thank you
sorry
thank you
[Music]
foreign
[Music]
Welcome to our city council meeting
today is Monday May 1st 2023 is
approximately 1pm before we have our
Pledge of Allegiance I'm going to ask if
you please rise for as we reflect back
on the brave men women of the United
States armed forces as they protect our
interests around the globe as well as
the courageous Men Women of the Las
Cruces Police Department and the Las
Cruces fire department as they keep our
city safe 24 7 65 and also for
additional moment of silence for former
Governor Jerry Apodaca who passed away
over the weekend he served New Mexico
1974-1978.
councilor Koran if you join me in the
pledge please
of the United States
thank you
okay and we have Amy the Felix who's on
Zoom who's going to introduce our pets
of the week
Amy
yes hello I'm here
let me go ahead and share the screen
already
and hello everyone my name is Amy De
Felix I am one of the adoptive risky
coordinators for the Animal Services
Center of the Messiah Valley and I'm
here to talk about our pets of the week
we are going to start off with our cat
of the week
um her name is Evie her number is
61175 and she says I may be a Twitter
shell kitty but there is no tortitude
here I am an incredibly sweet and loving
girl who just wants to spend my time
getting pet and Lebanon by humans if you
want a kitty who will love you until the
end of time from the perfect match for
you
and then we also have our dog of the
week his name is Peanut his number is
53934 and he says
um I'm good looking and I have a great
personality so I'm the total package I
love going to walks with people because
I love to smell around and check
everything out I'm super affectionate as
well who wouldn't want to give these
adorable sloppy ears a good scritch
and then we also have since May is a new
month I'm going to present on a new
topic one that is pretty relevant to us
in our area as well as kind of just
Nationwide and that is hidden season so
what is kitten season it is the time of
the year that female cats go in heat
more frequently
um they are seasonal
um breeders they have a seeds on their
feet so it's normally the warmer months
which for here is kind of between like
Mark and October
um this just means that all female
unauthored Strays the female barrels and
indoor outdoor cats that are not fixed
are much more likely to get pregnant get
pregnant and get pregnant much more
frequently it is sometimes possible for
a single female cat to possibly have
multiple litters in one single kitten
season this is because uh capture
station is only 65 days so it's just a
little over two months and cats can get
pregnant again as soon as two weeks
after they give birth so that that could
be a lot a lot of kittens from just one
at in a single span of like a four to
six months
too many kidneys oh it's definitely
animal shelters and also animal rescues
just not even here necessarily just Las
Cruces Tony County but everywhere all
over the country we get inundated with
loads and loads of kittens pregnant cats
moms with her kittens
um and also the workmen kittens or all
these kids that they'll come in with
moms sometimes they have Mom but that is
something we can address in a later week
um and I would just like to share that I
pulled the stats for last month so all
of April 2023 we here received a total
of eight nursing moms and then a total
of 55 kittens some of those with them
eight moms and most of them came in by
themselves no Mom so we had to have a
lot of leads feeding for people to step
up and Foster because a lot of these
ones are bottle babies they still need a
mom but they didn't come in with one
which makes it kind of a an issue for us
and it's very stressful so if you would
like to help kind of alleviate the
orphan kitten problem that we and a lot
of rescues nearby locally as well kind
of struggle with well we suggest you
guys just offer to Foster we have a
foster program here you can sign up for
so do the other local rescues in the
area we all of us have an urgent need
for bottle baby Fosters so that's the
neonatals that still need milk can only
eat milk they don't have teeth yet they
can't eat like hard food so they they
need
consistently pretty often throughout the
day so if that's something that you
would like to help out with and you're
interested but you've never done it
before you're not sure how to start and
you might even be like a little a little
intimidated about it don't worry we have
people here like our medical staff
um the train medical stuff that can help
teach you train you and kind of set you
a success because once you get the hang
of it
um it's just kind of like feeding like a
human baby waking up frequently to
bottle feed them and making sure they're
clean and stuff it's not
two
too hard but it does need some getting
used to so if you are interested
definitely encourage you to reach out to
us and sign up to Foster thank you
all right thank you Amy appreciate that
okay next is going to be our jobs of the
week Irene para from our Economic
Development Department it's going to
share those jobs with us
good afternoon mayor city council Irene
butter with economic development
wow
um
they can allow me to open up my slides
it looks like they're doing that thank
you
okay we begin with the city of Las
Cruces who was hiring for a senior meter
mechanic this position pays 20 28 an
hour and is open until filled white
Sun's Missile Range is hiring for a CYS
assistant director this position pays 39
000 a year and closes on May 16th Maca
construction is hiring three
construction labor positions these
positions pay between 26 000 and 37 000
a year depending on experience and close
on May 21st consumer Direct Care Network
is hiring for a bilingual service
coordinator this position pays twenty
dollars an hour and closes on May 21st
4 FMI is hiring for an HVAC this
position pays between twenty five
thousand and forty one thousand a year
depending on experience and closes on
May 20th and Admiral beverage is hiring
for a seasonal repack this position pays
16 an hour and closes on July 14th
and for additional information you can
contact the local Workforce Connection
office at
575-524-6250 or at their local office at
226 South Alameda Boulevard or online at
employ nm.com thank you
thanks Irene we appreciate that
looks like I'm first up here
so I have a presentation or Proclamation
I'd like to to present to a couple of
City staff that really I believe went
above and beyond what was really how we
do things and um
so I'm just going to read you an email
that I received from
mayor Pro tem of
Columbus New Mexico so how many of here
show of hands over Columbus New Mexico
is
okay good quite a few
a little bit more than I thought so okay
so anyways so I get this email from
ameriprotem Bill Johnson
who asked they have a gentleman that
lives there
and needed some help he volunteers a lot
in the city in Columbus he was currently
in Casa De Oro which is a facility here
in Las Cruces
and had some issues and bottom line is
he he needed help to get to a different
place
that they couldn't take care of him
there in Columbus so of course you know
a professional courtesy I sent to the
mayor Pro tem Johnson that okay I'll
send it you know thinking I didn't think
we might be able to help because well
you know he lives in Columbus right
so lo and behold Sonia saldano who works
with Carol Bray did some checking turns
out there's another facility that
because he was here in Las Cruces
they you know made sure that they could
possibly help him and basically bottom
line is they got him transferred to
another sister facility there in Bayer
so I just wanted to tell Sonya and Carol
how much I appreciate that and that was
really and their static of course and so
he's receiving the care he needs and um
you all should be commended so that's
why I wanted to give you if I could
invite Sonia and Carol up front here to
my right please
so these ladies both worked hard to get
this and so I'm going to give you what
they call the mayor Citation for public
service presented to Carol gray in
recognition of your commitment and
dedication to helping make Las Cruces A
Better Community dated this first day of
May 2023 and signed by myself
don't leave yet I'll let you all say a
couple words and
also mayor Citation for public service
to Sonia Saldana in recognition of your
commitment and dedication to helping
make Las Cruces A Better Community they
did this first day of May 2023 signed by
myself thank you
[Applause]
you work for the city I guess huh
thank you
mayor thank you and city council thank
you so much for this honor unexpected
honor and I will just say that in the
quality of life Department we just
believe in doing our jobs for the city
residents and guests people that come
through here and and need our assistance
and I'm very glad that I was able to
turn this uh issue over to Sonia Saldana
and she took care of it and and solved
it for us as she often does so thank you
again
I just want to Echo what Carol said you
know when it comes to our seniors we do
whatever we can to help so you know it's
not it's almost feel guilty receiving
this because I feel like we're just
doing our job and that's basically what
we do thank you
well thank you again I know you could
have easily just responded well you know
they live another city but you want that
that extra mile to find out that he
technically was here for a little bit
and they had that sister facility so you
made a lot of people happy and you
helped a person in need so I'm going to
turn it over to counselor Quran who has
about a thousand proclamations she's
going to be reading
Council
thank you good afternoon first up I'd
like to invite
folks for the Day of Prayer in
particular tailing Jaco and anyone else
who wanted to come up and join her while
we read this Proclamation thank you
councilor wall they're coming they're
making their way I just want to
recognize judge perea in the back judge
thanks for joining us and Senator Hamlin
I saw oh there she is in the back thank
you for joining us
whereas an observance of the National
Day of Prayer will be held on Thursday
November Thursday May 4th 2023 with the
theme pray fervently in the
righteousness and Avail much and whereas
the National Day of Prayer was declared
by the First Continental Congress in
1775 and in 1952 the United States
Congress approved a joint resolution and
whereas the United States Congress by
public law
103-307 directs the president of the
United States to set aside and proclaim
the first Thursday of May annually as a
National Day of Prayer and whereas
leaders and citizens of our nation are
afforded the privilege of prayer and the
principles upon which our nation was
founded and whereas we Unite with fellow
citizens to exercise the freedom we have
to gather in prayer while seeking
guidance provision and purpose for the
benefit of every individual in our state
as a whole now therefore we the mayor
and City Council of Las Cruces New
Mexico do hereby Proclaim May 4th 2023
as National Day of Prayer
thank you
I just want to thank the city for um
allowing this proclamation to pass
because it definitely means a lot to us
to be able to stand on the same ground
that our forefathers started with so
thank you
[Applause]
next up I'd invite David Lopez please
come on down
thank you for being here today
good to see you
for economic development week whereas
the international Economic Development
Council is the largest professional
Economic Development organization
dedicated to cervic serving economic
developers and whereas the international
and international Economic Development
Council provides leadership and
excellence in economic development for
communities members and partners through
conferences Training Services advisory
services and research in-depth
Publications public policy advocacy and
initiatives such as the accredited
Economic Development organizational
