City Council Meeting November 17, 2025

MINUTES

City Council

Monday, November 17, 2025 @ 1:00 PM

City Council Chambers, City Hall

PRESENT: Mayor Eric Enriquez, Councilor Cassie McClure, Councilor Becki Graham, Councilor

Johana Bencomo, Councilor Becky Corran, and Councilor Yvonne Flores

ABSENT: Councilor William Mattiace

1. OPENING CEREMONIES 1.1 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - COUNCILOR MCCLURE. 1.2 PRESENTATION OF CERTIFICATES OF

APPRECIATION/PROCLAMATIONS - COUNCILOR MCCLURE. Councilor McClure presented the Southern New Mexico Diabetes Alliance with a proclamation for Diabetes Awareness Month.

Councilor McClure presented the City’s GIS Team with a proclamation for GIS Day. 1.3 PETS OF THE WEEK. Carol Nielson, Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley presented Pets of the

Week.

2. CONFLICT OF INTEREST INQUIRY BY MAYOR AS REQUIRED BY LCMC

SECTION 2-27 (E)(2) 2.1 None.

3. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 3.1 Liz Rodriguez-Johnson, Member of the Public said it looks like the $15 million in funding that the city obtained from the state to implement a portion of the Lead and

Copper Rule was gotten under false pretenses. The city claimed it would investigate disadvantaged properties first. Look at Handout A to read Deputy Director of

Regulatory Compliance Steve Perez’s promise to prioritize disadvantaged populations. However, in response to an IPRA request the Utilities Department stated that while there have been investigations completed at disadvantaged properties there are no reports created of this information. You can see the response in Handout

B. This is unbelievable for several reasons. First as a basic administrative matter if no record exists that a required action took place it didn’t happen, another reason the department personnel had actually investigated any disadvantaged properties within the city they would provide documents to prove it. They would probably be holding meetings throughout the city to brag about how responsive the city had been to disadvantaged people. Furthermore, if they did investigate disadvantaged properties why don’t they want to document it? Did they decide that the findings were so bad that they needed to hide them? Did they find lead pipes that they don’t want to acknowledge? Las Cruces Utilities has been claiming that no lead pipes whatsoever have been found. Look at Handout C and D. Disadvantaged neighborhoods are where lead pipes are most likely to be. It is extremely unlikely that all the lead pipes that were originally used in the properties building up through the 1960s would have been replaced with non-lead piping. Folks occupying these areas of the city most likely would not have had the financial resources to replace all that lead piping and probably still don’t. It appears very unlikely that the Utilities Department has not actually investigated any properties in the oldest or the disadvantaged areas of the city or if they have they have looked at only very few. That appears to be the real reason they claim that they don’t have any investigation records for disadvantaged properties. You need to instruct the City Manager to get moving and make sure that all the disadvantaged members of our community are treated decently, even handedly and in full compliance with the rule and that all promises made to the state are carried out fully. You need to instruct the City Manager to assure that every disadvantaged property in the city is investigated posthaste and fully documented in a written report.

Then make public every inspection report for every single property.

Lynn Moorer, Member of the Public said as demonstrated by countless actions and omissions we have documented over the past year it is clear that Las Cruces Utilities neither respects the Lead and Cooper Rule nor the truth. The latest discovery that the city will not produce records of water pipe investigations at disadvantaged properties despite promising the state that it would prioritize such investigations is further evidence of this disrespect as well as profound disrespect for disadvantaged folks in our community. Las Cruces Utilities creates investigation reports for other properties like those with galvanized piping requiring replacement. Handout 1 provides five examples of these reports. If the department really did the investigations, why would it choose to not document findings of disadvantaged properties? Properties with galvanized piping get inspection reports but disadvantaged properties don’t deserve a report? It is the department that disappeared countless records including all the designations of disadvantaged populations. Handout 2 is an inventory record dated

June 9th showing designation as a disadvantaged property attached to an inventory record for the same property dated five months later showing that designation disappeared. Why does the city want to hide disadvantaged designations? Perhaps lead pipes have been found on those properties which were generally located in the oldest parts of the city where lead piping is likely to still be present. It seems to be

more important to the department to insist publicly that the city has no lead pipes regardless of the truth rather than keep its promise to take care of the lower-income folks who need help. Las Cruces Utilities credibility and humanity are gone with the

New Mexico wind. This is the department that leaves off the map most folks who live in mobile homes. It thumbs its nose at EPA’s requirement to sample the tap when requested when requested. This is the department that failed for four months to send out an initial notification letter in Spanish. This department falsely claims that no galvanized piping has been found in the city even though as documented at the last meeting inspection reports reveal at least 77 properties with galvanized piping.

