A resident asks where $2.2 million went, and the board gets the whole budget — an $18 million department with closed facilities

If you read nothing else

• Gregory Shervanick told the board a City Council budget presentation three days earlier showed $2,228,396 as an expenditure against the Nevada Cool Corridor, a project he said was presented in 2018 at a cost of $250,000.
• Public Works Director David Sedillo answered on the record: the project's purchase order is $562,547.29, and the $2.2 million is the balance of a fund the project draws on, not what was spent on it.
• The full FY21 budget was laid out program by program: $4.2 million operating and capital, $7 million personnel, a little over $11 million in general fund, and a little over $18 million in total.
• Parks & Recreation has no revenue of its own — the roughly $973,000 it forecasts goes to the City's general fund, unlike Transit or Utilities.
• All facilities are closed under the Public Health Order, but no one was furloughed and all staff are still working. Crews are staggered at ten-minute intervals.
• The skate community wants the state to swap two grants — $845,000 for renovation and $100,000 for a new park — which staff said would require legislative action and puts both grants at risk.
• Two murals painted by a YCC crew of young women were approved for the tunnel from Triviz path to North Telshor, on a $129,683.45 grant expiring December 31.
• The board cancelled its own December meeting after staff said nothing was coming up.

Who was in the room

Public comment

Kept at length on purpose. Every point raised is listed, in the order the minutes record it.

GO Bond project update

Tony Trevino gave a PowerPoint update on the Parks and Recreation GO Bond projects.

East Mesa Public Recreation Complex: there have been several meetings with the Bureau of Land Management, the lease holder for the site, with which the City has an agreement to construct the facility. Design development documents are under review and will be sent to BLM once they are 90% complete; Trevino will reach out to the BLM District Manager to expedite the review. Two related projects are the access roads — Camino Coyote and Sonoma Springs — with design moving forward and a plan to have Camino Coyote under construction by February 2021. Phase 1 as shown would include two soccer/football/multi-use fields, two baseball diamonds and eight pickleball courts, with restrooms and a 10-acre traditional park, and infrastructure including entry roads, parking, lighting, walkways and a maintenance yard.

Unidad Park: staff had to go back and get a change order from the consultant for the addition of a re-circulating pump and some showers, and are moving forward with a redesign of the site. 95% construction drawings will be delivered in approximately eight weeks. The additional cost will be $520,000, which staff are working on and have discussed with upper management. An overview showed a splash pad and a newly constructed play structure, along with the 200-foot maximum access distance to the showers at Ron Galla that will be used.

Hadley work: underground electrical conduits have been installed at Maag. Jim Harty electrical layout is underway. Maag restrooms and concession area demolition started last week, and Maag lighting installation is scheduled to start December 28, 2020.

Parks and Sports Courts: Lion's Park is underway. The second half was to start last week but was delayed some by the snow week, and is now slated to be complete December 15. The Young Park tennis court will start the first week of December, and Desert Trails Park will start December 20, 2020.

Trails work: there is a contract amendment on the design-build contract with Highland Enterprises. Staff have reviewed the 60% design and are moving forward with cost and amendment, which will allow them to receive the 100% drawings from the design-build consultant and move to construction. One permit is required by EBID for the Mesilla drain, and the next, for the Armijo Lateral trail, has been submitted to EBID. The next milestone is taking the contract amendment to City Council for approval.

Dog parks: these projects were included in the Animal Service Center RFP, which is out for advertisement. The pre-bid conference was November 18, 2020 and was successful; bids are due December 10, 2020. Proposals will be reviewed and selection based on low cost, performance and previous experience with the contractor. Once selected, it goes to City Council for contract approval for construction of the Animal Service Center and the two dog parks at Rinconada and at Burn Lake.

Trevino gave the completion targets: East Mesa Public Recreation Complex by the end of the third quarter of 2022; Unidad Park by the fourth quarter of 2021 (November 2021); East Hadley Recreational Complex and Parks and Sports Courts by the end of summer 2021; Trails by the end of November or December 2021; and Dog Parks by November 2021.