program and the certified economic
developer designation and whereas
economic developers within the city of
Las Cruces mavita that's how you say it
right it's
tough one and partners throughout Las
Cruces mveda throughout Las Cruces
promote economic well-being and quality
of life for our communities by creating
retaining and expanding jobs that
facilitate growth enhance wealth and
provide a stable tax base and whereas
economic developers in Las Cruces
stimulate and incubate entrepreneurism
in order to help establish the next
generation of new businesses which is
the Hallmark of the American economy and
whereas economic developers in Las
Cruces are engaged in a wide variety of
settings including rural and urban local
and state and federal governments
public-private Partnerships Chambers of
Commerce universities and a variety of
other institutions and whereas economic
developers in the United States attract
in Las Cruces attract and retrain high
quality jobs develop develop vibrant
communities and improve the quality of
life in our region and whereas economic
developers in Las Cruces work in the
city of Las Cruces within the state of
New Mexico and now therefore we the
mayor and City Council of Las Cruces New
Mexico do hereby proclaim the week of
May 8th so next week through May 12th as
economic development week in the city of
Las Cruces and remind individuals the
importance of this community celebration
that supports the expansion of career
opportunities and improving our quality
of life
presented on this day it is
[Applause]
mayor counselors I guess first let me
just thank you for having mevita be part
of this Proclamation today economic
development is very important but it's
not just about mavita there's uh for
everyone to know there's a lot of
teamwork and collaboration that's
involved to create economic prosperity
and growth in the region you know we
have to include the state of New Mexico
donana county of course the city of Las
Cruces and all the staff and private
sector out there that makes this happen
I want to say last two years especially
in working in collaboration with the
city of Las Cruces I've seen a growing
concerted effort and dedication and
commitment to economic development that
I've seen in in quite a long time that
is so refreshing to see and the results
are evident over the past two years
we've had announcements of over 1100 New
economic based jobs and over 40 million
dollars in new capital investment coming
into the Las Cruces area and committed
to the area
so that does not happen without that
collaborative teamwork so I want to
especially thank in addition to my board
and the private sector partners that
support us I want to thank the city
manager e for peely for his leadership
in all of this I'd also like to thank
Elizabeth Teeter as the Director of
economic development at her staff here
at the city of Las Cruces for their
collaborative efforts and then most most
of all I want to really thank the mayor
and city council for their Visionary
leadership and their commitment to
Economic Development so thank you very
much
[Applause]
I'd invite Annabelle Alvarez
please join me and anyone else if you
mark
for medical laboratory professionals
week so I'll read it and then you'll
have to okay great thank you for being
here
whereas the medical laboratory is a
critical member of the healthcare
infrastructure supporting the health of
all new Mexicans and whereas laboratory
professionals give The Gift of Health
through their commitment to producing
high quality accurate and timely test
results that contribute to the diagnosis
and treatment of many diseases and
conditions and whereas we celebrate
laboratory professionals who protect our
future by skillfully adapting to today's
evolving patient care and public health
challenges with resilience Innovation
and expertise
and whereas the laboratory Workforce
remains resilient in the face of
continually emerging Public Health
threats responding with the Poise and
and demonstrating versatility
whereas April 23rd through 29th is
recognized nationally as medical
laboratories professional week so last
last week
an annual celebration of medical
laboratory professionals and
Pathologists who play a vital role in
healthcare and patient advocacy
therefore now therefore we the mayor and
City Council of the city of Las Cruces
New Mexico do hereby Proclaim April 23rd
through 29 2023 as medical laboratory
professionals week and urged the
citizens of Las Cruces New Mexico to to
join us in recognizing the critical role
these workers play in our community
thank you
good afternoon everyone I'm honored to
be here on behalf of Tricor to receive
this Proclamation from mayor miyagishima
and the council declaring medical
laboratory professionals week in Las
Cruces thank you mayor and Council for
recognizing the important work that we
do as medical laboratory professionals
we play a vital role in healthcare we
are behind the scenes Heroes who perform
diagnostic tests analyze samples and
provide accurate results to doctors and
other Healthcare professionals that rely
on
to make crucial decisions about patient
care Tricor is proud to be
New Mexico's largest medical laboratory
with over 70 locations across the state
we perform over 12 million tests per
year which means that we touch the lives
of millions of New Mexicans every day
our new state-of-the-art Clinical
Laboratory opened in Las Cruces last
year this means that for Las Cruces we
can provide faster results because more
tests most tests are conducted right
here during the pandemic our work became
even more essential we have worked
tirelessly to test and track covid-19
cases provide Vital Information to
Public Health officials and help keep
our community safe but our work extends
Beyond covet 19. every day we help
diagnose and monitor a wide range of
illnesses from cancer to diabetes to
infectious diseases we are constantly
innovating and adapting to new
technologies and methods to improve
patient care so to my colleagues at
TriCore into medical laboratory
professionals everywhere I say thank you
thank you for your dedication your hard
work and your unwavering commitment to
improving patient care and thank you to
the mayor and the Council of Las Cruces
for recognizing our important
contribution
next I'd like to invite up some of our
Chamber of Commerce colleagues I believe
representatives of the green chamber the
greater chamber and the Hispanic chamber
are here so please come on up
for National Small Business Week
all right
thank you
this one was for you guys okay National
Small Business Week whereas for more
than 50 years the president of the
United States has issued a proclamation
announcing National Small Business Week
which recognizes the critical
contributions of America's entrepreneurs
and small business owners and whereas
more than half of Americans either own
or work for a small business and they
create about two out of every three new
jobs in the U.S each year and whereas as
part of the National Small Business Week
the U.S small business administration
takes the opportunity to highlight the
impact of outstanding entrepreneurs
small business owners and others from
all 50 states and U.S territories and
whereas every day they're working to
grow small businesses create 21st
century jobs Drive Innovation and
increase America's Global
competitiveness and whereas the National
Small Business Week is a time to honor
and celebrate America's entrepreneurs
and Innovative startups and whereas
National Small Business Week celebrates
resilience Innovation and economic power
in America's small business services and
Innovative startups and whereas this
week's long virtue this week's long
virtual Summit will acknowledge small
businesses from across the country for
their resilience Ingenuity creativity as
well as recognize SBA partners for their
involvement in entrepreneurial
development Disaster Recovery Government
Contracting Financial development and
overall support for small businesses and
Entrepreneurship
and whereas the greater Las Cruces
the Las Cruces green and Las Cruces
Hispano Chambers fully support small
businesses throughout our community and
strive to provide them with tools for
success and sustainability now therefore
we the mayor and City Council of Las
Cruces New Mexico do hereby proclaim the
week of April 30th through May 6 as
National Small Business Week
[Applause]
okay
thank you councilor current and thank
you Council and mayor in the city of Las
Cruces for this recognition
I have the honor of wearing multiple
hats and today I bring my hat from the
says the CEO of the Pres and president
of Las Cruces spring Chamber of Commerce
and we talk about the importance of
locally owned businesses we have desert
micro in the audience here a lot of
small business owners are every single
one of you is impacted by a small
business in this community we either
they either employ our friends or our
neighbors or our our neighbors or or our
family members and we always encourage
people to think local first and whenever
you're buying anything we ask you to
think about a local business first and
if that local business can't provide it
ask them to order it and if they can't
order it then
then you can go to a big box store but
supporting our locally owned businesses
is vital because they employ our family
members our neighbors and our friends
they keep money in our community think
about that we have some chain stores
that are coming into the community who
are building new buildings they put a
lot more strain on the infrastructure
because their buildings have to be their
trademark whereas so many of our small
businesses are already using existing
buildings they're putting the stress on
the infrastructure in the city but they
also keep money in our community and
they give back to local charities 350
percent more than do National change the
reason is because we know them and they
care about this community and they want
to make sure that this community thrives
and so I always encourage everybody to
think local first and on that note I'd
like to recognize one of our small
businesses who have been recognized by
the small business administration who
will be recognized this week it's Nancy
Bates of Jim magic she is the 2023 New
Mexico women-owned small business of the
year and so let's give her a round of
applause
she opened one of her businesses during
the pandemic and she has thrived and she
is a Better Business and an example in
this community so I encourage you all to
please think local first whenever you do
your shopping and thank you
foreign
thank you Senator president what your
title today
you know when Kerry was elected senator
some people asked me how that would be
from a chamber standpoint I said it's
good news because she carries that
message of small business Debbie Moore
president and CEO of the great Las
Cruces Chamber of Commerce Mr Mayor
today is my seventh anniversary as
president of the chamber
and if you know me at all you know one
of my loves is entrepreneurship and
small business so this was so apropos
that it ended up on my seventh
anniversary here in Las Cruces you know
as I thought about the seven years that
I've been here Lord knows we did not
expect the covid we did not expect that
time of our lives
but I wasn't surprised by the tenacity
and the drive of our small businesses in
this area first thing I saw in Las
Cruces was that they loved our community
they gave back to our community and they
played such a critical role in our
community so it's my been my pleasure
for the past seven years to lead the
greater Las Cruces Chamber of Commerce
I'm proud of our small businesses and I
just want to give a shout out to our
kids can program which honors our little
guys we have kids that are six years old
that are entrepreneurs all the way up to
17 April Christians and they had a big
event on Saturday so we're training our