Handout 3 documents the department’s false statement. This is a serious problem that requires more than fact free cheerleading. It must take care of everyone within our community. You need to instruct the City Manager to rouse himself and assure that all disadvantaged properties are fully investigated and documented in writing without delay and a factual investigation report for every property be made public.

Finally, the Utilities Board meeting November 13th was convened and chaired by

Councilor Bencomo. I was surprised to see her there much less chairing the meeting.

The City’s website indicates her four-year term on the board has expired. See

Handout 4. She had no authority for her actions. This calls into question the legality of all actions taken at the meeting.

Lucas Herndon, Member of the Public said I am a resident of District 2. This past week Chief Story made another of his grand social media videos celebrating the detention of Mr. Neal Garcia, a citizen of Las Cruces, by federal agents. I understand that there is a failing on more than one level of our overall systems responsible for someone like Mr. Garcia who continues to be arrested and released. I wish I had an answer to that problem, but I don’t. What I do have is concern about the way in which this issue was handled, about the power creep of police chiefs going above and beyond their job descriptions and the directives I thought were pretty clearly supposed to protect all of us. Let’s be clear, police overreach isn’t an accident. It is not a rogue officer here or there, it’s a pattern. One in which police chief bypass their own chain of command, ignore local oversight and appeal directly to federal agencies that are increasingly weaponized by a regime that sees descent as a threat. We have seen in the cities where mayors and city councils are sidelined, not by protest, not by riot but by police chiefs that picks up the phone and calls FBI, the DHS, or even the National

Guard to intervene in local matters that should have never have left the city limits.

These aren’t emergency calls, these are power grabs dressed up as public safety.

And what is the federal response? In this administration federal power is a check on abuse, it is a tool of escalation. The same agencies that surveil Black Lives Matter, that militarize local police, protests, that detain immigrants till due process, these are the agencies being invited into our neighborhoods by local police who want to bypass accountability. This is power creep, the slow deliberate expansion of authority beyond what is lawful, beyond what is democratic and beyond what is just. And let’s not pretend this is about keeping order. When a police chief calls in federal agents because a city council won’t fund a new surveillance system, that is not public safety that is authoritarianism is slow motion. This isn’t about race, thought it does disproportionately impact black, brown, and indigenous communities. It is about a power, who holds it, who controls it, and who is allowed to question it. When local officials are sidelined, when the citizens are treated as suspects, when protest are criminalized, that is not policing. That is occupation and it is happening under the

guise of law and order. A phrase that has been weaponized to justify everything from mass surveillance to no knock raids on peaceful homes. The same phrase that has been used to justify the militarization of our streets. The criminalization of poverty and a silencing of descent. We need to draw a line. We need to demand that the police chiefs answer to their elected officials. Not to federal task forces or shadowing agencies that are operated without transparency. We need to restore local control, reinstate civilian oversight and ensure that every municipal dollar be spent towards improving the lives of our communities and not further militarizing them because when police power creeps in beyond the law it doesn’t just erode trust it erodes democracy, and we can’t afford to let that happen. So, let’s be clear. We will not be policed into silence. We will not be surveilled into submission. We will not let local power be surrendered to federal fascism. Our communities are not battle grounds, our people are not threats and our democracy is not negotiable.

Connie Chapman, Member of the Public said I would like to address the current conversation around the upcoming GRT funds and the request being made to our state legislators. I am here to remind everyone that during the January 23, 2025, police public safety townhall that was held here in this chamber in front of a full house

Chief Story agreed that there is a need for more resources and all areas of social support to address public safety and juvenile crime. He stated several times that if a juvenile is being arrested then we have already failed. I believe public safety comes in all shapes and sizes. When making decisions around future GRT money and the upcoming list of priority projects we want our Santa Fe lobbyists to pitch to our legislators let’s remember the Chief’s own words and fund projects that directly address those underlying issues. Funds for affordable housing, more recreational centers, more park upgrades, the efforts and programs of organizations such as

Mesilla Valley Community of Hope and yes even an expanded and improved public library that will offer youth programing in addition to new physical spaces versus hanging out on the street. Asking to fund a $1.5 million driving track does nothing to address the very issues Chief Story stated needed to be addressed. City Council has never denied Chief Story the funds he has requested that directly benefit the Police

Department and yet here we are dealing with the same issues year after year.

