foreign
[Music]
good afternoon everyone welcome to the
work session of the Las Cruces City
Council today is Monday June 12 2023
it's approximately 1 pm if you please
join me in the Pledge of Allegiance
foreign
who's on Zoom with our Animal Services
Center to give us our pets of the week
Amy you there
yes hello can you hear me okay yes we
can hear you
hello everyone my name is Amy De Felix I
am one of the adoption rescue
coordinators for the Animal Services
Center of the Messiah Valley I'm also
the one that chooses and presents pets
of the week and so let's start off by
sharing my screen
already let's take this off
all right
so we'll start off with our cat of the
week her name is Jewel
um her number is 62274
um oh sorry can everyone see the screen
before I proceed
yes we can see it
I had some attention and I like to
return affection by giving little kisses
and sometimes love nibbles I'm a
surprise young girl who just wants to
make sure the rest of my life is spent
in the arms of my forever family
and then we also have our dog of the
week her name is Mitzi her number is
55624 and she says I came to the ascmv
as a stray mother with a litter of
puppies and I'm the only one still
waiting for my forever family
since first coming to the center I've
had a lot of confidence built up in the
staff and volunteers I now walk nicely
on the leaves and will sit for treats I
might be a little bit on the short side
but I'm full to the brim of love I would
like a family to treat me like the baby
one day
and as for our adoption events um we
will have an offside event at Petco this
Saturday the 17th we'll be there from 10
a.m to 1 pm so we encourage you all to
stop on by meet some of our dogs and
maybe you'll find a match
um and now to go on with the uh sort of
tips and suggestions that we would give
so our adopted a shoulder pit what now
um and so we recommend that as soon as
possible you take your new pet to the
bed
um
do not cause too much shock or undue
stress to your new pet I would recommend
not taking them if they're still
decompressing from the move into your
new home and last week I mentioned here
um the uh the 333 rule so the three days
to decompress
um but each pet is different so you can
use your own judgment
um if they're still timid still wanting
to hide aren't really interacting very
well and seeming unconfident I don't
believe that would be the best situation
for them to bring them into a car ride
and take them straight to the vet that
might just cause a little bit extra
undue stress and maybe shock and the
overall goal is to make everything as
comfortable and as positive for your new
pet so we want to not accidentally cause
any negative associations or experiences
or trauma so definitely wait until
they're decompressed to take them to the
vet for the first time we do recommend
establishing a primary event and it does
help keep your pet up to date with
vaccines especially if you adopted a
puppy or a kitten that is less than five
or six months old they will still need
just every parvo or the feline vaccines
you'll still need boosters up until they
hit that age just to make sure they're
fully vaccinated and then a new vet can
help with that
um the private vet can also get your pet
started on the card room or flea tip
prevention which is primarily
recommended for dogs as they spend a lot
of time Outdoors
um also a post-adoption wellness exam
and then and then yearly Wellness exams
after that
um help monitor your pet spirals keep
them on track to live a long and healthy
life
um especially with the Stray animals
that come into the center and the local
rescues we really don't get an extensive
medical history for a majority of the
pets that come in so it's highly
beneficial for you guys to get your pet
into events you can um just kind of have
medical responsibility taken for them
um and we also especially recommend uh
here specifically as there is a current
Veterinary shortage in Las Cruces and
the surrounding areas so we recommend to
finding a vet as soon as possible when
your pet is healthy rather than waiting
until it's an emergency
um as some of you may know we don't have
24 7 emergency vet here in Las Cruces
the closest one is in El Paso
um there are some clinics that will take
in urban takes but it is at a higher
cost than like a regular intake wellness
exam and nothing was wrong and there are
also some other vet clinics that will
take
urgent or emergency appointments or
visits after hours but that is only for
already established clients so it's in
your around your pet's best interest to
have a client profile established before
there's an emergency it'll save everyone
time and money and a lot of extra stress
um that's all I have for this week and
thank you so much okay thank you Amy we
appreciate it very much
and now we're going to go to Giselle
palomares from New Mexico Workforce
Solutions and she's also on Zoom
yeah can you hear us Gisele
yes good afternoon mayor council for the
jobs of this week
are you guys able to see my PowerPoint
so far we just see jobs of the week so
we didn't see anything just yet okay
there you go we're good celebrity
Johnson this week city of Las Cruces is
hiring an administrative assistant that
pays 18.7 cents an hour and that closes
July 3rd
uh White Sands Missile Range is hiring a
lead child and youth program assistant
that pays anywhere between 20 to 23 an
hour and then depending on experience
and that closes on June 13th
doniana county is hiring a database
administrator and that pays anywhere
between 21 an hour and 35 an hour
depending on experience and that closes
on June 25th
Messiah Valley public housing authority
is hiring a junior accountant and that
pays 21 to 35 an hour depending on
experience my closest June 25th as well
comprehensive Pharmacy service is hiring
a pharmacy technician and that pays 27
000 or 39 000 a year depending on
experience of Max losses on August 30th
I'm Coca-Cola Southwest beverage is
hiring an order of replacement
replenishment merchandiser and that pays
anywhere from twenty four thousand and
thirty thousand a year depending on
experience Netflix on August 25th
and as always to connect with the New
Mexico Workforce Connection office you
can always contact them at
575-524-6250
Boulevard or you can always download our
app that provide any information that
you're needing regarding New Mexico
Workforce Connection
thank you man
okay thank you Giselle
all right so we've got two items on the
agenda first one first one being the
proposed redesign of the Lumen Amador
corridor
and making the presentation is a retired
state representative Antonio Lujan and
um
good to see you there representative and
I know this is something here that
actually makes a lot of sense so we
appreciate you
um
bringing this forward so we can see it
and everyone should have one of these on
their desk
okay thank you Mr Mayor and honorable
members of the commission committee
uh calls I'm sorry I get my history gets
backed up here
um
my name is Antonio Lujan
and I live in the Mesquite historic
district on San Pedro Street close to
Lohman so I'm a traffic victim
unfortunately technology came around
after my era
so I have enabled assistant Abel
Chavarria to help me with her Powerpoint
I have my era came somewhere in between
rock carving and hieroglyphics so this
is way after my time
oh thank you
