you know attend this for me and
she never said no and then a lot of them
were on the weekends a lot of them were
weekday and um has one thing that former
mayor Smith would tell me he says you
know you have a good mayor proam when
they can cover you even on the weekends
and she did that and but I just want to
thank you for your years of service and
you two have a beautiful
plaque that uh I'll read it to you says
a city Los cruus Cassandra a gandera
city counselor District 1 November 16
2015 to December 31st 2023 in
recognition and appreciation of your
dedicated community service and making
Los crues a better
place
I have my swan song
written esteemed residents colleagues
and Friends of Las Cruses as I stand
before you
today a range of emotions washes over
me gratitude for the priv pre of serving
as your councilwoman and mayor protm
pride in the collective achievements
we've realized and a touch of nostalgia
for the journey we've undertaken
together these eight years have been
transformative not just for our city but
for each of us who call this home when I
entered the realm of city government
fresh from my role as a district manager
really regional manager for cfd
the path ahead seem
uncertain I embarked on a journey to
find my place learning the nuances and
intricacies that would allow me to
effectively advocate for our community
and contribute to the city's growth
regardless fueled by a dedication to
community welfare I
navigated those Uncharted territories
with resilience and
purpose one of my very first initiatives
upon assuming
office was to raise awareness of
children adoptions and if you see out in
the front you have the heart
Gallery this was to bring a sense of
community for our youth and children I
witnessed
firsthand together excuse me firsthand
the transformative impact it had on our
community as families came together and
our young ones found support and love in
unexpected places transitioning from
this foundational commitment to
community
well-being the Partnerships created with
dedicated
organizations have played a crucial role
in creating a robust network of support
for those in need I embarked on projects
like Mano Mano symbolizing my unwavering
dedication to addressing
homelessness this initiative goes beyond
merely providing job placement
opportunities it Encompass encom
encompasses
encompasses a holistic approach by
connecting individuals with essential
Supportive Services housing and income
assisted tailored to their unique
needs in parallel I made it my
commitment to create a robust network of
support for those facing upet needs and
challenges understanding the
significance of trauma and mental
well-being I work tirelessly to ensure
that our community members have SE
access to the resources necessary for
their holistic health it became apparent
that addressing fundamental aspects like
housing is a crucial component of
supporting healthy mental well-being a
stable and secure home lays a foundation
for a resilient and flourishing
Community therefore affordable housing
is not merely a policy it's a deeply
personal cause that has resonated with
me throughout my 10 years
championing the successful advocacy for
the geobond to facilitate affordable
housing was not just a bureaucratic step
it was a heartfelt commitment to
ensuring that every resident in our
diverse Community had not only shelter
but a true place they can call home I
felt an immense sense of Pride when the
bond passed it reaffirmed that luses is
a community character ized by its
inclusivity
resiliency and unity in the shared
belief that every individual deserves
the Dignity of safe and affordable place
to
live in the heart of District 1 where I
reside alongside my fellow residents the
persistent challenges of crime were
undeniable echoing the concerns voed by
constituents all across the city as I
grappled with the urgency of finding a
nuanced solution solution to the
escalating crime issue in my own
neighborhood it became clear that a
one-size fits-all approach would not
suffice that's when I that's when lift
up Las Cruses was conceived an
Innovative and comprehensive approach
born out of recognition that complex
problems necess necessitate equally
intricate intricate
solutions by combining efforts to
enhance safety measures Revitalize
underdeveloped neighborhoods and Foster
a resilient sense of community lift up
Las Cruses aims to create enduring
change it wasn't just about reducing
crime
statistics it was about empowering our
neighborhoods promoting unity and
ensuring that every resident feels a
profound sense of security and belonging
in our city in navigating the challenges
of our historic City I've engaged a
tough problem solving addressing issues
like poverty access to health care and
substance
abuse amidst those efforts let us never
lose sight of the beauty and strength
that defines Las
Cruses it has been my distri distinct
honor to spend meaningful time with the
incredible residents of District 1
celebrating the rich richness of our
community and embracing the spirit that
makes our city truly
remarkable let's delve into the fabric
of district one its cultural richness
and economic heart of Las Cruses the
establishment of the heart the Art
District in District One became a
reflection of our dedication to
preserving our cultural heritage and
fostering
creativity this in initiative not only
celebrates the artistic vibr vibrancy of
our historic districts but also provides
a dynamic canvas for emerging artists to
add to the culture cultural tapestry of
Las
Cruses as we Embrace this Fusion of
tradition and Innovation the Art
District became not just a physical
space but a living breathing Testament
to the boundless creativity that defines
our city as the economic heart of Las
Cruses as I like to say district one I
soon recognize the imperative of
fostering growth and prosperity this led
to the creation of our economic
Development Department our strategic
initiative designed to propel us into a
thriving hve of economic Vitality
District 1 became the focal point for
the Endeavors of this department playing
a pivotal role in drawing business
igniting job creation and securing our
prosperous future for Los crues with a
shared vision from promise and future we
recognize the revitalizing the downtown
area would be the Catalyst of an
economic pulse of Las Cruz es made
possible through the tid we invested in
the heart of our city we aimed to create
a dynamic downtown and would not only
serve as a commercial center but also a
cultural Social Hub fostering a sense of
community pride and unity take a stroll
down memory lane or better yet down the
revitalized Amador this wasn't just a
renovation it was a statement a
statement that Las crues is here vibrant
and alive from our iic plan at the Alam
blueprint laid the foundation for a
forward-looking and inclusive City by
envisioning a revitalized downtown we
took bold steps to restore the historic
Amador
Hotel this project was not merely about
bricks and mortar it was about
preserving our cultural heritage and
creating a prospering hub of community
interaction as I prepare to step away
from my role representing the vibrant
District 1 I do so with profound sense
of assurance that Community will be left
in capable hands under the leadership of
Cassie
McClure Cassie embodies the qualities of
a dedicated public servant who I know
will advocate for district one with
Grace dignity and unwavering compassion
I have full confidence that Cassie's
Vision combined with her tireless work
ethic will contribute to the ongoing
success and utility of District 1
ensuring that the heartbeat of our
community continues to resonate with
strength unity and boundless potential
as I stand at the threshold of bidding
farewell to my term in office I'm filled
with profound
gratitude for The Incredible Journey
we've shared in the vibrant City Las
Cruses you have been the canvas upon
which we painted dreams faced challenges
and etch the IND diable marks IND
deniable marks of progress to my fellow
Los
Cruses Los crusin your heart and soul of
this city your dreams your stories and
your unwavering support have been the
driving force behind every decision
initiative and policy I've
championed councilwoman and mayor protim
have been more than just a title it's
been a privilege to serve as a steward
of our shared dreams
I want to express that my journey
doesn't conclude with the closing
chapter of my term I take with me the
profound
experiences lessons and most importantly
the Deep compassion that has fueled my
service here in Las Cruses while my
official role may change my love for Las
crues remains unwavering and my
commitment to fostering compassion and
unity will accompany me wherever my life
Journey takes me till we meet again
whether it's savoring the aroma of La
NOA
Casita cheering on the teams at Hadley
balli are strolling down the downtown
Farmers Market Let The Echoes of our
shared Journey
reverberate thank you for the privilege
of serving this remarkable community and
as I Venture forward rest assured that I
will always Champion for my beloved city
thank you to my all female councel mayor
for your unwavering support I'm so
grateful to each and every one of you
you are really bad a women thank
you thank you again till our paths meet
[Applause]
again
so I don't know what's going on here he
doesn't so come send over
here mayor we have a plaque for you for
the longest serving mayor kened D mosima
mayor November 19th 20 7 to December
31st 2023 in recognition and
appreciation of your dedicated community
service and making Las Cruses a better
place we thank you mayor so
[Applause]
much and then we have a proclamation to
read that councelor flutes will do okay
you I also have a little gift for the
mayor which is better than the me
Proclamation even
better oh gosh there's so much glare and
my glasses aren't working um whereas
mayor can you hear me whereas mayor
mosima has been the longest serving
mayor in the city of Las Cruses having
served the city as a city council for
district 6 from November 19 2001 to
November 19 2007 and as mayor from
November 19 2007 to December 31
2023 and whereas mayor mosima has worked
constantly for the betterment of the
city of Las Cruses and has demonstrated
commitment to Municipal leadership and
outstanding public service and whereas
during his tenure municipal government
mayor m Shima played an integral role in
the construction of major city
facilities such as the Las Cruses
Convention Center the expansion and
relocation of City Hall aquatic
facilities the msia Valley intermodel
Transit terminal the transit operations
and maintenance facility the visit
lasusa Visitors Center fire station
number three the Animal Service Center
the sports
complex the East Mesa public safety
complex the desert Trails community park
and the adoption of referendums such as
go bonds for other facility construction
and whereas other accomplishments
include the implementation of tax
increment development district and the
Metropolitan Redevelopment area plans
that were key in the revitalization of
downtown as well as infrastructure
improvements such as excuse me like the
downtown uh Street conversion in Plaza
De Las Cruses and whereas the mayor
endorsed the
functional zero initiative to end
veteran homelessness the ordinance
adoption of the 2018 election laws the
acquisition of the First Fleet of
electric buses Fair free Transit and the
mobile Integrated Health Unit and where
as the mayor Champion the mayor's top 10
teens program the Fitness and Nutrition
Challenge and the stay and school
Initiative for third graders within the
lasusa public schools and the mayor's
