An update of the 2022 General Obligation (GO) Bonds initiative, followed by a status update of GO Bond projects currently underway, was presented Monday, June 27, 2022 to the Las Cruces City Council during a work session in Council Chambers at City Hall, 700 N. Main St.
With an assumption the City of Las Cruces could seek a $23 million GO Bond election on Nov. 8, 2022, City Council tentatively identified funding levels for four priorities that registered city voters identified in a survey conducted in May. During Monday’s work session, there was preliminary, informal City Council consensus to support:
- $10 million in GO Bonds for construction of a new Fire Station No. 9.
- $6 million for the next phase of improvements to the East Mesa Recreation Complex.
- $5 million for affordable housing initiatives.
- $2 million for Parks and Recreation improvements.
The next step in the 2022 GO Bond initiative is scheduled to happen at the July 18, 2022 City Council meeting when it will discuss the finalization of ballot questions for the GO Bond election.
The deadline to submit ballot questions to the Doña Ana County Clerk for a GO Bond election in November is August 23.
Information about the 2022 GO Bond initiative is available online at https://www.las-cruces.org/2547/2022-GO-Bond.
Additionally, City Council was presented with a quarterly update on the status of current GO Bond projects. The update provided new details about the $35.6 million in GO bond projects that City voters approved in 2018.
The Council learned at Monday’s work session:
- Of the $35.6 million in GO Bonds approved by City voters, $26.6 million has been spent so far.
- $3.7 million in improvements at the Hadley Recreation Complex are completed.
- $1.8 million in parks and sports courts has been completed.
- $2 million in improvements to Unidad Park are 59 percent complete. The revised completion date for the community park is Nov. 22, 2022.
- The $6 million East Mesa Public Recreation Complex is about 21 percent complete. While all GO Bond funding will be spent by December 2022, the estimated date for completion of this phase of the complex’s construction is Feb. 6, 2023.
- Construction of a new $10.7 million Animal Services Center of the Mesilla Valley and dog parks at Rinconada and Burn Lake are 67 percent complete and should be finished by Dec. 8, 2022.
- Replacement of Fire Station No. 3, on Valley Drive, is 99 percent complete. The revised completion date of the $6.2 million facility is June 30. The Las Cruces Fire Department is operating at the new fire station.
- $2.4 million in improvements to walking, jogging, and biking trails are 97 percent complete, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 6, 2022.
Information about 2018 GO Bond Projects is available online at https://www.las-cruces.org/1892/2018-General-Obligation-Bond-Projects.