that's what I mean about technology
I'm in that group there too thank you Mr
Mayor
I am totally handicapped when it comes
to technology
um very well I should start I am if it
please the council I would like to
finish the PowerPoint presentation and
then have ample opportunities to discuss
the issue
if it's fine with you very well
man Amador Corridor exits
at the heart of Las Cruces
and um
it's unsafe for pedestrians bicycle
drivers and drivers
and it's not conducive to walkability in
the Mesquite historic district in the
downtown
organization that had been in existence
for almost 25 years
I was involved in training the initial
group of res esperanzas which only there
are two survivors of that original group
of of the organization
um
the Lowman Amador Corridor as you
probably know has four lanes at this
time
and it has a white Road expense
that's at the expense of pedestrian
traffic
and
the council meeting of February 13th of
2023 they I shoot statistics that were
two years old
and we look just gleaming over the
New Mexico Department of Transportation
study from
2017 to 2021
it shows the data show that Las Cruces
ranks higher and crashes per thousand
than any other metropolitan area in the
states that includes Albuquerque which
Las Cruces about three points percentage
points higher than us than Albuquerque
and the only three higher ones the Las
Cruces are Gallup
Espanola and Silver City Unfortunately
they have low populations but a high
crash rate apparently
in
2022 in the Amador
Lowman
uh
corridor
26 accidents were along Amador Street
and 65 along Lowman
for a total of 121
. you compare that to the average of
2021 crashes per accident we're looking
at those two corridors representing
about
18 percent of all the accidents in Las
Cruces
now there may be an argument that's uh
three lanes would really hamper traffic
I would point out
that that corridor from Solano to Main
Street are the only
four lanes in the whole surrounding
community
so this neighborhood is really being
impacted I live right off of Lowman and
San Pedro and I hear the racing on every
Friday Saturday and Sunday
so our recommendations are to redesign
corridors from Main Street to Solana
Drive using wine grave one one lane
enrollment for bicycle and better
pedestrian infrastructure
three lanes for drivers and one lane for
cyclists and pedestrians provide better
and safer infrastructure for all
accomplishing
this would be in accordance with the
complete streets ordinance that the city
adopted might believe a walk back and
the complete Street sword is the way I
understand it is that in planning
traffic
traffic is one of the main
considerations however pedestrian safety
and safe crosswalks and ADA compliance
sidewalks also must be included in the
planning of traffic in the streets in
our streets
so
that is our recommendation and we are
also suggesting that in addition to calm
traffic patterns that perhaps we add
some
vegetation along the border using
drought resistance
Landscaping native to the Southwest
and as such as the desert willow tree
the Oleander bushes Texas States growing
we may name that change the name to New
Mexico growing
bush
and so on
the next point is as you see this is the
current uh traffic as we see it right
now
and it has four lanes
and it very much in peace when I go
from my house
to the Lujan Bakery I take my life into
my own hands depending on what time my
day I go
so it's really something that's of
concern for all the quality of life as I
am you know I neglected to mention
before the primary thrusts of Las
esperanzas into is to enhance the
quality of life in the Mesquite historic
districts
and that's it so our proposed redesign
is a sketch that you can see which is
a little primitive by professional
engineering standards but therefore for
our purposes it serves to deliver the
message that we wish
and finally
Mr Mayor and members of the Council
those supporting the redesign include
Senator Jeff
steinborn I received representative
AARP Regional chapter the American Heart
Association New Mexico chapter the
Alameda neighborhood association the
downtown public partnership and cycle
this group and most importantly
the Pueblo de San Juan de Guadalupe the
original habitat for the people tewas is
right at the heart of our community and
Mr Mayor and members of the committee
they do not have access
to their ceremonial rounds which is
right on
right off of the science power
a lot of lives firm and they have to
move after ask permission to move into
their ceremonial grounds and as usual
the Native Americans ironically enough
in history always are those last
thoughts for their common welfare and
their well-being in the Dignity of a
human person and with that Mr Mayor and
members of the committee committee
I'm sorry uh the council
I
stand for questions
let me just clarify a couple things and
then I'll turn over to my colleagues
representative Okay so
what what you're proposing and did you
want to bring back the the photo of the
the diagram with the three lanes and the
bike path there you go so
what you're proposing is
kind of shrinking the four lanes into
three and with
or you're just wanting to re remove one
of the lanes I guess this is looking
uh see I guess is looking West looking
West yes so on the left
is that all one lane and then on the
right where you have the ADA Compliant
sidewalks
there's some sidewalks there right now
and you're just saying there are some
you may they're not ADA Compliant by any
means but so so the first is it fair to
say that the first three these three
lanes that we're looking at the size of
the lanes are still the same it's just
uh it's just the one to the far left as
we look at it is the one that's going to
be used for the meat yes exactly okay
the the highest of it lays in the width
of the lace will remain the same I
should also point it out that there's a
business establishment alone that on
weekends backs up traffic and you only
have excess of three lanes and that
would be you know it shows that it's
feasible to do something like this and
we wouldn't create such a safety hazard
for pedestrians
as well as other people wanting to move
around in the neighborhood
okay well I'm gonna let my colleagues
ask questions and then after they finish
then we'll bring up staff to see if they
have any questions and then we'll kind
of go from there yes
okay councilman Cuomo counselor Flores
thanks mayor
um thank you Mr Lujan I appreciate you
all coming in the work that Les
esperanzas has done to
bring this proposal forward I think
there's been some questions in the
public about if this was staff driven or
Council driven but it was very much
resident driven and I think that's
really beautiful so I really appreciate
the work classes has put into this just
a couple questions you had some
statistics around the number of crashes
was that within a year or what was that
the statistics you presented I didn't
quite catch the length of time frame
I'm sorry counselor
I'm a little hard of hearing oh no can
you hear me now yes okay my apologies
about that I said many thank yous by the
way
um I was wondering on the statistics you
presented on the number of crashes on
both roads what time frame those were
from that was for 2021 counselors in
2021 can you repeat that again no I beg
your pardon that was for 2022. okay will
you repeat them yes it was for
Lowman it was 65.