distinguished service award and whereas
the mayor has supported the Veterans Day
Parade the 4th of July concert and
fireworks and the annual tree lighting
events and whereas mayor mosima saw the
city of lasusa Cross the 100,000
population Milestone which has which was
important for the city's acquisition of
Grant and federal funding and whereas
the mayor has led us through a
challenging yet resilient 16 years as we
strongly weathered major events such as
the covid-19 pandemic and the 2008 Great
Recession while continuing to support
the diverse needs of the city of Las
Cruses and whereas mayor mima's
commitment to our community is inspiring
for his tireless efforts to make the
city of Las Cruses a better place to
live work retire and raise a family and
whereas this Proclamation is being
presented to Mayor Ken mosima to serve
as a reminder that although he is
retiring he will always be remembered
for his valued public service and his
dedication to the city of Las Cruses and
its people as as both City councelor and
mayor retirement is a milestone that
sign signifies the peak of a rewarding
career and the beginning of a new
chapter in life now therefore on behalf
of the governing body and the citizens
of Las Cruses we do hereby present this
proclamation to Mayor kenag gushima as a
testimonial to the faithful and
dedicated Services which he has
performed for the past 22 years with our
best wishes for continued success in the
future and to hereby Proclaim December
2023 as mayor Ken mosima
day I
you
I think you left off a couple
things I'm just kidding did you did you
include the Aquatic Center did I was did
you include the Aquatic Center and the
convention center okay just want to make
sure I'm just I'm just kidding wow thank
you that is pretty cool but it's not
signed so I don't know if it's official
but thank you very much I appreciate
that uh she wants to do something then I
have a couple words
oh I want to do is give him a gift that
he has to open right now so all of you
can see it because as I said it's even
better than the
proclamation and there's a card that you
can read later with Rosie so let let me
let me preface this because I've seen it
but so one day any of you ever watch
that movie The Hangover so in there
there's a scene where um I don't know
what his Ken Jung he says uh not my
problem anymore right
and I'm just joking with them one day
and they were talking about a situation
and they asked me something I said you
know it's not my problem anymore but and
so she gives she shows this shirt to me
no I gave it to oh she gave it to me it
says right here the legend has
officially retired since 2023 and then
it says not my problem
anymore
so that that is that's pretty amazing so
thank you for that
have to so thank you for all this really
this this is incredible but like
anything
else um hold on a second can you guard
the podium I'm going to guard something
here
so as a Toastmaster you're not supposed
to leave the podium unattended so like
anything else it takes teamwork and so I
wanted to kind of recognize a few people
besides my colleagues and first let me
just
say I usually do and I still plan on uh
bringing you your Christmas gifts but
and I turned over turned in a lot of
stuff today turned in everything except
my key card I even turned in the real
keys to the City Hall but I did that so
that I come back one last time make sure
that my key card works all right and Mar
en Rus that's my office until December
31st 11:59 p.m. so I can use it up until
then all right but uh like anything else
I wanted to recognize a few people so
I'm going to start with the first one so
when just to give you a little
preface I learned from mayor
Smith and he had had a full-time
assistant 40 hours and a full-time
policy analyst right and I remember when
I when I took over when she came here um
former manager and current manager said
you know what you you can use an andette
can you join us here can you join me
down here so and I thought are you sure
I mean keep in mind EO runs if you look
at it he's the CEO the Chief Executive
Officer of a half a billion dollar
Corporation with, 16 00 employees and
she is her Anette Granado is his key
executive assistant and and then to to
do that with me I thought that's a lot
of work but somehow you got it done and
so I have just a small token of
appreciation to give
you nothing huge just something tell you
thank you for all the scheduling and
then you know I tried
to try to alleviate some of the work
right so I thought I'll just do some of
the scheduling myself and I always mess
up I double SK double book and I have
and that's always bailing me out so
that's not much but just thank you for
your
work thank
you okay next is uh Carolyn Carolyn
Herer if you join me here so let me tell
you something about Carolyn
um is councelor matis still here is
councelor matis still here I don't think
so so when when when I got elected in
07 Carolyn worked for mayor mati and um
I remember the leadership said well you
know you want Carolyn to work with you
and I said I'll admit I was a little
hesitant right cuz you know I don't know
she worked for for bill for the mayor
and um
I thought
well okay let's let's give it a shot and
let me tell you something she is just
done a fantastic job I've trust her
wholeheartedly and uh we embarked on a
Fitness and Nutrition program and
education program that we did since the
beginning till right before covid and we
estimate we've took pictures with 22,000
third graders and that really was the
highlight of of my you know this is a
lot of neat stuff but let me tell you
something and Caroline will
attest when I would go to those
elementary schools and have those little
kiddos you know ask me some of the
questions it's so funny because I would
say so I'm guess how old I am and so
some would start you know 30 40 and then
there'd be you know there's guys oh
you're 80 85 you're like 90 years old
and I'm like no man I'm not 90 years old
and then um sometimes when I would you
know third graders right right so
they're 8 n years old so I would say
something like um I don't know what are
you eight and they'd say no I'm 9 and a
half okay excuse me I'm sorry I learned
so from that point on I would guess hi
I'd say okay so you must be like 15 no
you know you know then they start uh you
know joking like no I'm not 15 you know
kind of big smile but we had so much fun
but boy you took care of everything and
we got through just incredible you I
can't tell you how organized you are and
how great you made it and I wouldn't
have been able to do these 16 years
without you and your your support so
thank you very much and I've got
something for you
too let me just say one thing it has
been an honor and a privilege to work
for bar yushima all these years and the
num the two main questions were are you
rich and do you have a
limo yeah no they would always want to
see my limo and um yeah so Carolyn just
a small Tok of my appreciation thank you
for all your help
thank okay last but not least my wife
Rosie if you want to join me
here our youngest son Carlos here um but
I I want to thank you
for all your love and support and all
through the years and the campaigns that
we've been through and you know the
stuff that goes on in campaigns I mean
you don't the stuff that goes on behind
the scenes the and then even after the
campaigns uh there used to be um in the
in local paper there used to be an an
article called sound off oh man that was
tough it wasn't tough for me but
especially I still remember one time my
mom oh man she used to get really upset
she I'm going to call so and so I go no
Mom don't do that but I would do I would
sometimes I'll admit I would keep some
things from for my wife cuz I didn't
want her to worry but one day I think it
was Carlos he was taking our little dog
for a walk and he came back and he says
hey danad there's like two police cars
it's late at night and they're just
sitting there's some guys sitting in
there and I go oh yeah you know I never
told her about the different some once
in a while I get credible threats
against me and you know thank God thanks
to the Los Police Department for you
know just making sure I'm okay but uh
you know those things happen and um you
know I I I couldn't have done what I've
done without you you know whether it's
getting up at 4:30 in the morning and
working till sometimes 10:00 at night um
you're you've been there through and
through so I just want to thank you and
I've got something for you too of
course now it's a little bit bigger of
course it's a little bit bigger but uh
so to my beautiful wife and first lady
you're still first lady till December
31st 11:59 so thank
you
[Applause]
okay so let's get back we're not quite
done oh we're not no excuse me
okay mayor we have a flag presentation
so I need you to walk out with the crowd
everybody's invited outside we'd like to
do a flag presentation for
you presentation of a
flag
okay
May mayor there's like process we have
to
vote
right we need a vote to break we need a
vote we need a vote to
break yeah okay so I need a motion and a
second to take a recess maybe I don't
know up to 15 minutes so moved seconda
so motion made by councelor Florida
second by councelor Beta that we take a
recess Christine this is on the motion
to recess the meeting for 15 minutes
councelor beta councelor Graham yes
councelor bomo yes councelor cran is
absent councelor
flutes yes thank you Council Ganda yes
and mayor yes okay it's
uh what 55 p.m. we are recess for about
minutes
thanks
e
we'll go ahead and reconvene it's 2:06
p.m city council is now in order um
thank you EO and and team for for that
flag
presentation I thought I've seen
everything in in city Los Cru has never
seen that done thank you uh Chiefs for
your honor guard doing that and that was
really cool very
special and um that flag will fly in my
office so thank you for
that okay so now we're going to go to
public participation this is where
members of the oh wait a minute I need a
conflict of interest statement this is
where um I'll ask if any member of the
city council city manager or any member
of the city staff has any known conflict
of interest on any item on the
agenda none Graham
n city manager okay now we're going to
go to public participation this is where
members of the public can speak to
council for total of seven minutes three
minutes on any item that you wish to
speak we just ask that it not be
pertaining to something that's on the
agenda or pending litigation that agenda
item please let us know as the council
can't respond back to you so I usually
start on my left and on the first row
and I don't think my wife or son want to
say anything so this gum in here yes sir
you never know I don't think
so I just need you to state your name
and that's it Jeffrey field resident of
Los cruus uh I didn't know there was a
shindig going on when I came here at
12:30 and it reminded me of my bar
mitzvah
and um I didn't see any white envelopes
floating around so that's a good
thing uh Mr Mayor and counselors
is it morally complex to decry the war
crimes being committed by both Hamas and
Israel I do not think
so anti-Semitism is not is as Despicable
as islamophobia there are no degrees in
racism I'm here today for two key
reasons firstly to follow up on my
November 20th request that the city
consider a resolution urging a ceasefire
between Israel and the Palestinians this
is not just a political issue it's a
matter of humanity secondly I again urge
counselors counil councel to consider
and adopt a resolution calling for a
general ceasefire the situation in Gaza
is abhorent and growing worse daily this
