A new board is sworn to the Sunshine Law, then handed the whole department

If you read nothing else

• A work session, not a business meeting: orientation only, one motion, and that motion was to adjourn.
• All seven seats were filled and the chair recognized a legal quorum — the fullest attendance in this corpus.
• The City Clerk told the board what it is: review, recommend and apprise Council. "Generally it is a recommendation as staff has to report to management."
• Department scale as briefed: about 150 parks, 139 full-time staff, over 40 miles of city trails, just under 300 alleys, about 500 miles of landscaped right-of-way and medians.
• Fees recover 100% of cost for adults and 85% for youth; staff said prices are "probably low." The fee schedule is coming back to this board.
• No public comment was taken. Greg Shervanick is listed as present under Others.

Who was in the room

Board orientation — the City Clerk on rules, quorum and the Sunshine Law

Christine Rivera, City Clerk, stated the City Clerk's office oversees the boards and committees, and that the board received packets from her office. Under the Municipal Code this is a standard board, meaning each City District is represented on it; a nonstandard board is not district specific. All board members are required to live within the city limits.

The duties of this board are to review, recommend, and apprise the City Council of all park operations and goings on. The board needs to meet at least quarterly. Attendance of at least 75% of the meetings held is required, otherwise removal from the board.

All boards are run by Robert's Rules of Order unless the board has its own bylaws. What is covered are motions, moving and seconding, and roll calls. Tabling and postponing are also used: something tabled indefinitely means that item is killed and cannot be brought back; postponing to a date certain requires another motion to remove it from the table. Suspending the rules is for discussing two items concurrently.

The Open Meetings Act is called the Sunshine Law: this is a public body and has to do everything in the open and be transparent. The law is administered by the Attorney General, who also monitors complaints. Closed meetings are rare and for specific exemptions. When developing policy, discussing rules and regulations, or discussing public business, it needs to be done in public.

The public is allowed to attend, but the board is not required to allow the public to speak — it is generally allowed as a courtesy, and it is nice to hear constituents' opinions. The public is allowed to video/record meetings.

Notice requirements: agendas have to be very specific in the items listed so the public knows exactly what is being discussed. Meetings need to be posted on the City's website 72 hours before the meeting. Only things on the agenda can be discussed. Items can be removed, but no items can be added at the meeting, nor added after the 72-hour mark.

All boards and committees are required to take minutes, which are approved at the following meeting and filed with the clerk. Minutes at a minimum have to have date, time, place, members attending and those absent, and a substantive amount of information, plus a correct record of the votes.

Rolling quorums: a quorum of members discussing business without necessarily being together. The example given was one board member talking to someone who talks to another board member, and so on, until four have individually decided to vote no — that establishes a rolling quorum. Another example is all board members receiving an e-mail and each replying all. Discussions with other board members on topics other than Parks & Recreation do not qualify. A quorum is four, "so be sure to stop at three."

The packet mentioned reporting to City Council. Parks and Recreation used to do it at City Council work sessions; after the pandemic this fell to the wayside. Board members were encouraged to keep in touch with the Councilors on what is being done on the board.

Violations of the Open Meetings Act carry a $500 fine. Asked how much power the board has, the answer recorded is that generally it is a recommendation, as staff has to report to management.

Parks & Recreation overview — organization and special projects

Robert Nunez stated the packet contained the organization chart from 2020 and that an update will be provided upon staff completing it. Staffing given: 139 full-time staff, approximately 25 part-time regular employees, approximately 70-plus contract employees, and 30–50 lifeguards.

Sergio Esparza stated that Special Projects' primary mission is to provide project management services for Parks and Recreation, the City Manager's office, and Councilors. Priorities are based on an assessment of needs. They develop the master plans and assessment of public needs, with a three-member staff: Cathy Mathews, Sergio Esparza, and Wilfred Martinez.

The project pipeline as described: first discover whether there is funding via grants, PIF, department funding, or from Council or the City Manager; once funding is identified move to the procurement code and put out the bid or request for proposal; after a winning bid or award, move forward, or find out from purchasing who the vendor is and issue a notice to proceed; then kick-off meetings and move the project forward.

There are about 20 projects ongoing. Last year they did master plans for Branigan, Gomez, and Frenger. They do playgrounds, electrical projects, upgrades, and lighting, and are currently working on improvements for Soldados Park irrigation. They also do agreements, plan reviews, construction observations, system familiarizations, acceptance, and transfer of property.

Parks — what the section maintains

Robert Nunez stated there are approximately 150 parks that Franco Granillo and his staff are involved with, including athletic fields, pocket parks, neighborhood parks, toddler parks, larger community parks, Young Park, Apodaca Park, and the Downtown Mall area. The section assists with special events, set up, break down, litter control, and restroom maintenance in the parks.