and for Amador it was 56. okay
unfortunately I don't have any more data
since this arrived to us that's okay
this morning no that's okay I just
didn't quite catch it of course fast
enough so I wanted you to repeat it and
then you know I did I think I also think
this is a good proposal I think I've
been keeping track of all the pedestrian
fatalities and accidents we've had in
the city in the last couple years and
they're significant and so anytime that
we can reduce
um in calm traffic I think is important
and so I want to appreciate that I do
want to ask you all about given how much
detail you put into this I
I do want to ask you all how much
flexibility or how open are you to
discussions and negotiations because for
me it's important that our Public Works
experts and Engineers have because I
think they have expertise about these
kinds of things that I would like their
input on and I'm just wondering if you
all are saying yes we want this proposal
and whatever it looks like between now
and then we're open to that
of course uh comes for the uh it's a
proposal we're it's not cast in stone
that we used to write in our time my
period this time great my questions
mayor would be for staff mostly so I can
wait till everybody goes because I I'm
I mean my question would be really maybe
Tony and David for you to start thinking
about it is you know since they came to
us a few months ago if you all had
started looking at this already in the
what is the possibility of doing so and
then
um just if your team has thought about
it would it's just my general question
other than that mayor I'm I'm that's it
thank you counselor that that's exactly
what I was gonna do I thought I'd let my
colleagues ask any initial questions and
then let staff just take a look at it
see if they have any initial comments
and then maybe if if the council wants
to move in that direction then at least
let them go back and and work on it and
see what they say
mayor Pro tem and then Council Flores
thank you mayor thank you so much
everybody from La esperanzas I'm glad
that you're here we've stayed in
communication I know with each other so
I'm I'm aware of of sort of the debating
that was happening and how you really
wanted to see this I will say that last
week Katrina and I went with Ashley
Curry and
Scott Kaiser and looked at the the not
this particular area but the area and
walnut that we've just completed and
pointed out some issues I thought that
were that made sense
and ifo were getting ready to put that
in writing for you but it it always
centered around pedestrian safety
especially that there's a school so
close to which is Sierra Middle School
and so for me it is it has been a safety
issue I know I I get numerous complaints
from that area about drag racing the
noise
and and really quite frankly before the
the downtown has developed the way that
it has the mosquito start district has
had more businesses and Commerce in
there that you know
um and kind of live work spaces and so I
know that for instance the bakery would
love to probably put some tables out
there but because traffic just abuts it
so close to the door it's a it's a
hazardous it's unsafe to do that at this
point so
um I I I'm
grateful to the group I think we've made
some significant progress trying to
figure out what is the best course of
action and I know that the group is open
to sitting down with traffic and in fact
last week maybe a couple of weeks ago
I've sent an email over to David to say
Mr studio is okay what would be the next
steps knowing even that you were coming
and doing the presentation so
um
of course
um I don't I think it would be helpful
to know what the cost would be like what
sort of
um
[Music]
what sort of costs right if there's
temporary things that we can do to start
doing some small experiments I think
would be very helpful so that we can so
the the traffic flow of traffic could
have a better idea of what um to
experience in the event that we go down
to three lanes my question to you is is
this from Amador all the way up to
Solano
uh yes it is counselor okay okay
really mayor those are all my questions
for the for the group
I have more questions for staff and and
wanted to see if there were some
um
you know concerns which I imagine that
there will be around how we move traffic
you know to and from but more
specifically
um how we keep people safe in that area
is is for me most important so thank you
now uh Madam Council and I may please um
there's two things that I neglected to
say that under the able leadership of
Marta Rodriguez and uh Stacy arguire if
they're the our president or vice
president I also have here with me uh
Julie shabaria who and
Robert and
Abel who are also members of Las
esperanzas but I I um I'm here
presenting because
our president is out of town and our
vice president doesn't like to speak in
public anyway but she's out of town as
well
and the other thing I'd like to mention
is that I have a lot of experience in
planning projects with the city over the
years
and I I was certainly uh uh I appreciate
you know trying projects but also be
considered that this project needs to be
time sensitive
and you know I've seen plenty projects
before that are shelved
or and they're not spoken of again they
die on the line so to speak so I would
hope that this not happened to this
project it's there's a lot of people
that have invested in this and the
safety of our communities at stake thank
you I appreciate that thank you mayor
thank you Council Flores
thank you mayor and thank you so much
for your presentation
I want to thank you unless esperanzas
for bringing this forward I am guilty of
doing racetrack driving on my way to
City Hall
so my apologies but um it's true there
is speeds up to I don't know they was by
me so it is very dangerous and I've
always I've often thought about that and
I agree with you that three lanes would
definitely have a calming effect and the
design of having some Shrubbery and bike
lane and and the traffic would flow and
I definitely support this
um so did you run it by anybody at City
Hall because it's a very well done
um the the graphics are I mean the plan
everything is done very well so did you
uh run it did you talk to anybody at
City Hall or anybody that you're
familiar with that knows about
engineering and planning and all that
sort of stuff
uh no cost for photos it's strictly a
homegrown operation wow that's
impressive well I as
I see we have Kathy Matthews who is our
resident
landscape architect and then we also
have Tony Trevino and sue for Mr Sue and
oh and David excuse me and uh from
planning excuse me from
Public Works and those are probably the
the Departments that would be most
involved in making sure that this plan
could go forward I will tell you this
much though as much as I would love it
to get started right away and it might
get started right away because things
you know they do meet and they do talk
but then it's like a year goes by two
years go by three years go by so and
this is not in any way criticizing
um
or personalizing this in terms of the
individuals in those departments that
would be involved but I'm just saying
that um I'm glad that you started this
process now I hope that the city sees
that you know the the powers that be
here
um
city managers here so he's hearing what
we're saying and heard what you said and
and it is a very treacherous uh Road
without a doubt both both you know the