is a reality we all acutely are aware of
and it cannot be denied or ignored
ongoing hostilities have resulted in
significant loss of life and
inconceivable suffering Hamas and its
allies have continued to Target Israel
impacting both military and civilian
areas while Israeli military actions
have led to a devastating toll on
Palestinian lives the numbers speak for
themselves the loss of life since the
beginning of hostilities is staggering
including a heartbreaking number of
children these are not just
numbers they are lives each with a story
a family a future cut short a ceasefire
in Gaza is not a strategic necessity it
is a humanitarian imperative every day
of conflict exacerbates the suffering of
innocent civilians on both sides men
women and children whose lives have been
overshadowed by the constant fear of
violence the psychological impact
especially on children is profound and
Lasting the trauma of war the loss of
security and normality will leave scars
that may never fully
heal we must understand that that a
ceasefire is not merely a tactical pause
it's a critical step towards a larger
goal history has consistently shown that
lasting peace is not achieved through
Warfare but through dialogue
understanding and mutual respect a
ceasefire would provide a much needed
opportunity for diplomacy for addressing
Grievances and for seeking a path
towards a sustainable peace I urge the
city council to join voices with those
around the world calling for an
immediate ceasefire let us take a stand
not just for peace but for the future of
countless innocent lives caught in the
crossfire of this conflict thank you for
your time and for considering this
urgent
appeal thank you
Mr thank you Mr
Fields oh no I just said Thank you Mr
Fields so that was on the first row no
one on the second row anyone on the
third row fourth
row yes yes
ma'am
and you wanted just a little bit extra
time so
um five five minutes okay yes more than
you can thank you very much good
afternoon mayor and counselors the rest
of you that serve our city so well and
thank you for welcoming me for a few
extra minutes you might remember having
met me a few weeks ago I am Barbara to I
am the founder and executive director of
VRU in M I'm here to talk to you today
because in the last two weeks right here
in our city two vulnerable Road users
have been involved in
collisions a pedestrian was
killed and a bicyclist was seriously
injured this situation is
dire and it must be
addressed so I've come to mention to you
what a wonderful step it would be in
that
direction if you as councilors and
leaders of our city would consider
adopting the vision zero initiative
which was presented to this group by
vusus a commitment to Vision zero is a
win-win
proposition in fact recently I had the
opportunity to spend some time with a
reporter from USA
Today I was awfully honored to have him
here he highlighted the work of our
organization and he's working to draw
attention to the tragic consequences of
roadway
violence sadly the reason that our
organization and our community were on
his
radar is because our state is the worst
in the nation for pedestrian
fatalities six years in a row seven of
the last 10
years while this gentleman shadowed me
at the Saturday market we pulled people
a about Vision zero Community Support
was really
overwhelming no one was against the idea
and in just three hours more than 75
people voiced their
approval some interesting discussions
ensued and I thought that might be
insightful to
you some folks commented that Vision
zero might be redundant that it would
duplicate the plans already in place
but when we explain that the nature of
vision zero is a comprehensive resource
it's there to assist
communities it's based on a paradigm of
engineering education and
enforcement and as a resort it comes
alongside community's existing
strategies and helps to make them even
more
successful others wondered of course if
city funding would allow for the cost of
signing up for something new and in fact
there is no cost to participate in the
vision zero
Network plus involvement with vision
Zero's extensive network actually puts
Affiliated communities in line for large
amounts of targeted
funding I was also happy to tell people
that the European success of vision zero
has been quite amazing since it was
launched in Sweden just over 25 years
ago but of course it was natural for
folks to speculate about how relevant a
concept that had worked very well in
Europe would actually be here in the
United
States folks the value placed on human
life crosses cultural
barriers regardless of location history
or
traditions the fundamental tenants of
this movement is
universal and I quote life and health
ought never to be exchanged for other
societal
benefits I found these to be some very
thought-provoking and legitimate
considerations I've been grateful for
chances to talk about them with the
public and I stand firmly behind asking
our City to become a vision zero
community and so the more I learn about
it and that our organization becomes
informed the more strongly we feel it
really is a wonderful help to a
community would be such a positive
aspect of going forward here in Las
crusis you see the idea of zero
pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities is
achievable
in Oslo Norway they achieved it in just
over 20
years New York City has been
participating just since
2021 and they are seeing traffic deaths
at historic
lows it's pretty impressive
information there are currently less
than 100 Vision zero communities in the
US
I'd love to see Les crues help lead into
a safer
smarter future by joining that group and
I'd love for that to be a
legacy of our city and the concern and
care that this city has and the leaders
have for the citizens let's make it a
reality and I'd like to thank you for
your time today and each one of you for
your service of our
community thank you again thank you
Barbara okay so that was the U fourth oh
fourth row anyone else on the fourth row
or third row I guess no fourth row okay
fifth row
anyone sixth row yes
sir just need you to state your name
please thank you Mr Mayor city council I
am commanded by our
creator uh otherwise known as a God to
make a pronouncement today can you state
your name please Richard Anthony Bella
also known as Richard Anthony nar's
Bella uh my heavenly name is Crown
Prince
arsl I would like to make it official
and on the record I have sent a letter
to not only the United States state
department but the United Nations as
well uh declaring an embassy of Peace
here on
Earth uh direct from our Lord our
creator
uh and I hope that uh the answer soon
okay thank
you thank you Richard okay so that was
sixth row anyone on the seventh
row eighth
row ninth last row so anyone on my
left yes
please just need you to state your name
please hi good afternoon I'm sorry I
can't hear when it's my
time good afternoon everybody my your
Miss Beno my name is Carla Martinez I am
owner of K Stone GI and Cake chop and I
just want to say thank you Miss bomo
for ever being available to translate
me um my words I can speak English not
perfect but I think the people can
understand me I was trying to represent
other spanic people who don't speak
English but I know when I move here from
Mexico I need to speak your language so
I learn I learn it and now I don't
really need a translation but thank you
for your help and patient
M thank you mayor for your service and
support with we really appreciate your
time and we really feel that like uh
little local business thank you all
especially me bomo I hope you all have a
wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year
and please continue your support to our
local business we really need your help
GL God bless you all it's more easy for
me when I write but thank you thank you
for your PR thank you for your service
um my
uran Chima thank you okay thank you very
much
Cardon okay so anyone else on my left
okay so on my right uh no one first row
second row looks like staff as third row
did did your twins want to say something
no third row fourth row yeah
Lorenzo my name is Loreno Alva I'm the
executive director at Casa peros and I
met going to do something for
um the mayor and mayor proam Ganda and
councelor OFA because uh they've been uh
supportive since uh I've been here the
mayor I've known that long since I've
been here for about 12 years at gasa
Pinos but you're unwavering support of
our mission and our vision at Casa
Perros and for those that live on the
margins here in their community
is um something that I will never be
able to set
aside and neither will any of us at G
Perros because you not only believed in
our mission and helping us feed the
hungry but you also believed in our
vision and now you have this beautiful
building you forgot to add that to the
list by the
way that is actually a sweetheart
project that that is something that
we're very proud of that without the
city of Las Cruses would never have
happened of course the state legislators
in our community that really went out of
the way to make that happen but i' I'd
like to present something to you that I
have in my pocket to each of you and I
want you to take it with you and I want
you to always think about us whenever
you put look at
it it is a reminder of the work that we
do to help those that are less fortunate
in our community I am not uh a
politician but I like to think that we
work uh in the same circles when it
comes to those people that we
serve I used to have these little
one-on-one meetings with the mayor when
I first started and uh he encouraged me
and that was always very good to me that
that always really impressed me about
him the amount of phone calls and
messages and one-on ones that I've had
had with mayor protim Ganda and with
councilor have really really been
inspirational to what we do at Ginos and
your support your unwavering support is
just unsurpassed and as you move on to
other things we don't ever want you to
forget us we want you to always keep us
in mind we want you to stop by and see
how well that building is work working
for you because it is and uh all of the
volunteers from the city of Las crues
that were over volunteering last last
week with uh those carinosos as I will
call
you I can't even tell you how happy that
made me so that you could actually see
that what you did is really working the
way that we said it would work you got
to see the amount of people that come
through our doors that need our services
and without the C lasus says none of
this is possible so all of you should be
very proud but today I just want to make
this about the mayor the mayor protm and
councila so if you would wouldn't mind
me approaching or if You' like to come
down whatever is easiest uh before you I
have this token of our appreciation in
my pocket yeah you're you're welcome to
approach for yeah
sure I'm GNA let you read it
okay thank
you so it says um making a difference by
making a
commitment food for today hope for
tomorrow Casa de pigo food program it's
your challenge coin so thank you very
much so thank you so much I appreciate
that okay anyone else on the fourth row
fifth
row six oh yes
ma'am just need you to state your name
please
good afternoon I'm Linda stclair I am
the vice president and acting president
of the friends of Thomas brandan
Memorial Library and although I've only
been involved with the friends for about
a year in that time I have seen how much
the library does and I've been so
impressed to see how many different ways
Los Cruz's public libraries serve our
community I've always been a library
Patron but usually that just meant going
