Apodaca Park
One of the first two legacy parks funded, with an aquatic playground and multi-use path carried on park impact fees.
The timeline
- July 16, 2026The work session gets a date; the Young Park vote stays in September
Four members met with no public participation and no vote on Young Park. Staff proposed limiting the August 20 regular meeting to the chair election and holding the promised Young Park work session immediately afterward, with the decision left on September 17. The board also learned the city's park maps are frozen pending web-accessibility rules.
- 2026-04-20City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p7 “retention, 3 million to Las Cruces Apodaca Park improvements and 2 million to”
- 2026-02-17City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p15 “about parks. What happened to Apodaca Park? Closed down the pool, didn’t replace”
- 2026-02-02City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p25 “7th from 8 a.m. to noon. Disposal sites will be available at Apodaca Park, East Mesa”
- January 15, 202655% of the city's playgrounds are 20-plus years old, and this year's replacement money did not come
Parks Planning told the board that 55% of the city's 67 playgrounds are more than 20 years old and that a standard replacement runs about $300,000. The $1.5 million City Council granted for fiscal year 2025 was not repeated in 2025, and the director said catching up at five a year would take 13 consecutive years.
- 2026-01-05City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p15 “Natalie Green said Sacramento Road, near the Apodaca Park so it is in District 1.”
- December 11, 2025Ten projects in one sitting, and a gazebo whose lights nobody will claim
With no action items on the agenda, the board heard fall and winter athletics numbers from Meerscheidt and a staff walk-through of ten capital projects, from Apodaca Park's aquatic playground to a three-acre park proposed on the west side of Villa Mora Dam. Public comment concerned missing lights at the Pioneer Women's Park gazebo.
- October 16, 2025Young Park's engagement numbers land: 54 surveys, 1,100 data points, a splash pad on top
Staff presented the draft community engagement report for the Young Park master plan, reporting 54 completed surveys, seven focus groups and over 1,100 data points, with a splash pad ranked first overall. Apodaca Park's draft construction design was described as 90% set, with shovels expected in the ground over winter. The agenda carried no action items.
- 2025-09-15City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p20 “Center, Apodaca Park, and Frank O’Brien Papen Community Center. Also, if you”
- 2025-06-16City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p4 “baseball filling the summer air at Apodaca Park. Back in 2010, our city had a team”
- p12 “Apodaca Park regularly and walk my dogs there and deeply appreciate the big,”
- April 17, 2025Half the city's playgrounds are past their lifespan — and Council has not agreed to fund the fix
Director Steven Bingham told a four-member board the city has 64 playgrounds, 32 of them 20 years or older against a typical life expectancy of 18 to 22 years, and that the recommendation is to replace five per year rather than bond for all 32 at once. Three of this year's five are being installed at East Mesa, Pioneer and Vlachakis; Apodaca and Young Park are in design. City Council has yet to agree to fund and continue that replacement.
- March 20, 2025A pole that passed inspection fell at Maag — and every "safe" pole is now in question
Six of seven board members met for a meeting with no action items and no public participation. Director Steven Bingham reported that a light pole at Maag Park that had been scanned and deemed safe fell, which he said brought into question the credibility of any and all of the poles that were deemed safe; the city used emergency purchase powers and closed Ron Galla Park and Apodaca Softball.
- December 19, 2024The board endorses park dedication — developers build the park, no reimbursement
Six of seven members endorsed the parks section of Realize Las Cruces, the first update to the City's development code since 2001. It would require developers to build a neighborhood park at their own cost with no reimbursement — a mechanism Las Cruces has never used — and, unlike impact fees, it can raise the level of service rather than just hold it.
- 2024-12-02City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p22 “one is located just north of Apodaca Park, adjacent to Three Crosses Hospital and”
- 2024-10-21City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p20 “serve on the board of this Friday at Apodaca Park in the morning. So, I think that is an”
- p21 “October 25th at Apodaca Park from 7 to 10 a.m., so I don’t have to share too much”
- September 19, 2024Dog park rules get teeth after attacks at Hermosa — and a 70% veto clause
Staff brought the board a rewritten set of dog park rules, prompted by what the record calls a lot of dog attacks at Hermosa Park, and said that if 70% or more of the community is against them Parks and Rec would return to the drawing board. The board took no action items, and no one spoke at public participation.
- August 15, 2024A summer counted: 70,000 pool visits, 19,000 meals, and no action items
Six of seven board members heard summer program numbers from three staff presenters and a rundown of parks under construction. The agenda carried no action items, and no member of the public spoke at public participation.