own entrepreneurs and that's what makes
Las Cruces strong thank you
good afternoon everyone I share uh
Dooley in the excitement and I'll keep a
short thank you mayor thank you city
council for this wonderful Proclamation
we accept it on behalf of Curtis Roseman
the executive director of the Hispanic
chamber and Belia alvareza our chair uh
woman for the chamber board so I'm going
to keep it short I'm going to say Viva
Las Cruces and when I say Viva Las
Cruces everybody says Viva and that's
how wonderful it is to be here with
everybody today so Viva Las Cruces
gracias thank you
[Applause]
next up I will invite Alice Carruth
please come on up and anyone else if
you'd like to here
okay excellent good to see you it's this
is for National travel and tourism week
so thank you for being here today Alice
um
whereas travel and hospitality and
tourism is an economic Powerhouse for
every state and destination across the
country and has a critical role in the
economic prosperity of Las Cruces state
of New Mexico and the United States and
I just saw that we were ranked in the
top seven medium cities to visit or
something so it's particularly relevant
today whereas travel spending supports a
vibrant and Safe Community in Las Cruces
by generating over 60 million dollars in
local lodging Revenue in 2022 and
resulting in over 8 million dollars in
state and local Lodgers tax revenue from
the lodging industry to support
essential services such as education
emergency response Public Safety and
more and whereas travel enables success
for all Industries including agriculture
film art Health Care Defense Education
and more by driving sales growth
Innovation and creative operations that
move our economy our nation and Las
Cruces forward and whereas the travel
and tourism industry success will grow
lost this economy and the workforce
since prior
to the pandemic small businesses
accounted for 60 percent of the national
Leisure and Hospitality employment and
whereas travel and tourism is an
essential industry and the city of Las
Cruces boasts a diverse tourism industry
through vibrant art culture Cuisine
space history agriculture outdoor
recreation and much more and we must
continue to communicate the growing that
growing this industry leads to a strong
economy and fosters Community Prosperity
now therefore we the mayor and City
Council of Las Cruces New Mexico do
hereby proclaim the week of May 7th
through May 13 2023 as National travel
and tourism week and urge the citizens
of Las Cruces New Mexico to join us in
recognizing the critical role this
industry plays in our city
thank you
thank you mayor and City councilors for
recognizing this today as you can tell
I'm not a native New Mexican I've been
here though for 10 years and I Rose my
own green chili so please don't hold it
against me I sit on The Advisory Board a
visit Las Cruces and I have to say
they've done an incredible job over the
last few years particularly to continue
to build on our economy here and bring
people into the state of New Mexico and
show a case what a great City we have
everything from investing in murals so
that we can start promoting our city if
you haven't been to see the Connor more
the new one outside of visit Las Cruces
I highly recommend it to events like the
Mira Las Cruces event that was held this
Saturday over at the plaza which had an
incredible turnout of people not just
from the city but people came and
visited us so thank you very much for
the cities to be able to recognize this
today
next up I'd invite Judy Berryman please
two
up
along with the historic preservation
folks
and in case you all wonder why these
dates are all over the place we only
meet twice a month where we declare
Proclamation so all the weeks on either
side of them are also up for grabs so
just in case you're wondering about the
that
weird chronological time
thank you for being here
whereas from 1973 to 2004 National
preservation week was annually observed
during the month of May and recognition
of the country's Rich architectural
history and cultural heritage since and
since 2005 when the National Trust for
historic preservation expanded the event
to Encompass all four weeks of May and
whereas in December 2019 the city of Las
Cruces expanded its municipal code to
adopt a historic preservation ordinance
to declare as a matter of public policy
that the production preservation
maintenance care and use of historic
buildings and cultural properties is a
public necessity to the general welfare
of the people and beneficial to the
furtherance of the community's economic
prosperity and quality of life and
whereas the city's historic preservation
commission exercises his duties to
review and consider any potential
impacts whether positive or adverse upon
the alteration and demolition of
buildings within our local historic
districts and whereas the residences and
commercial buildings within the city's
designated historic districts and older
well-established neighborhoods benefit
from reinvesting in their maintenance
and upkeep to ensure sustainable
architectural practices for the
betterment of of the environment and the
city's economic health and vitality with
an objective of designation in the Las
Cruces register of cultural properties
and whereas in December 2021 the city of
Las Cruces attained certified local
government status through the United
States Department of the Interior
becoming the 10th CLG in the state of
New Mexico to affirm its commitment to
preservation ethic for the betterment of
our community while enjoying the
benefits of CLG status through grant
opportunities training and the
furtherance of preservation work to
improve the quality of life of residents
and visitors and now therefore we the
mayor and City Council of Las Cruces New
Mexico do hereby proclaim the month of
May 2023 as historic preservation month
and to join with communities across the
United States of America and celebrating
our nation's Rich history
[Applause]
thank you as chairperson we appreciate
this Proclamation and thank you very
much I'd like to note that I'd like to
thank everyone sitting behind us for all
their support and input on this
important commission that we're working
on
we've heard several people State earlier
the importance of Tourism the importance
of why Las Cruces is such a unique City
and part of that is because of our
historic background
it is a role of the commission to try
and identify protect and provide
programs that will introduce our
historical background to the entire
public and this is a very important
mission that we are very passionate
about and we encourage everyone from the
public to attend our meetings and to
focus on the idea that we are nothing
without knowing our history and so again
we thank you for all the support from
behind here and we look forward to all
the activities that will be going on
next month and for the rest of the year
thank you
[Applause]
thank you so much city councilors mayor
Mr peely really appreciate this award I
think it is very important and sort of
apropos that we this award is or this
Proclamation is coming today along with
Economic Development and Tourism I would
really challenge this city to really
start thinking about
um
tourism in the sense of Heritage tourism
becoming more important in this city
there's a lot to be that people
appreciate that people would come to see
this so I really hope that we can really
sort of piggy bank on on General
Economic Development and participate in
more Heritage tourism thank you very
much
[Applause]
in 1849 the city of Las Cruces was
founded by Don Pablo Melendez
and he created a city here
put it on the map on the Camino Real
so tourism
trade
and the the inclusion of people from all
over the world
it wasn't just people from Mexico that
settled Las Cruces we had prussians
Germans French Italians Arabs
Jewish and the black Americans
without that past we would not be
sitting here so we have trade and
tourism from back then and we still have
it now and we need to keep up the good
work thank you
thank you
thank you counselor if I can interject
something so for the next speakers if
you wouldn't mind when you speak at the
podium just identify yourself please
thank you
question
um I'm just I'm reading into the record
um this is for Jewish American heritage
month I don't think there's anyone here
to
thank you
whereas Jewish immigrants to America
ever since they first arrived to our
Shores in the 16th century have played a
central role in the creation growth
freedom and prosperity of and strength
of the United States of America and
whereas the history of the Jewish people
and the enduring values of the Jewish
faith were vital sources of information
for the founding of the United States
the Civil Rights Movement America's
Global Leadership in the cause of
freedom and Americans commitment to
social justice and many of our country's
most Central tenets
whereas through core Jewish beliefs such
as the creation of man in the image of
God the infinite value of every human
life the need for a weekly Sabbath and
the importance of Education
in the lives of children the Jewish
Community has helped to Define America's
character and values and whereas Jewish
citizens of the of Las Cruces play a
central role in the importance of our
Jewish Community including serving in
the armed forces of the United States
and the New Mexico National Guard
whereas the state of Israel is
celebrating its 75th anniversary and its
modern founding and emergence over the
last few decades and has been a beacon
of freedom and prosperity a world leader
in technology agriculture water
conservation medicine and all manner of
Innovations and whereas for 42 years
every president of the United States has
declared a period of time for
celebrating the contributions to the
unit for the United States for the
Jewish community's history Heritage and
culture and since 2006 the month of May
has been presidentially declared to be
Jewish American heritage month pursuant
to bipartisan resolution in Congress now
therefore we the mayor and City Council
of Las Cruces New Mexico do hereby
proclaim the month of May 2023 to be
Jewish American Heritage Month for the
city of Las Cruces and call upon all of
our citizens to commemorate this
occasion by appropriately celebrating
the contributions to our country in the
city of Las Cruces by the for the Jewish
community's history Heritage and culture
Council
[Applause]
next up I would invite the himez writers
writing Club
if there are everyone folks are leaving
not coming up on behalf of the Jemez
Riders
anyone from the Jemez Riders here
anyone who rides a motorcycle willing to
come up this is for motorcycle Heritage
Month okay
Motorcycle
Awareness Month and I I say this there's
no one here to receive this but as
someone who when I took my Motorcycle
Awareness class they told me you should
make eye contact with every person when
you drive up to an to an intersection to
make sure that it's safe for you to
proceed through and I've experienced
that typically only one in four people
that I encounter at those intersections
actually see the motorcycle rider at
that intersection I think this is
particularly
relevant I've experienced that and so
Motorcycle Awareness Month whereas New
Mexico's extensive Road systems provide
some of the most magnificent writing in
the United States making Las Cruces an
ideal location for motorcycle use and
whereas many registered motorcyclists to
undergo extensive training and testing
in order to obtain a license call Las
Cruces home and enjoy the roadways we
have to offer
whereas writers face a higher risk on
the road than those operating Vehicles
statistics show that those operating
vehicles are at fault in the majority of
accidents involving a motorcycle and
whereas it's imperative that motorists
always exercise caution and stay alert
while traveling on Las Cruces Road
systems and whereas the national highway