one way and as it turns out I am a door
or Lowman Amador
um
because it's Lowman all going west and
then it's Amador going east it's really
funny those the way they do those names
but um
those are
um
well when it goes into Amador towards
Motel I mean it shrinks anyway and it
goes you know goes really weird
um yeah and then the other side too kind
of goes off and then so actually it
probably even be a lot better to have
and narrow it down to three and and I
for one
um every time there's a fatality of you
know when there's a bicyclist or anybody
any fatality due to that kind of uh
infrastructure is uh you know shame on
shame on the municipality that allows
that to happen so thank you very much
for being here today thank you Mr Mayor
okay thank you okay someone asked if
David setio director of Public Works I
wanted to do some initial questions or
if you had any thoughts about it
um
good afternoon mayor council David
sedillo Public Works director I am go
ahead and stand for any questions that
you have I know there's been some
initial questions but if you want to
start mayor I can address some general
questions and so in the past the city in
the last excuse me 10 years have been
looking at what they call referred to as
Road diets trying to identify areas that
they feel were kind of large and and
because it is hard to cross the street
and so you've seen that in especially on
University where you have the students
trying to cross and a few other places
that the city has implemented some types
of
not not barriers but some types of
things that that I especially like the
one on Nevada that this the street is
still the same but it's just the mind
says there's something in the road here
and I'm gonna slow down even though you
know you could still go the same speed
it's just you know whatever is the
reason so I think this bodes well with
the the council's thought to look at
areas that are somewhat dangerous I've
you know driven this street many times
and it's not packed so I personally
think that it could
you lose one lane and it I think it
could still move traffic quickly because
you know that's just my thoughts and
although I will say that if we I would
think that this
and and I I don't think we can really
just accommodate a particular business I
mean you know and so but I but I do the
reason why I say that is because if we
were to do this this
bike lane and you know median
it would
I don't know if it would help the
problem it might even exacerbate the
problem because now you have what was
four lanes now it's going to be one
Lane's going to be tied in or
we start
I don't know that's that's up to
ifo and and Las Cruces Police and codes
because that's a traffic Hazard when you
have cars on on Lowman lining up just to
turn in to get into the restaurant
so we have to think about that
so I think that's out of our purview a
little bit but anyways those are my two
thoughts and other than that I I think
it's great I I still remember years ago
when I I can't remember what business I
think it's a chiropractor
but the the door literally I mean you're
three feet not even three feet you're
right there the car is coming by so this
would add to that I guess if you will
would almost like increase a setback so
to speak and and provide a little bit of
safety there
okay so David your thoughts initial
thoughts and or any mayor those those
are some of the considerations that
we've started looking at uh again we
believe you know this came up at a as a
public comment I believe at one of the
council meetings so
we have been looking at it and seeing
what what we could possibly do at this
point there's a lot of unanswered
questions though there's a lot of
conditions that are within the stretch
between Solano and I believe Main Street
so but the effects don't just stop there
you have the roadway that continues and
ties into those so as you go basically
if you go further up or east right there
at Lowman and Amador you'll have to also
reconfigure or look at how that's going
to go back and tie in because we can't
have four lanes coming in and then all
of a sudden merging into three so that's
going to extend the limits on both ends
of there so so that's something that
that we'll have to consider access is
another is another item that we'll have
to take a look at because you do have
some properties that are in between the
blocks that directly access onto Amador
and again how are we going to take a
look at those however how are those
businesses still going to be able to
make that
that connection
it can be done but now we're introducing
some other features that may or may not
be an impediment again we don't know
what those things are until we study
this so
okay that's that's fine David and
understandably so I pretty much figured
that that was going to be the case
because there's just no way to say yeah
I think we can do this we start this
next week so what I need to know is if
uh Council feels that there's enough
support to move this forward to at least
let Public Works study it and then
whenever they have a chance to bring it
back for Council to take a look at
yeah you can just shake your head you
know well no I have a question oh okay
about that okay councilman Cuomo the
American
um yes I I think so I for me for sure I
think it's something we I would like to
support in studying I do however though
have a question about that process and
and like how you prioritized right now I
imagine you have a whole list of Roads
you are studying some of them which I
have requested myself so I'm wondering
what takes priority how just the process
of how you get something on the list
David to study and honestly about how
many other studies do you have
in the city off the top of your head
that is geared towards traffic calming
and Road diets
thank you for the question mayor
councilor Ben Como I can't give you a
specific number right now I can get
those to you but I can let you know what
the process is that we take so when we
get these requests we basically start
putting them in line and we start
stacking them
there are opportunities where if we take
a look and we see that this is an
immediate a safety concern an immediate
danger we will push that up up to the
front but typically as we get those
requests we basically put them in line I
will let mayor and Council know at this
point in time for a study this large
we currently don't have the funding for
it if we
if we were to do it there's going to be
quite a things that we basically remove
off of the work that we're currently
doing so again that that isn't an option
for Council to do but but again just
wanted to let you know that that that is
one of those things that currently we
don't have but certainly if it is the
will of the council and approved by
Administration then at that point we
would be looking at funding sources to
move forward
David I mean this might be a hard
question to answer as well but I'm a
project of the size what do you think
the cost of the study would be you knew
I was going to follow up with that
yes ma'am councilor Ben Como at this
point in time uh
we can't even ballpark until we start
working at a scope okay and taking a
look at that because I don't want to
provide an estimate not knowing that
we're going to capture everything that
we need to based on the proposal that's
that's coming forward so we've looked at
high level items but then again there's
other things that we need to take into
consideration such as existing utilities