Operating a closed department

Delgado told the board that with the most recent Public Health Order, Parks and Recreation's facilities are closed. Barricades were not put up in parks this time around. There is some security out and about to remind people to wear masks, to let them know the facilities are closed, and that there should be no more than five in a group. She said staff has stayed whole, no one has been furloughed, and Parks and Recreation staff are still currently working.

Franco Granillo said that although parks are closed, areas are still being maintained for use. Crews are staggered, coming in at ten-minute intervals so there is no gathering in the morning or when staff go home. COVID-19 safety practices and guidelines are being followed — vehicles are sanitized, staff keep clean by frequent handwashing and hand sanitizer use, and staff are aware that if any symptoms are present they need to stay home and follow the rules put in place by HR: self-identify any issues, stay home until a negative test is received. He said everything is being serviced as if there were no shutdown, to be prepared for when things open. In summation, he said most time is spent on security, COVID-19 safe practices, social distancing, wearing masks, and keeping on schedule as best as possible in rights of way, medians, alleys, athletic fields, trails, parks and construction projects.

Robert Nunez said Out of School Time tutoring sessions have come to a halt, but dinners are still served at five locations from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., with temperature checks, paperwork as a tracing mechanism, and staggered sessions to allow for cleaning. Because OST has halted, staff are reaching out to youth, students and families by telephone and Zoom. There has been an increase in meals provided, so staff are working closely with FYI to make sure there are enough for families.

Nunez said the Diversion and Development Program has been virtual since April. There have been positives — staff have been able to reach some youth and families they might not have stayed in contact with, and it is easier for them to log on through Zoom — but there have been challenges for those without access to the technology, and staff are working through those obstacles. There are still some referrals from JPO and informal referrals from Councilors and Public Schools. Graffiti abatement continues daily, with a steady amount of graffiti since the initial start of COVID-19, as well as litter pickup in some nuisance areas. He said staff continue to look at things outside the box for volunteer programs and youth tutoring and mentoring, staying connected with families through meal programs, and reaching out with partners at the Juvenile Probation Office, Public Schools, Gadsden Independent School District and FYI.

Phil Catanach said that with the Governor's orders, Parks and Recreation programs and activities are shut down. Since he last spoke to the board, staff stepped away from the pickleball and tennis business and were able to open Meerscheidt Recreation Center for fitness classes — treadmills, ellipticals and rowing machines were brought into the recreation gym area, a large spread-out safe area, so people could work out. Frank O'Brien Papen Community Center was opened for table tennis to give seniors and patrons an opportunity to play on a limited basis. Staff started working on sport skills virtual videos.

Catanach said tile was put in the multipurpose room and hallways at Frank O'Brien Papen, fitness areas have been resurfaced with fitness flooring at Meerscheidt, and the wood floors will be replaced in the league gym in the next two weeks. Staff have been working to find ways to reach the community during this period, with posts on Facebook and positive messaging. Staff are doing research and out-of-the-box thinking on how recreation programming looks as COVID-19 passes — sports activities may be held in a different manner, and it might be that they step away from some current recreation programs and look more toward community wellness activities. The Regional Aquatic Center is closed, getting ready for inspection in December. Frenger pool had been open for lap swim and will continue to be open when the Governor's orders change; he said the challenge will be keeping the water temperature up.

Cathy Mathews said her section continues to work on projects with staff working remotely, coordinating closely with the Parks section and other partners, especially Public Works. Current projects: the skate park renovation request for proposal, drafted and being edited; a cultural resources survey for Apodaca Park required to finalize the grant that will move the city toward a splash pad; electrical upgrades at Veterans Memorial Park that will lead to additional lighting; and finalizing specifications for a booster pump for the irrigation system at Soldados and Apodaca Park so WaterSMART grant funds can be expended.

Ceci Vasconcellos said that aside from keeping the public updated on Parks and Recreation activities, the website is maintained with current COVID-19 updates, and there is a Ziggy Mask campaign on social media with a positive message reinforcing the safety guidelines the public should be following.

Delgado said the Parks and Recreation administrative office, although closed to the public, is still operating — answering phones and emails and handling daily operational office functions — and that all staff are still working in some form or fashion.