in to check out a book or going in to
return a book uh by getting more
involved with the friends I now see how
much I've been missing there are speaker
programs computer classes and Labs
reading programs crafting and games for
people of all ages movies exercise
groups gardening talks basically you can
fill your calendar with all the things
that are happening at the library into
the libraryies Outreach programs so I
wanted to come here today to thank the
mayor and the city councilors and all of
the city staff as well who've helped to
make Los cruus Public Library is such a
valuable asset for our community there's
ample evidence that supports the
importance of libraries and I'm very
glad that I live in a city where the
leaders also recognize the essential
role that libraries play in the life of
a Vibrant Community such as Los cruus so
thank you very much all of you for your
support of Los cruus public
libraries and if any of you aren't a
member of the friends I do have
membership envelopes available thank you
thank
you okay so that was a sixth row anyone
else seventh row George did you have
your hand up or
Don George or
Don
good afternoon my name is Donald Wilson
I'm here representing uh V cruus and I
just assumed George would be coming up
to talk so I am shocked that he's not uh
coming up here to talk yeah I'm
surprised well looks like he's wanting
to but he keeps something's pushing him
down no he be knock him out of the way
um my uh visit today or my comments
today are simply to thank the counselors
and uh the mayor uh those of you who are
leaving the council thank you for your
service um the city of Las cruus is
better for you having been on the
council and having served as mayor and
to those I I don't see the incoming
people in the audience but no V cruus is
ready to work with the counselors that
are staying on the board as well as the
incoming uh counselors and mayor to help
address the issues that my colleague
Barbara raised vision really is an
opportunity for MOS Cruses to Proclaim
that uh everybody that lives in this
city has a right to use the roads and be
safe and not have to be victims of Road
violence and unfortunately I'm going to
add to the the toll that um barar just
reported I I learned today that there
was a motorcyclist that died just
yesterday in Los crusis so this is a
pandemic um that's happening in our city
and in our state so again our plea to
the city is to accept the vision zero
challenge that vusus has presented to
the council to state that we're going to
work as a community to eliminate Road
deaths in our community it's going to
take a while to do that and it's going
to take a safe system approach is going
to use all the elements that barb talked
about engineering education enforcement
it's not just a one anddone approach we
have to we have to work as a group and
vusus is ready to be a part of the
solution to this problem and with that
again just to thank the mayor for his 12
years of service um it's been wonderful
being a part of your community and
seeing the changes that have
have
pardon 22
years oh my goodness wow 22 years well
that's even more than a accomplishment
so got it got it well mayor Ken thank
you for that 22 years and I hope uh for
um mayor PM G gandra and for um mayor
Ken that we will see you in some other
role uh continuing to support and be
boosters for our community because Los C
really is a wonderful place to live and
um you know we all want it to continue
to be that for a long time thank you
thank you Don we appreciate appreciate
the kind comments and I have to tell you
don't give up on the vision because
there's a general rule of thumb
especially during an election period
from mid-september until the end of the
C of the election it's very difficult to
get anything because you know you're
involved in so much stuff and so this is
probably the so you know when the new
year comes start over and you've got
you're going to have a lot of eager ears
listening and I'm sure it's going to
happen so thank you so that was the
seventh row eighth
row ninth row so no one else on my right
okay well that will conclude public
participation and um I've got a Clos
meeting statement to
[Music]
read Al scw city council met in close
session at 10:30 a.m. December 11th 2023
the following members were in attendance
councilor sloa Kuran Pomo Graham AA and
myself Kim aashima also present was
Barbara DeLeon chief administrative
officer Robert Cabo outside
attorney um who left at 11:15 a.m. Eon
Tam mopo assistant city manager Linda
sample City attorney EOP city manager
Sonia dado assistant city manager Lis
robas outside City attorney who came in
at 11:16 a.m. and left at 11:30 a.m.
Jeremy story Chief Los Police Department
came in at 11:16 a.m. and out at
11:30 and also looks like Christina
Rivera city clerk left at 11:15
a.m. and the meeting adjourned at 11:30
a.m. and further record Los Cru city
council met in close session and
discussed only those items as stated in
the posted notice purpose of the meeting
is
to number one discuss Penny litigation
Baka versus cosper etal appell at case
number 23 - 2159 which is closed
pursuant to nmsa 1978 section
10-5-1 number 7 number two to discuss
ping litigation regarding the Paris Pena
Lee versus City Los crues etal
cv-22
d960
WJ gbw which is close pursuant to nmsa
1978 section
10-15-18 number seven and the third one
to discuss pening litigation regarding
City Los crues
advv um or should be probably against or
versus hay D- 37
[Music]
cv-20 23- 02167 which is Clos pursuant
to nmsa 1978 section
10-5-1 number
7 okay so now we're going to go to I
need a motion in a second to accept oh
on this on the agenda number seven has
to be removed in its entirety okay so
with that I we need a motion in a second
to accept the
agenda that's not they don't have it
ready I move to accept the agenda with
the removal of number seven 7.6 7.6 7.6
resolution 24- 068 is there a
second second AA okay motion made by
councelor bomo second by councelor AA to
accept the agenda with item 7.6
resolution
24068 removed in its entirety due to is
not ready and moved in second
Christine this is on the motion to
accept the agenda as presented with
removal of item 7.6 in its entirety
councelor Rea yes councelor Graham yes
councelor bomo yes councel cran is
absent councel flotes yes councelor
Ganda yes mayor
yes okay item 8.1 resolution
24-70 move to approve
Graham second P motion made by councelor
Graham second by councelor bomo and
Vanessa Pettis will be presenting or
Rosio no um Rosio gamb budget senior
budget analyst I'm just here to
introduce our new budget analyst Vanessa
perz she will be the one presenting okay
welcome Vanessa hello good afternoon let
me pull up present have you met
councelor Flores I have not
nice meeting
[Music]
you good afternoon mayor city council
and City staff my name is Vanessa perz
and I'm with the budget office today I
am bringing forth the resolution to
accept various grants in beneficence of
the
city the Department of Justice has
granted the police department about
$71,000 $
49,682
331 are allocated to the Dona Ana
Sheriff's Office to purchase a new
evidence
system the Department of Justice has
also granted our police our fire
department excuse me
$485,000 for a mobile response team to
promptly assist individuals in
crisis the New Mexico Department of
Finance Administration has granted
public works for Appropriations totaling
about $3 million with the purpose of
improving fire station 5 improving the
Arts and Cultural District building the
new El Calito soup kitchen headquarters
and improving the Community of Hope
offices it is to be noted that the
Cultural District appropriation is a
reauthorization
the police department was granted about
$2.6 million to hire law enforcement
support positions and the housing and
Neighborhood Services was granted
$225,000 to expend their Mental Health
Services the Department of
Transportation has granted Public Works
funds to improve the intersection of
telshore Boulevard and Spruce to improve
University Avenue and to improve the
lift up area Area Parks and Rec was
granted
$412,000 to improve Street medians Parks
landscape and drainage and as well this
is a
reauthorization airport was awarded
$560,000 to improve
runways last the state of New Mexico's
economic development department has
granted our Economic Development
Department
$150,000 to support small businesses in
Las Cruses and this is pursuant to the
Local Economic Development Act or
Lita before you are the council options
and I stand for
questions any
questions members of the public thank
you okay thank you see none
Christine this is on the motion to
approve resolution 24- 070 councelor
beta is absent councelor Graham yes
councelor Beno yes councelor Karan is
absent councelor flutes yes councel G
yes mayor
yes okay next item 8.2 Council Bill
[Music]
24-11 need a motion and second move to
approve second Graham motion made by
Council Momo second by counc Graham and
Adam maoa will be
discussing uh good afternoon mayor
council Adam senior urban planner for
the committee Development Department
before we before you we have a zone
change request located at 6281 Reynolds
Drive currently the subject property is
Zone R4 which stands for multi-dwelling
high density and limited retail and
office very limited retail and office uh
subject property Compass is roughly
about 08 acres in size and it is
currently vacant or undeveloped it is
located in what is considered a Suburban
Place type as called out by Elevate Los
Cruz's comprehensive plan which causes
out for a multitude of uses to kind of
support each other uh single family use
uh regular regular single family use
large lot single family use multif
family institutional uses and then nodes
of commercial use as well uh currently
around this area there are City
facilities right adjacent to the West
religious institutions and single family
and multif family development as
well sh here at the subject property as
you can see it's the very first property
going east that is Zone R4 uh properties
to the West that are Zone commercial as
you can see here they call that a c3c
that is city-owned property uh that is
our uh East space pool out there Sage
Cafe the small pocket park and I think a
vacant piece of property for for future
development of the city uh just give you
bearings as well here we go Porters
located right here so this property is
east of Porter uh south of baton here
hend the Acres subdivision just to kind
of give you a beon where we're looking
at and again here is that vacant subject
property with vacant commercial zone
property that's owned by the city to the
West religious institution multif family
really a hodge podge of uses in this
area what we're looking at today is a
proposal by the applicant to reone the
property to C2 which is commercial
medium intensity this would allow for
the property to be developed uh more of
a commercial manner than just a multif
family with very limited uh commercial
and office uses so it' be flat out
commercial zoning on the property that
being said though even though uh the
property will be Zone commercial the
property could still be developed for
multif family at any time in the future
since under the C2 zoning district
multifam is allowed to be developed as
well in the property following R4
standards so essentially we're just
adding an additional step for additional
development on the property is what
we're
doing here's that legal sight plan of
the property north of Reynolds Drive
south of vuon
Memorial
and when staff did their analysis we did
see that we didn't really identify any
real health safety or welfare issues