we don't know everything that's
underground not only ours but also
private
okay and lastly I'm sorry sorry sir and
lastly is is yes this is a four-lane
stretch this is one of the major
arterials that connects our East Side to
our West Side so there was a mention
that yes this area doesn't really seem
that packed well that's because we have
the four shrinking it down I can't tell
you whether that's going to
automatically make it as congested as
Telstra Lowman but there is that
possibility so this is that Gateway
going from east to west because we do
have that stretch of only U.S 70 and
Lowman as those major corridors
okay thanks David I do I would if you
can get information to the city manager
about how many of such projects you have
on a list already that either Council
has requested that your staff has seen
necessary because again I think while
this is priority I you know I I've been
advocating for a steady Alameda and
Hoagland right so I think it's also
important that feels like a priority to
me as well and so I think that there may
be some competing things and so I would
like to see David if you get that data
if you can get that to us that would be
great
yes ma'am
mayor Pro tem thank you David
um mayor thanks David for being here
um
I appreciate hearing kind of the
competing demands
um
not really understanding what the scope
is and the funding and whatnot but I
want to remind us on the dice we've just
heard some very staggering statistics
and that should really prioritize this
or bump this up to the top when we hear
Loman at 65 accidents I don't even know
if that meant fatalities but and the and
then on Amador 56 those should be really
concerning to us and I I want to make
this a priority I hate for us to be
reactionary but I feel there's no other
way to get the attention that it needs
to push us to make things more safe for
our pedestrians our bicyclists this is
an important issue I'm sure all of us at
different times get the kind of emails
about the the fatalities that just
occurred on a bike
and so for me David the question to you
is
the only other
um
example that I have to lean on is the
Amador one excuse me the Alameda road
diet that we did and that we did during
covid we had a small group sort of
really advocate for that and took a
considerable amount of time
um I feel like if if it's going to take
that much time that then we take pieces
of it and we start experimenting
with with what we can do temporarily and
then to increase sort of moving then
into whatever the the more long-term
plan is going to look like I would hate
for us to just wait wait wait wait wait
until it rises up to whatever the the
top priority I'm also thinking maybe we
can hire somebody else to come and do
that sort of consultation and
assessments
and I I just don't want it to sit I
think there's enough advocacy here to
really push it hearing the kind of
numbers that we just heard
so David question to you is in looking
at that I'm thinking
we could do some temporary things that I
see all over the city that sort of helps
mitigate some of the speeding and the
getting folks familiar with right you
know different things that you've tried
trying to Institute is that something
that you would consider
mayor mayor Pro tem Gandara those are
certainly things that we can look at
typically some of those other things
that we've done have not been on major
arterials so those have been on other
residential streets those have been
possibly like an Alameda when we've done
the road diets those are on on
collectors so yes we can take a look at
those but we don't have an example to go
specifically back to an arterial so
that's that's going to be our challenge
to look and see what we can do if if
this is something on the temporary
status point of view is how we can do
that safely so again understanding that
it's for all Road users sure sure thank
you David Mr Lujan I know that in
conversations with Martha about looking
at a smaller
um
a smaller sample size you know from what
you're giving us it I think there was
some discussion about looking at that
area compo up to a certain a certain
street can you talk a little bit about
that I'm not sure if she has explained
that to you and if that would be
something that we can start with thank
you Mr Mayor and councilor commanded him
I I would first hasten at two things
that kind of make me cause for concern
one is that our area our neighborhood
has become a traffic Dumping Ground for
the rest of the community in terms of
traffic because it's going to disrupt
traffic everybody else seems to find
accommodations except for our
neighborhood now I I don't want to be
defensive about this Mr Mayor and
counselors but with all due respect
I see that our areas at a traffic
sacrifice area for the rest of the
community and I take issue with that
other than you know attempting uh things
uh incrementally I would do that but I
would also urge that this is an
immediate traffic problem and it needs
to be placed in priority
thank you Mr Lujan I appreciate that I
think mayor when we talk about complete
streets and having it be walkable and to
my point earlier about this particular
area having more businesses and walkable
um you know from the downtown over we
really need to consider this so thank
you mayor
Council supporters thank you Mr Mayor
and thank you again sir and thank you
David Mr cedillo I
I have questions for for David
um
I I agree with mayor Pro tem Gandara
that this is definitely a priority and
everything in our city is a priority
because it takes so long to get to
something that other things sometimes
get you know backed up as as you stated
Mr serial if we were to if we were to
prioritize this that means that other
things get backed up so um and I also
understand that we have to comply with
Federal highways regulations at that the
state of New Mexico has adopted in terms
of
complying with those designs of streets
and thorough ways all that being said
I'm wondering is there any federal
program or any organizations that
contribute to Safe Streets or
um
you know this sort of a project I know
and then what makes me think about this
that is that
um I know that AARP has donated
um a lot of stuff to the city for you
know at the parks Parks area and I'm
just wondering if there's any
organization whether it's private or or
governmental
uh that in any way contributes to Safe
Streets do you know Mr Savio
mayor councilor Flores again David
sedillo for the record there are grant
opportunities uh late I think I believe
that was a safe Street Grant recently
done I'm not sure if that is a grant
that is going to be
awarded on an annual basis we've seen
quite a few infrastructure bills come
out that have are addressing
infrastructure needs and again those
were awarded again with a five-year
reoccurring opportunity so there are
opportunities out there specifically if
there's organizations or not public
private Partnerships or are there I
don't know how well that would tie into
the corridor here however there we could
look at different funding sources again
based on the amount or the scope of the
corridor
that's going to be quite a quite a large
Bill
looking at it right because typically we
see or normal reconstruction whether
it's in residential or some other areas
at a large cost however we can take a
look at those opportunities now Mr Lujan
did provide a list here of opportunities
for funding resources and there's the