The skate park grants the community wants reversed

Board Member Harrison asked, regarding the skate park, whether there is any way to intermingle the money set aside for renovation and the money set aside for the new skate park.

Mathews said there are two sources of state legislative fund grant money for skate park projects: one for $100,000 designated specifically for design of a new skate park, and one for $845,000 designated specifically for renovation of the existing skate park.

She said an assessment of the existing skate park was done to get cost estimates and a scope of work, and it has been put out to the public one more time to see whether this is the way they want to go, or which option they want.

She said there is a movement in the skate community to reverse the grants — $100,000 for renovation and $845,000 for a new skate park. This would require state legislative action, and puts both grants at risk of being taken back or denied for reallocation. She said there does seem to be quite a bit of support to make this happen.

Harrison also asked whether the splash pad going in at Unidad Park would interfere with the Ron Galla t-ball fields. Trevino said no — they will actually be getting a newly reconstructed restroom area with baby changing areas, additional stalls and some showers.

The FY21 budget, program by program

Joy Ann Lucero presented the FY21 budget by program, general fund only, showing what each program received for operating and capital — noting not every program receives capital budget in the general fund.

Office of the Director $194,000. Special Projects, used for unbudgeted and unplanned projects, $69,000. Chair McClure asked whether these special projects included COVID-19 related expenses; the answer recorded is that there were no COVID-19 related expenses. Construction Maintenance $101,000. KLCB $35,000, which does not reflect their grant. Medians and Right of Ways $654,000. Parks, Sports Fields and Community Forestry $2.1 million, plus $69,000 for capital to be used for smart controllers.

Recreation, Health & Fitness $197,000. Community Recreation $288,000. Employee Wellness $49,000. Skills Development $45,460. Recreation received no capital. Community Events — Fourth of July, Movies in the Park, Music in the Park — $310,000. Out of School Time $111,000. Youth Development & Diversion $20,000, which does not reflect the grant received.

Total operating and capital: $4,200,000. Total personnel budget: $7 million, for 115 full-time, 18 part-time, 2 seasonal and 95 contract staff — lifeguards, fitness instructors, youth services monitors and leads. Total general fund including personnel, operating and capital: a little over $11 million. Forecast revenue: $973,000, which Lucero said they have come closer to meeting every year except last year, due to COVID-19.

Lucero then reported the additional budget — capital improvement projects, grants, legislative funding and the special revenue fund — where the new expense type is capital. Office of the Director received $2.8 million in capital: this portion is the park development fee, and is where capital improvement projects are located. Medians and Right of Ways received $1.9 million in capital, the median improvement project from a state legislative appropriation. Parks, Sports Fields and Community Forestry received $1.3 million in capital, which is where $260,000 for new vehicles sits along with the Doña Ana Move trail, park security lighting and the RTP University Loop Project. The rest of the programs have no capital budget related to grants, legislative funding or capital improvement projects. In conclusion, the FY21 budget is a little over $18 million.

Lucero said a meeting is scheduled for the middle of December to start the FY22 budget so program managers can report what they want. She puts together the FY22 budget for City Council approval, followed by State approval in May, to be ready for use in July.

Where the money goes, and what it does not cover

Chair McClure asked what revenue consists of and where it goes. Lucero replied that revenue comes from money paid for fitness classes, leagues and programs, and goes into the general fund.

Board Member Harrison asked Delgado where the shortcomings are and where improvements need to be made. Delgado responded that with GO Bond projects coming online, more staff is needed, and when the new athletic facility gets built they will need additional staff. Current shortfalls on the park side: there is no trail crew, and the athletic staff team also works trails. Recreational programs need to be expanded and need some new facilities, which would require more staff — as would expanding into the schools, and the same for Out of School Time. She said she will never turn down an opportunity to gain personnel and will always advocate for it each budget cycle.

Harrison asked whether this budget was based off Peak Performance. Delgado said yes.

Board Member Schuller asked, with all the GO Bond projects going on, how Parks and Recreation foresees the capital needed to keep capital improvements going forward on the new projects as they are completed. Delgado said this has been discussed and a maintenance fund would need to be found to continue.

