Cricket players, dog walkers and a shooting club fill the room

If you read nothing else

• Three of seven seats were filled. Districts 2, 3 and At Large are all vacant.
• The board approved master plans for Branigan, Gomez and Frenger parks — and was told after the motion was made that the Frenger plan's south end will have to be adjusted for storm water work and will not be fully implemented.
• Frenger Pool is proposed for removal. Staff said it is only still running because NMED knows the new pool is coming: "If the 50-meter pool was already online, Frenger pool would not pass inspection."
• Cricket players asked for a 20-meter by 5-meter pitch at Gomez Park; staff said the site is primarily a storm water management facility.
• The Dog Park Coalition said a warning about dying pine trees two years ago drew no response, and that quarterly meetings with staff stopped and have not resumed.
• Bollards to keep vehicles out of Young, Apodaca and Veterans parks would cost $85,000 for the three, not installed.
• The entrance road to the Butterfield Shooting Range sits on BLM land with no road patent — the city discovered this only when it asked permission to work on it.

Who was in the room

Public comment

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

The seven-minute rule

Before public participation, Chair McClure advised the public that they are allotted seven minutes to speak, split between public participation and agenda items.

Fees and charges / facility use policy

Director Delgado presented on the Fees & Charges / Facility Use Policy, explaining the process for updating it annually and summarizing policy and fee changes for 2021/2022. She said it will be updated again with the new swimming pool coming online at the beginning of 2023.

Board Member Schuller asked for clarification of resident and non-resident fees. Delgado said resident means inside city limits, non-resident outside.

Chair McClure asked why the language on Parks and Recreation Advisory Board authority over leagues and organizations that use city fields and facilities — now added back — had been removed before. Delgado said league agreements had been done away with, and with no league agreement leagues couldn't come to the board, which caused some issues; league agreements are now reinstated and the language is back in the policy.

Vice-Chair Engle asked whether the policy also covers the rental of trails. Delgado responded yes.

Three master plans: Branigan, Gomez and Frenger

Catherine Mathews introduced the item, saying the board would hear from Emily Rogers and Aaron Zahm of Morrow Reardon Wilkinson Miller by telephone with a PowerPoint, and that the projects have been ongoing for many months with a lot of public input.

Rogers presented an overview of the master planning process, public engagement, and the design concepts resulting from community input for Branigan, Gomez and Frenger parks.

Chair McClure asked how bike access is integrated with Branigan Park. Rogers said by using Hayner Avenue and looking at designated bike lanes or a shared road connecting from Valley over to the lateral trail; within the park, the path currently shown is specifically for pedestrians and could be widened. Mathews added that the Amador Proximo plan called for extending Organ Avenue, and that road would connect Valley Drive bike lanes with the Armijo Lateral Multiuse Trail.

McClure asked whether there is bike parking in the plan and whether there is embedded language for it. Mathews said yes to bike parking; she was not sure about the language, but bike parking is always included.

Board Member Schuller asked whether, given the lack of gyms, there is any consideration of a full basketball court at Gomez or Branigan so youth can practice on a full court. Mathews said usable space is limited because Gomez Park is a storm management facility, and that at Frenger more space is dedicated to court space.

Schuller asked what immediate action could be taken, based on public comment, to level some ground for a cricket pitch at Gomez Park. Delgado said the space is primarily a storm water management system, so staff will need to work closely with Public Works to see what can be done moving forward.

McClure asked what the survey responses showed about a full court and a plaza. Rogers said she was really surprised how many people did not want the plaza, and that the basketball court, particularly at Gomez, did not get very strong support.

McClure said she would be interested in a more dedicated crosswalk at the crossing marked #12 for Gomez Park, given the high-density area, Espina traffic, and tying residents into the park. Asked whether this falls into Elevate Las Cruces in terms of high density, Mathews said the Active Transportation Plan calls for Espina to be a pedestrian-enhanced road because it connects the university to neighborhoods, and that at the design stage an ADA traffic study for the location would be called for.

Board Member Engle asked whether El Paseo could be linked to Gomez Park. Mathews said the property at the southwest corner of Gomez is private, her understanding is the owner is interested in developing it, and when developed there would need to be access.

McClure asked whether it is being proposed to do away with Frenger Pool. Delgado said yes, because it has exceeded its life span, and this will come back to the board with more detail.

