MOVIES IN THE PARK DOWNTOWN PLAZA DEVELOPMENT PLANS QUARTERLY MASTER PROJECT REPORT FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014

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1 FRIDAY, MAY 2, 2014 MOVIES IN THE PARK This popular, family-fun event is back and will continue through the month of May! This week s feature is Despicable Me 2. All showings are at Young Park, 1905 E. Nevada, beginning at 7:30 p.m. A special thank you to our prime sponsor, Oscar Andretti with Pic Quik. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE LIST OF MOVIES DOWNTOWN PLAZA DEVELOPMENT PLANS City administration has been actively working with Las Cruces Community Partners (LCCP) to move forward with a specific plan of action that would enable construction of the downtown Las Cruces Plaza. We have clarified several things that will allow an expedited plaza development process to commence very soon. Two agreements need to be finalized and executed. One is an acquisition agreement between Bank of the West and LCCP. The final execution of that contract is contingent on the negotiation and approval of a plaza development agreement between the City and LCCP. At this time LCCP is drafting, and City administration will be reviewing, a proposed planning, design, and construction agreement to be presented to the mayor and City Council. This agreement will contain a clear scope of work; process for design control and oversight by the City, costs for associated components, and a timeline for execution of these elements. If agreed to by City Council in its final form, conceptually, the City would make progress payments to LCCP for their work to develop the plaza in an incremental way aligned with completed portions of the agreed work plan. Upon receipt of a signed plaza development agreement from the City, LCCP reports it will be able to sign and agree to the acquisition of the bank property. Currently, there is not a signed agreement between LCCP and Bank of the West because LCCP s primary interest in the bank property is for the purpose of building a plaza. If they can t secure an agreement from the City to build the plaza, they may not pursue the property from the bank. Given all of the moving parts, I am still convinced we are on the best path forward to expeditiously design and build the downtown plaza. It is my expectation that an agreement will be negotiated for plaza construction very soon and it will be presented in concept to the mayor and City Council at the May 12 work session. QUARTERLY MASTER PROJECT REPORT City staff continues to work on implementing major projects contained in the current City budget. 1

2 The project update for this quarter includes 98 projects, with the majority, 59, being in infrastructure (Public Works and Utilities). This document lists most of the ongoing projects where capital expenditures and professional staff time are allocated. The number of active projects is a reduction from last quarter, where we had more than 105 active projects. This means many have been completed and closed out. A considerable amount of progress has been achieved with numerous projects and I m glad to provide this update on specific project progress. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE PROJECT UPDATE MVEDA QUARTERLY REPORT Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA) President and CEO Davin Lopez provided the third quarter report for FY 2013/14. In an effort to keep the mayor, City Council, and City administration current on efforts, strategies and successes, Mr. Lopez continues to report on a quarterly basis. He provides a summary of activities and progress in a variety of areas including leads, prospects, completed projects, square footage additions, employment gains, and capital investments in our community. The report further elaborates on MVEDA board directives and efforts moving forward with many potential opportunities and market strategies. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MVEDA QUARTERLY REPORT FIREFIGHTERS PARTICIPATE IN NATIONAL TRAINING EXERCISE By Travis Brown, Fire Chief Six members from the Las Cruces Fire Department, serving as part of New Mexico Task Force 1, recently participated in a full-scale urban search and rescue exercise at the Guardian Center in Perry, Georgia. The exercise simulated a severe earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska and ran for 96 hours without interruption. The scenario created a realistic environment for the team to test their capabilities, to include role players being trapped in debris. New Mexico Task Force 1 is part of the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). There are a total of 28 teams throughout the United States that can be deployed to assist during a variety of large incidents and disasters. Team members have specialized tools, equipment and training necessary to rescue victims from structural collapse incidents or to assist with other search and rescue missions. New Mexico Task Force 1 has been deployed to several of our nation s worst incidents such as Oklahoma City bombing, Hurricane Katrina and the Pentagon during the September 11 attacks. We currently sponsor nine firefighters as members of Task Force 1 and are adding six more of our personnel in the near future. 2

3 The Las Cruces firefighters serving on Task Force 1 bring these advanced techniques and skills back to our community where they serve as members of the department s Technical Rescue Team or Hazardous Materials Response Team. Because of their specialized training and experience, we are better prepared to deal with these types of rescue situations in our own community, which provides for a higher level of service to our citizens. TRAFFIC CALMING ON BOUTZ ROAD By Brian Denmark, ACM/COO A residential neighborhood off of Boutz Road west of Interstate 10 has always been vocal about concerns with speeding traffic and impacts to the quality of life of their area of the community. The City has responded with a traffic calming project in collaboration with the neighborhood. The area in question is from Crossley Lane off of Boutz Road on the east side of the neighborhood to Papillion Lane to the west and abutting the Mesilla town limits. Area residents have expressed concern with speeding vehicles along Boutz Road and unsafe conditions it creates for the neighborhood. City staff surveyed the neighborhood and analyzed the corridor to determine a course of action. After a neighborhood meeting to report the results of staff s analysis, a plan of action was agreed upon to install speed tables and indicators along Boutz Road. The work was recently completed with the speed tables on the west and east edges of the neighborhood and a speed indicator in each direction in the middle portion of the neighborhood. The speed indicators were challenging to install due to the many trees in the neighborhood that limit solar availability, however, staff was successful in locating the indicators within an effective area and the speed tables have been built with the appropriate speed for the corridor and accommodate safe travel. Congratulations to Jamey Rickman, Community Liaison, and Willie Roman, Acting Street & Traffic Operations Administrator, and staff for their fine efforts in working with the neighborhood to address their concerns! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE TRAFFIC CALMING LOCATIONS 2014 GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP A GREAT SUCCESS! By James Woods, Keep Las Cruces Beautiful Coordinator On behalf of the Las Cruces Police Department, Codes Enforcement, and Keep Las Cruces Beautiful, thank you to the Las Cruces community for making the Great American Cleanup on Saturday, April 12, a success. More than 500 volunteers picked up litter and removed graffiti. Volunteers deposited more than 10,000 pounds of trash in six large trash containers placed in different locations around the city. But without the efforts of our sponsors donating water, soda, food, and gift cards, it would not have been a success. 3