Apparently fully funding every police request isn’t the answer to all our problems. It is past time to prioritize directly funding the projects and programs that address the lack of resources for the underlying issues of mental health, substance abuse, and juvenile crime.

Jim Hoerst, Member of the Public said I am going to talk about history. There was an election 11 days ago. You may have remembered it and what I take away from it is

Realize Las Cruces is here to stay. Votes are in. The voters affirm Realize Las Cruces and in spite of all of the efforts from the right the voter opposition to the measure was inconsequential. Two, the young are voters now. They have been awakened by opposition to ICE and illegal mass deportations, MAGA and Trump, and on the local front by opposition to Project Jupiter. They are voters now and any party that ignores them ignores them at their peril. Three, the Dona Ana School Board race proves the county is trending secular. The book burners, pardon me the book banners, the mothers of tyranny I mean the mothers of liberty lost not only in Dona Ana County but everywhere else in the USA. They were 0 for 30 nationally. They didn’t win anywhere.

Even in the bible belt. The candidate who most wholeheartedly endorsed separation

of church and state won and one handedly. Those who warn of conservative backlash against liberal policies you know diversity, inclusion, and equality, protection from the immigrant community and the LGBTQ+ community can be and should be rationally ignored. To my knowledge the measure to end the opening prayer for Dona Ana

County Commission was not mentioned in the school board race. This proves the forces of Christian nationalism and dominionism has not only lost the battle but have fled the field. Four, the bond issue. The bond issue was passed by nearly 2 to 1. Bond issues constitute the vote of confidence for the local governing body. If the citizens didn’t believe that you were spending the money responsibly, they wouldn’t approve your bond. In conclusion Las Cruces and Dona Ana County have identified themselves as liberal progressive communities. The people have spoken, govern accordingly.

4. READ CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT 4.1 READ NOVEMBER 17, 2025 CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT INTO THE

RECORD. The City JPA’s met in closed session and only discussed those limited items as stated in the posted notice:

To conduct an audit exit conference FY25 for City of Las Cruces, South Central Solid

Waste Authority, Metro Narcotics, Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Authority, and

Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley, which is closed pursuant to NMSA

1978, Section 12-6-5 to 12-6-14.

5. ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Councilor Yvonne Flores moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to accept the agenda as presented.

RESULT: Carried

MOVER: Councilor Yvonne Flores

SECONDER: Councilor Becki Graham

AYES: Mayor Eric Enriquez, Councilor Cassie McClure, Councilor Becki Graham,

Councilor Johana Bencomo, Councilor Becky Corran, and Councilor Yvonne

Flores

6. CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 6.1 WORK SESSION OF OCTOBER 14, 2025. 6.2 REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING OF OCTOBER 20, 2025.

7. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR CONSENT AGENDA 7.1 RESOLUTION NO. 26-063: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF

LAS CRUCES TO PURCHASE ADDITIONAL LASERFICHE RIO LICENSES

FROM ICC COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS (FORMERLY

GENERAL CODE CMS) OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, IN AN AMOUNT

NOT TO EXCEED $60,931.20, PLUS APPLICABLE TAXES

(PROCUREMENT NO. 25-26-043).

8. RESOLUTION(S) AND/OR ORDINANCE(S) FOR DISCUSSION 8.1 RESOLUTION NO. 26-064: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF

LAS CRUCES (CITY) TO ACCEPT BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS FOR

VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS THROUGH AN AMENDMENT TO THE

CITY’S ADOPTED FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2025-26 BUDGET. Vanessa Perez, Budget Analyst gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Corran asked I was hoping you could talk a little bit more about the $4 million that is being put back into the Telshor Fund?

Natalie Green, Neighborhood and Housing Revitalization Services Administrator said the city received $11 million from the State of New Mexico and so one of the those projects funded under that agreement was the Peachtree Project so the state funding

Peachtree in its entirety and the city will not need to expend any of our funds so we are returning the $4 million to the Telshor Fund and we do anticipate returning an additional 2 but I am holding on to it for just a little bit longer before I let it go but we should be able to make the Telshor Fund whole sooner than later.

Councilor Bencomo said I actually just really wanted to thank you and City Manager and staff for the $150,000 to organization providing food given the recent SNAP benefits that were withheld and I am sure that set families back weeks if not months, so I just wanted to thank you all for that.

Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to

Approve Resolution No. 26-064.

MOVER: Councilor Becky Corran

ABSENT: Councilor William Mattiace 8.2 RESOLUTION NO. 26-065: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE CITY OF

LAS CRUCES (CITY) TO ACCEPT A GRANT AWARD FOR THE POLICE

DEPARTMENT THROUGH AN AMENDMENT TO THE CITY’S ADOPTED

FY2026 BUDGET. Gaby Prats, Grant Manager gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to

Approve Resolution No 26-065.

MOVER: Councilor Becki Graham

SECONDER: Councilor Becky Corran

ABSENT: Councilor William Mattiace 8.3 RESOLUTION NO. 26-066: A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE FY2026 - 2031

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS

PROGRAM. Cynthia Alamillo, CIP Manager gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Flores asked when I look at all these line items, I wonder exactly what kind of work was done and I don’t know if that is within the purview? It is obviously not in the purview of today’s presentation but in terms of letting city council and the city know exactly when improvements were made. For example, on page 6 of your presentation there was a renovation for the Amador Hotel. I thought it was a private entity? Do we have a partnership with the hotel after all these decades I have lived here?

Cynthia Alamillo said thank you for the feedback, on the next presentation I will be more than happy to provide more specifics as to when we said that there is project progress, what exactly does it mean. For this round, specifically for the Amador Hotel renovations I would like to either invite Public Works or Quality of Life to see if they can give us more details on this expense.

Councilor Flores said not only the expense. I want to know what the legal affiliation or relationship we have with Amador. I thought it was a private entity.

Carol Brey, Quality of Life Director said the Amador Hotel Project has been underway for some years now. We began, I would have to say for at least the last five years now. There has been some construction improvements going on at the Amador Hotel.

So, you may have noticed that the west wall is completed. We are in Phase II right now which is exterior improvements and this phase will when it is completed all of the exterior improvements will be done and then the next phase which we are currently seeking funding for in fact we have a pending grant right now for the interior improvements and that would be the first floor which would allow us to open the facility to the public. So, the project is progressing steadily with the help of our colleagues at Public Works, and they are doing the heavy lifting because they are managing the contract with both of our architects and the contractor that has been hired to do the work.

Councilor Flores asked why is it a city function?

Carol Brey said the city owns the Amador Hotel, since 2007 we have owned it. It was transferred to the city for $1 by the County and in early 2024 it was actually put under the Quality of Life Department for us as the user department. So, we are now considered the department that is sort of like the owner of the project although like I said we are working very closely with Public Works to actually make all of that happen, all of that magic happen.

Councilor Flores said I don’t think I have ever seen anything in the newspaper about

how we do our work here at City Hall, but I think it would be an interesting article or something, piece for the local newspaper to educate people. Just in case they see this and say why are we subsidizing a private entity when in fact it isn’t. What I would like to see on the CIP amendments, the money that has been expended or not expended, an explanation as to how the expenses went or what they were? That would be good to know because some of these balances are actually higher and I don’t know if there is any anticipation for example the University area, complete streets. What is going to happen with that? On page 9, the East Mesa roads and drainage? Do you know or someone in Public Works know exactly what was done there?

Kyle Arend, Interim Public Works Director said the East Mesa roads and drainage projects is currently in construction Cortez Drive Project, from Porter to Dunn to completely reconstruct that road with new gutters, sidewalks, and a trail alongside the road and utilities.

Councilor Flores said there are a lot of other areas in the East Mesa part that needs roads throughout. Is there any plan for that? Or has anything been designed or talked about? It is something that I raised a lot when I was more energetic and a lot younger and I haven’t kept on top of it and so I apologize to my East Mesa residents, but I would like to know what the plan is? If there is a plan? And I know that Adrienne

Widmer has had meetings out there regarding the septic tanks and all of that and money that came in for all of that but I haven’t heard anything lately published about developments out there.

Kyle Arend said nothing has been funded just yet. We do have additional projects in the area that we are looking forward to getting to work on. Enterprise, there is another road up on the Hacienda Acres area. There is some work on Shannon and Dunn we would like to be looking at, but we will have to start on those and prioritize this additional funding that comes available.