dot the infrastructure funding which
which I just mentioned the New Mexico
capital outlay
surface Transportation block grants so
there's there's many out there that can
specifically
award to the project if applied for
right so it would be our different
departments working to see if grant
money is out there funding sources out
there because I'm thinking foundations
that would probably exist to for this
sort of a project
and yeah foundations private donors
um you know type of thing
um you know I guess those are the big
foundations I mean you know
milking and all that anyway I just
wanted to ask if that was possible and
maybe our city uh departments that uh
work on that can look into it Mr peely
uh
our department
respective departments can look into
that to see if there's any way of just
to move this along to expedite it um
and then you also have to look to see
how
whether this is something that can
really be realized right to make sure
it's all consistent with
the laws that do exist
yes ma'am thank you
thank you Mr Mayor
any other comments
so um thanks mayor I do I just
um you know I hear you on feeling like
the area is
um
sort of marginalized when it comes to
traffic however I you know I do want to
just gently push back on that a little
bit given that I think what I'm hearing
here is consensus that this this is a
matter that this is a proposal that is
that is good that it's important and
that we want Public Works to work on it
however I will note that
um you know like for example it's it's a
matter of context as well right because
the when I talk to constituents that
live on Alameda and Hoagland Hoagland
feeds right into Mayfield the traffic
gets insanely backed up there when their
school when school is in session it is
really bad for the Neighbors in that
area and they also feel like that's a
urgent matter and they also feel like
that should be a priority right so I
think we have to take
context in in into context because
um for when you're in that particular
neighborhood it's urgent to you and it's
important to you and that doesn't mean
that your project is less or more
important than somebody else's request
right and so I just I do want to just
note that
um even though I I think the what makes
this I think more significant is that
these are major arterial roads in our
community right that are huge connectors
to like David said east and west and so
I I what I am hearing here is yes we
agree with you that this is an important
proposal I just think that I'm also
hearing there's things that need to be
balanced out and looked at before we go
restriping the road and potentially
cause you know unintended harm so I just
wanted to note that because I think you
know it's incredibly important that you
not everybody either gets time to come
at work session and present about their
Community concern right and um I I again
I think it's important that you came
here and all the work that you all have
done and I am hearing here that there is
consensus that your proposal is in fact
important
thank you Mr Mayor and councilor Ben
Cuomo if I may you know I certainly hear
what you're saying however I will
question how many fatalities has there
been and Hoagland as compared to Alameda
or Lowman well I think what I would add
to that is that you also have to take
that into cons context because
statistically I would assume that there
would be more uh accidents on a major
arterial than on a collector I think you
would have to compare those given the
context of what kind of Road they are
okay so but okay so this is what I'm
thinking representative Lujan is
the timing I think is fairly good for
the for the upcoming legislature and I
was just looking that and listening to
some of the comments made by the
director of Public Works Mr sithio it
looks like it might have to start really
as as far back as
as uh Miranda street because that's
where Lohman and Amador kind of meet and
then it starts curving around so we're
going to start at three lane it might
have to start all the way there and then
maybe go to Solano and because at least
when and it may have to just be
Lowman only
because
after listening to David's comments yeah
it would be tough to go from forward
Lanes to three but if you're but if
you're going east and you're going up
Lowman
and you stop at Solano I mean there's
ways to say hey this one lane is just
for Right Turn Only
that might help mitigate a little bit of
uh problem I don't know but I will leave
that up to them but what I was thinking
was if the if the looks like there's a
consensus to move forward but for for
staff to at least come up with a an idea
of how much it's going to cost
to
um
so we can get this amount done from the
legislature perhaps representative Rubio
if it can support that and that's in
time for the 2024 legislative session
and let's just say hypothetically it
costs 250 000 to study okay so at least
you have this amount so that the city
can then go out to bid and have some
engineering firm take a look at it and
just see exactly what it's going to
actually cost because also if I remember
correctly this is also considered a
state highway because it's a Lowman and
so that might help or hinder it I don't
know but it might also trigger in some
other funds that's possible through the
Department of Transportation
so um is that something that's
acceptable to you
of course Mr Mayor okay councilor Koran
you had a I just I just wanted to send
Clarity really quickly in this
conversation so does this related to the
CIP and the icip I'm not really sure how
this appears on those if it does
um and I think that that seems like
something that should be our
understanding of how we do things like
this comes from that those documents so
I'm curious what what the status of this
is in that and and how we would change
that status potentially
given all the factors that folks have
spoken of today
mayor councilor corn thank you for the
question at this point in time this
project is not on the CIP which was
recently approved so what's on the CIP
will be moving forward into the fy24
legislative session for this to be
eligible it will actually need to be
placed on the CIP for the city to move
forward and have those requisitions sent
through I don't know if that's still
going to be if this will be eligible at
this time as all of those icip forms are
actually being developed and submitted
now to the state as far as the process
goes we can always take a look and reach
out to our lobbyist Larry haran to see
if there are any opportunities or if
this will actually have to be approved
on the CIP and then move forward the
following year
thank you thank you for that context I
think just as far as how we make
decisions that's a big variable in terms
of what we've
what we've been saying and how we can
move forward so thank you
yes ma'am
I'm smiling because I don't know if
there's an actual policy that it has to
be done that way
you know I mean that's just the way it's
been done and I'm smiling because I seem
to recall someone saying when I wanted
to bring something to a work session or
let me hear it first and then go to this
and say wait a minute I don't think
there's a policy though
I don't think there's a policy it says
it has to be like that but okay you know
all right so
um
that's the way I look at it
I think we'll just do this we'll have
we'll it will direct EVO to work with
this staff and figure out whether it
needs to go to the icip first and you