traffic safety administration has
declared may as Motorcycle Awareness
Month and it is the desire of the
mayor's this mayor's office to join the
nhtsa in raising awareness for the
growing number of motorcyclists in Las
Cruces roadways in order to help prevent
accidents and most importantly save
lives now therefore we the mayor and
City Council of Las Cruces New Mexico do
hereby proclaim the month of May 2023 as
Motorcycle Awareness Month in Las Cruces
and encourage all new Mexicans to renew
their commitment to safe driving
practices watch for motorcyclists and be
aware of all those who share the road
[Applause]
next up George Pearson police and anyone
else
for
National Bike month and I'm so happy to
see you
please
I'm happy you're here too Ashley
whereas the bicycle is a viable and
environmentally and economically sound
form of transportation and an excellent
form of recreation and whereas the
league of American bicyclists the
Messiah Valley Metropolitan planning
organization the city of Las Cruces and
Las Cruces Public Schools local cycling
clubs and independent bicyclists are
promoting greater public awareness of
bicycle operation and safety education
and whereas the city of Las Cruces in
2021 earned a four-year renew renewal
bronze level designation we can do
better than bronze sorry I'm just making
I'm making an inner vote I think we need
yeah no I I hear you I'm going to say
silver next year that's my hope
designation as a bicycle friendly
Community from the league of American
bicyclists and the city has adopted its
active Transportation plan and complete
streets ordinances and whereas the city
of Las Cruces continues to improve
bicycle rights and Trail routes and
trails for transportation and Recreation
and the city along with the Messiah
Valley mpo and Las Cruces Public Schools
support the safe routes to school
program and whereas bicyclists of all
ages throughout Las Cruces the Messiah
Valley and the nation will be promoting
bicycling as an environmentally friendly
alternative to the automobile and a
wholesome activity that provides health
during the month of May 2023 through
group rides events and commuting to work
in school
now therefore we the mayor and City
Council of Las Cruces New Mexico do
hereby proclaim the month of May as
National Bike month and the week of May
1st through 5th as Las Cruces bike to
school week and the week of May 15th
through 20th as Las Cruces Bike To Work
Week and May 19th as Las Cruces Bike To
Work Day throughout our proud City and
urge all who support bicycling to
participate in the events plant
thank you for being here
[Applause]
thank you I'm George Pearson lots of
activities going on for bike month we
started out this past weekend with the
family bike Fiesta at Lynn middle school
and on May 6 we're going to have the
velacrosis bike swap visibility ride on
the morning of May 8th on a Monday
morning we leave at 7 15 from the Train
Museum
as stated May 15th through 19th is a
Bike To Work Week so everybody should
take a moment and get the bike to work
we've had some reports from employees
that say they're much happier when their
bosses bike to work than the days that
their bosses drive to work
um the right of Silence will be May 17th
at the Messiah Plaza at 6 pm and then
May 19th is the Bike To Work Day and
after back to work day at five o'clock
valencris is going to sponsor a meet and
greet at Little Toad Brewery on May 27th
we're going to do a bike to Market
and on June 3rd an Adaptive cycle parade
at the Messiah Community Center and this
next week is a bike to school week so
I'm going to ask Ashley to talk about
safe routes to school and all the
activities for your bike to work back to
school
uh thank you George um mayor city
council and members of the public my
name is Ashley Curry I'm the safe routes
to school coordinator for Las Cruces
public schools and we are on I don't
even know I think we've been doing this
for over 10 years for back to school we
have most of our schools participating
in National back to school day that
means that kids gather together put on
their helmets have an adult on the front
and a caboose adult to the back and they
bike to school so can you imagine
starting your day with having had a bike
ride so we're looking forward to
supporting many of our students out on
bikes this coming weekend in the next
coming weeks as well I just also wanted
to say thank you to the city for your
support of our family bike Fiesta and in
particular to Barbara de Leon she led a
bike ride of the small children through
Young Park so very much appreciate the
continued support also the police
department was out there clocking kids
as fast as they could go I think we had
one who went to 22 miles an hour pretty
cool so we just continue to appreciate
all that you do for us in our community
and for the students who are walking and
riding their bikes to school and again a
big shout out also to George Pearson I
don't think he gets enough recognition
for all he does in our community
thank you
[Applause]
I think that's it for the proclamations
yeah great job
[Applause]
we've got our money's worth uh this
afternoon okay so now we're going to go
to the conflict of interest statement
this is where I'll ask if any member of
the city council city manager or city
manager staff has any known conflict of
interest on any item on the agenda none
by floaters
I also have a additional disclosure
for the conflict of interest for May 1st
2023 as part of our agreement with HUD
or the Housing and Urban Development
this initial this conflict of interest
disclosure is requested regarding the
following agencies who are being
considered for funding as part of the
2023 action plan on the non-consent
agenda
see Valley Casa Casa de peregrinos la
casa Mesilla Valley Community of Hope
Jardin De los Ninos Messiah Valley
Habitat for Humanity Thomas development
company La Pinon and Catholic Charities
excuse me
okay so now we're going to go to public
participation this is where members of
the public can speak to city council for
a total of seven minutes
three minutes for uh just whatever you'd
like to say in four minutes for items
that are on the agenda when you come up
here to council we just need you to
state your name and we ask that it not
be pertaining to any pending litigation
or anything that's on the agenda we ask
that you could wait until that item on
the agenda comes and then you ask your
questions
so I usually start on my left and
there's no one on the first row so I'll
start on the second row anyone on the
second row
third row
that's you Fred no fourth row
fifth row
sixth row or one yeah okay
my name is Juan Garcia
I would like to thank
LCPD and the city manager for the recent
Joint Task Force effort within New
Mexico State Police as budget planning
boost closer
please keep in mind a need for a very
strong police force to keep us safe
during the last city council meeting
councilman Cuomo accurately stated quote
we kicked the solution to another
neighborhood and the director of
Community of Hope stated via email quote
what about the rights of people sleeping
outside what about their safety just
because a person is on house does not
make them a risk to anybody that's basic
fear-mongering valid points and I agree
all the comments were in reference
through the eradication of individuals
who were performing illegal and unsafe
acts endangering a whole neighborhood
burn Lake
after careful thinking I want to propose
the quote last cruises in my backyard
pilot initiative that I am sure the
council will support and join with me
the first proposed location is the area
directly behind where I currently reside
yes behind my house
and I have the package which I will send
to the council the objectives provide
selected homeless individuals a safe
space to camp in certain neighborhoods
throughout the county give the homeless
an opportunity to stabilize dispel idea
homeless are all criminals an
opportunity for citizens to work with a
city council
also other elected officials can
participate this would be a 30-day pilot
program with opportunity to extend
the initiative criteria each residents
will allow a maximum of five campus
intents or sleeping bags if space
permits in the front or backyard a
hygiene station will be provided next to
each encampment campers will obey and
comply with all ordinances and laws
no fires trash panhandling Etc
bothering the neighbors violations will
result in immediate removal
neighborhoods may elect not to allow
citizens will have no responsibility to
the homeless and I would like two-thirds
of the city council to join me and
participate
I have a diagram of the proposed
location which I will provide to you
I also have a photo of my residence
behind my residence that I will share
with you so that if you are willing to
join me you can do so
I know that from time to time
individuals think that when I speak
about crime that I'm anti-homeless I am
not as I've said before I could be
homeless tomorrow
so let's get together and let's show the
community if you're really sincere about
this about what you're saying that we
can do it thank you
[Applause]
thank you okay so that was the sixth row
anyone else on the sixth row
okay seventh row
City councilors and mayor my name is
Sarah Smith
I was very glad to see your agenda item
today for referrals to medication
assisted treatment also known as the map
program for substance abuse
I know that the map program has been
successfully used in other states and I
wanted to thank you for moving this
forward
and thanks to fire chief Jason Smith for
bringing this item forward
as you all know Las Cruces has been
struggling with increased drug abuse
issues as well as the crime and
homelessness that often come along with
drug abuse drug abuse
as a mother of two children I have
become increasingly concerned about the
fact that drug use seems to have become
normalized in our community
to give you a few recent examples in the
desert near my family's home we recently
found a crack or meth pipe lying on the
ground this is very close to my home in
an area where my children and dogs play
I recently saw several homeless people
smoking marijuana on the stage of the
Downtown Plaza in the middle of the
afternoon they looked totally at ease
even though it is illegal to smoke
marijuana in public
last week our Homeschool Group was
participating in the city's youth
service week so we were cleaning up
Apodaca Park
while we were there in two different
areas of the park people were smoking
marijuana such that we were having to
direct the kids away from those areas
and last Thursday my 16 year old
daughter was driving us home from my
kids class at the traffic light on the
corner of Maine and Elks I looked next
to me to see the man driving the vehicle
next to us smoking crack or meth at the
traffic light he had a tube sticking out
of his mouth was holding some foil with
one hand and had a lighter in his other
hand to burn underneath the foil and
take a hit
this was in the middle of the afternoon
and obviously I directed my daughter to
let that man passeth since he was
driving while doing drugs
these are just a few examples showing
how normalized drug usage is becoming in
Las Cruces I appreciate that you are
implementing this map program to refer
people to medication-assisted treatment
and I hope you will continue to find
more solutions to the drug crisis that's
plaguing our community thank you
thank you sir
anyone else on the seventh row
good afternoon mayor and counselors my
name is Tammy Pickering and you may
notice my shirt and formulate an opinion
of my intention
I want you to know why I'm here
I have seen this city deteriorate in the
six years we have moved here
we used to play tennis at lions
and had no issues when we first moved
here
occasionally we would encounter homeless
but really no problems
it is a very nice
but somewhat noisy location
I used to teach tennis lessons there for