Facilities listed: the Hadley Complex, the East Mesa Sports Complex being received in the near future, the Burn Lake Complex, and High Noon soccer fields one through five. Behind the Las Cruces Dam are the wetlands, which are part of Parks and Recreation. Just over 40 miles of City trails. Specialty field maintenance, the RC airport, the skatepark, the RC track, and the shooting range at Butterfield. The section is responsible for various tournaments and leagues throughout the year: baseball, softball, soccer, pickleball.

A construction maintenance group works internally: they set up the Christmas tree, lighting and decorations, do in-house repairs of fencing and smaller playground items depending on the damage, and rehab the berms at the shooting range. They work with heavy equipment, carpentry, painting and welding.

Right-of-way work covers medians and alleys: just under 300 City alleys maintained, and approximately 500 miles of landscape right-of-way and medians throughout the City, plus herbicide application and community events support.

The community forestry program and forester cover tree care for all City parks and roadway areas, tree classes, the tree steward program, and community gardening management. The tree ordinance had recently been through this board and then to a City Council work session. Work includes identifying hazardous trees for removal and replacement. They plant over 250 trees yearly, and address tree health regarding pesticide and application.

Granillo takes care of approximately five different areas within Parks, has four administrators, and works closely with special projects. Parks specifically has 60 full-time staff and utilizes approximately 25–30 temporary staff. In the last few years Parks has gained eight positions for the East Mesa Complex and for trails. Temporary employees are still needed; staff are trying to transition some positions into full time.

A question was asked whether that included the Mano y Mano program — with Community of Hope, homeless participants providing 20 spots per day to work an hour day, 40-hour week, compensated. The program works closely with the right-of-way manager and that contract is through Economic Development. Staff called it a big benefit.

A question was asked about how the funding works and grants. A large percentage of the Parks and Recreation budget is General Fund. Special projects works through grants, legislative funds, and some General Funds identified through the Capital Improvement Plan projects. Parks daily operations are close to 100% General Fund supported. Mano y Mano is with the Telshor Fund, which is an agreement with Memorial Medical Center. The board requested a further funding breakdown just for more complete understanding.

Youth Services

Claudia Chavez, Interim Youth Services Deputy Director, described out-of-school time, consisting of five areas: the Youth Diversion Program, Keep Las Cruces Beautiful, the Afterschool Program, the Teen Program, and the Weed and Seed Program out of Safe Haven. Two are grant funded — the Youth Diversion Program through CYD, and Keep Las Cruces Beautiful through the State. Team Up to Clean Up has each District represented, and the 2023 calendar was recently released. The five sections have 40–45 employees including full-time, part-time, contract and temp.

The Youth Diversion Program, also known as JCP — Juvenile Citation Program — offers youth resources on mental health, alcohol and drug abuse and prevention, bullying, continuing education and employment, self-esteem, and teen dating. The goal is to decrease the incidence of delinquency in the community and help steer youth in the right direction.

Keep Las Cruces Beautiful / Team Up to Clean Up hosts eight big events throughout the community. One is roll-aways provided to community members to bring trash, junk, and whatever needs abatement. Graffiti is also addressed, and beautifying those areas.

The Afterschool Program is for kindergarten through 6th grade and has a summer recreation program, working with the Public Schools District and offering six different schools and community centers throughout the summer. These programs are free.

The Teen Program is for middle and high school students, housed at the Frank O'Brien-Papen Community Center, and includes field trips, tutoring, and partnering with other sections in the department. Weed and Seed is housed out of Safe Haven and offers family events and a variety of resources.

Recreation — athletics, aquatics, events and the fee question

Phil Catanach, Deputy Director for the Recreation section, described five areas: athletics, aquatics, recreation programs, community special events, and employee wellness, with a little over 100 employees.

The recreation program includes a therapeutic inclusion program for people with and without disabilities: about 20 different activities a month — art class, craft class, dances, fitness classes, sports activities, special events — plus a lunch group taking people with cognitive disabilities out to a restaurant where they order and pay for themselves, a movie once a month, and aquatic time at the pool. Also walking, indoor cycling, and cycling on the roads. The program also runs Movies in the Park, eight to 12 movies during the summer.

Facility coverage is provided for the rec centers, the Frank O'Brien Papen Community Center, and the East Mesa Center. A mobile unit outfitted with recreation equipment brings recreation to schools, parks and activities — one of the barriers in Las Cruces is transportation. They also do rentals, Kids Expo, e-gaming, and adult game night with board games.

