The Las Cruces City Council will meet at 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 18, 2021 in Council Chambers at City Hall, 700 N. Main St. for a regularly scheduled meeting.
City Council will consider adoption of a Resolution that would approve a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) agreement between the City and Mesilla Valley Community of Hope (MVCH) for a shelter access improvement project. The City has received $20,000 in program funds from the U.S. government under Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, which created the CDBG Program.
The CDBG Program provides the City the opportunity to administer a federally funded program in accordance with the goals of the City's 2021 to 2025 Consolidated Plan which addresses low-income areas and residents' community development needs.
On May 3, 2021, City Council approved Resolution No. 21-162, thereby adopting the Program Year 2021 Action Plan. The 2021 Action Plan outlines how the City's CDBG funds will be spent during the City's Fiscal Year 2022.
The 2021 Action Plan allocated CDBG funding to MVCH for this project. The project will provide gap funding for the installation of three new key card access high security doors in existing locations, and the creation of a new entry point on the backside of MVCH’s Resource Room.
Additionally at Monday’s meeting, the Council will consider adoption of a Resolution approving the public art design recommendation for the Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley (ASCMV). A call for artists was initiated in March 2021 to create an outdoor, site-specific, public art sculpture to be installed at the corner of the new ASCMV facility expansion, currently under construction on Bataan Memorial West and Rinconada Boulevard.
The ASCMV expansion is part of the City’s $35.6 million GO Bond Project. Funds for the art project were appropriated from a percent allocation of the construction budget for the facility.
The artwork will be a large, free-standing sculpture that will be a neighborhood focal point, visible from surrounding streets, and adjacent to U.S. Highway 70. The design will illustrate the animals and services of the ASCMV, serving as a beacon to the public promoting the services center.
The art selection committee, a subcommittee appointed by the City Art Board, evaluated 139 submissions and chose three semifinalists. Finalists were asked to create a design art concept, including fabrication plan, budget, and maintenance recommendations.
The top-scoring proposal was from artist Vito DiBari. The recommended design concept proposes a nine-foot, die-cut steel sculpture depicting a representation of a cat and dog, the primary animals cared for at the ASCMV.
DiBari’s design is embellished with a silhouette of the sun and a flying bird cutout. The selection committee felt the design captured the spirit of the ASCMV and gave it high scores for meeting criteria as a focal point for the new site, reflecting the City of Las Cruces, its appropriateness to the site and use, and its fit with the landscape of the location.
The agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting is available online at https://lascruces.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&ID=222.
Monday’s City Council meeting will be televised live on CLC-TV, Comcast Cable channel 20. The meeting will also be available online at clctv.com and at YouTube.com/clctv20.
Prior to the meeting, City Council will meet in closed session at 10 a.m. Monday, at City Hall. During the Closed Meeting City Council will discuss collective bargaining negotiations. The Council also will discuss the regularly scheduled quarterly performance evaluation of City Manager Ifo Pili.