4 Listed are the sponsors: Walmart Sonic The Bean Mountain View Market Pepsi of Las Cruces Genie and the Starliners New Mexico Clean & Beautiful The efforts of sponsors and volunteers really make a difference in our city. I offer a special thanks to all three Walmart locations for providing lunch to all volunteers. CITY COUNCIL MEETING PREVIEW FOR MONDAY, MAY 5 Items listed reflect only some of the topics my office received inquiries about recently. A complete listing of all agenda items is available on BY CLICKING HERE South Central Solid Waste Authority Loan The City of Las Cruces is the fiscal agent for the South Central solid Waste Authority (SCSWA) that is seeking to refinance an existing loan to avail themselves of preferable market conditions. An ordinance to adopt a loan agreement with the New Mexico Finance Authority is being presented for a loan in the amount of $2,780,000. The loan proceeds are intended to provide for general operation of equipment, landfills and other solid waste facilities. Joint Water and Wastewater Utility Service The City of Las Cruces provides both water and wastewater services. In 1998, City Council adopted a resolution that required anyone seeking City-operated sewer services to also be a City water service customer. Since then, there have been many situations where that condition has caused restrictions in service and resulted in waivers or variances in the policy. A recent example is the funding of septic tank remediation projects in areas where the City is not the primary water provider. This proposed resolution is intended to repeal the strict requirement previously imposed and enable negotiated services regardless of the selected water provider. South Central Regional Transit District The City of Las Cruces has joined two counties and eight cities in the region to provide regional transportation. The South Central Council of Governments (SCCOG) is the fiscal agent for this program. The long-term goal of the regional transit district is to expand transit services within the Sierra and Doña Ana County service areas, including expansion and enhancement of the RoadRUNNER Transit system in Las Cruces. They hope to gain voter approval on a ballot initiative later this year to help fund the program in the long term. In the interim, the City of Las Cruces has pledged almost $50,000 annually for three years to help get the program up and running. This resolution provides for the second year of funding. 4

5 Health-Related Public Service Allocations This resolution would authorize the distribution of funds under the City s health-related public services program. This program is funded from interest earned on investment of proceeds from the 40-year, pre-paid lease with LifePoint Hospitals for the Memorial Medical Center facility. A total of $300,000 was authorized by City Council for distribution and the Health and Human Services Advisory Committee is recommending distribution to 14 agencies that applied for the funding. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS HEALTH-RELATED FUNDING 2014/2015 Budget and Capital Improvement Adoption There are two separate resolutions presented for consideration and adoption of the budget for next fiscal year. One is the overall municipal budget in the amount of $272,331,164 (a 2.9% reduction from the current year). The other is the capital improvement program listing over $35 million in capital projects in the areas of water, wastewater, gas, streets, storm drains, parks, recreation, bicycle and pedestrian systems and more. The New Mexico State Department of Finance and Administration requires the budget to be adopted by the City Council no later than 30 days before the new fiscal year. THE WEEK AHEAD STANDARD, NON-STANDARD, OPERATIONAL AND JOINT BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEETINGS Courtesy of the Public Information Office MONDAY MAY 5, a.m. 12 p.m. University District Citizens' Design Review Board meeting - City Hall, 700 N. Main St. (CANCELLED) 1 5 p.m. City Council Meeting - City Hall, 700 N. Main St., Council Chambers TUESDAY MAY 6, 2014 No scheduled meetings WEDNESDAY MAY 7, a.m. Development Review Committee - City Hall, 700 N. Main St., room p.m. Street Lights Alameda Historic District meeting - WIA Building, 340 N. Reymond St. THURSDAY MAY 8, a.m. Senior Programs Advisory Board meeting - Benavidez Center, 1045 McClure Rd. 5

6 2 4 p.m. Extra-Territorial Development Review Committee - City Hall, 700 N. Main St., room p.m. Las Cruces Utilities Board of Commissioners meeting - Utilities Center, 680 N. Motel Blvd., room 225 FRIDAY MAY 9, p.m. Frank O Brien Papen Community Center Open House 304 W. Bell St. Meeting dates for boards and committees are gathered from the public meetings calendar in Outlook. Meetings may be cancelled or scheduled after this notice is issued. 6