get a list if so maybe bring it back if
you guys want to put it on the list or
it doesn't have to be on there and if
it's too late then you know that's
something next that's something to do
for the following year but
um I think
I think it doesn't hurt to at least get
an idea of how much it's going to cost
and what this is because I think
you know often you see people coming
down the wrong way
especially from out of town they're
driving and that's a traffic Hazard as
well so
I don't know I'm just from the hip I
think it could be three laner but I
don't know possible
is Council okay with at least even
sending it back to city manager for him
to work with staff to
okay
all right thank you Mr Mayor and
counselors
George do you have a comment
yeah
two minutes please and can you just
state your name
George Pearson so I have a couple of
hats as the president of Alameda Depot
as president of the Alameda Depot
neighborhood association we had a
meeting and we approved this so the
neighborhood looks forward to this as
president of valo Cruces this is very
much along our
in our area and we would certainly
endorse this
um
as far as the extent you had mentioned
maybe down to Miranda but we need to at
least go to Alameda the city currently
has a tpf transportation project fund
with the state application for more than
a million dollars to study a bicycle to
do a design work for bicycle facilities
on El Paseo from University that extends
all the way through to Amador so it
makes sense that we need to connect
these so when we look at that
um
as far as the time frame uh councilor
gandaro remembers it took at least two
it took about two years to do the
Alameda road diet so it's going to take
two years to start thinking about doing
this so
um this is not going to be a simple
straightforward project this is going to
be a multi-year project
um
and as far as the beginning of the Trap
of the fiscal year you've funded a
traffic planner so maybe the traffic
planner could be assigned this as one of
his projects and just in general
whenever you add bicycle facilities it
makes it safer for all modes of travel
so this is a Safety project one of your
comments was about people driving wrong
way maybe we should think about making a
two-way conversion on in the corridor
maybe that's worth the study not throw
it out out of hand but at least look at
it and consider I know I'm not an
engineer so I don't know about
capacities and all that but a two-way
conversion would slow down traffic it
would make the businesses more viable
because people will be riding going past
those businesses
um
potentially it's lower speed and have
more contact so thank you
thank you George anyone else other than
yes thanks
I just need your state your name Israel
Israel Chavez uh thank you Mr Mayor and
Council
um I just want to express my support for
this project I understand that it's
somewhat focused in an area but it is an
area as folks have mentioned that a lot
of people use
um there's almost every National study
that you that that has come out has said
that additional Lanes of traffic don't
alleviate traffic they just provide
another Lane for traffic and so by
reducing a major artery like this we're
not going to see a crazy increase in
traffic what we'll see is a reduction in
fatalities and that affects everybody
right because the people who have died
on that street in the last five years
not all of them lived in that
neighborhood but in addition the people
who do live there they would benefit
from having a safer more walkable
Community I mean I talked to the owners
of Luhan Bakery and they're afraid
to put little tables out on the sidewalk
because of how quickly people are going
past those those those businesses and so
this is really a safety issue it's an
equity issue when we think about the
folks who live south of uh uh Lowman
right so I I sort of would oppose uh
restricting it to one because south of
the the two one ways we have a huge
community of folks who are
um Transit dependent who are walking we
have low income housing which is like
sort of concentrated in that area we
have a ton of bus to infrastructure
along these routes that would really
benefit from this type of infrastructure
and
um you know in my experience when we've
done major uh uh pedestrian dedicated
projects like this across the state
including in Albuquerque what we've seen
is an increase in walkability and and
the businesses while it may take a while
the businesses end up doing better and
so you know I would encourage Council to
think about the folks who have you know
not hyperbolically but literally lost
their lives in this Corridor and if you
want to see speeding cars you can go
around any night that isn't to say there
aren't other projects that are worth
funding but I I appreciate you all
taking the time thanks thanks
okay anybody else
okay well thank you again representative
I appreciate that and um so we'll have
you something here in a few weeks to
figure out which way we're going to be
moving but at least it's at least it's
uh on the conveyor belt so to speak okay
all right thank you
so next is going to be our Geo Bond
quarterly update
and it looks like it's Davis on public
works
we're getting our money's worth out of
you today
nobody laughed at that comment
every day mayor every day
that's a good response David by the way
good afternoon again mayor council David
sedillo Public Works director and I will
be providing this afternoon's go Bond
updates we've combined both the
2018-22 go bonds as we still have one
project open
so question number two the Animal
Services Center at this point in time
right now the contractors are working on
the punch list item they do have their
full certificate of occupancy they have
been delivered some dog kennels those
are being installed they should be
finishing up those at the end of the
week
however the doors for the kennels that
separates them from the cleaning area
are still on delay we also have the cat
kennels that are are delayed as well too
along with the puppy Kennels
uh Animal Services Center did let us
know that they did acquire funding to
get the get acquainted concrete areas so
they've been working with staff we will
be working to get that work underway
most likely that will probably be in the
new fiscal year as we're starting to
close FY 23.
and then lastly based on conversations
with with the shelter and staff the
opening of the facility will be once the
dog and cat kennels are installed and
you get acquainted areas due to
operations there at the facility
I do want to add
that the artwork has been installed
there's a picture there for you all to
see I believe that was installed last
week
now moving on to the 2022 go bonds we
have those three projects listed there
the new Fire Station Number Nine Park
improvements and the continuation of the
East Mesa public rec complex
for the new fire station we do have 9.8
million dollars at this point in time
we're looking at architectural and
Engineering Services in the amount of
713 000. we have a Geotech which we will
be exploring the lot
uh
looking at sample of the soils for the
building and the site itself that has a
cost of ten thousand five hundred
bringing that total design cost up to
723 500
there will be a kickoff meeting between
the design staff and the end user
beginning the week of the 19th which is
which is next week at this point in time
we're estimating a bid date for this
project in February 2024.
our next project is Park improvements we
do have 1.98 million dollars for the
project these are based on Parks and
Rec's priority from their master plan
the top two projects based on that
master plan are layout Park improvements
in tillbrook
the work looking to be done at La
Llorona is a new restroom upgrade to
amenities and also some trail repairs at
this point in time staff is in
discussions with the international
boundary and Water Commission for the
permit of the project
and based on whatever that project costs
if there is capacity we would also like
to improve the exercise equipment at
tellbook telebook work now I'm going to
show you an aerial that way you can
visualize to see where these projects
are
here La Llorona park it is off the Rio
Grande intersecting with Picacho Avenue
this is the location of the park on
telbrook you do have La salteras over
here tell Brook coming up there is that
park there and you can see the trail
that goes around they do have some
equipment some older exercise equipment
that is outdated that Parks and Rec
would like to update
foreign
the last project the continuation of the
East Mesa public rec complex we do have
funding of 4.9 million from the go Bond
we do have 2 million from the state
shared gross receipts tax so that was
approved by Council giving us a total of
6.9 million dollars
now 2.25 million is going to go to bring
back some of the items that were removed
under phase one and I'll be giving
details in later slides on this we do
have the new musco lighting at a cost of
1.9 million for the facility and also
the remaining 2.7 that is under that new
scope or the continuation of that Master
Plan
here
here's the detail for that 2.75 in the
new scope
as you can see off to the right we have
highlighted those improvements we do
have this location here for the two to
four sand volleyball courts we do have
two basketball courts this is adjacent
to the 10 acre Park
we also have a concession building
further down adjacent to the pickleball
and the baseball courts restrooms right
here for the tank or Park more Street
Furniture which will include Shades and
benches along and throughout and also
some sight grading if you look down in
this corner here this is the proposed
location for the new skate park out at
the complex so under this we'd like to
assist that project by doing some minor
grading and looking at additional
parking as well too for for those
amenities
the 2.25 which you said we're bringing
back those items that were valued
engineered out based on the cost that we
had under the previous go Bond we're
looking at bringing back those trees and
shrubs for landscaping seeding and
erosion control that is along those
edges that tie into the existing
landscape to protect those slopes that
way then on erode
playground equipment shade structures
again throughout the Paseo and sod for
the 10 acre Park
now the musco lighting at 1.9 million
will include lighting for those new
parks that we're looking at so the sand
volleyball the basketball court we will
provide a stub out of electrical for the
skate park but that also includes
lighting for all the parking lots The
Greenway the Paseo
the two ball fields the two baseball
softball fields
the pickleball courts and also the
multi-use fields at this point over here
and with that I'll stand for any
questions
councilor Graham
thanks mayor thank you so much David can
we jump back to slide four please
and I think Chief Smith this question
will probably come to you David you
mentioned the design team is going to be
meeting with end users will that include
online Personnel who will be living
working at the station
mayor council Graham our chief Jason
Smith for the record yes okay great yeah
just uh just always think our fire
stations are unique among City buildings
because it's also where people live and
not just work so cool I'd just like to
have input in like you know where I you
know would be sleeping or cooking or and
glad to hear and unsurprised that we're
already thinking of it thank you yes
ma'am
um thanks mayor thanks again David on
the parks are you
saying that these are the two projects
that the 1.98 will be able to cover or
these are just the two that have been
identified for now
mayor councilor Ben combo these are the
two that we feel we could possibly get
achieved with the amount again based on
whatever cost we do have under La
Llorona the mayor may not be but we
wanted to include that just to say if
there is additional funding then that
will that money will move down to their
second top rated project got it thank
you David
thank you thank you David I appreciate
it I I am curious about the the East
Mesa
Park and uh I understand that it's a
little bit blurry
um
from what from the prior do bond to this
Geo Bond but I'm curious
um is there so I sense it's going to
take a while to get it all done is there
a phased opening plan and if so what
what seems like it's on track to be
finished soon or will things be usable
before
all of these things come online I'm
hoping that things might be able to be
phased in
mayor councilor corn thank you for the
question that has been a discussion that
we've had ongoing one of the things that
that we want to ensure is the public
safety because there's still going to be
quite a bit of work uh happening
throughout these so we may have some
facilities that are completed however
with additional installation of
infrastructure say like the lighting
we will have to have that space again to
be able to do that access in and out
with construction workers moving back
and forth between the site we don't feel
that that's a very safe
space for the public to be in and put
them at risk so we keep evaluating that
I think once we get to a point that we
can open an area safely we will do so
but at this point in time the work that
Still Remains we're looking at holding
that until we get to a spot that we feel
comfortable enough that the public and
the contractor are not in conflict
thank you yes ma'am
okay anybody else
any members of the public have any
comments questions
okay see none thank you David
appreciate it
okay if there's nothing further then
entertain a motion to adjourn
to adjourn second gram motion made by
councilman Cuomo second by Council
through Graham to adjourn
Christine
this is on the motion tour during the
work session counselor abeda is absent
Council Graham yes counselor Ben Como
yes councilor Koran yes counselor Flores
yes
mayor yes
okay it's uh 2 14 p.m we are adjourned
thank you
really the city agenda set a meeting for
June 20th 2023 city council meeting
number one consent one consent number
two non-consent two non-consent three
non-consent three non-consent for
consent for consent five consent five
consent six non-consent six non-consent
seven non-consent seven non-consent
eight non-consent eight non-consent nine
nine consent nine non-consent and
thank you