Councilor Flores said drainage out there is a nightmare. I have shared before there was a residence there just off of Dunn and Cortez actually and they are like on the east side of that where it floods so much that even this woman’s boots, the really tall boots that go right above your knee didn’t cover it and she went out to get some groceries and came back and wasn’t able to get them into her house and she was barely able to get into her own house. So, it would be great if you could just keep me posted as much as you can or my successor on city council. Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to

Approve Resolution No. 26-066.

ABSENT: Councilor William Mattiace 8.4 RESOLUTION NO. 26-067: A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A FEE SCHEDULE

PURSUANT TO LAS CRUCES MUNICIPAL CODE, CHAPTER 7, SECTION

7-46. FEES AND PENALTIES. Henry Becker, Interim Deputy City Attorney gave the overhead presentation.

Councilor Graham asked do you have Exhibit A available that we can have it up on the screen?

Henry Becker said the first amendment is to take out the word, application because that word is a little confusing. So, you remove that word and then delete the remainder of this sentence and you will just have to imagine. In place of that highlighted remainder you would put, when a single site is processed for any of the following permits for the first time. It is just more cleanly meant to say the first time you need to get a permit for your thing, for anything under this schedule you are going to have to pay $20, which is just a processing fee. And then the second amendment was to insert after this language right here, the word permit just so it becomes more clear that if you are registering your property for the first time for a dangerous dog permit or potentially dangerous dog permit again you will have to pay the $20 fee.

Councilor Bencomo asked where will the fees go?

Henry Becker said I believe the fees are going back into the program so they will feed directly back into the Animal Control Officer’s budget.

Gino Jimenez, Animal Control Supervisor said those funds would go directly into the general fund.

Councilor Bencomo said we don’t have to do this today, but I guess in the future if we wanted to see a change of that, I don’t know what advocates think, I don’t know what the Animal Services Center thinks. I know that sometimes citations that have fees out of Municipal Court sometimes they go back to Municipal Court for education programs or whatever. I guess I think that could be potentially something we can explore in the future? Where the fees go instead of the general fund to have them go specifically to education efforts or something like that but again we can do that at a future time, that would just be my request and then I just want to remind the public just because April feels ten years ago to be very honest and so I as soon I a read dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs I could not remember what the statute said so I do want to remind folks to look at the ordinance that essentially Municipal Court Judge would make those determinations, right? So, Henry at that point when a Municipal Court

Judge determines a potentially dangerous dog for example the fee would be assessed at that exact moment?

Henry Becker said it would be assessed at the time of registration. The court will order the individual to register which is just an order telling someone when to do something.

Once the person complies with the order they would have to interface with the city is administration and through the city process. I am not familiar, I assume it is online or in person that it can be done. The person would pay the fee at that time.

Councilor Bencomo said City Manager, that would be my request to future explore

how these fees could potentially just be more intentionally used.

Kathe Stark, Member of the Public said I have a couple of questions and then I have what I hope will be something that you reconsider in fact to be in line with the county.

On the enclosed feral cat colony, I am confused what we were trying to achieve there.

Number one because a lot of our free roaming cats are not feral. They have been abandoned and if you question that just go into Cat’s Meow and see how many ear tipped cats are there for adoption. So, what is the purpose, are we saying that we prefer someone like myself to allow them to just stay free roaming if I enclose my back patio to keep them safer and to keep them healthy then I pay a permit fee for that? Why is the fee for that more than for a multi-animal site permit which is residential and why is it more than for a guard dog? When a guard dog, not all of them but they can cause more damage if they get out then a feral cat getting out of an enclosed colony so that is one more question? On the intact animal permit to be in sync with the county it should read, per animal not per site. I could have four intact animals males and females and one of the objectives is to try and stop the backyard breeding and then to dumping the animals at the ASCMV. A question associated with that is, we had intact animal permits in the previous ordinance, but it was never executed, it was never enforced when it comes to reclaims at the ASCMV. So, the question is has a protocol been established to in fact enforce that at reclaims? I know we had put forward some ideas that came in from other municipalities. Finally on the litter fee again, to be in sync with the county it should be per litter not per site because again I can have multiple animals doing their thing and we have kitten and puppies when it is per site versus when it is per litter.

Councilor Graham said I recognize that there is limits to what we can amend from the dais, but I am hoping that we could strike the enclosed feral cat colony fee and then as suggested by Ms. Stark modify the intact animal permit to change per site to per animal. Would that be possible? That is possible, so I would just appeal to my colleagues that I agree with both of those. I don’t know if we need to have any discussion on it? I don’t want to make the amendment before people have the chance to talk about it.