Schuller asked whether the revenue that comes in goes to the City's general fund rather than a Parks and Recreation general fund. Lucero said revenue goes to the City's general fund and that Parks and Recreation does not have their own area for revenue. Schuller asked whether this is how the City works in general or is department-specific. Lucero said it all depends — several departments are in the general fund, but some are not, like Transit, whose revenue goes back to them. Delgado said Utilities is another example, as an enterprise fund, so the money they generate is used for their department.

Peak Performance — the measures the department is missing

Lucero said Peak Performance gives Parks and Recreation an opportunity to show where they are doing well or lagging, and that if they are not performing where they should be due to budget restrictions, that is when they can ask for more budget. The department collects quarterly data on over 145 measures.

Examples reported that quarter: a target of 60% of park and facility rentals completed online, met at 0%, because the current program does not have that capability. Lucero reported new software, RecTrac, has been approved and the purchase order cut, which has the capability for online rentals — this will take six to eight months to get going. A target of 55 KLCB presentations provided, where due to COVID-19 the first quarter had six. A target of 45,000 health and fitness participants enrolled, where due to COVID-19 quarter one had 8,200, having exceeded the target the previous year. A target of 90% of construction schedules met, running at 15% due to construction working out of their schedule, having met 80% in the past.

Lucero said the City has purchased a program called Open Gov which will show Peak Performance measures for every department, and once set up will be on the las-cruces.org website.

Chair McClure asked whether Parks and Recreation will get a reprieve on PEAK due to COVID-19. No answer is recorded.

Harrison asked whether there was any online scheduling for the Regional Aquatic Center. Lucero responded that online scheduling was mainly for scheduling a park and not for the aquatic center, since those activities are for drop-ins. Harrison clarified he was inquiring more about the COVID-19 restricted activities. Lucero said registrations could be done and could be discussed, but RecTrac will not be live until March of 2021. Harrison also suggested this for Meerscheidt Recreation Center.

Two murals for the Triviz tunnel

Robert Nunez said the YCC program currently has a grant to do a community art mural project, and introduced James Woods and Laramie Medina. Communication with Woods was lost, so Nunez continued the presentation.

Nunez said the Youth Conservation Corps received two grants this year: one for a water audit project and one for the community mural project. Youth participation for the mural project ranged from ages 16 to 24. The grant amount was $129,683.45, with a City in-kind contribution of $13,359.86. The grant funding allows for hiring YCC crew members and facilitators.

The area for the mural project has been identified: the tunnel from the Triviz path near Kohl's over to North Telshor by Sam's Club. Between the two grant programs there were a total of 16 crew members and two facilitators. Departments involved included the Utilities/Water Conservation section, the Parks & Recreation Parks and Special Projects section, and Keep Las Cruces Beautiful.

Nunez said this information was presented to the City Art Board for approval of the plan to move forward, and he is now asking for this board's approval. He said completion of the grant is December 31 and staff hope to get as much done on the mural as possible before that deadline.

Laramie Medina said two concept designs were done. She has a crew of all females — one from Las Cruces, two from Mayfield, one from Centennial, and two NMSU students who are Oñate alumni — giving a good range from different areas of town.

The first concept, "Outlook of Las Cruces," has the Organ Mountains, local plant life, the state bird, quail, the Zia symbol, two divisions for the University area and Downtown, and some farmland and trails. The second, "Community Collection," has the Rio Grande, White Sands National Monument, White Sands Missile Range, Balloon Fiesta and a road sign. Pictures of both were displayed. Medina said the Art Board was concerned about the timeframe, and that she is confident this will be close to complete by December 31, 2020, as COVID-19 has hindered progress.

Harrison said he loves the concepts and asked whether Picacho Peak was in the picture; Medina said there is space to include it. Harrison said his main concern was the safety of the artwork from graffiti. Medina said she does want to start a KLCB social media presence, possibly an Instagram or Facebook page, to keep an open ear and eye on the project. McClure asked Vasconcellos whether this is something she could help with; Vasconcellos said it can be looked into. McClure asked who chooses which concept goes in the tunnel; Medina said both concepts will be in the tunnel. McClure said the concepts are beautiful and the area really needs it.