with a lctpa which is the Las Cruces
tennis players Association
over the years it has become a slightly
dangerous place
there were recent incidents in the
women's restrooms that made it unsafe
for us to enter without a racket which
doesn't make sense to me
so I avoid playing there anymore yet I
did not involve myself in City politics
and I tried to avoid politics in general
I talk my parents into moving here three
years ago into the Trails West Community
because we thought it would be a safe
place
after all it's gated
it seemed nice and peaceful
and then we started hearing reports of
little incidents involving
property theft
things taken from their homes or from
their places or from their cars
and then my Dad's cousin who also moved
there
his two electric bicycles were stolen
and they were locked
and I get really tired of hearing
citizens being accused or or being the
victims actually being told that it's
their fault that their stuff was stolen
his was locked
still
I did not get involved
but it began to feel like something
needed to be done
a police representative actually talked
to the residents of Trails West
and let them know about the problems
they were seeing
in addition to the fact that they needed
to be more Vigilant in community
policing themselves into paying
attention
and that there was a shortage of police
officers
these are people who are generally 70
plus years old
finally two personal scary incidents
later
I felt like enough was enough
and I can no longer sit in silent
expectation that the city will fix it
I have listened to your arguments that
the problem is legislative while I have
watched at the same time
calling on legislators to defend you
ccia is not anti-women
we are asking
for your help in addressing the crime
I'm sorry thank you yeah okay thank you
so much
okay so that was uh seventh row
yeah if there's more people on the
seventh row please feel free to come to
the front and
you can
good afternoon mayor counselors my name
is Randy Pickering
my wife and I as she just stated with
moved to Las Cruces in 2017. and over
the past two to three years we've
noticed increased criminal activity we
have personally experienced theft as
well as our friends and relatives
I'm here because of a recent event in
which my wife was almost assaulted
all because she came to the defense of
what appeared to be a homeless man
getting severely beaten
after police arrived we discovered that
this person had just beaten the man and
a woman shortly before he was beating on
this person
this demonstrates that he was very
capable of assaulting my wife
to my knowledge the person was
apprehended I have no idea if this
person is back on the street or not nor
if so did he receive the help he needed
to safely return to society
I think we can all agree that we want
our children our parents friends spouses
to feel safe when we go to the grocery
store
due to this event I started looking at
crime rate data I discovered that New
Mexico is the second worst state in the
nation for violent crimes I further
noted that Las Cruces saw a 27 percent
increase in violent crime in 2022 versus
I've heard this council state loud and
clear there's necessity for police
reform
our city is already short staffed on
police officers as well as shortage in
the Sheriff's Department
so I'm very concerned that there could
possibly be more reductions in the
police department
as evidenced by the recent collaboration
between LCPD and the New Mexico State
Police more police presence and active
policing does make a difference
our officers are under tremendous stress
whenever they answer these calls and go
to these situations
and I personally want to avoid I
wouldn't run into those situations
so before proceeding with these work
sessions on police reform I would ask
have any of you considered a few days of
a ride along with officers have you
taken time to view the videos in which
the officer was successful in diffused
into situations
I know we all see the videos where
things went wrong
but how much effort is given to a
greater majority of time where things
went right
with all this said my request simply
boils down to asking this Council
to proceed with this much time and
energy focused on reducing crime in our
city county and state as you do focusing
on a low percentage of Bad actors among
the good men and women through doing
their best to protect the citizens
thank you
thank you that was seven throw anyone
else in the seventh row
a throw
last row so no one else on my left is
that right is that correct
so now I'm going to switch to my right
for sure it looks like staff so it is a
second row anyone in the second row
third row
fourth row
fifth fifth row
sixth row I recognize you Peter you're
gonna get me this time come on come on
up
you grew you grew a beard in three weeks
took your hat off
I got you now okay I have a I have an
app that I can no I'm just kidding
I also got very old
uh for the record my name is Peter
Goodman
a couple of quick things to say the
first
first of which is to Randy with all due
respect if you look at the figures where
they have put in civilian police
oversight boards crime has tended to go
down
and where there have been the kind of
incidents that
make some of us feel that that's
necessary
uh crime has gone up
so what you're looking for which I think
we're all looking for less crime is not
at all inconsistent with uh having more
and more thoughtful ears and eyes on the
law enforcement problem
um
I also want to commend everybody who's
spoken so far the decibel level or the
rancor level has gone down wonderfully
in the last few months and I wanted to
mention one thing from this past weekend
when I gathered there was a wonderful
event the farmers market was closed on
Saturday for that
but as I understand it the setup was all
done on Friday night
and the event didn't start till two on
Saturday so that the city the people I
know it's not you guys but whoever
whatever whoever in the administration
was doing that project first of all
could have given better notice to the
shopkeepers in the area who didn't know
what was happening whereas the farmers
market had told all its vendors
and secondly
the farmers market could have gone
forward as normal
and just quit an hour early
so I'd suggest for next time somebody
think about trying to do that thanks
thank you okay so that was a sixth row
anyone else on the sixth row
seventh row
the one on a seventh row eighth row
last row
okay
that's interesting I am there's people
out here I haven't seen in months so I'm
just curious what what you're only here
for that one's good okay so that's
that's that
ends our public participation
so I have a closed meeting statement to
read
city council City Council made in closed
session at 1107 a.m April 17 2023 the
following members were in attendance
counselors Flores Quran Ben Como Graham
Gandara and myself can be agashima stat
present was Luis Robles outside attorney
Jocelyn Garrison interim City attorney
Evo pilly city manager Barbara DeLeon
chief administrative officer Bonnie
DeWitt she's with Luis Robles the
outside attorney Sonia Delgado assistant
city manager hikani temo payo assistant
city manager the meeting adjourned at 11
54 a.m for the record Las Cruces City
Council made a closed session discussed
those limited items as stated in the
Post-it notice
number one to discuss Penny litigation
regarding Melendez Melendez versus city
of Las Cruces Police Department
d-307 hyphen CV
2020-02571 which is closed pursuant to
nmsa 1978 section
10-15-1h number seven and number two to
discuss Penny litigation regarding the
city of Las Cruces versus
Amerisource virgin drug Corporation
t a l 2 colon 21 hyphen CV hyphen
00336 civil action number
21-00336 which is closed pursuant to
nmsa 1978 section
10-15-1h number seven
okay so next is the acceptance of the
agenda and counselor Quran asked to
remove 7.1
please from the consent agenda thank you
if there's nothing else I need a motion
a second to accept the agenda as
presented with 7.1 being removed for
discussion
motion made by counselor Flores second
by councilman Como to accept the agenda
as presented with item 7.1 removed for
discussion Christine
this is an motion to accept the agenda
as presented with removal of item 7.1
for discussion councilor abeda is absent
councilgram yes councilor Ben Comal yes
councilor Korean yes councilor Flores
yes councilor Gandara is absent and
mayor yes
okay 7.1 resolution 23-116
I need a motion a second please
second
by Council Quran counselor did you have
a question or would you like a full
presentation on this item sorry Chief I
would like a presentation sorry I should
have I should have given you a warning
but we talked about this already so I
know you've got it
okay I think you heard you wanted a full
presentation okay good
good afternoon mayor
members of city council fire chief Jason
Smith today I'll be presenting the
resolution to sports city staff in
providing education referral information
to our citizens regarding substance
abuse treatment and those options within
our community
foreign
had its start with the health policy
Review Committee on March 1st 2023 we
had a presentation on medication
assisted treatment by Athena Huckabee
from ideal option
the guidance from there was to create a
policy a resolution for City staff on
substance abuse Outreach and that's what
we're bringing forward to you today
here are some of our area providers and
stakeholders that are listed we also
have several of them in the audience
today that are willing to speak if you
have specific questions as they are the
subject matter experts and if we could
if our guest would just all stand so we
could see who they are and acknowledge
them for attending
so several groups here that can help us
out with that and I appreciate their
support
[Applause]
real quick also a way to look at our
area providers and where our citizens
can go for those resources here's a map
of the providers that we have within the
city and I hope we captured all of them
I also want to give credit to our case
manager from our light program Wes Smith
who is in in the audience there go ahead
West sorry put you on the spot sir
uh he helped out as well as our
assistant management analyst in our GIS
Department in developing uh this picture
here so here are all the locations you
can see them with the red plus there's
also a little bus icon next to those so
you can see how far these locations are
from our bus routes all of them are
under half a mile some of them are very
close to the to the nearest bus stop
so our substance abuse so we want to
really Define our opioid use disorder as
well as substance abuse disorder and
then alcohol use we have in the United
States according to the CDC over a
hundred thousand deaths from April 2020
through April 2021 and just as a note of
safety of what to do if you think
someone is overdosing on any substance
is to call 9-1-1 immediately
if you think it's a narcon a narcotic
overdose or they're just not responsive
you have access to Narcan or naloxone
you can administer that keep the person
awake and breathing if possible leave
the person on their side to prevent them
from aspirating or choking and then stay
with that person if it's safe to do so
until Emergency Services arrive
some of our experience on the fire side
responding to substance abuse calls here
is our experience from 2022 January 1st
all the way to April 19th of this year
we've had responses to alcohol abuse 292
times narcotics 153 withdrawal from
alcohol 62 times and all other substance
abuse calls 86. so it is a pretty
significant call volume it's almost two
calls per day
some additional data from the CDC they
looked at information from April 2020
through the 21st overdose deaths
Nationwide over 75 000 are New Mexico
data that is believed to be under
underreported from 2021 12 months prior
over a thousand deaths and then November
of 22 2022 953.