Councilor Bencomo said I was just going to agree though I agree on the litter fee as well, per litter instead of per site. I am wondering if guard dog is kind of the same thing, right? You could have multiple guard dogs?

Henry Becker said it is indeed as how Councilor Graham said. So, I take responsibility for that. It should be struck for litter fee, it should be per litter so if you could amend and I could use this to show everybody where I was talking about. Instead of site here litter, and then here where I highlight, instead of site it could say animal and that would more closely align with the county and of course it’s entirely within the councils prerogative to eliminate this entirely and I believe there was a question, what does this mean? Does this mean per dog, per what? And the answer to that is that is per site. That is accurate, per site. So, the number of guard dogs for which we require permitting under obviously this isn’t the entirety of the ordinance pertaining to animals but the number of dogs I believe, and Mr. Jimenz can come up here and correct me if

I am wrong is between three and seven, up to two there is no permitting requirement

at all. After two there is a permitting requirement and there is no additional distinction made in the permit fee for how many dogs at that point so four, five, six, same fee will be $50 per site.

Mayor Enriquez asked part of Ms. Stark’s question was what was the intent?

Gino Jimenez said on this one, this was included on the last ordinance and the last schedule of fees was well, so the writing wasn’t changed. Instead of saying enclosed feral cat colonies, the writing should have said enclosed community cat colony. The intent there is for the same thing. These are showing animals or cats that are enclosed within somebody’s property. Almost the same thing as a multi-animal site permit. Rather that these animals are being cared for by a citizen, domesticated if you will and then once they have reached that domestication stage they can go to a different home to be placed as adopted, given a better life. So, it is almost the same thing as a multi-animal site permit.

Councilor Corran asked if someone had a multi-site animal permit, if we cut this, they could still register their house as a multi-animal site permit? If we cut that it is not really functionally making a huge difference except it won’t be double assessed to people who have an enclosed colony.

Gino Jimenez said absolutely. They would need that multi-animal site permit for the excess of animals, whether it be dogs or cats and then a separate for the enclosed community cat colony.

Henry Becker said I think the Councilor’s question pertains to if we struck the language for enclosed feral cat colony there would still be a form of registration and fee paid. I think that is what the councilor’s question pertains to and that it would be yes. Councilor Becky Corran moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to amend Resolution No. 26-067 in the exhibit for the sentence to state there shall be a onetime fee of $20 when a single site is processed for any of the following permits for the first time and also to add the word permit after the dangerous or potentially dangerous dogs.

ABSENT: Councilor William Mattiace Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to amend Exhibit A to remove the enclosed feral cat colony and the $75 annually, and to add for the intact animal permit per “animal” and for the litter fee per “litter”.

ABSENT: Councilor William Mattiace Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to

Approve Resolution No. 26-067 as amended.

ABSENT: Councilor William Mattiace 8.5 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-009; ORDINANCE NO. 3101: AN ORDINANCE

AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE AND SALE OF CITY OF LAS CRUCES,

NEW MEXICO TAXABLE INDUSTRIAL REVENUE BONDS (ENDURANCE

TECHNOLOGIES USA INC. PROJECT) IN A MAXIMUM PRINICIPAL

AMOUNT OF $17,600,000 IN ONE OR MORE SERIES TO PROVIDE FUNDS

TO FINANCE THE ACQUISITION, CONSTRUCTION, RENOVATION AND

EQUIPPING OF AN INDUSTRIAL REVENUE BOND PROJECT FOR USE BY

ENDURANCE TECHNOLOGIES USA INC. OR ITS SUCCESSORS OR

ASSIGNS; AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND DELIVERY OF AN

INDENTURE, LEASE, BOND PURCHASE AGREEMENT, THE BONDS AND

OTHER DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE ISSUANCE OF THE

BONDS AND THE PROJECT; MAKING CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS AND

FINDINGS RELATING TO THE BONDS AND THE PROJECT; RATIFYING

CERTAIN ACTIONS TAKEN PREVIOUSLY; AND REPEALING ALL

ACTIONS INCONSISTENT WITH THIS ORDINANCE. Elizabeth Teeters, Economic Development Director gave the overhead presentation. Councilor Becki Graham moved, seconded by Councilor Becky Corran, to

Approve Ordinance No. 3101.