with the proposed zone change uh we did
see that the proposed zone change kind
of provides a a
capability uh well it provides
compatibility excuse me with the
surrounding area being that it is a
Suburban Place type where you have
single family multif family
institutional uses with those nodes of
commercial land uses so that that is
what we saw when we were doing our our
evaluation uh not only with our 2001
zoning code AS amended but also with
Elevate L Cruz's comprehensive
plan staff did send out notice of the
proposed zone change to surrounded
property owners for the planning zoning
commission and for city council uh staff
did received two phone calls in support
of the proposed zone change uh one
member of the public ecstatic saying she
doesn't have to drive all the way into
town even if it is limited commercial
just to get something uh a service or
something to her
on October 24th 2023 the plan and Zoning
commission did meet uh to provide a
recommendation for the proposed zone
change during the meeting these the
planning zon commission did recommend
approval for the vote of 42 with one
commissioner vacancy findings are listed
here and are listed in exhibit B under
your staff report which included are not
limited to property is located in a
pretty much develop area of the city uh
it meets not only the purpose and intent
of the 2001 zoning code but it also has
there are existing policies excuse me uh
in our current Elevate Los crues comp
plan that supports the proposed zone
change with that ladies and gentlemen
your options today is one to vote Yes
and approve the proposed zone change
that was recommended by the plan and
Zoning commission two to vote no and
deny three to amend and add conditions
deem appropriate or for ta postpone the
direct staff and the Appling
accordingly
thanks Adam looks like councelor flus
has a question yes thank you Mr Mayor
and thank you so much Adam Mr ch um I'm
a little concerned about I'm a lot
concerned actually about um there's
Larry riing at me why are you so
concerned uh because of the commercial
aspect um is is it's both and it sounds
good um but I do know that there are
residents there on Reynolds that don't
even like the crowds that accumulate for
the use of the swimming pool at the park
that little Park area
so is there going to be a limit as to
the kind of commercial uh I don't
understand the zoning whether commercial
and I um how many acres is that I mean
how many acres is are you looking at
with this uh resoning area Mr Mayor
commercial uh I'm sorry councelor for is
uh this property is roughly 812 acres in
size so it's under an acre in size oh
it's under an acre yes ma'am so there's
not going to if there is some commercial
there it's uh what kind of Commercial
Business what kind of commercial
activity would there be uh counc for
mayor uh when staff did did do their
analysis we did see the potential of
some type of uh conflict if you will
with the the residential area to the
South that is a very large residential
neighborhood but just because of the
size of the problem property being under
an acre in size not only they'll be
restricted be their buildings will
definitely be restricted because of
required parking requirements
Landscaping requirements uh ponding
detention for their post- development
runoff as well so whatever commercial
development does go on the property
it'll be very limited in size as to what
can what could happen on on the sub
property man that that is kind of the
analysis we saw on top of that it' be a
welcome actual commercial use or Zone in
the area that's very true because there
isn't anything there and I know that in
having conversations with constituents
there um and the bus service isn't great
either unless it's improved uh I don't
know but uh back I guess a couple of
years ago um they were complaining about
having to go into town any time they had
to do anything so I hope that that small
area uh provides the housing that we
need and hopefully it'll be affordable
I mean you know whatever that means
these days but um and then yeah the
limited commercial aspect as well and
thank you so much Mr Mayor thank you Mr
oo thank you counselor any other
comments
questions members of the public seeing
none
Christine this is on the motion to
approve ordinance 3053 councelor AA yes
councelor Graham yes councelor bomo yes
councelor is absent councelor flotes yes
councel Ganda yes mayor yes okay next
item 8.3 Council Bill 20 Council bill
number
24-12 move to approve second gram motion
made by councelor ABA second by
councelor Graham and Chris favor will be
discussing and just as a reminder they
we had a presentation on a work session
last week on
this
good afternoon mayor council I'm just
trying to find it
here where is
it oh oh
sorry off to a great
start all right mayor council Chris
Faber economic development for the
record uh I also have with me uh John
sep from 828 Studios in case you guys
have any questions for them as well
today we will be talking about amending
the lead agreement between the state the
city and a28
Productions last week we saw a
presentation from 828 talking about what
their current efforts are and what their
future plans are but just a real quick
recap so 828 was established in
2019 they did move their headquarters to
Los cruus in
2022 to date they financed 15 films with
the total budget spend of over 50
million but as we saw in their
presentation last week uh they are
projecting um several new films um with
budgets upward of $70
million 828 Productions provides
comprehensive administrative Financial
Production Services as well as content
creation
assistance so just to recap the current
Lita agreement that is in place it was
adopted by City Council in March it
includes 3 milli million doll from the
state of New Mexico with benchmarks in
certificates of occupancy job creation
and Film Production spend part of that
first round was about $900,000 from the
city of Las crus capital outlay and
those were funds that were earmarked
specifically for cinematic
infrastructure um and which we'll talk
more about um with the rest of this
presentation those funds went to rehab
uh roads on the uh Studio campus as well
as multiple parking lots on the
campus to recap briefly the Cinematic
infrastructure funds so in 2015 those
funds were set aside specific for
cinematic infrastructure it included the
$897,000 in capital outlay that we just
spoke about and an additional 2.8
million in hold harmless GRT that was
ear marked for um uh the use in
cinematic infrastructure and that's what
we will be um talking about
today so a real quick timeline for 828
Studios um projects related specifically
to this um $2.8 million those funds will
go to soundstage Mills office space
Secure Storage parking and post
production facilities uh the completion
date for those projects is December 31st
of 2024 and I know there's um a lot of
their pending uh Productions are
dependent on on a lot of these
improvements uh from 2023 to
2029 uh they're projected and in their
Lita accounts for 100 full-time jobs um
and you can see the various uh sectors
of their uh Studio that they will be
going to from administrative to
financing accounting post- production um
and and a range of of
positions from 2023 to 2031 828 will be
be investing $75 million in um total
infrastructure
development and during that same time um
their L calls for $350 million in
production spend here in Los
Cruses and here's just a breakdown uh of
the various jobs that um are included in
the Lita the different uh facilities
that they'll be involved in and the
average salary which is uh 75,100
$50 so specific to what they will be
using these Lita funds for here's uh
just a uh rendering of um the the
campus and then here's overhead shots of
the of the various areas um the three
different properties uh and the you know
off of um down by the the conent and
then the the church property right
behind the
plaza so specifically the property on
Haner uh work with this 2.8 million will
go towards designing and Engineering
repairs of the roof exterior interior
water tower repairs landscaping and
utility
work specific to the compress property
uh fencing gate wall repairs gin
building repairs landscape interior
remodel utilities uh exterior
maintenance and property security and
cleanup
at the Miranda property again
engineering and design work HVAC solar
landscaping and then interior and
exterior
Remodeling and lastly the 100 South
Church Street which again is the
building right behind the plaza stage
design engineer work Plumbing HVAC
Landscaping interior and exterior
Remodeling and this is just a a
breakdown of the specific amounts from
the current 2.8 and in which of the
projects and the amounts that they will
be going
to and with that here are your options
and I'm available for questions as well
as John from a2a Productions thanks
Chris
questions so Chris can you tell us again
or John what the name of that movie that
Liam niss has come in
so do you remember that movie I I I
don't know specifically but are you
looking for a cameo is that what we're
well I got to tell I'm going to tell I'm
going to tell my wife so that's that's
that's our that's our favorite actor oh
John's right behind you
so mayor city council John SE for the
record uh I actually got in trouble from
the last city council session from
leaking a little bit too much production
uh to you all so not going to say the
title we don't want to say the title but
I just want to let my wife know that
looks like he's coming down and I may
get a chance to act in that movie with
him I'm just kidding I'm just joking so
um but he is yeah so we're supposed to
get uh and hopefully we'll see if they
forget about me okay if there's any
questions or comments from the uh
members of the public okay see none
Christine so you called it huh I did
okay
sure this on the motion to approve
ordinance 3054 councelor beta yes
councelor Graham yes councelor bomo yes
councelor cran is absent councelor fles
yes councelor Ganda yes and mayor
yes okay it looks like board
appointments we have none notice the
proposed
ordinances first one 10.1 Council Bill
24-13 ordinance number
3055 Bring It Forward bring it forward
next one 10.2 Council bill number
24-14 ordinance number
3056 Bring It Forward Bring It
[Music]
Forward that's
it okay so now we'll go to city council
member board reports and
comments I think that's it so U well
we're almost there thank you very much
for there's two things that I really
wanted and I got them one
is uh my own
day which is pretty cool so every
December
18th I'm going to remember this so I
have a little party December 18th God's
willing and two was my um plaque of of a
gavel little bit heavy on the red but
other than that it's pretty good
um so I already talked a little bit
about mayor poam and and
[Music]
counselor beta and um so councelor
Flores thank you for letting me always
have a you know joke around with you
it's always been fun you know it seems
like every so often I there's a city
counselor that I get to joke with and
have a lot of fun and at least you don't
get mad at me and and give me a hard
time no I'm gonna sue you for liel
that's I figure something was in the
works but
uh I I'll miss all of you and um but
thank you for for being a good sport and
letting me you Raz you a few
times and councelor B comoo um you've
taught me a lot I've learned a lot from
you and um like you've often take joy in
saying we don't always disagree but um
but it's important that you provide your
perspective on things and I've learned I
I really have seriously I mean you you
think about things that that I don't and