- 2024-06-17City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p22 “will meet at Apodaca Park and it ends in the Hadley area and that starts from 7:30”
- 2024-05-20City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p8 “said you got it. So, 20 bucks later we were out at Apodaca Park playing together as a”
- p16 “and Apodaca Park. I know we had a long conversation about that and figuring out”
- p22 “year. Solar projects at Community Hope total $1.4 million, Apodaca Park is getting an”
- 2024-04-22Work Session minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p12 “crime that’s in the parks particularly Apodaca Park and others. If the park are not safe,”
- April 18, 2024Park rangers, $2.55 million for two parks, and half the playgrounds over 20 years old
Director Steven Bingham laid out a budget request built on four priorities, including bringing back park rangers as Police Aides to monitor the skate park and higher-crime areas. Staff also presented the near-final Grindline design for the new skate park at the East Mesa Sports Complex and a ten-year wayfinding signage plan that will do ten parks at a time.
- 2024-03-18City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p26 “Apodaca Park Pool demolition began onsite work two weeks ago and will last”
- 2024-03-04City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p4 “world situation at Apodaca Park on Madrid and Solano. I believe this is District 3 and”
- p5 “was awarded to improve Apodaca Park? I have called Senator Heinrich over five”
- p5 “situation at Apodaca Park but instead I am going to offer my services to work with”
- February 15, 2024Four months without an activity pool, and 20-30 parks without names
The board heard that the Regional Aquatic Center's activity pool had been down since October 8 waiting on a custom-made heat exchange coil that arrived the day before the meeting. Staff also opened a multi-month effort to give official names to parks that have none, most of them in District 5.
- 2023-09-18City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p15 “Apodaca Park and all over city so it’s an issue and I think people are really concerned”
- 2023-09-05City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p9 “Mayor Pro Tem Gandara said I have a question on slide 12 and 13 on Apodaca Park”
- p9 “Cathy Mathews said the Apodaca Park Aquatic Playground Project is continuing at”
- p10 “include an update or a renovation of that particular restroom for Apodaca Park?”
- August 17, 2023Dirt bikes on the non-motorized trails, and no money to enforce anything
Vice-Chair Engle reported a dirt motorcycle riding from Jason Jiron Park up the berm and onto trails that are supposed to be non-motorized. Staff listed signage, volunteers, barriers and education as the available approaches and said there are no significant funds for enforcement, that the wayfinding plan that would supply the rule signage has no funding to implement, and that bollards do not stop motorcycles. Staff agreed to bring an education plan to next month's meeting.
- 2023-05-01City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p3 “up Apodaca Park. While we were there in two different areas of the park people were”
- April 20, 2023A fee schedule passes by acclamation with its language still to be written
The board approved the 2023-2024 Fees and Charges and Facility Use Policy "with language added regarding bathroom use and field rental process" — language that did not yet exist when the vote was taken. A motion to table the item to May died, and the reason given on the record was that the policy is already in the queue for City Council in May. Public Participation: "There was none."
- March 16, 2023A finished dog park nobody can open, and a maintenance bill nobody budgeted
Two members of the public pressed the board on the Rinconada dog park, built but padlocked because it cannot be accepted separately from the Animal Services Center. Staff walked through an FY24 budget request that includes three new positions and over $750,000 in vehicles and equipment, and a board member asked why new facilities keep coming online without a maintenance component. The parks deputy director answered with the count: 50 full-time staff for roughly 148 park areas, 60 playgrounds, 40 miles of trails and 33 ballfields.
- February 16, 2023The recording failed, so the minutes were written from memory — and a commenter asked for verbatim minutes
The board's own record opens with a note that the transcriptionist's file of the meeting did not process, so the minutes were summarized from memory and the times approximated. In the same meeting Gregory Shervanick recommended that meeting minutes be verbatim. Six discussion items — trails, the hiking program, the outreach survey, the 50-meter pool, skate park renovations and Apodaca Park — are each recorded in a single paragraph.
- 2022-10-03City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p2 “had to scramble to change the venue to Apodaca Park. This should not have”
- September 15, 2022New pool, new prices, and the end of Frenger — the board sets rates for a 50-meter pool that will not pay for itself
The board approved fees and operating hours for the Natatorium, the city's new 50-meter pool opening early January 2023, and accepted staff's recommendation to close Frenger pool when it does. Staff presented El Paso's numbers as the benchmark: $70,000 in revenue against operations over a million. The naming of a new disc golf course was tabled to October.