9. BOARD APPOINTMENTS 9.1 None.

10. NOTICE OF PROPOSED ORDINANCE(S)

1) There will be no public discussion.

2) A Councilor may ask staff for clarification on the proposed ordinance(s). 10.1 COUNCIL BILL NO. 26-010; ORDINANCE NO. 3102: AN ORDINANCE

AMENDING CHAPTERS 34-38 OF THE LAS CRUCES MUNICIPAL CODE

WITH THE CORRESPONDING ZONING MAP AS PRESENTED. (CASE NO.

ZCA-25-01) Council agreed to bring it forward.

11. CITY COUNCIL MEMBER BOARD REPORTS AND COMMENT 11.1 COUNCILOR MCCLURE I just wanted to report back from some shenanigans this weekend. I went to our Sister

City Lerdo, Mexico and it was fantastic, and we are going to have to up our game on the swag. It was intense but it was a lot. Their Mayor Susie might now be my bestie.

She was really engaged and looking at opportunities that we might be able to share from Lerdo to Las Cruces specifically things like people who know how to make adobe. Which is something we severely lack here and helping them as well with things like high arsenic in their water. We have some really fantastic and talented

Utilities folks. It was a great experience, and I want to say that I think we are open to collaborating a little bit more down there as well.

Mayor Enriquez asked how long was the ride?

Councilor McClure said it was ten hours, and I just got back this morning. We had a great reception from the Sister Cities Committee and from so many people, I was in a parade, I was on a stage last night giving, you all know I don’t do speeches, and I did so many speeches, English and Spanish. It was crazy, crazy. We are going to have to make them give a zillion speeches, but they will do it with grace, and I hope that I had to represent Las Cruces. 11.2 COUNCILOR GRAHAM I am just going to reiterate an announcement made at the beginning of the meeting by

Carol, our amazing Pets of the Week ASCMV staff liaison to invite folks out

Wednesday, this coming Wednesday the 19th, 4 to 6 p.m. at the Animal Services

Center Medical Building for a meet and greet with our finalist for our ASCMV Director position. I will note that it is not a surgery day so we will not be supplanting any surgical operations. The lobby will be ours. We are going with a kind of more informal, kind of conversational type of event where each of the finalists will give just a brief talk about themselves, their background, their philosophies and then it will be more of an opportunity to get to converse with them. I know there are advantages and disadvantages to hauling them in here and putting them on the dais and having them face questions from the podium. It has its merits but so I think does this format and the community will be invited to share their impressions and input. There will be a QR code for everyone to scan on the way in and you can take a survey and also have access to their bios, resumes, etcetera. So please come on out to that if you are interested in the hiring of this next person.

Also harkening back to a comment made during public comment. I can’t believe the election was only 11 days ago because it already feels like a month or something. But congratulations to everyone who ran. It is amazing to see people step up and a special shout out to Councilor Elect Michael Harris who will be filling my seat in the coming year and congratulations to Councilor Corran who was resoundingly reelected.

11.3 COUNCILOR CORRAN Thank you, Councilor Graham, for working on the Executive Director Search

Committee. I know you and the community members that were involved as well as the search firm, it’s a hard job and it means a lot to the community that we had a pull of applicants, these are some great folks that are coming to town who really can lead us forward so I am really excited for the opportunity for our community to keep moving forward on the ASCMV. So, thank you for your work on that. I know it is a lot of scheduling and coordination and input that you get.

I also wanted to give a quick shout out to tomorrow morning, the City’s pilot program. I will call it pilot, I don’t know if it is really pilot for EV Rental Program is kicking off. We are partnering with Fourth Mobility to have electric vehicles that residents can rent, and the idea is since our climate action plan suggest that most of our local air pollution in particular but contributions to climate change comes from overall transportation. This is a tiny way to democratize transportation and in addition to our public transit, in addition to our paratransit and all of the other ways that we are working on addressing that and so tomorrow at 9 a.m. at 307 South Main I will see you all there for this sustainability EV car kick off. 11.4 COUNCILOR FLORES None. 11.5 COUNCILOR BENCOMO I also wanted to congratulate Councilor Corran on her reelection. You ran a great campaign, and I am very grateful that I will be serving with you for a couple more years. And of course, I congratulate two incoming city councilors. I look forward to working with both of them and for sure thank you to everyone who ran. Obviously as people who have done it before we know what it takes, and it is certainly not easy so thank you to everyone who ran and of course, thank you to our City Clerk for helping administer part of that election. As always that is why you are number one in our hearts and number one in the state, Christine.