there's also some information regarding
a specific study that comes out of 24
States and the District of Columbia
where in that time frame of January
through June of 2019 they had over 16
000 reports of overdose death 80 percent
of those involved at least one opioid
and then they also found which is very
interesting almost 63 of those deaths
there was at least one opportunity to
provide prevention
uh here are those areas where they
identified in the study of where there
was potential to provide an intervention
a recent release from an institution uh
previous overdose a prior mental health
diagnosis if they've ever been treated
for substance abuse disorder previously
times when a bystander was present and
then also the Fatal drug use was
actually witnessed so there are a lot of
opportunities
for intervention and I think that is
kind of where we're driving this
resolution is when we have those
opportunities presented to staff that we
take advantage of that to try to direct
people into substance abuse treatment
some of the treatment modalities that we
discussed with medications for opioid
use disorder as well as medication
assisted treatment that is not only
specific to opioids but also can touch
on alcohol
12-step facilitation therapy outpatient
counseling and inpatient Rehabilitation
specifically with medications there are
several medications used in mood as well
as mat Methadone bupreno for that's a
hard one
bupren norfin nitroxone and naloxone
which is Narcan
some of the effectiveness of
medication-assisted treatment found in a
journal entry from National academies of
science it is found to Be an Effective
use of an Agonist for medication and
treatment for an indefinite period of
time basically using it as long as they
need to is the safest option for
treating opioid use disorder so there
are some things with that treatment that
are very important it reduces the use of
other opioids it reduces uh
chances of death up to 50 percent and it
also has been found in areas where it's
used to reduce criminal activity
this resolution also has support in
Elevate Las Cruces our comprehensive
plan
Community Prosperity says supporting
programs that improve the health and
wellness of all residents as well as
Community livability providing
opportunities for residents to improve
their mental and physical health
so some of the possibilities that we
have for providing that referral
information that education when it
presents us to us is Partnerships with
our providers and as you can see here we
have lots of Partnerships within our
community that will help us
we need to serve as a collection of
resources where we're not providing the
care but we're actually finding out
where our citizens can go to receive
this and then Outreach activities we
need to maximize our chances for
overdose prevention uh things with our
light program with mih our police and
fire departments as well as things like
Transit recently there was Transit
administered Narcan to one of their
their writers or somebody they came
across that was vital in keeping that
person alive we also can work on our
employees by providing employee
education and Outreach as well as
providing some of these services for
substance use disorder
and we also have in the fire department
our community risk reduction activities
our line of business that has prevention
mih and the light program
so with that our cancel options are
there and if I can stand for any
questions and I think if there's
anything specific I'll rely on our
partners to answer anything
all right thank you chief
thank you Chief very much thank you I'm
really glad that you presented I was sad
to see it on the consent agenda because
I felt like you were gonna have some
good stuff so thank you all for for
being here who have supported this and
brought it to the health PRC
um where Chief Smith really saw an
opportunity for for us to have sort of
guidance for our orientation toward this
I'm going to take a slightly more
political
sort of critical role and not ask to ask
you any questions Chief you don't have
to get involved in politics but I would
say uh uh well it's policy I suppose
this this is a policy but I would urge
us to think about how our contracts with
places like the Detention Center are
written to emphasize our prioritization
of this going forward I feel critical of
of detention centers generally they
don't regularly or routinely provide
medication assisted treatment and I
would ask that as we negotiate it or
think about the conversations that
happen on an ongoing basis as we give as
we pay the Detention Center that this
become a part of that and and I would
expect it given the investment that we
do that this would be something that
would be included in the detention
Center's regular routine protocols so
I'm just going to put that out there as
as my policy orientation to add on to
this or to support it in addition so
anyway thank you chief for the thing and
thank you Athena for coming to present
and all of the staff including one of my
former students hey Kaylee uh here to to
support that so thank you for being here
thank you yes you can totally clap for
that I agree thank you
um counselor for your work with our
colleagues on bringing this forward and
I'm chief for your presentation I really
appreciate it and of course for all the
partners being here
um so a couple things I did
um I do know that the governor recently
signed a Senate bill for 25
which is specifically for County
Detention Facility treatment programs
um and so I even though I think we'd
recently had the Detention Center come
give us a presentation I'd love for them
to return and talk to us about how they
plan to effectively Implement such
programs because I think it is critical
and now it is law so I think you know
folks are seeing the how critical this
is
um can you go back to the list of all
the partners
this is a great list I think often
um and I appreciate everyone who's here
and those who couldn't make it because I
think often I certainly talk about the
huge lack of mental health and substance
abuse resources that we have in the city
and so I definitely I say that often and
so I don't want to dismiss that there is
actually a lot of you doing this kind of
work here and really appreciate you all
I would love to engage with these
providers if you're all interested in a
conversation about
Bolder ideas on overdose prevention I
know that there are models that exist in
Canada and New York City around overdose
prevention sites and I know that people
have a hard time sometimes wrapping
their head around what those could look
like but I really would love to engage
providers if you're interested in having
that conversation
um
you know maybe we can start small and
potentially bring it to work session at
one point but I do think that it's
that it is
um the next step for our community and
and how we do overdose prevention so I
just those were my only comments thanks
so much everyone
okay so that's what the council is there
any members of the public could wish to
have any have any questions or comments
they'd like to ask
yes sir if you just come forward please
just state your name
you have four minutes to speak
thank you I won't take nearly that much
time
Mr Mayor and Council my name is Dr Ned
Rubin I'm here as the chair of the
unified prevention Coalition of donana
County
and clearly we support and appreciate
the resolution today I would just like
to remind you that in addition to
treatment you have an opportunity to
distribute specifically primary
prevention material at the same time
that the staff
and the employees of the city are
encountering the public so there's not
only information about where people can
go to get help for the problem but what
they might do in their families to
prevent problems from occurring down the
road the unified prevention Coalition
will be happy to help develop and
provide that material for the city
should you decide to proceed with that
in the future
thank you okay thank you and I think
what I'd like to do probably here in the
in the near future is to invite the
county manager and the doniana County
Detention
manager to Council on a work session to
kind of explain how how they derive the
payment I can just tell tell you how it
used to be it used to be the first day
or two that a city resident is arrested
and placed in the Detention Center is
not no charge but after 48 hours and
they start charging us I don't know 75
80 a day but I think it would be good to
let them come in here and kind of
explain how it works and then I think
ask the questions that you have some of
the comments that you presented I have
heard some of the the comments that
you've mentioned I have had that checked
out I I can tell you that Fernando
Macias and his team they run a very
professional unit over there but
nonetheless I think it's important that
we'll bring them here and ask to kind of
just let us know how things work over
there
okay so if there's nothing further
moved in second Christine
Sunday motion to approve resolution
23-116 counselor beta
is absent councilgram
councilor Ben Comal yes councilor Koran
yes counselor Flores yes counselor
Gandara is absent and mayor yes
okay
okay now we're at item 8.1 and the
public hearing is uh on and this is is
there anyone here it's eight
2 23 PM is there anyone here who wishes
to speak here at the for or against
approving a whole wholesaler liquor
license to Premier Distributing Company
LLC located at 380 Alliance Drive Las
Cruces New Mexico
PM the public hearing is now closed so I
will entertain a motion to adopt
resolution
23-119 so Luke Graham second by flip
by councilor Graham second by counselor
Flores are there any questions members
of the public
seeing none Christine
oh yes sir all right okay I just need
you to come forward please
thank you for the approval upon behalf
of the minister can you state your name
please Rick velardi uh got two questions
once it's approved what is the timeline
for it to get to Santa Fe we haven't we
haven't approved it yet it's just public
hearing okay sorry that's okay all right
we're about ready to
but you messed it up but I'm just
kidding I'm just messing with it I'm
just kidding people
okay
so we're Christine four years
okay this is on the mission to approve
resolution 23-119 counselor beta is
absent councilgram yes counselor by Como
yes councilor cran yes counselor Flores
yes counselor Gandara is absent and
mayor yes okay now we've approved it and
uh usually it goes to the city manager's
office and he gives it to the city
attorneys and then they sign off on it
and then they send it through
so I don't know a week to two weeks
[Music]
oh
yeah she can go through Valerie okay you
so you'll work with this young lady here
okay okay great
okay so uh it's 2 25 p.m we are probably
another public hearing is is on is there
anyone here in the audience who wishes
to speak here they're for or against
uh approving a liquor license for craft
distiller liquor license to ice box
Brewing
LC doing business as icebox Distilling
Company located at 2825 West Picacho
Avenue Las Cruces New Mexico 88007
okay see none the public hearing is
closed it's 2 26 p.m so with that
entertain a motion to adopt resolution
23-120
second gram okay motion bid my counselor
Florida second by councilor Graham
any other questions before we go to the
vote
singing on Christine
this is on the motion to approve
resolution
23-120 counselor of beta is absent
councilor Graham yes yes councilman Como
yes counselor Korean yes counselor
Flores yes councilor Gandara is absent
and mayor yes
okay so now we're going to move thank
you Valerie
try to talk a little bit more next time
not just joking 8.3 resolution
23-121 need a motion a second move to
approve Grant second by Flores should be
by Council Graham second by counselor
Flores and looks like Kevin Wilson will
be discussing
good afternoon Marion City members of
city council the resolution my name is
Kevin Wilson I'm with uh those
uh I've changed departments sorry I'm
with the city managers Department as a
Housing Development coordinator excuse
that today I'm bringing forward to you a
resolution to request the distribution
and approval of the grant Awards to the
public service Health and Human Services
agencies
this is a competitive application we're
in year two of this and we plan to use
the the uh sorry the award amounts were
determined through a competitive process
last year city council adopted an
investment strategy to fund these Public
Service organizations with the use of
interest earned from the Telstra
facility fund
the plan is to use approximately six
hundred thousand dollars per fiscal year
uh over four years to support the
physical mental and developmental
well-being of the people of Las Cruces
we have a list of the 19 organizations
that were funded
um
and they are all non-profits throughout
the city of Las Cruces
coming to a total of 599 thousand
dollars because math is hard to make on
19.
