Presentations and Proclamations:
· The “Pet of the Week” was presented.
· A proclamation was read that declared Sep 9th as International Literacy Day and September as International Literacy Awareness Month. 25% of Dona Ana County residents cannot read at a level to earn a living wage and 50% are at the 4th grade level or less
· A proclamation was read that declared September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness month. 39.8% of children nationally are classified as overweight or obese
· A proclamation was read that declared September 15th as Lesbian/Gay/Bi-sexual/Transgender Awareness Day. Las Cruces was also recognized for having the first Lesbian/Gay/Bi-sexual/ Transgender community center in the State of New Mexico. It is located at 1210 N.Main Street.
· A proclamation was read that declared September 15th as Village at Northrise Recovery Day in recognition for 12 years of service, job training and patient care. They were recently recognized as the Best Management Team in New Mexico. They will be hosting an open house for the public on September 15th from 4-6 pm and encouraged the public to visit their facility
· G.Sandoval Construction Co. was presented a certificate from HUD recognizing them as the first Section 3 certified firm in the City. This was based on the requirement that 1/3 of their workforce be low income and ¼ of their work goes to low income businesses
· The Mayor recognized his 2010 Top Team, approximately 40 High School students, for their academic achievement
· Comcast presented a check to East Picacho Elementary School for $16,600 from their recent Comcast Care Day where more than 600 people showed up to clean up, paint or repair the school
· Isaac Chavez, Executive Director and Sharon DeBraal, President of the Las Cruces Board of Realtors presented the City with 24 digital cameras to use for the El Paseo redevelopment project.
Public Participation:
Leroy Rosier commented on the proposed curbside recycling program. He wanted to know where all the money will come from to purchase the new equipment to make it work. He stated that the increased costs will be a hardship on many retired residents. He wanted the option for smaller less expensive recycle containers and felt it was a bad time, financially, to implement this. The Mayor informed him the decision to implement will be considered at the December 20, 2010 Council meeting.
Resolutions and/or Ordinances for Consent Agenda
Items #6, 11, 12, & 13 were removed from the consent agenda and all others were approved by a vote of 7/0
1. Items #6 concerning Reimbursement for LCPD overtime not to exceed $15,000 for joint operations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement was approved by a vote of 7/0.
2. Item #11 concerning a contract to Molzen-Corbin Associates for engineering & design and drainage study for the Sandhill Arroyo Project in the amount of $249,816 was approved by a vote of 7/0.
3. Item #12 concerning a contract to Meyners & Company to provide tax recovery of erroneously paid Gross Receipts Taxes was approved by a vote of 7/0.
4. Item #13 was to authorize the application and acceptance of various grants totaling $83,910 for Las Cruces Airport improvement projects was approved 7/0.
5. Item # 18 concerned the routine budget adjustments (no budget enhancements) was approved 7/0
6. Item #19 was for the approve of use of septic systems in the development known as Overlook. This resulted in an hour and half discussion. The property was annexed in 2006 and all the surrounding developments are on septic systems. Dr Garcia, Director of Utilities, said the City master plan did not call for City sewer to be extended to this area for the next 15-20 years. Councilors Silva, Pedroza, Small, Sorg, Thomas and Mayor Miyagishima all wanted additional studies to be conducted on environmental effects and for the City to amend its code to address the issue. The Mayor admitted that the City did not do a good job in analyzing the property when it was originally annexed. They have had nearly 4 years to address it. Councilor Connor wanted a clear up or down vote. Councilor Silva opposed septic systems and feels City approval would “bail out” another developer. The Council chose to table it until October 18th.by a vote of 5/2
7. Item #20 was another routine budget adjustment (no budget enhancements) resolution. It was passed by a vote of 6/0. Councilor Pedroza was absent
8. Item #21 concerned the renaming to two sections of the old Del Rey Blvd due to its realignment. This passed 7/0
9. Item #22 concerned amending the City Municipal Code to require cost or price analysis on all Federally funded procurements as required by Federal regulations. This passed 6/0 (Councilor Small was not present)
10. Item #23 concerned the purchase of property in the Industrial Park for a business expansion. It was passed by a vote of 6/0 (The Mayor recused himself due to possible conflict of interest issues)
Board Appointments or review of any proposed ordinances
The Mayor appointed two members to the Transportation Board and one to the Downtown Revitalization Project
Status/Updates on Current Project List
There was no discussion on any items on the project list
General Discussions:
Councilor Thomas, District 6:
· Announced that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood will visit the city in October.
· She also announced there will be a transportation summit on Sep 9th at City Hall. It is open to the public but registration is required
· There is no representative to the Veteran’s Advisory Board and she recommended that former Mayor-Pro-Tem Archueletta be appointed. The City Clerk advised the Council that this would require a change to the City ordinance. Terrence Moore said that staff will be assigned to represent the City at the VAB.
Councilor Sorg, District 5:
· Said that Las Cruces is a wonderful place to live and is less expensive than most other areas and that the residents should be willing to pay for recycling and other “quality of Life” issues to live here.
Councilor Small, District 4:
· Wants more City emphasis on developing the Picacho corridor
Councilor Pedroza, District 3:
· Thanked the City staff for educating her on City functions
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment