Councilor Silva was not present.
1. The Mayor held a moment of silence for those who were killed in Albuquerque earlier in the day.
2. The pet of the week was presented.
3. The Council and Staff had reduced the Capital Improvements Project list from $480 million to $113 million.
· The goal is to develop a 10 year CIP strategy.
· The State has authorized the City the option to increase the GRT by ¼%. This does not require voter approval, just approval by council.
· The provisions of Change order Resolution passed in 1993 are still valid.
4. The City will meet with AARP to conduct a City wide pedestrian study. New Mexico is number 4 in the nation in pedestrian accidents. They are planning for the study to be conducted in the September-October time frame.
5. Impact fees: Brian Denmark, City Director of Parks and Recreation made a presentation on impact fees.
· He wants direction from the Council on how to develop and maintain City parks.
· Current impact fees are $800 per new lot and changes to this have to go through the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee (CIAC).
· He pointed out that some of the new parks (i.e. Desert Trails) have only completed Phase I and do not have the funds to complete Phase II or beyond.
· He anticipates a realistic impact fee should be $2000 per lot but understands the adverse impact this has on affordable housing.
· One option is to require the developer to completely build the park when they complete the development.
· One of the significant issues is that impact fees cannot cover ongoing and future maintenance of the park. This requires funding from the City budget.
· The Mayor wants all future parks to be at least the size of Sagecrest Park (approximately 2 acres) and wants to schedule a joint Council-CIAC work session
· Councilor Connor challenged the Mayor's idea and expressed a concern about the legality or appropriateness of a joint session with CIAC. The acting City Attorney told Connor this would not be a problem.
· Mr Denmark also advised the council that they could adopt a regional park concept and use impact fees to fund future parks outside of a specific service area.
· There are more than 100 parks within the City of Las Cruces.
· Councilor Thomas wants the Open Trails plan presented again to the Council and wants parks connected by bike/walking trails instead of more parks.
· They agreed to schedule the joint session for 8/26/10 and want input from the realtors, BIA, and the public on fee increases.
· Councilor Small acknowledged that the current impact fee system has not been fair to the developers or residents.
6. The RV ordinance was reviewed without change.
7. Asst City Manager announced the top 4 priorities for the Capital Improvements Project List. He will publish a complete list. The order of priority is.:
· Mesilla Valley Regional Dispatch Center (911 Call Center)
· Burn Lake development
· East Mesa Drainage
· City wide street renovation
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