The Las Cruces City Council will meet at 1 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, 2022, in Council Chambers at City Hall, 700 N. Main St., for a regularly scheduled meeting.
City Council will consider the adoption of a Resolution that would suspend fares for RoadRUNNER Transit services through June 30, 2023. The suspension of fares would be done to conduct a Zero Fare demonstration project.
Anticipating City Council approval of full implementation for this project, RoadRUNNER Transit Section began offering an initial zero fare period on Nov. 28, 2022, using Council-approved “fare-free” marketing days. For full implementation, fares established in the Council-approved Transit Tariff, which were adopted by a Resolution in 2019, would need to be suspended for the remainder of the City’s 2022 fiscal year.
If adopted by City Council, fixed route and Dial-A-Ride transit users would pay no fare through June 30, 2023. The purpose of this demonstration project is to assess the feasibility of an extended or permanent zero-fare program.
RoadRUNNER staff will provide the City Manager a report in April 2023, that will be shared with City Council, outlining the results of this demonstration project. The report will help Council determine if the program should be ended, continued, or made permanent and will outline if additional resources may be needed to extend the program beyond June 30, 2023.
Funds already collected in the general fund will be transferred to the special revenue fund established for this Ordinance.
Also at Monday’s meeting, City Council will consider a Resolution that would amend the City’s 2023 fiscal year budget for environmental service fees collected for plastic single-use carryout bags. On Aug. 16, 2021, City Council adopted Ordinance 2984 limiting the use of plastic single-use carryout bags in certain retail operations.
The ordinance, which began Jan. 1, 2022, established an environmental service fee of 10 cents for each paper grocery bag provided to customers. Initially, it was unknown how much revenue would be collected during a fiscal year from the plastic single-use carryout bags environmental service fee.
This Resolution is establishing a specific fund to budget revenue and expenses for this Ordinance. The estimated Fiscal Year 2023 revenues for this Ordinance are $200,000.
Additionally, during Monday’s meeting, City Council will consider a Resolution approving the City’s top capital outlay project priorities for the 2023 New Mexico legislative session beginning in January.
At a City Council Work Session on Oct. 10, 2022, staff presented possible capital appropriation projects. The projects selected were based on project readiness, the project being listed on the State of New Mexico Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) for 2023-2024, anticipated additional funding sources, and the scalability of projects. The projects that were prioritized during the Work Session, include:
- A sewer installation project to provide wastewater access to those areas of the City utilizing septic tanks.
- Continued development of East Mesa roads and drainage.
- Completion of the improved traffic flow infrastructure and signal improvements at the Telshor Boulevard and Spruce Avenue intersection.
- A Complete Streets Plan and implementations for the University Avenue Corridor.
- Lift Up Las Cruces street lighting.
- Lift Up Las Cruces roadway improvements.
- The purchase of body cameras for Las Cruces police.
- Construct, renovate and improve various fire stations throughout Las Cruces.
- Park improvements for Gomez Park and the Pioneer Park gazebo and plaza area.
- Improvements and infrastructure at Las Cruces International Airport to allow for passenger service, construction of a new maintenance facility and a new fuel farm, rehabilitation of a water tank as a primary water source, and improvements for Runway 4-22.
- Improvements to City museums, Veterans Park, and City trails to increase tourism.
This Resolution will enable those projects to be submitted as requests to the legislative delegation prior to the start of the 2023 New Mexico Legislative Session.
The full agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting is available at https://lascruces.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=375.
Monday’s City Council meeting will be televised on CLCTV, Comcast Cable channel 20, and in high definition on Comcast Cable channel 928. The meeting also will be available at YouTube.com/clctv20.