Lastly, I have the great honor of serving on the Utilities Board which is one of my favorite duties and I will do that until Adrienne tells me to leave. I do just want to note that our Code does say, “Every member unless removed as provided in this section shall hold office until a successor has been duly qualified and appointed”. And I don’t believe there are any term limits so I will serve on that board until I am gone.

However, that is not what I wanted to say about Utilities. Our very thoughtful Utilities staff, we were in our Utilities Board meeting last week and we talked about the Utilities

Assistance Fund which to anybody who has been faced with a very sinister choice this month of buying food for your family or paying your bills please know that paying your bills at least set that Utilities does not have to weigh heavy on you. That the staff will not be conducting any shutoffs this month or next month for anyone who has struggled because they were furloughed, they weren’t working or again some of their

SNAP benefits got cut and there is still that Utilities Assistance Fund for both residents and commercial properties so please call Utilities and they will be more than happy to assist you and thank you very much Adrienne for ensuring your staff is thinking ahead on that.

11.6 MAYOR ENRIQUEZ I too want to congratulate you Councilor Corran for your reelection. Good job and then to the new incoming Harris and Munoz. Again, I just want to thank everyone that attended the Veterans Parade and the whole week of honoring our Veterans and the committee and the city staff that helps out with the Veterans Parade. It was a great time and a healing purpose for our Veterans and also, I just want to give a kudos to our Library, Carol and Sarah. They celebrated the 90th year anniversary for Branigan

Library. So good job, congratulations. They also this weekend had the Border

Regional Library Association that they hosted here this week. Over 100 librarians coming from El Paso, New Mexico, Las Cruces areas. That was great to have. Also, a shout out to Mountain View Hospital for recognizing the importance in our healthcare and hosting the healthcare event at the downtown plaza this weekend.

12. CITY MANAGER REPORT 12.1 IKANI TAUMOEPEAU Visit Las Cruces team, they were featured in the Forbes Holiday Travel story. This is the result of the hard work of our Visit Las Cruces Marketing Director Lorena Lozano and her collaboration with our new PR agency. As noted, the article highlights our seasonal events and festive atmosphere, Renaissance Arts Faire, Home Grown at the

New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, City of Las Cruces Tree Lighting,

Mesilla Plaza celebrations and more. Again, this also includes a photo and direct link.

If you go to our website with over 53 million monthly readers this will result in significant national exposure for our city and that is our tourism staff and department doing everything they can to get our lodgers tax up and make money. So, we appreciate everything that they do and also keeping our region and our city top of mind for those looking to come and travel to Las Cruces.

I appreciate public comments. It is always an opportunity for people to express themselves and perspectives. One that was brought up was public safety which has been in the news lately and so I just wanted to share some perspective. Our Police

Department has typically historically partnered with federal agencies. This isn’t something new that we have done but I wanted our Chief to share and speak to that so he can share some perspective as well from our Police Department.

Jeremy Story, Police Chief said historically, and I don’t expect people to know this and why would they. I wouldn’t know if I was just a common citizen. Historically we have worked with federal agencies like the FBI, ATF, DEA for crimes within our community and that has been since before I started here. The Young Park shooting is a great example although is just one of many of how we can work together and collaborate.

During that investigation, it was flawless how we worked with the FBI, ATF, and the

US Attorney’s Office, District Attorney’s Office who ultimately charged the cases. That was the most appropriate in that case, was the state charges. Like almost all police departments we leverage task force officers which are police officers that are given federal authority for specific criminal statutes, completely separate from immigration enforcement so that we can leverage the resources in that tool to help hold people accountable when the state system fails. That is primarily with major incidents, egregious crimes or repeat offenders and some of those examples of cases that we

do all the time, every year there is narcotics trafficking, all of our metro agents are part of the FBI task force. Our street crimes unit as well. So narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, weapons violations, serious weapons violations, especially ones that coincide with narcotics trafficking and then unfortunately we have far too many cases of child exploitation and child pornography that our task force officers deal with all the time. That tool is something that we have always used and need to continue to use to keep Las Cruces safe.

13. ADJOURNMENT 13.1 Councilor Yvonne Flores moved, seconded by Councilor Becki Graham, to adjourn at 2:37 p.m.

Mayor

City Clerk