McClure said, regarding the Frenger master plan, she would like to see one of the sidewalks converted to a bike lane.

Schuller advised against a splash pad at Frenger Park or in any master plans, citing maintenance, upkeep, water and staffing.

McClure said she was curious how many people knew of Frenger Pool being removed. Delgado said the pool coming offline because of its age had been discussed, and the only real reason it is still running is that NMED is aware the new pool is being built — if the 50-meter pool were already online, Frenger would not pass inspection.

Engle said Frenger was used in the past for cycle lacrosse bicycle races and asked whether that could still be accommodated. Rogers said it could happen again; the question would be how it meshes with disc golf.

Mathews said she has noted the board's comments about not wanting splash pads and about lacrosse bicycle races, and that minor edits can be made to address the board's requests.

After the motion to accept was made and seconded, Mathews commented that as noted for both Gomez and Frenger, they are primarily storm water management facilities, and Public Works has plans to improve storm water management capacity at Frenger, so the south end of that park will likely change — the plan will not be fully implemented on the south end and will have to be adjusted. The record then states "There was no further discussion" and the vote was taken.

Pioneer Women's Park gazebo

Mathews presented the gazebo design work: history of the gazebo, design considerations, the project team, public input meetings held, and the metal-work design and color palette selections. A picture board was displayed showing what the gazebo will look like.

Board Member Schuller asked what the column is made of. Mathews said durable steel, and that white was the color selected.

Keep Las Cruces Beautiful

James Woods reported the recent Great American Clean Up was a success, with 558 volunteers registered, over 34 groups, collecting 2.5 tons of trash, and four roll-offs that collected another 400 tons of trash. The focus was on the East and West side of the Bataan area.

Team Up to Clean Up starts May 21, 2022 in District 6, 8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., with three roll-offs.

The Youth Conservation Corps grant was awarded, so youth will be hired to do community mural projects — restore, repair, replace if needed.

An application for a New Mexico Clean and Beautiful grant was recently submitted.

Numerous groups stop by the office to pick up supplies to do clean-ups on their own.

National Night Out is coming up in August.

Chair McClure asked where people go to pick up supplies. Woods said the Frank O'Brien Papen Community Center, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., or by arrangement for a different time.

Board Member Schuller said she is looking to have her local youth organization do outreach and appreciates the information. Vice-Chair Engle asked whether the murals would include new murals; Woods said that is possible.

Water safety — drinking water, pools and splash pads

Recreation Administrator Phil Catanach introduced Ron Borunda of Las Cruces Utilities/Water and Rhonda Diaz, H2O Water Conservation Program Coordinator, to present on the safety of the city's drinking water, to be followed by a presentation on pool safety.

Chair McClure explained the item was on the agenda because Board Member Eric Montgomery requested information on water safety after reading a story about brain-eating amoebas, and that the information from this meeting will be shared with him. Montgomery was absent.

Borunda presented "Is My Drinking Water Safe?", covering the Safe Drinking Water Act, the reporting agencies (NMED and EPA), where water comes from — surface and ground water — chlorination, and discoloration. He said the city has some of the best water quality around because its system is solely ground water.

McClure asked whether water is generally surface water in New Mexico. Borunda said a lot of different municipalities use surface water.

Schuller asked how underground areas are monitored, where wells and meters are monitored to know where the city stands, and whether wells need to go deeper or be drilled in different locations to balance daily use against what is available. Borunda said the city has to have monitoring wells for the entire city, which give depth-level readings of aquifers and what is put back into the ground, monitored monthly; metering is a whole other subject, and Rhonda Diaz makes sure everything used is metered and accounted for.

Vice-Chair Engle relayed the absent member's specific question — whether there is flesh-eating material that gets into the circulation of splash pads. Borunda said he can't speak a whole lot on that, but knows a little about amoebas from working with waste water: amoebas are formed from waste water, not fresh water, and any bacteria from fresh water would be more in the line of blood-borne pathogens like cholera, which come from human beings, animals or birds. He said you wouldn't see flesh-eating amoebas coming from the fresh water supply.

McClure asked Catanach whether splash pads have their own circular system and filters of some sort. Catanach said yes, and that aquatic staff were up next.

