The Las Cruces City Council was updated on the 2021 to 2025 Consolidated Plan at its Monday, March 22, 2021 Work Session.
Upon completion of the review at Monday’s City Council Work Session, City staff announced that a final document of the Consolidated Plan will be presented to City Council at its May 3, 2021 meeting for consideration and acceptance.
The City of Las Cruces, as an entitlement community for the Community Development Block Grant program and a participating jurisdiction for the HOME program from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), must develop and adopt a five-year plan that identifies the community development and affordable housing needs that the City will attempt to address during the plan period.
The Consolidated Plan includes a required Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice and a 2021 Action Plan. The plans are currently available for public comment and review at: https://www.las-cruces.org/2378/Consolidated-PlanAction-Plan until April 15, 2021. Public comments must be received by 5 p.m. Thursday, April 15, 2021.
Public comments can be submitted by any of the following methods:
Written comments by mail:
Community Development Department, Community Improvement Program
ATTN: Action Plan
P.O. Box 20000
Las Cruces, NM 88004
Written comments by e-mail to: ngreen@las-cruces.org.
Public comments by phone: 575/528-3022 (voice) or 575/528-3157 (TTY).
These plans must be submitted to HUD no later than May 14, 2021.
Four public hearings to receive comments on the 2021 Annual Action Plan and use of funds will be conducted. All meetings will be conducted virtually using Zoom. To register online for any of the public meetings, go to www.las-cruces.org/ConPlan.
Public hearings regarding the Consolidate Plan are scheduled at the following times and dates:
Noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, 2021
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_3ieybD3yR-C3KsbG3o82tA
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, 2021
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7CFWars9Rfua9BTgfvjyrg
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, 2021
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_h7170267TZiOr5efvq9pZA
2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 1, 2021
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_7G4NA1YVRk6yOH1h46Dp4A
At Monday’s Work Session, the Council also reviewed the development thus far of the City’s 2022 fiscal year budget. In November 2020, the City’s Public Works Department and Budget Office met with Mayor Ken Miyagishima and each Council member to get their priorities for the 2022 fiscal year, which begins July 1.
Public Works and the Budget Office developed a list and fact sheet of all the Council priorities from those meetings. The proposed budget will be considered for adoption by the Council in May.
The consensus from Council during the work session was for City staff to prepare a list of Council priority projects that could be accomplished during the City’s 2022 fiscal year, which begins July 1, and a list of projects that will take more time to complete.
The Council also received its first quarterly update from the Alliance for Regional Military Support (ARMS) during the Work Session. The alliance is a nonprofit 501 (c)6 organization whose mission is to support the three military installations in the region referred to as the TRIAD: White Sands Missile Range, Holloman Air Force Base, and Fort Bliss.
The City entered into an agreement with ARMS in late 2020 to perform promotion and advocacy services. The focus areas for ARMS are to grow the missions of each installation and to retain, attract and recruit defense-related industries to the region, working in partnership with the economic development entities of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, Border Industrial Association, and Borderplex Alliance.
Mayor Ken Miyagishima said ARMS’ value to the City is its military contacts and its relationships with Pentagon officials and New Mexico State University’s Physical Science Laboratory.
Another Work Session topic informed the Council on proposed changes to City’s Procurement Code. In 2019, portions of the code were identified for revision or new inclusion. The proposed revisions intend to provide clarity, make the Procurement Code more user friendly, clear up multiple cross-references between sections, and to realign and consolidate sections.
The proposed changes to the Procurement Code will formally be presented for a first reading at a future City Council meeting.