The athletics program is at the Meerscheidt Recreation Center: youth basketball, T-ball, coach-pitch baseball, teen basketball league, adult basketball, outdoor and indoor volleyball for adults, youth flag football, and summer basketball camp. It oversees sports officials who referee the games. There are two racquetball courts and a weight room, a roller hockey rink for roller derby and in-line hockey, youth indoor and outdoor soccer, a cheer program for the little ones, and daily adult pickleball, volleyball and basketball. Nontraditional sports are run when the schedule allows: tech ball, double ball, kickball, horseshoes, and tri-ball, which is three-way volleyball. Indoor volleyball has over 50 teams with over 500 participants.

Aquatics oversees the Regional Aquatic Center, Frenger Pool, East Mesa and Laabs outdoor pool, and a new 50-meter community pool described in the record as coming on board "last April/early May." Staff provide swim lessons and a fitness area at the Regional Aquatic Center, and offer fitness classes on land and in water — currently 14 instructors offering about 16–17 different classes. Aquatics oversees the splash pads: Metro Verde Splash Pad, the Interactive Fountain downtown, and in March the Unidad Splash Pad. It also runs special events including teen splash, pumpkin patch splash, and the world's largest swim lessons. The Regional Aquatic Center is the second busiest building in the City, besides City Hall.

Employee Wellness is a recreation specialist doing activities for City employees to help work-to-home quality of life. There are 400–500 of the 1,400 employees registered for the year. There are free fitness classes and weight room access as part of employee benefits, tournaments through the year with various departments in volleyball, basketball, dodgeball and softball, and wellness workshops. That Thursday a physician from Mountain View Regional Medical Center was to talk about foot health; other talks cover diabetes, smoking cessation and similar. Other programs are Stick To It, Transformation, and Ziggy Challenges, where staff meet fitness goals and are given incentives of gift cards, money, days off, t-shirts, water bottles.

Special events include the 4th of July Celebration with concert, parade and fireworks; the tree lighting; and Kids Expo, plus support for other groups in the City. There are 17 Music in the Park concerts starting at the end of May with the Mayor's Jazz Fest, then a concert every Sunday, bringing in local, national and regional groups.

The section is also responsible for the Parks and Recreation website, social media, Facebook and Instagram. Catanach also oversees the Health Policy Review Committee and the Vaccine Task Force, and covers large events such as the asylum seekers and COVID, getting information out.

A question was asked about the fees charged. Fees and charges for adults try to cover 100% of the costs; youth covers 85%. Youth sports is $45 including a jersey, or $35 if the child has their own jersey, covering referees, staffing and uniforms. Youth indoor soccer, volleyball, flag football and baseball do not have to have sports officials, so that extra expense is not paid. Staff said prices are probably low, especially compared to private leagues.

A question was asked whether the department has considered a portable climbing wall, noting the City is using NMSU's. Staff have looked into it but not purchased one; it was suggested that this would "fund itself." Staff also noted people recently came to discuss a hiking program that had been done, but the department does not currently have staff with that expertise.

Staff said they appreciate members of the community coming to the activities, and the board was invited to come and see what they do.

Common terminology and what will come before the board

Robert Nunez introduced the terms the board will meet: Park Impact Fee (PIF), Master Plan, Fees & Charges, Agreements, and Resolution / Ordinance. He said this is information about what will be coming forward, and that there is also open dialogue for the board to ask questions.

District maps and a listing of all the parks and other amenities will be provided to the board in the future. Maps of the new Council Districts have not been released yet.

Park Impact Fees are paid to the City of Las Cruces by developers. If the developers create new parks, then that portion of funds can be returned to the developer. District 5 is booming, moving east and now into District 6. PIF funds are specifically for new builds only, which can be a challenge in some of the older Districts with limited open space.

The Master Plan is on the webpage. Fees and charges will be brought back to this board, as after the pandemic the fees need to be placed back into the policy. Prior to the pandemic the out-of-school time program was recovering about 70–75%, close to $500,000. There is also a scholarship program funded by community donations, available for youth leagues, athletics, swim lessons, and the out-of-school time program.

Resolutions and ordinances come before this board prior to going to Council for input, with the possibility of holding work sessions before they come to the board for prior review.

There are various agreements with HOAs, leagues, El Paso Electric, specialty use agreements, and the Renaissance Faire. Agreements are specific to the parks and special projects area, but also to swim clubs and other organizations and nonprofits interested in using City property for the community. There are also internal agreements with the Quality of Life Department, Fire Department, and Law Enforcement Department.

A question was asked whether there is a program for memorializing people with trees or benches. The City does offer that program: come into the City to work and find a location, and then pay the fee.

Recorded votes

Left open at the gavel