we also would like to point out that the
health and treatment services advisory
committee is to be comprised of seven
people at this point in time we have
four vacancies so
um any vacancies we can fill would be
greatly appreciated
I now open this to questions
okay thanks Kevin questions
members of members of the public
seen none mayor oh I'm sorry I haven't
it's not necessarily on a
programs I have more of a question on
the on the process in the advisory
committee can I ask about that yes
um
this is a bit problematic right
um I think it would prove more
problematic issues of Quorum and those
kinds of things I am wondering if there
is room to revamp this committee
and if that could be possible
mayor and councilor Ben Cuomo I do
believe that we've done that with other
committees and if we could look outside
of the normal parameters of of selecting
members it might be easier to to fill
the vacancies with concerned and and
devoted citizens here's what I'll do in
my Council comments I'll make a
about how
to go about changing this committee
thank you I appreciate it thank you
thank you
okay so no no other comments members of
the public seeing on Christine
this is on the motion to approved
resolution
23-121 counselor of beta is absent
Council Graham yes councilor Ben Como
yes councilor Korean yes counselor
Flores yes councilor Gandara is absent
and mayor yes
okay item 8.4 resolution 23-122
move to approved Grant
second by Flores Okay motion Bay by
councilor Graham second by counselor
Flores and looks like Cynthia Villanueva
will be presenting
good afternoon Mr Mayor members of
council Cynthia Villanueva management
analyst with housing and Neighborhood
Services
the resolution before you today is
adoption and approval of submission of
the 2023 action plan
as part of the
2021-2025 Consolidated plan
the action plan is a required document
outlining how the city will utilize its
funding to address Housing and Community
Development needs as identified in the
Consolidated plan
it allocates Community Development block
grant funds as well as home investment
partnership program funds
which are entitlement funds awarded to
the city from the U.S Department of
Housing and Urban Development
our anticipated allocations are based on
the total award amount of approximately
1.75 million dollars
the estimated program income is
generated through the repayment of loans
the following projects are how we are
allocating that funding some of it is
statutory through regulation and the
others are through a competitive RFP
process
Administration funds are mostly staff
salaries as well as implementation of
the programming
cdbg admin is capped at 20 percent of
our allocation
Thomas development is for multi-family
development as we alternate between
single and multi-family developments
each year and 2023 is a multi-family
year
that project is for an 80 unit senior
apartment complex known as pedrina
La Pinon is for flooring
Casa de peregrinos is for the solar
project in the parking lot of their new
facility
and the home rehab program also includes
the mobile home ramp program
these are the public service
recommendations which combine to a total
of a hundred and seventy thousand
dollars these were voted on in the
Health and Human Services advisory
committee
the home recommendations
admin again is mostly staff salaries
with home admin capped at 10 percent
Toto operating will go toward Messiah
Valley habitat staff salaries
and Messiah Valley habitat is for
single-family homes Thomas development
again is for the 80 unit senior complex
and then Mesilla Valley Community of
Hope tenant-based rental assistance
and here are your standard Council
options and I'll stand for questions
about members of members of the public
Christine
this is on the motion to approve
resolution
23-122 counselor of beta is absent
consogram
yes
councilor Ben Como yes councilor Koran
yes counselor Flores yes answer Gandara
is absent and mayor yes
okay next item is action item so
so let me explain a couple things
so I wasn't going to be here on May 15th
right so I was gonna I was I was going
to go somewhere and then my older second
oldest brothers who doesn't live here in
town he says hey Ken I wanna
take you to lunch and watch one of your
meetings near one of your meetings
because you know he doesn't get out
often
I said are you serious no I was thinking
okay well
okay then the only thing I can do is
either move this meeting to the morning
so that hopefully we end around you know
noon or so because I have still catch a
flight later on that day
and I said well let me see what council
says one way or the other I'm gonna go
have lunch with them I'm gonna so it's
whether you you make me come to work at
nine o'clock or I take the day off so
that's basically what this is for
we do we need a motion yeah so we need a
motion to vote to approve move to
approve approved mayor Ken's family time
second
okay motion made Mike
Council no you guys are going to be
working no I'm just kidding I'm
emotionally my counselor Graham second
by counselor Flores yeah if you guys
want to pay your own way
so
um to move the time
for May 15 to 9 A.M instead of 1pm
okay
Christine
this is on the motion to change the time
of the May 15 2023 regular meeting from
1 pm to 9 00 a.m counselor Aveda is
absent Council Graham yes councilor Ben
Como yes ish
that's getting there yes councilor
Korean yes councilor Flores yes steak
and lobster please
councilor Gandara is absent and mayor
yes thank you very much
I appreciate it okay so next is board
appointments and this is to the
affordable housing advisory committee
Randy Rankin new appointment Carol Wood
Kane new appointment Ruth
Jarry new appointment
here all at once
separately okay so on Randy Rankin need
a motion a second please move to approve
made by counselor
Graham second by councilman Como to
appoint Randy Rankin to the housing
affordable housing advisory committee
Christine
this is on the motion to appoint Randy
Rankin to the affordable housing
advisory committee councilor I beta is
absent councilor Graham yes councilor
Ben komal yes councilor Koran yes
counselor Flores yes
is absent and mayor yes okay next is
Carol Wood Kane to be appointed to the
affordable housing advisory committee
okay counselor grandma made the motion
is there a second
Corin so by Quran mayor can I ask a
question yes I am only because
don't recall seeing these folks
you mean these people these folks like
resume or anything did I miss it oh they
sent them to me no
I don't remember seeing them did you all
see them like their resumes and stuff
just to the mayor
anyone apparently I don't know how
Yvonne got it
she likes to break into my email and
look at all my stuff so I
I don't want to delay anything but me
but requests that we
um wait for two more weeks
well I don't have a problem with it I'm
probably not going to change my my
selection because I I mean let me tell
you it was difficult there's one that
actually she's a good friend of mine but
she's going to be the incoming chair
chairperson of of an organization that
actually advocates for this and I just
thought that would be a conflict that
was the only reason but I'll tell you
this is a good this is a good group here
I understand and one of them I think
that's all I think it's Ruth I can't
remember who has a really great
experience it's up to council
I know that they want to get working on
on
projects so that they can use that money
that the voters approve but it's up to
you just two more weeks and then if
Christine can send us all the
information
Randy's in congrats Randy okay I'll
withdraw my motion
over draw the second all right problem
so next we're going to go to notice the
proposed ordinances
almost have as many as proclamations
so there'll be no public discussion
counselor may ask staff for
clarification on the proposed ordinance
so the first one is 11.1 Council Bill
23-025 ordinance number 3031
Bring It Forward Bring It Forward
item 11.2 Council bill number
23-026 ordinance number 3032
forward
11.3 Council bill number
23-027 ordinance number 3033
11.4 Council bill number
23-028 ordinance number 3034
and last one 11.5 Council bill number 23
deaths
029 ordinance number 3035 Bring It
Forward and bring it forward
all right now we go to city council
member board reports and comment
I just want to say that give another
shout out to visit Las Cruces for
putting on Las Cruces that was uh for
the first year that was really nice it
was a great event yeah
and Mike I'm sure it's just going to
continue to grow and and anyway so good
job visit Las Cruces
and that's really all I have
counselor Flores
okay so
um first of all
um
I'd like to report on
well on the
is it the PRC the health PRC and that
was held on
April 11 and Athena Huckabee was a main
presenter there and
it was just a very very good
presentation it was very thorough and
and then it was complemented by Chief
Smith's presentation today insofar as
drug abuse resolutions or Solutions
excuse me
um
the other
announcement is
the Animal Service Center of massillo
valley had its budget review
and we won't be approving it until the
very the next meeting
um
on
on April 13 it was it was a Thursday
visit Las Cruces did the had the
celebrated the unveiling of the mural on
one of its walls and the
the artist is anahi Nunez I encourage
all of you to go and see it as just down
the street and there were 70 65 calls
came in on that and she was selected and
the beauty of it is that it depicts it
it depicts who we are as a community and
of course it shows our beautiful Morgan
mountains
um
so at the health PRC of April 5
.
there was a a resolution that was
prepared on the Los Amigos project there
was the we thoroughly discussed the
occupational health and safety health
and wellness survey for employees here
in the city and I think that the meeting
was pretty much pretty much taken up by
that topic and and the concern is to
assure that our employees here at City
Hall
feel safe
other steps have been taken but this
one's going to take it a little bit
further
um
the other is the Las Cruces Community
Schools we met on April 20 we usually
meet at 1 30 at one of the Community
Schools but we met on April 20 we did
meet on April 20 from 5 to 7 pm at Lynn
Middle School which some of you may
recall was
the first school to become a community
school the goal of the Community Schools
nationally is for all schools in the
United States to become community
schools because children Thrive when the
entire Community is involved
it was a wonderful Workshop more than
anything else and
um
and we were each asked every participant
was asked to in order to walk out of the
meeting yet to present a proof that you
know that somehow something affected
your I don't know meant something to you
what I took away was positive energy and
forward thinking and a lot of
there was just a lot of love in the
entire room and so the children from the
school actually participated and they
actually had their dinner there along
with us The Advisory Board met
on April 20 and there's
Advanced Air is the air the airline that
is providing commuter service between
our airport here in Las Cruces and
Albuquerque
there are two flights a day the the
flight each way I believe is 85 dollars
and
what else there's something else oh the
the schedules aren't fixed because they
also serve uh Tucson and Silver City but
we only have Interstate travel between
Las Cruces and Albuquerque now but we're
working on getting
Interstate which means that maybe we can
get a flight over to El Paso so we can
fly out to other places
the South Central rapid transit district
met on April 26 and we approved the
third quarter financials I'd like to say
really kudos to David Armijo who came to
us from California and he and mayor Pro
Tem
a
Sharon Thomas worked very hard to make
sure that we had this South Central
Regional Transit District to connect
southern New Mexico and provide services
for areas that don't have a very good
public transportation service
our sister city delegation from
nierenberg was here last week I was able
to meet them one day and join them
on a walking tour of downtown the
the tour guide was Chris Faber from the
uh
from the economic development department
and he gave us a lot of history as to
the um it's just a full description of
everything and and the and the fact that
uh the Rio Grande theater is the only is
a nationally recognized
um
uh and what is it national historic
building and it's the only the only
theater in the world excuse me in the
U.S that is Adobe and two-story
so that's just a fraction of the stuff
that that we do here we don't just show
up for meetings we go everywhere and so
I decided that I was going to start
sharing and boring this with you but
just to let you know that we're always
working and making sure that Las Cruces
is a better City oh the other thing is
that I too was at the celebration on on
Saturday and mayor Pro tem and I were
there I got there at about 1 30.
