After 16 months of meetings, work sessions or special meetings that had to be conducted remotely by video conference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Las Cruces City Council is returning to City Hall, 700 N. Main St., to conduct its business.
City Council will conduct its first meeting since March 2020 in Council Chambers at 1 p.m. July 19, 2021. It will be the first time the seven-member Council has been able to convene together in the same place.
“We’re pleased and excited about resuming live meetings again where we’re all together,” Mayor Ken Miyagishima said. “There are a few things I want to implement with the meetings, but I’m confident everyone will be able to adapt.”
However, as the City of Las Cruces resumes in-person regular City Council meetings, safety measures will be implemented to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and COVID variants to maintain a safe environment for the public and City employees.
To enhance COVID safety practices during City Council meetings Mayor Ken Miyagishima, who chairs the meetings, will enact an Emergency Proclamation on Friday, July 16. The Emergency Proclamation is to assert that the City remains in a state of public health emergency and shall continue to implement and follow the guidelines issued in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Executive Order 2021030 and the Public Health Order, issued on June 30.
The Emergency Proclamation will be in effect for 72 hours, through the Monday, July 19 Council meeting. However, there is a proposed Resolution on the Consent Agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting to extend the Emergency Proclamation.
The Emergency Proclamation will require people who have not been vaccinated, or are unable to provide proof of vaccination, to wear face masks while attending City Council meetings. People should be prepared to provide a copy of their COVID-19 vaccination card to security guards who will be at the entrances to Council Chambers.
Attendees in City Council Chambers will also be required to observe safe social distancing by sitting at least six feet apart. Social distancing and facial coverings are also required in all other public areas of City Hall for individuals who are not fully vaccinated, in accordance with the current Health Order.
Additionally, the City of Las Cruces will allocate resources that will facilitate safe compliance with the Governor’s Executive Orders, the State of New Mexico Emergency Public Health Orders, and City of Las Cruces Emergency Proclamations. This includes the enforcement of wearing face coverings and practicing social distancing requirements in other public areas of City Hall.
All City Council meetings, work sessions, and special meetings will continue to be televised live on CLC-TV, Comcast Cable channel 20. Those events will also be available online at clctv.com and at YouTube.com/clctv20.