Engle said his only concern was graffiti but he thinks this is great and looks forward to when it is up, and suggested the Art Board could have a social media presence of all the public art in Las Cruces. McClure said there is a page called Murals of Las Cruces. Schuller asked, to clarify, whether both murals would be going up; Medina concurred.

Sports leagues meeting

Granillo reported on a meeting with the Sports Leagues and Associations held November 10, 2020. He said parks and trails have been the limelight during COVID-19, and another area that has been shut down is athletic fields, because most competitive sports have been banned.

He said Rudy Trevino makes monthly outreach to sports field users who normally have scheduled activities, letting them know fields and permits have been cancelled through the Governor's orders. He added the GO Bond project is going smoothly on Hadley and that Public Works has done a good job leading the project along with Mathews and staff.

Granillo said he has let the leagues know that if fields can be opened there is a possibility of field sharing between youth and adults, due to lack of space during renovations.

Suggestions received: accepting permits for the upcoming year, with cancellation acceptable if a Governor's order requires it — to be discussed further. Another group noted that since tournament permits are normally taken first and leagues dropped in afterward, the city could consider using leagues as the primary kickoff, since tournaments may not be possible due to lack of travel and participation — also to be discussed further. Granillo said a plan for re-opening was also discussed, and will be discussed further.

Staff comments — BMX asks for the skate park's deal, and AARP offers a fitness park

Granillo said he is looking forward to getting through the year safe, that staff are doing very well trying to keep their normal activities up, and that the name of the game is remaining safe and helping where they can — hopefully with meetings in person soon.

Nunez said programs are postponed but staff look forward to getting back to face-to-face programs, and are reaching out to youth and families via Zoom and phone calls as much as possible, trying to help with academics or whatever else they can.

Catanach praised his staff for their work from March until then, and thanked Parks and Recreation staff across the board as dedicated, professional and caring.

Mathews, Nevarez and Vasconcellos offered holiday wishes; Vasconcellos asked the board to follow the Parks and Recreation Facebook page and to share posts to their own networks.

Delgado reported a BMX meeting was recently held: the BMX Board wants to make improvements on their facility and asked Parks and Recreation to give them the same dollar amounts the skate park received. She said she explained how the skate park went to Santa Fe and asked for funding, laid out that process for them, and will get them additional information including contacts for legislators and Senators. She offered the same assistance given to everyone else and said she would do her very best — noting it would take about $30,000 to do an assessment of the facility so they would know what dollar amount to ask the state for.

Delgado said that per an inquiry from Board Member Montgomery, a presentation will be put together on how aquatic water is filtered and cleaned and brought to the board in January or February, with Utilities asked to join.

Delgado informed the board that AARP is giving the city a Senior fitness park, which will go to Council in January. AARP wants it in place by May of 2021, so staff are looking for a space. Parks and Recreation will take care of the maintenance.

On the mural, in response to a comment about a map or website link, Delgado said Parks and Recreation is working with the Art Board on creating something like this and will have it on the Parks and Recreation website for people to take a tour of the City.

Delgado closed by asking the board to have safe holidays and expressing appreciation for all the board does.

Board comments

Schuller expressed kudos to everybody and thanks to all Parks and Recreation employees for what they do every day, with holiday wishes and a look forward to 2021.

Zahler said she cannot say enough for all the hard work done by the board and Parks and Recreation this year, that everyone deserves a vote of thanks from her, and that she hopes to be able to use Zoom for the next meeting — she attended this one by phone.

Engle echoed the praise to Parks and Recreation staff, wished everyone a happy Thanksgiving and holidays, and asked people to keep masks on and keep a little distance.

Harrison offered holiday wishes and shared a personal story about his own experience with COVID-19; this passage on page 12 is substantially unreadable in the scan. What can be made out is that he did not start feeling symptoms until roughly day 12 and kept working, and a reference to the incubation period being three to 14 days.

Montgomery said that on these meetings he hears that everyone is trying to get through this pandemic, and encouraged people to find a reason to smile and to give each other a thumbs up or a pat on the back, because everybody is doing incredible. He wished everyone the best for the holidays. The end of his comment is cut off in the scan.

Chair McClure thanked all.

Recorded votes

Left open at the gavel