Abraham Celaya presented "Why Our Pool Water is Safe", explaining the Las Cruces Regional Aquatic Center's disinfection and filtration process, methods of disinfection, chlorination, and UV pool sanitizers.

The Vice-Chair asked whether the same system is used on splash pads. Celaya said yes, and that as for the amoebas the board member read about, those conditions exist if a splash pad isn't looked after correctly — here the splash pads are continuously looked after.

Jake Gutierrez added that under the World Aquatic Health Code, enforced and implemented here in the last three years, systems are now required to have the secondary UV system, and pools must be checked every two to four hours and documented. On Frenger Pool, he said that with its infrastructure deteriorating they are at the minimum requirements.

McClure said she toured Frenger Pool and concurs on all points.

League and association agreements

Franco Granillo gave an overview of the league association agreements, naming the multiple organizations Parks and Recreation has agreements with, and describing what the agreements contain: what the organization desires from the city, conditions — what the city provides versus what the organization provides — fees, activities the group can provide to youth, and concession use. He said there are benefits to both the city and the leagues.

The minutes record: "There were no questions from the Board."

Butterfield Shooting Range — the road nobody owns

Granillo said there are six ranges at Butterfield Shooting Range: the skeet range, cover range, silhouette range, pistol range, known distance range and long-distance range. The known distance and long-distance ranges are going to be improved for ADA accessibility. He said he would like the work done before the end of the fiscal year but isn't sure that will happen, and that this type of work needs cooperation from BLM.

On the entrance road, Granillo said Parks and Rec staff doesn't maintain, create or build roads. The entry road is on a slope, and with heavy rain or bad windstorms there is a lot of erosion and potholes. The issues have been discussed with Public Works and short- and long-term solutions identified.

Long term would be a plan for an actual road upgrade or permanent repairs, requiring BLM approval; the city is looking to get a patent for the road, because the entry road and the road running along the entire range are in "no man's land" — not a right of way and not a city road.

Short term is either pothole repair or chip seal. If that isn't cost effective or can't be done immediately, Public Works suggested removing the surface so it is more of a dirt surface that can be back-dragged or graded any time there is a heavy rain or wind event.

Chair McClure asked what the timeline is. Granillo said it depends on funding and may have to go to Council; a short-term fix could happen as long as Public Works is able to help.

Delgado added this has been discussed with Public Works Director David Sedillo, who is aware and working hard to find funding on his end for the short term; long term will have to go to Council. She said that during this process, on going to BLM to ask permission to work on the road, it was discovered the road patent was not included with the Butterfield Shooting Range. BLM has given temporary permission to work on the road.

McClure asked whether this was similar to needing an agreement in place for people to do anything in that area. Delgado said yes — anytime on BLM land permission is needed, and if allowed the work must stay within scope; if scope changes, the process must be repeated.

Vice-Chair Engle said Pruett reached out to him and he is glad there are answers. Granillo said he will reach out to Pruett. Delgado said she gave Pruett her business card, explained the same information to him, and asked him to reach out to staff.

Board Member Schuller asked whether fees charged to trap clubs or organizations could be set aside solely for this road. Delgado said Parks and Recreation lives in the general fund and any revenue collected goes back into the general fund, but staff is trying to get some of those funds put back for specific things.

Schuller asked whether those organizations could set up their own donation pot and donate it to the project. Delgado said that is a possibility. Granillo said maybe when he meets with Pruett they could get on that path and get some sort of partnership going.

Schuller asked the timeline on the ADA modifications. Granillo said he would like it done toward mid-June, but if not, by fall of this year.

2022 Go Bond survey

Delgado reminded the board there is a Go Bond survey for the public open for a few more weeks, encouraged them to take it and share it, and said there have been over 500 responses so far. The survey has been sent to all Parks and Recreation program attendees with email addresses, and to all leagues and organizations.

Chair McClure asked whether Parks and Recreation can collaborate with other departments to send out information like this. Delgado said yes, and that mass messages are sent through the registration software to anybody the department has an email address for.

Veterans Park parking lot and Unidad Park mementos

Delgado said staff was recently asked by Senator Lujan to provide letters of support in favor of the Veterans Park parking lot. Letters were written by Parks and Recreation and by the Veterans Advisory Board and sent out; she said hopefully this will bring in funding to complete the parking lot. Chair McClure asked whether a copy of the letter could be shared with the other board members; Delgado said yes.