- August 16, 2022The board kills the Veterans Park renaming on purpose — tabled indefinitely so no precedent attaches
The Veterans Advisory Board's vice-chair asked for one more delay, then said the group is not so much seeking a name change as a change in the park's usage. The board tabled the item indefinitely, with a member stating on the record that a vote would set a precedent against any future renaming. Staff separately disclosed that the Assistant City Manager had stopped permitting Veterans Memorial Park as of August 12.
- July 21, 2022Veterans want a designation, not a playground — and the director tables the name change to go ask them why
The board tabled the renaming of Veterans Memorial Park to August after the Parks & Recreation director said she had not been part of the earlier conversations and wanted to put questions to the Veterans Advisory Board first. The Veterans Advisory Board's vice-chair told the board the group wants a special-use designation rather than a name change. Three of seven seats were filled.
- June 16, 2022The park where the playground is already scheduled to disappear
The Veterans Advisory Board asked this board to recommend that Veterans Memorial Park be designated a special use park and renamed "Veterans Memorial." Board members learned during the discussion that the adopted master plan already removes the playground, and tabled the item to July 21, asking to see the master plan and the LCPD vandalism reports first. Staff then presented a $28,040,752 FY23 budget.
- May 26, 2022"Next week he will file a discrimination thing with the City"
A former board member told the board that disabled veterans cannot use the Apodaca pickleball courts because there is no restroom and an 8.1% grade, that he would file a discrimination complaint the following week, and that the city wastes roughly a third of its GO Bond money by issuing RFPs instead of bidding work. The board then approved a $8,000 crosswalk-art project whose preparations had already begun and whose press release had already gone out.
- April 21, 2022Cricket players, dog walkers and a shooting club fill the room
A three-member board with four vacant seats took eight public speakers, then approved the 2021/2022 fees and facility use policy, master plans for Branigan, Gomez and Frenger parks, and the final design for the Pioneer Women's Park gazebo. Staff confirmed Frenger Pool is proposed for removal and would not pass inspection if the new 50-meter pool were online.
- 2022-04-18City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p21 “I’m also asking for porta-potties at Apodaca Park to address the concerns of our”
- 2022-03-07City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p11 “Space corridors set aside for Public use that links Apodaca Park with the Outfall”
- p11 “Apodaca Park. The Application is requesting R1B, Single-Family High Density, up to”
- 2022-02-28Work Session minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p14 “Apodaca Park work, what the money went through in total?”
- p14 “David Sedillo said the scope of work that was allocated for Apodaca Park”
- 2021-11-15City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p8 “Councilor Sorg said you provided information about the Apodaca Park aquatic”
- p8 “requests, we had adjusted some budget from the Apodaca Park's four projects to”
- 2021-08-16City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p14 “are awaiting an agreement from that group for the Apodaca Park improvements”
- 2021-07-19City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p23 “Thank you to LCPD for organizing the Movie in the Park at Apodaca Park. It”
- 2021-07-06City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p2 “until the construction of the pickle ball courts Apodaca Park is completed. So,”
- 2021-06-21City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p14 “was a very sad and violent situation at Apodaca Park this morning with the”
- June 17, 2021"It should be called The Nevada Chicane Corridor" — a project closeout, failed pond aerators, and elections postponed
Public Works Director David Sedillo presented the closing of the Nevada Avenue Cool Corridor and was told by a member of the public that the project increases heat and should not carry the name. Staff reported that the Young Park pond aerators were removed in May as irreparable and a replacement system is on order. The board tabled its Chair and Vice Chair elections to July, saying it wanted a full complement first.
- May 20, 2021"The City of Las Cruces basically has blatantly lied" — a Cool Corridor complaint, and a $2.4 million parking lot
The board met by Zoom webinar with five of seven seats present and no action items on the agenda. A member of the public told the board the Nevada Cool Corridor's costs had grown past what the city stated and that 60% of its plant life had been replaced; the director said she would bring back a full report on the project. Consultants presented a 95%-complete design for the Veterans Memorial Park parking lot and pavilion.