I didn't realize that that um as a kid
growing up you know was very fortunate
that's why you know Lorenzo he does such
a great job I mean we didn't grow up
with a whole lot of stuff but we always
had something to eat and and his what he
what Lorenzo does is incredible but I
think councelor Moma realized that my
trauma was my mom would make my clothes
right to make ends meat and I oh man I
wanted to get a job so bad so I could
buy my own clothes and I think that's
one of my things that I like is I like
to try to have you know different
clothes so thank you for understanding
what my trauma was so I I didn't learn
that and um councelor
Graham um it's been great it's uh I
didn't realize all the things other
extracurricular activities like boxing
that you did and you know you know you
you actually are doctor Graham but you
know you you don't really dis disclose
that too much and that's very humble of
you and you're extremely smart lady and
um hopefully you'll reconsider staying
on the board because they they need
people like you and so thank you for
allowing me to get to know you a little
bit and and um it's been fun so it's I'm
going to miss all of you you know I
already talked about mayor proam and
coun a beta so thank you again for
allowing me to did you need some oh to
what are you doing I was going to time
it I was going to time it a 10.3 before
Oh is there I know wait are you serious
there's a go
ahead oh man I didn't I'm sorry I didn't
know that where is that at it's not on
mine I want to interrupt sorry where's
10.3 where is 10.3 10.3 item 10.3 needs
to be
brought I don't I don't have
it it's online
one oh it's online
oh okay so sorry about that so let's
erase everything I just said
and okay item 10.3 Council bill number
24-15 ordinance number 3057 which is an
ordinance approving a zone change from
C1 commercial low density to R3
multi-dwelling density to C3 commercial
high high intensity on a property
encompassing 1.4 36 plus or minus Acres
the zone change request seeks to bring
the property into compliance with the
2001 Los cruus municipal code is amended
allowing for current business expansion
as well as encouraging future
development on the property subject
property is located at 2460 Missouri
Avenue Bring It Forward Bring It Forward
okay so I think that's uh as I was talk
as I was mentioning thank you for for
everything and um this has really been
great i' I've had a a blast
and like I said I haven't used the
gavl ever and and I plan on using it for
the first and last time as we as we
adjourn
so thanks again for the Memories it's
been great for members of the public for
allowing me to serve in various
capacities especially mayor for the last
16 years you know it's been a tremendous
Journey something that I've learned so
much so many things it's incredible the
things that I I pick up and and be able
to utilize and and hopefully help our
residents if uh live just a little bit
better life and and hopefully be able to
maybe uh hopefully save the taxpayer
just a few dollars here and there but
nonetheless we've got a great team here
and and there's a reason why the terms
are staggered every two years so that
you have that that experience and that
uh not just camaraderie but that the
experience to continue the to run the
city as they do and of course you've got
a very capable manager and EOP and his
his management team e uh Ian and and
Sonia and and Barbara and all all the
other department heads that that make
this city work this is a big
organization and there's a lot of things
that go on but they get it done and as
you heard some of the accolades and I
you know I can't take a lot of credit
for this but it's our it's our team and
that team is is comprised of of the 1600
plus employees that that go to work and
make our city the great City that it is
in New Mexico so thank you very much for
allowing me to have that little bit of
time and well 16 years which is it does
go by fast I I I still when I see
counselor small who was elected at age
25 I still think that he's 25 so the
other day I'm talking to him and he says
he's 41 years old I'm
41 yeah he goes yeah mayor I was 25 and
I got elected you've been here 16 years
16 plus 25 is 41 I go yeah I guess so so
time flies so all of you uh I still
think of you in your 30s or whatever
so okay well
okay not all of you but most of you I
but thank you again so I'm going to turn
it over to Mayor
pm thank you
mayor um I want to thank staff you're
incredible you're an incredible bunch of
hardworking um people
that um do things with ginho I'm really
excited you know when I tell the story
about Sonia talking to EPO about um the
way that came to be um people get it and
they're really excited about about it
and and you know it's a big deal you're
now being recognized at all sorts of
games and on um social media and and and
I think as long as you continue to serve
in that way I think the the city's going
to um move Um mountains
um I'd like to you know a lot has
happened in eight years you know when I
think about it I think about my kids
graduating from high school college
three times over my son completed his
tour in the Navy um I got
married gradu School uhuh my daughter
did graduate from mid school um and I've
I've um just grew so much I I came in
not really learn knowing much about
municipal government thinking that you
do oh you know I I I spent you know 30
plus years in state government
and then you walk into this and you
don't know anything and so I always joke
around I know more about um solid waste
and pavement management and water and
you know everything that you do so I'm
I'm really excited I'm not going to go
far and going to keep working on um the
the my passion projects which is
resilience leaders um there's some
really cool things on the horizon um I
again I I can't um express my gratitude
um to you the allw women Council I mean
we're like award-winning and have been
recognized uh apparent yeah and um I've
just been incredibly grateful to serve
um with you um and so with that mayor
I'll turn it over back over to you thank
you very much councelor
FLOTUS thank you Mr Mayor first I want
to uh thank you for all your service and
all your dedication to the city and the
people of Las Cruses uh for always
representing the city in a very
honorable manner in a very um just a
very professional uh Manner and U and I
I truly believe that uh Las Cruses has
been recognized as being part of New
Mexico because of you I think and I say
that in all sincerity without joking
about it I have said that
uh lasusa seems to be the bastard child
pardon my French Bast no bastard child
of of New Mexico but uh you brought a
lot of uh changes to the city and and
you have um i' I've said this before and
my mother said this to you too I believe
um that uh you were a lot like my dad
when he was mayor of Santa Fe Springs
population maybe 13,000 on a good day
but um you're quite affable and you're
very um calm about things you're very
fair about everything um so I will miss
you terribly uh in that regard and as
far
as um yeah and hopefully uh the person
who is uh following you will be able to
be if he's half of what you are we're
going to uh be
okay enough
said um as far as far as Cassandra goes
she's been invaluable in in my personal
life and uh even though she's she's
really young enough to be my daughter
she's like my mom she's my mommy in many
ways and um and I've learned also so
much from her she's been um she's very
wise and um and is very um you know I
just blow up sometimes and you know blah
blah yada yada but she says Ivan
calm down calm down and um and I and I
and I've always said that the root of
all evil is uh not money but not having
it you know it's not money that's the
root of all evil it's the root of not
having money and um and and Cassandra or
mayor proem
Gandara um has nailed it on the head
when she you know focuses especially the
resiliency group and then that
International Conference that we had
right right before uh right before covid
hit and it was I think the first one of
its kind and hopefully uh in your other
capacities mayor protm uh you'll be able
to bring that back to lasus and make it
you know uh expand it you know maybe
we'll get Canada in there maybe we'll
get um you know other countries but um
but I Cassandra mayor uh mayor prm's
compassion and hard work and and
um and with all due respect to everybody
up here I I know that everybody works
very hard up here I've been very
privileged to have been retired from the
practice of Law and and have the luxury
of time but everybody else up here
except Cassandra and I have other jobs
um Cassandra notwithstanding having uh
well because she didn't have another job
she made she created things here in the
city um we have a lot of programs that
wouldn't exist without her and um and as
I say she's she's uh really been a
mentor to me and uh I'll miss her
terribly I'll also miss the mayor
terribly um but every every woman up
here is just uh such a dynamite body and
um and it it's it's wonderful for people
the press and even in New Mexico thought
that uh that we were all woman Council
but in fact we did have a man Mr Mayor
because he's part of the city council
he's not you know like that some Mayors
are separate from city council but um I
yeah and I'm going to miss Tessa
terribly another very hardworking um uh
counselor I uh she too brought a lot of
energy and um and I'm in awe of her I I
was a working mother but I had the
luxury of not having to work when my
kids were young and uh when Gordon my
youngest started uh first grade I went
back into the you
know back to um work but uh so Tessa is
really amazing and should uh be a role
model for many people and her dedication
to so many areas um
as far as um working um these last uh
years somehow the foure has been you
know the four years have kind of like
every time we have an election it's it's
uh like a landmark uh event and uh I met
uh I met Yana through GA or through
somebody right somehow Angelica probably
and um I remember talking to her and I
locked my my keys in my trunk cuz I was
trying to rescue a little dog so I
thought I always carry remember I I
always carry biscuits when I see dogs
because I've rescued about six dogs
since I've been in Las cusis I mean I
pick them up put them in my car drive
around knock on doors and finally meet
you know so I've I've returned at least
six maybe seven dogs and that one I was
running after but the little guy got
away from here the little girl and when
I took my the biscuits out of the trunk
I left my keys in the trunk and
fortunately Yana was going by I go I
need to ride home and she's talking and
all that and uh Alex was with us and uh
I said have you ever thought of running
for office and she says oh yeah and I go
oh that's great we need young people you
know city council no I'm going to run
for Congress I'm like whoa Nelly so so
anyway hope to see you and not as I I
don't take it as a compliment that
you're an AOC you're above that above
that I mean you're better than that no I
mean she's wonderful and everything but
anyway you're unique and I'm really
impressed by Dr Graham who is definitely
um to be admired um wait a minute I'm a
JD so I have a doctorate too so but
actually JDS really don't count I mean a
a a real lawyer a real lawyer will never
call herself a doctor that we just don't
do that um I don't know just kind of a
Creed or a code or something but anyway
it's been delightful and then Becky
Corin you know absolutely but everybody
on the city council is absolutely
brilliant and I and forget the brain
well no the brains are very important
but every bu up here has a real heart I