Delgado said Unidad Park was built in 2001, and that staff wanted to give a piece of the park to the group that started it. She showed the board pieces salvaged from the park carrying the date and name of the park, and said staff is working on a list of committee members to contact so there can be a photo op presenting the mementos.

Staff comments

Mathews said the projects discussed today will move forward to Council, anticipated to come to some conclusion in June or July; the Chandler Tank design project is ongoing with a traffic study contract just initiated, design concluding in July or August before construction; and staff is getting ready to issue letters of acceptance on two median projects, one funded through a City Bond covering medians throughout the city with a few in each Council district, and Sonoma Ranch Blvd. Mile 2 between Arroyo Road and Peachtree Hills.

Catanach said the Recreation Section has a lot of summer programming rolling out and encouraged the board to check the Parks and Recreation Facebook page — Movies in the Park, Music in the Park, splash pads, the Mother's Day Concert, and Fourth of July information coming.

Nunez said his section is wrapping up the school-year program, a news release for summer programs has gone out, staff is being brought on board and CPR/First Aid trainings done, and the section is working with different groups and partnerships. He said they are preparing for opportunities with the balanced school calendar.

Chair McClure asked about the Youth Advisory Board. Nunez said there is a new Teen Connection Supervisor on board, he is allowing him to roll into the summer, and advertisement for the Youth Board will go out at the beginning of the school year.

Schuller asked whether youth programs are back to 100%. Nunez reported principals kept things status quo, so youth programs are down 50% with the After School Programs; for the summer they should have full capacity in all programs.

Granillo said he and Community Forester Jimmy Zabriskie will be going to a work session for a proposed Tree Ordinance.

Granillo acknowledged the issue of vehicles in Young Park during big events, which has been an issue for years, saying the problem is that there is only one gate. He said he has looked into the cost of bollards for Young Park, Apodaca Park and Veterans Park, and the cost for the three areas is $85,000, not installed. He is also looking at alternate solutions like boulders or landscaping.

Granillo told the board that if they would like to see an agreement for review, to let him know and he will send it forward.

Chair McClure asked him to let the board know how the Tree Ordinance work session goes. Granillo said he will.

Board member comments

Schuller asked how staff is handling cost increases in landscaping and fertilizer. Granillo said staff planned ahead and material was purchased before inflation, but they are starting to run out, so staff is prioritizing areas needing upgrades or repairs; as new amenities and public requests come up, Delgado brings the costs to Council's attention for funding help.

Vice-Chair Engle thanked staff for the information and their good job.

Chair McClure said she hoped something could be done to work better with the bicycle community, specifically to include in master plans what they would like to see in terms of bike access, creating a collaborative environment where bicyclists know who to talk to and what to ask for. She said she is interested in putting this on the agenda for the next board meeting. Delgado said VELO Las Cruces works closely with the transportation plan and staff could have them talk to the board.

McClure asked about ADA compliance with pickleball. Delgado said the Apodaca Park pickleball area is ADA accessible, that there is a range, and the minimum is met.

McClure asked for an update on the Las Cruces Public Schools agreement. Delgado said she verified that day that the city's Legal department sent the agreement to LCPS, and has confirmation from the LCPS legal team that they received it.

McClure asked whether board meetings are filmed. Delgado said no.

McClure said that with the dog park people there seems to be an idea that there are citizen activists — not in a bad way — who are going above and beyond, and she would like staff to reach out and talk to them more. She said she would like to see more engagement: who these people are, why they are doing this, whether they are going above and beyond, and to hear both sides of the story. Delgado said the last time staff met with the Dog Park Coalition was before Parks and Recreation shut down due to Covid, and now that staff is back they will start the meetings again.

McClure said she is enjoying the Hidden Gems feature on the Parks and Recreation Facebook page because it shows parks people don't know about, said to keep doing it and promote it in other ways on social media, and added that she agrees with the public comment that board members should go out to the parks and to Parks and Recreation programs.

McClure said the board's condolences go out to Maryln Zahler's family and thanked her for her time on the board.

Schuller said staff and the board should try to push the War Dog Memorial forward to memorialize Zahler, since she was an advocate for it. Delgado said she has discussed this with the Veterans Advisory Board president and will continue to pursue it.

Recorded votes

Left open at the gavel