- April 15, 2021The board un-approves its own minutes, then hears Young Park is losing water and a pavilion
Held via Zoom webinar. The board moved to retract its previously approved February 18 minutes for corrections, corrected them, and approved them again. A member of the public objected that Young Park's pond is being refilled twice a week with approximately 27,000 gallons and that the park's community pavilion was demolished and is being replaced with a smaller structure. Staff attributed the pond incident to staff error and said Public Works would answer the pavilion questions at the next meeting.
- March 18, 2021Fifty staff to fifty-seven, and acres added every year: the maintenance math
Held via Zoom webinar. Staff presented the maintenance impact of adding a new facility, reporting parks staffing has gone from 50 to 57 since 2008 while eight positions lost in the recession were never recovered. A second presentation covered splash pad water systems, including that a splash pad costs about $550,000 and that the city's one flow-through pad uses over 2.5 million gallons a year. Capital projects presented total just over $24 million.
- February 18, 2021GO Bond program at 26% on time, and the District 5 park gets a number: $675,000
Held via Zoom webinar. Public Works reported the GO Bond park program is 26% on time and 32% on cash, with Apodaca courts due in May and demolition started at Young Park. Staff said the new District 5 park has a funding source of approximately $675,000 from the Philippou settlement. Board members reported that three City Councilors each described the resolution as a one-off.
- January 21, 2021A park by resolution: the board asks what happens when Council skips it
Held via Zoom webinar. A resident objected that a City Council resolution to buy land and build a park in District 5 bypassed the board's normal process, and the board spent most of the meeting on what that precedent would cost. Staff said park impact fees are the only backup funding source and cannot be used for maintenance at all. No action items were on the agenda.
- 2020-12-21City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p8 “Cathy Mathews said the Apodaca Park project grant is from the Land and Water”
- November 19, 2020A resident asks where $2.2 million went, and the board gets the whole budget — an $18 million department with closed facilities
Meeting by Zoom with all Parks & Recreation facilities closed under the Public Health Order, the board heard a resident question the accounting on the Nevada Cool Corridor and got the Public Works director's answer on the record. Staff then walked the board through the entire FY21 budget — $11 million in general fund, a little over $18 million in total. The board approved two youth-painted murals and cancelled its own December meeting.
- August 20, 2020Two dozen players write in against the 45-minute court rule — and the board takes no action
The board met on Zoom with no action items on its agenda while a court reservation policy taking effect four days later drew about two dozen emailed public comments, printed in full across pages 11 to 49 of this document. The Chair read the emails aloud; the board took no vote on the policy, and the Director committed to answering every writer individually within 48 hours.
- August 20, 2020The same meeting, filed without the emails: ten pages that say the Chair read them
This is the city's ten-page filing of the August 20, 2020 board meeting — the minutes with no attachments. It records that the Chair read all emails submitted about the pickle ball and tennis scheduling change, that the board took no action on the policy, and that the Director committed to answering every writer within 48 hours. The emails themselves are in the other filing of the same meeting.
- 2020-07-06City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p6 “parking from Apodaca Park because there isn't any parking that is adequate or”
- p7 “Councilor Sorg said if we can add Solano and Apodaca Park, they could use”
- p7 “Councilor Sorg asked how would you enter Apodaca Park if you take that”
- June 18, 2020Two GO Bond plans go forward on Zoom, and a resident asks who is paying for the entry road
Meeting by Zoom for the first regular session since February, the board accepted the East Mesa Recreation Complex master plan presentation to move to City Council and approved the Parks & Sports Courts improvements. Three emailed public comments were read verbatim, one of them alleging that entry road funding had been taken "directly from the Go Bond funding as feared" — which the Interim Public Works Director denied on the record. A power outage cost one member his vote.
- 2020-06-15City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p13 “happen adjacent to the Apodaca Park on Madrid and North Solano?”
- 2020-05-18City Council minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p9 “recreation complex, and Apodaca Park. We will be conducting those same”
- 2020-04-13Work Session minutes
Mentioned in the minutes. Not confirmed as an action on this project — read the line and judge it.
- p17 “Dam Park in the fu ture and Apodaca Park. You’re going to need a pedestrian”
- February 20, 2020"Just putting another band aid" — tennis and pickleball push back on the GO Bond court plan
The first presentation of the GO Bond sports court rehabilitation to the board drew sustained objection from tennis and pickleball players, who said earlier meetings had led them to expect full resurfacing and professional-grade courts rather than crack repair. The board tabled the action to a special meeting and asked for two revisions — one with as much professional grade as possible, one showing what the existing money buys. A parent also told the board a discrimination complaint he filed in December 2018 was still unresolved.