mean it's just wonderful to always be
thinking about the people I know a lot
of our constituents aren't happy and
when I get a I get a nasty uh email um I
just uh ask you know when they say
something nasty I just say you really
should run for the next uh available
open you know seat on City Council in
other words you know walk a mile in my
shoes so I know I've gone on and on but
I just can't uh speak enough um to
because it is the end of the year it's
the end of it's an end of it's the end
of a an era and um oh and the proof is
in the pudding as to how Dynamite we are
we have EOP peely and
uh and and he has a fantastic uh
assistant City man hey where is Ean how
dare he not be here today
so anyway um and then Sonia you know our
assistant City man uh and she is I think
she's the first woman to serve in that
capacity no well she's the first woman
I've served with so but there's it's
just you know wonderful and you know
everybody that has been appointed or
whatever uh hired to H positions I'm
really I think Jason Smith is is
probably in my experience the best uh
fire chief we've had I think you're the
only fire chief I've
known but no but from what I hear oh you
should hear oh the stories I've heard oh
my I'm just kidding and then U and
congratulations to Jer Jeremy story uh
another Dynamite um very pleased that
you're on the that you're the police
chief and I think we're going to see a
lot of changes that what I've seen in
our closed sessions and your wisdom and
insight has been refreshing so I I I
foresee a good future for our
LCPD and I couldn't do anything without
Barbara if we couldn't lip around
together so thank you so much Barbra and
I know I'm not leaving but you know I
did want to leave two years ago and EPO
and and Mr Mayor talked me out of it
because you know life gets hard when you
get a lot older anyway thank you very
much Mr Mayor and thank you everybody
for listening or not listening thank you
yeah thank you yeah and thank you for
recognizing that you aren't leaving that
you'll see them next week or but that's
okay that's okay I'm I know I'm just
messing with see that's how I like to
mess with her uh it was her name was
Maryanne yusk she was the assistant city
manager and she's actually the city
manager she's actually assistant city
manager then back in uh 2004 2005 and
that 2007 she's now Maryanne yusk and
then she is now the city manager of
Gallup New Mexico you asked about the
female city manager assistant city
manager councelor bino thank you I just
really quickly before I get to some
thank yous um to the gentleman that has
come here twice to talk about a
ceasefire that I want to let him know
that I wake up thinking about Gaza that
I go to sleep thinking about Gaza and I
appreciate his words and um if there is
a community Le effort on something like
this I'd be more than willing to sit
down with folks to talk about that but
really the advocacy should be with our
members of
Congress um but that I you know really
appreciate him coming to say those
things anyway um I want to thank um
judge Pera our incredible city clerk who
it's her birthday today by the way um
and yes and um staff for planning our
our swearing Inn ceremony today of
course I want to thank my family for
joining me four years ago my mom was at
my swearing in and um today was my
husband and my stepdaughter so many
things change in four years um but I
obviously you know want to thank the
public and District 4 for their trust in
me for four more years and um you know I
promise to to do my best um to continue
doing my
best
um mayor I I know that we don't often
see eye to eye on things but you know
we're both here because we go through
the same process to be upon on this Das
and um I have tremendous respect for you
for being in this business of politics
that ultimately is just about people
politics is about people and you've done
it for a very long time and you've done
it well even when it's not easy so um
thank you for all of your your years of
um being a public servant and um doing
it
well um
I uh councelor and I came on together
and it was just the two of us four years
ago and um we sort of learned how to do
this job together through covid and um
for that I will always be grateful for
that time and will always cherish um our
long talks and um just figuring out how
to do this crazy job and so um thank you
for everything
um mayor PM gandak Cassandra um I
think um she you were the first person
that I ever personally new to run for
office and
um you've just made a very big impact on
my life as a fellow social worker and as
my friend and um
I just really want to thank you for
everything and for doing this job with a
lot of Grace
and you know I'm sure I'll see you
around plenty actually we better anyway
I do just want to wrap up though by
saying that you know upstairs on the
third
floor there is a wall of Mayors a while
of men um of all the men that have been
mayor in the history of last chist
Cris and really that's the history of
this country the biggest office um the
highest Office of the land has the same
wall if you think about it and um that
is just really the history of this
country and we have a long long way to
go for equity for um women and politics
and other historically marginalized
people but also if you look at the
opposing wall as it stands there today
and for a couple of more weeks you will
see an all women city council and I will
always be incredibly honored to have
been part of making history with all of
you you all know how Aon so it was bound
to happen um but I am incredibly honored
to have been part of making history with
all of you and that is something that no
one will be able to take away from
so thank
you thank you councelor bomo before I
get to councelor Graham you just
reminded me of something so EO I don't
know where my original picture went okay
when I was first elected but you guys
are putting my current picture which you
know I'm 16 years older well can you put
the original one because those all those
Mayors were the original picture when
they got elected not where they what
they look like when they left okay when
they started please so thank you for
reminding me about that not that you you
know did on purpose uh councelor Graham
uh we can check with the police
department and see if they have age
regression technology like you know when
there's like somebody missing and
they're like here's how they'd look at
70 we'll see if we can back you back you
up no I'm I'm good just I don't know
where my other picture went okay you
know and um we'll track that down yeah
then yeah so well before I get to my
hearts and guts thank yous and goodbyes
just a couple of a couple of notes um I
had a really great time at Lynn middle
school last week with for a student Le
brainstorming session for how they're
going to improve their Courtyards it's
one of those schools that was built when
a courtyard was all the rage you have
this big space in the middle of the
school um and it was great the students
the students led the day and it was a
really great exercise I had a wonderful
time um many thanks to all those who
turned up for the Valley View Park
reimagine
meeting on December 7th on City staff
you guys are always amazing um thanks
everyone from Parks and wreck um ion
attended uh Katrina Grace thank you so
much for being there and special shout
out to Kathy Matthews our landscape
architect who is also a great historian
and somebody who really um I mean I was
inspired with the things she was saying
um so she was a really great convener
for that meeting and especially
especially to all the members of the
district and the public who came out to
tell us what Valley View Park needs to
be and finally thank you Chief story and
to your department for having us at
commencement last Friday really
wonderful
ceremony um you know put me back
thinking about when Mike was in Academy
really glad that those days are over um
but really wonderful ceremony so thank
you so much for having all of us um I'm
not as good with feelings as councelor
bomo so I'm gonna I don't know I'm gonna
try to try to grit through this um mayor
proam I think the mark of a truly
special person is what they mean when
they ask how are you it's such a simple
thing we say it a 100 times a day and so
few people really want to know the
answer you always want to know the
answer to how are you and there has
never been a time where my answer was a
little less than good that the next
thing out of your mouth was how can I
help and you know I know there
um there were some social media things
that I think were not meant to be the
kind as calling you Mama mayor proem and
man you we just appropriated the F out
of that didn't we and I am so thankful
to you for your leadership for your
heart and for always wanting to know how
we are and meaning it so we will see
each
other counselor
beta thank you for translating your
experience of coming in as a new
counselor and feeling a little unored
into making the orientation process for
myself and counselor Kuran so much more
rigorous um for making sure that I came
up on the Das the first time knowing
what was going to happen even though we
were still like six feet apart for
always having my back on procedure and
for dragging me often not in the best
frame of mind to public events that like
I know I know I need to go more um but
you were so lovely about making this
introvert look just a little just a
little more friendly and obvious
obviously we're going to be crossing
paths with you in a new role and can't
wait to see what happens so thank
you and I'm gonna tell a story about
mayor and
uh um and this story is not from when I
was a counselor but from when I was a
constituent and I realized I am still
your constituent it's still it's
something I'm still you know you are
still my mayor not just my colleague up
here on the Das um but in
2017 I believe uh was Hurricane Harvey
and my husband um was among a group from
Las chrus fire who deployed to do Urban
search and rescue um take their
technical Rescue Team skills out to help
and uh everything went great and when
they got back the mayor invited them out
to dinner at Cattle Baron um my husband
did not realize that the mayor was
paying for said dinner and ordered a
super giant steak cuz he's like what the
hell I'm here at Cattle Baron um way
over ordered compared to everybody else
at the table and then realized that you
were paying and felt like very shrined
about the whole thing but said that you
were graceful about it all and I you
know it's a light-hearted story but we
say public servant and there is the
public facing side and there's so much
that you have done for Las cruus and for
this resident of Los cruus that is
public that is on the record and then
there's the maybe even more important
stuff that you didn't tell anybody about
that just happened behind the scenes
because that's the kind of person you
are
so thank you for many years of service
for everything you've done that we've
seen and for everything you did behind
the scenes that that is just as
important so that's all I got thank you
mayor thank you counselor thank you for
that story you know it often reminds me
of uh and it's kind of Unwritten uh
usually when I see a police officer or a
firefighter from the from our city you
I'll pick up their Tab and one time um I
went in for breakfast and and I told her
you know there was two or three officers
there and I I told her um you know I'll
I'll take the the bill and uh throughout
throughout breakfast I should have
realized it was a pretty big table there
there is a few more coming there must
have I don't know how many there were
but you