and I'm a liaison I'm the liaison to the
City Art board
and they had a art chalk contest
and there were 10 entries and and the
public was able to vote and we had
almost 700 people voting on The Ark and
for those of you who weren't there you
you really missed a beautiful event it
was it just went on from
two o'clock when it started I left about
7 30 but it went on till 10 o'clock and
Mariachi halisensei played and as some
of you may know the Mariachi originated
in the state of Jalisco because there
were a lot of French people there and um
and the word Mariachi comes from the
word mariage in French meaning wedding
so
um but they played beautifully and it
was just a beautiful beautiful evening
to be listening to that music
so the artwork was judged
by the public and in the City Art board
took criteria that they wanted to look
at to see who they would choose as the
best of show and the best of show was by
this artist Rose her name was put down
as Rose De Luke but she later corrected
us and said well I'm half Mexican and
half French my name is Rosa it says okay
Rosa but her artwork was so beautiful
because it showed Las Cruces and it was
just and she said it was actually her
life so and that I think that's why it
was so beautiful and and the the thing
that's important about me data that I
want to share with you is that in our
Economic
Development policy Review Committee the
head of the head of the New Mexico true
the big touring tourist you know the
inside of the governor's office
they they actually met with us through
you know zoom and I I wanted to know how
much how much we contribute how much are
how much of our tourist dollars
contribute to the economy and the head
of that New Mexico true was supposed to
get back to us and she never got back to
me personally hopefully she did get back
to Elizabeth Peters or Chris Faber
but anyway
um they sponsored the whole thing and
um and they had media there covering it
and they actually spoke with the mayor I
believe but they definitely spoke with
me about how they had media they had
media Specialists to see how they could
promote the city of Las Cruces so I
asked them to please do that because it
would remind the people in Northern New
Mexico that the city of Las Cruces is a
part of New Mexico a very vital part I
use another word but because I feel like
I should be a lady today I won't say
that we're not the bastard child oh I
just said it so I did use that word with
them and um and they were they were
taking zillions of pictures and film and
the people who were here were really
impressed I don't think they'd ever been
to Las Cruces so I just want to share
that with you because I think we should
all be proud that we live in such a
beautiful place such a beautiful part of
the world and I've talked too much but I
want to share all that with you thank
you thank you Mr Mayor
thank you counselor
you want to stand you want to stand up
for
gangster Koran thank you
I just want to give a few quick updates
the transit Advisory Board met two weeks
about two weeks ago
um we heard we saw some updated
statistics as to the increasing
ridership of of both Roadrunner Transit
and our
um
sort of Paratransit that we offer for
the city that's currently experiencing a
fair free sort of holiday through June
so I do want to point out to my
colleagues that that experiment has
resulted well correlation is not
causation but there is increased
ridership of the of the of our Transit
and it's on the way up so I'm very
excited about that part of the fair free
initiative is to also survey Riders to
see what benefits this has brought to
them and so folks who ride public
transit please take a moment to complete
the survey that will be available for
you and share how Las Cruces Public
Transit Road Runner Transit is helping
you at this moment we also saw a preview
of what the um
city buses will will look like the new
electric buses that should be arriving
or I think around July I think they're
about ready but they're they're we don't
have a place to charge them just yet so
um in a few months those should be
arriving and hitting the streets the
first half a dozen I think we'll be here
um and they're going to have a very cool
wrap on them so I'm super excited about
the colorful roadrunner and our new logo
um
going into that
the the other items sort of related to
Transportation tomorrow counselor Flores
mentioned the airport the airport Master
planning process is actually in a public
comment period and the transportation
sustainability and infrastructure
committee will be hearing that the
latest TS the latest airport master plan
information and we did confirm that
anyone can come including counselors
because it's been properly messaged so
you guys can rest assured that we can
all come so
um just so you know anyone who like who
would like to come tomorrow at 8 30
upstairs in the second floor and then I
think that that's all that I except for
all of the NMSU students dacc students
graduation is next weekend so traffic
will be intense but I'm really excited
for all the students that will be
graduating and if you see them around
town I think they'll be in front of a
lot of our murals taking pictures so so
it will be really sweet to see them and
Las Cruces will miss you if your leaves
leaving but hopefully you'll stick
around so congratulations to all the
students who are graduating next weekend
yay
counselor thanks I just have a couple
comments to make one of them being ifo
if you could work with staff on perhaps
bringing some proposals to us for the
HHS committee
I mean I would suggest maybe five at
large members and then of course
revisiting the conversation of stipends
for all of our committee members I think
that fits well but I I don't want to
presume that I know better than staff I
think housing staff would
can provide some proposals for how to
revamp this committee and then the last
thing I'll say is that this over the
weekend I read
this Instagram post on El Paso matters
and it says the El Paso in Las Cruces
area has the 14th worst ozone pollution
in the country per the America the new
American Lung Association report
obviously idling commercial trucks at
the international Bridges have our major
shows of emissions I don't necessarily
have Solutions I just wanted to lift up
that this was a pretty startling report
that I think really impacts the quality
of life for members of the Borderlands
those are all my comments mayor thank
you
thank you councilor Graham thank you
um I'm going to start with my biggest
shout out of 2023 and I'm looking at you
Christine Rivera
[Music]
so the flowers are there and I also want
to make it known to everyone that it is
Municipal clerks week and
um I have a couple of words here that I
got from the very helpful municipal
clerk weeks website I I research
everything but I found some stuff that I
thought was that was really cool and I'm
going to read a quick quote from one of
the first text books written on the
topic of Municipal Administration and
that is no other office in Municipal
service has so many contacts it serves
the mayor the city council the city
manager and all administrative
departments without exception all of
them call upon it almost daily for some
service or information
I'm going to add to that our community
residents because the clerk is so often
a link between the city the council and
the people that we're here to serve
you are the neutral impartial Genius of
this city of this city set up
um I can attest personally to those
traits in you you serve everyone with
kindness with professionalism
with absolute Brilliance
um and I've never patience is a good one
and I've I have never collaborated with
you on working with a resident that I
haven't heard anything but glowing
reports they like you way better than
they like me so
um
and and just finally I know we all
appreciate you but I want to again
express my personal gratitude to you I'm
now rolling into my second year but
especially that first year as a baby
counselor I relied on you so much still
do
um so I just want to give you some very
well-deserved recognition Christine
Rivera
[Applause]
and you were I know I said I wouldn't
make you talk but you did you did
recently get an honor that you are going
to characterize better than I was able
to will you share that
thank you all I really appreciate it
um when I was at the municipal League
two weeks ago I found out that I was
nominated for Clerk of the Year by our
city council so thank you very much
um and then I was also appointed as the
district 7 director for the state of New
Mexico clerks Association
[Applause]
thank you I know she just wanted to do
the pageant wave but sorry
um so again thank you so much for all
you do for me for us for the whole city
the only other thing I have on Wednesday
the third and then Wednesday the 10th
17th and 24th each of those nights I'm
going to be spending five to seven p.m
at Munson Senior Center and I'm just
doing this I'm going to experiment a
little bit with an alternative to the
typical community meeting and just kind
of have an open space kind of like we
used to have office hours when I was
teaching in person
so I want to invite anyone from District
three or anywhere really I'll have
cookies come in stop by see me just to
come in if you have questions you have
concerns you just want to chat the first
two are going to be really you know
really open-ended and if I see any
patterns in requests or concerns then we
can talk about having something a little
more structured same time same place the
second to the third and fourth Wednesday
of the month but Munson Senior Center if
you're not aware is at 9.75 South
Mesquite Street
I picked it because it's in my district
very close to public transportation and
completely accessible for anyone who's
trying to get into the building so if
you have any questions feel free to
reach out but otherwise I'll be hanging
out at Munson Wednesdays five to seven
come see me
thanks
all right well thank you very much for
that and again congratulations Christine
for all the work that you do it is tough
to be in a city clerk I can test it's a
lot of a lot of information before I
give it to ifo there is one thing I
probably need to let you all know so a
few days ago KFOX asked me about I don't
know if you heard I think it's called
proposition K in El Paso so you probably
didn't even know this but they had
approached me this some group wanted me
to take this to the city of Las Cruces
to you all and so what I did is I just
did a quick little rundown and this is
what I sent to some gentleman who asked
me about it
okay so they want eight billion dollars
okay so to buy El Paso Electric so what
I did is I showed these these these
group of individuals I said listen if we
were to borrow eight billion dollars
using three and a half percent interest
for 20 years the payment was 46 million
a month just at the payment okay that's
half a billion a year so and I took El
Paso Electric's income I I thought I
said it doesn't even really cover even
just the payment
so for 20 years it would cost a total of
we would we would spend 3.5 billion just
in interest
and it basically went away so now I see
about I guess this was probably a year
later now they're in El Paso so I just
wanted you to know you know why I said
that because it just makes no Financial
sense now if you had the money
if we had eight billion dollars lying
around and we wanted to earn a better
investment okay that's another story but
we don't have that we don't want why
would we want to borrow money to buy
something that as you can tell it's just
making no Financial sense so I just
needed to disclose that to you I forgot
about that okay okay
thank you Mary you know I don't have any
I'm trying to look and see if I have
anything missing I don't have any
updates to share just maybe a response
though to uh Mr Goodman's
point about me to meet at Las Cruces so
I did get a an email just to let you
know VLC did collaborate with farmers
market and their administrators about
nine months
um
and that's why they created a mini
Farmers Market there that was their
choice they chose to have that there up
until the end of the evening and then
have it on Sunday instead just to just
to let everybody know they were notified
businesses
they did promote it on social media and
really took advantage I think his real
benefit to all the businesses there so
just want to make that point of
clarification but I really don't have
any updates
to report thank you thank you counselor
Graham for recognizing our city clerk I
did not know it was city clerk's week
and so which means I probably have to
take our clerk's office to lunch this
week so soon and about right yeah thank
you
yes sweet work
I did I really was going to mention
media but I everybody took my thunder
away
but no it was I do want to recognize our
visit Las Cruces as you have thank you
for recognizing them as well
um wonderful event first year for our
visit Las Cruces team and the hope is to
continue continue with that Connie stats
do you have the stats on how many people
estimated uh in attendance there were
tons of people there I just don't know
if we have some
stats yeah the early estimates thank you
assistant city manager early estimates
right now are about 2 000 people
throughout the day but they'll continue
to get estimates of of traffic flow and
then also we had 15 social media public
influencers that were there that had a
great time again our visit Las Cruces
gave them a tour throughout the
throughout our our space here and
they're going to be sharing their
positive experiences very soon and we'll
make Rochelle we'll make sure to pass
that along
that happens
yeah and I got a chance to see ifo's
beautiful family from really small to
what I thought was her his 15 year old
is what six four I'm I don't know this
guy looks like he's gonna be a bigger
football player than this guy wow it's
pretty amazing so I was really neat to
see that
okay so if there's nothing further
entertain a motion to adjourn so moved
by Florida second I can't motion Babe by
counselor Florida second by counselor
Ben Cuomo that we adjourned Christine
this is an emotion to adjourn the
regular meeting counselor abeda is
absent Council Graham yes councilor Ben
Comal yes councilor crayon yes counselor
Flores yes councilor Gandara is absent
and mayor yes okay we're adjourned it's
306 pm
I have enjoyed the rest of your
afternoon probably don't know what
you're going to do with it that was
extra hours
foreign