know that's my uh way of saying thanks I
I uh I often joke that that U although I
I grew up in a law enforcement family
and I would see some of the training
tapes and I would uh I just can't
imagine how how difficult that is I even
have some colleagues that were police
officers and they quit after a year or
two and I would ask them why you quit
yeah it's just a tough job and you know
they throw things at the stab me with
this you know things that the public
doesn't hear and that's just a small
token of whatever appreciation I can
give them and them both men and women so
thank you for for recanting that story
councelor
AA thank you mayor well over the last
four years well at least two years um I
always end up being the last person to
speak so I often feel sometimes I feel a
little rushed because I think people
want to go home sometimes I uh I hear
such wonderful stories about everything
it feels almost disingenuous to try to
add on to that sort of thing but I do
have a few thank yous to say I was kind
of short and sweet this morning but I
really have appreciated everything over
the last four years and a big thank you
first and foremost to staff Mr peely you
have such a wonderful team I know uh one
of our biggest decisions that we had
coming in um was to hire a new city man
manager and if that was the only
decision I ever made in those four years
I would have been happy and pleased with
my term just with that one decision so
thank you for your
service thank you mayor for being um
available and ve so responsive um from
the very start I know when we got on you
wanted to make sure that we um were
educated about kind of the history and I
really value that for as a new counselor
there is much to be learned um from the
past parameters change and sometimes you
can adapt and try things out again or do
something new but it is really nice to
have that and I've always appreciated
your expertise in those
areas mayor poem thank you for your
compassion I know that it's been said
before but you are the first one to have
the the questions of how are
you what can I do and how can I help and
even through the last four months you
have been right there asking those same
questions and checking in and I so value
that and honor it and respect that I'm
so excited to be able to have you in my
life and I'm very appreciated so thank
you
Ivon thank you um I want to say thank
you you were one of the first ones to
come up and really latch on not only to
me but to make sure that my children
were valued and saved and you became one
of the our marked safety people right
away for the kids to go go to and I
appreciate all of your care and support
over the last few years it's me a lot
and has been not only something that
I've been able to cherish but for my
family as well so thank
you CC Pomo like I said four years we
started in at a very interesting time a
pandemic three months in and from it
we've had to navigate and find our paths
and I am so excited to see the path that
you've worked on and are leading in and
I'm excited for the new path that I'm
going to go on as well so thank you for
your care and very excited to see the
future counselor
Becky the day you walked in I know I
walked in your office and we sat down
and had probably way more of an intense
conversation than we should have that
first day but it it was wonderful it was
just wonderful and I appreciated your
Care thank you for letting me drag you
along to
events and for teaching me how to be
tough as well because that is something
that I really um value and honor and I
think strength is needed in many many
different ways and you carry it not only
outwardly but inwardly too in a way that
I hope that I do in the
future I have a new pathway and I want
to say thank you to councel Graham and
Chief story who were present today as I
was sworn in for my new position I take
it with a lot of responsibility and
serious seriousness and feel honestly
that the last two years and my efforts
that have been more tailored towards
Public Safety led me in a position that
I didn't expect but I'm very honored to
serve in thank you all for the last four
years and I won't cry
because um thank you I really appreciate
everything thanks mayor thank you
counselor and under Sheriff before I get
to the city manager report I just want
to thank EO and and um I e is not here
Sonia thank you but EO you know I I uh I
can still remember when we were going
through the process and and uh IV uh
counselor FLOTUS said hey you what did
you think about EO EO pey and
um I you know I had to re read it and it
was pretty cool you know and I I I have
to tell you I was wondering why would
you leave I mean you were this big
football star at BYU and then you play
in the NFL I mean you grew up there and
and um but you answered it well why you
wanted to leave I I I and we were so
fortunate to have you um I always I
always had this thing you know I've
almost been 40 years in business and
I've never really associated with my
employees because you know you just
never know you they made something
happen and and I always made that same
commitment with my managers that I
worked with but sometimes I I cross a
line and and really um think of you as a
friend even though you know
and and um I appreciate your honesty and
your ability to get things done and and
move people in a way in a very
unassuming way but maybe they just get
maybe they're just afraid of you but you
know you know you're very intimidating
and it's uh I forgot where I was at once
and you and econ were there and some
people actually thought you were my
bodyguards but yeah I mean I mean with
with guys like you I don't need
bodyguards but thank you for for taking
the helm here at the city of Los cruus
you've uh enriched our lives a lot and
the lives of a lot of lost cruin so um
we'll stay in touch and I I told EO I
said listen you know I'm not looking for
a job here but if you guys need me to
help out a little bit from here and
there for free you I'll do it but um you
know maybe after a little while okay
give me a few months to kind of relax
and take a siesta but thank you very
much EO for that you do and the team
that you've comprised you you what I
really impressed is that you want to
make sure that we have a deep bench so
that if anything happens there's always
someone to fill in and earlier you saw
Alex Lou here who was our finance um
person and I jokingly said you know
you're you're taking everybody over but
no you've you always seem to make sure
our our team runs with Leanne and her
team and just you know money Finance is
one of the that's like the heart of the
city that has to be strong and because
without that we can't pay bills we can't
pay employees we can't do anything and
you know you somehow make it work so
thank you very much for all that you
do City manager's
report mayor council if I may I I really
told all our staff that we uh nothing
comes on the agenda presented unless
it's really important and and so I don't
think anybody sent me anything to report
um because we knew that this would be a
really a you know an important important
meeting for us to to reflect um also you
know as a city manager I I always
feel uh hesitant to speak unless spoken
to in this setting because this isn't my
meeting this is uh this is for the
people that uh were elected by the
people and and so if you'll forgive my
Indulgence um if I may just uh express
my gratitude to all of you and uh
specifically those that are those of you
that are are leaving us um I joked with
with with counselor with I think maybe
with all of you it's kind of a bait and
switch you guys just about everybody
that hired me is now leaving and I got a
couple left but um I just want to thank
you especially mayor mayor proam
councelor beta who's um thank you for
your
your trust in me thank you for your
service um I have a unique uh front row
seat with all of you that many people
don't get to the public certainly
doesn't get to and I know you know very
few in the staff get to get to have this
front row seat with you I get to hear
about what you really feel is important
I get to hear about your your your
desires and your your wants for the city
um I get to see you work um I get to see
you stress um that sometimes doesn't
come out to
everybody um but I just want to want to
want to say that and I I can speak on
behalf of the staff as well uh thank you
so much for for everything that
you you you've done for the city but
especially for my my
staff um you know we've made a lot of
changes over the past few years and
moving the the needle um making this a
place where people want to work and um
with benefits and insurance and um but
you know that all comes from you it
comes from being able to you're at the
end of the day you're the ones who
approve that you're the ones who set
that that vision from the very beginning
and so I just want to thank you for
allowing me to to carry out that Vision
the vision that you've you've set as a
as a council from the very beginning I
knew exactly where you stood when I
first came in with all my meetings with
all of you
um and I really appreciate and thank you
um in s there's a on every government
building there's a saying and
it'sa and it it means uh the road to
leadership is through
service and um the reason why that's
important in s is because it's one of
the only Polynesian Nations that um
you're not made a
chief um just out of blood you actually
have to serve um and your village has to
accept you um and so that why that's so
important it's on every government sign
um license
plates and um I just I just know that uh
the reason why I share that is I know
you you you exemplify that I know that
your leadership is only because you
serve
and they respected because of your
service that you've given and rendered
to to the city of Los Cruses but I I
like I said I if you forgive my
Indulgence I I would do I would F feel a
Miss um if I didn't speak on behalf of
our staff to thank you especially for
for all that you've given us and and all
the um opportunities that you've given
us and the trust that you have in us and
respect that you've given us um Mary you
you won't be forgotten mayor Pro
councelor you won't be be forgotten I
can assure you of that so thank you
mayor all right before I go before I do
the remember I told you I haven't used
this yeah but I would be remiss if I had
at least recognize a couple you know as
it is like as I mentioned to you
sometimes it's it's you I try not to uh
cross the line and become too chummy
with the manager and much less with
staff right and so I just want to quick
quickly thank uh Christine for the great
job that she does but also for laughing
all the time anything I say she laughs
if I was a comedian she would be front
center and um and then also I see Serio
ruis out there you know almost never do
I stop you know I don't know it's just
maybe that's that's just a thing of me I
learned long time ago but Serio thank
you for always letting me you know uh
learn a little bit about you in fact
he's going to be coming a Dr St Rees
here soon himself so uh thanks for all
that you do and putting doing the uh
resolutions and such so uh okay so I'm
going to
need a motion and a second to adjourn so
second by
florus oh so so motion was by councelor
ABA second by counselor FLOTUS that we
adjourn So Christine
this is on the motion to adjourn the
meeting councelor AA yes councilor
Graham yes councelor bomo yes councelor
cran is absent councelor flotes yes
councelor Gonda yes and mayor I'm going
to vote no but uh so on a vote of 5 to1
we are adjourned it's
3:38 p.m. we are
adjourned thank you
[Applause]
everybody
[Applause]