Albuquerque City Council Meeting - February 19, 2025
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Albuquerque City Council Meeting - February 19, 2025
This was the 26th meeting of the 26th City Council, held at 5:00 PM in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers. All nine councilors were present. The meeting included a presentation on the Route 66 Centennial, approvals of mayoral appointments, a resolution for a master plan, a memorial supporting military spouse licensure portability, and an executive session regarding EPA complaints. The meeting adjourned at 7:20 PM.
Proclamations & Presentations
- Route 66 Centennial Update: The Director of Arts and Culture presented an update on preparations for the 2026 centennial. Key highlights included: external funding of over $500,000 from New Mexico True and other sources; a partnership with Meow Wolf and Refract Studio for an augmented reality "Art Fueled Road Trip" along Route 66; a new website (visitabq.org) with historical content; a sign restoration program with 14 projects underway; and an inventory of historic signs on 4th Street. The director noted ongoing funding needs and referred to a 25-page full report.
Consent Calendar
- Appointments (Items a-i, k): Most mayoral appointments to various boards and commissions were postponed to March 3, 2025, or confirmed on an 8-1 vote (Councilor Champine dissenting on all).
- Postponed: EC-25-291 (Old Town Portal Market Advisory Board), EC-25-317 (Early Head Start Board Report).
- Confirmed: EC-25-303 (Tiffany Heather Jiron), EC-25-304 (Amy M. Kindrick), EC-25-305 (Mary Nance), EC-25-306 (Jordon B. McConnell), EC-25-307 (Mathew Munoz), EC-25-308 (Erika Lohr), EC-25-310 (Montel S. Richardson), EC-25-311 (Teresa Marie Garcia) — all to respective boards/commissions.
- R-24-12 (Pollution abatement in Mountain View neighborhood): Died on expiration (8-1 vote, Champine dissenting).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Rail Trail Funding: Multiple speakers (Andrew Kelleher, James Moye, Chanel Chapino Gensler, Stephen Palon, Mark Bylone, Diane Jones, Janice Herrera) expressed opposition to a prior council decision to transfer $500,000 from the Rail Trail project to the West Side Youth Sports Complex (Ken Sanchez Indoor Sports Complex). They argued the transfer sets a bad precedent, undermines trust, delays a key pedestrian/bicycle safety project, and sends a negative signal to state legislators. Councilor Sanchez and Mr. Motsko (staff) explained the funds were from GRT bond interest, not state money, and that both projects remain fully funded. Councilor Peña noted she only voted for the transfer after Councilor Baca agreed to the move.
- Pit Count: James Freeman criticized the administration for conducting encampment sweeps during the annual Point-in-Time homeless count, stating it undermined the count’s accuracy. The CAO responded that the city agreed not to clear encampments in designated zones but continued other cleanup and fire response activities.
- Other Comments:
- Brick Jonasi and Let's Otro spoke about government corruption.
- Anami Das reported on Human Rights Board activities, noting no federal funds are used and opposing a state bill on anti-Semitic discrimination as unnecessary.
- Lisa Christofferson thanked APD for protecting protesters at a "Not My President's Day" rally and urged continued support for sanctuary city policies.
- Janice Herrera raised concerns about animal welfare access for unhoused pet owners.
Discussion Items
- EC-25-314 (Grant Applications Report, July-Dec 2024): Pulled from consent by Councilor Grout. Finance staff reported that a $6 million state housing infrastructure grant was awarded to two affordable housing projects (Somos and Ferralito) and the San Mateo Inn purchase for a youth navigation center. Councilor Rogers asked about a $4.2 million CDBG grant; staff confirmed funds are committed through the annual action plan. The report was approved unanimously (9-0).
- P-25-7 and R-25-119 (Charter amendment on performing arts center): Councilor Baca introduced a proposition to repeal Article XI, Section 7 of the city charter, which requires a public vote on spending over $10 million for a performing arts center. He argued the charter should not contain project-specific restrictions. Public comment: Maureen Baca (NM Philharmonic) supported removal to allow timely decisions; Lisa Christofferson asked for continued citizen input. Both items were postponed unanimously to March 3, 2025, for a second hearing.
- R-25-121 (Master plan for Historic Route 66 in Atrisco Land Grant): Sponsored by Vice-President Peña, Councilor Baca, and Councilor Sanchez. The resolution requests a master plan focusing on public rights-of-way, land use, and development concepts based on cultural, historical, recreational, environmental, and economic goals. Passed unanimously (9-0).
- M-25-4 (Memorial supporting military spouse licensure portability): Councilor Grout sponsored memorial supporting state bills (HB 79, 81, 82, 110, 412, 413; SB 46, 104, 105, 106) to ease transfer of professional licenses for military spouses. An amendment added three more professions (EMS, physician assistants, osteopathic physicians). Passed as amended unanimously (9-0).
- Administration Q&A: Topics included:
- Bus wrapping program: Revenue and placements doubled since August 2024; RFP to be issued in June.
- Central Avenue bike lanes (District 2): Removing center lane for buffered bike lanes; digital meters to manage delivery/parking.
- Fiber optic installation: Ongoing coordination with providers; issues with right-of-way disruptions; 311 available for complaints.
- San Mateo/Central project: Developer has three years to start under tax abatement; development agreement being negotiated.
- DMD project tracking meetings: CAO acknowledged need to reinstate regular coordination meetings with council staff.
- Listo Health contract for sobering center: Contract canceled due to performance concerns; $2.5 million remains; new RFP issued; council not notified as required — department cited confusion over reporting rules.
- Supportive Housing Coalition debt: Amount now $247,861; repayment plan being finalized; no reimbursement yet.
- Head Start advisory committee: Councilor Grout asked when the legally required committee would be re-established; administration promised answer by next day.
- Wilson and Company contract for safe streets grant: Not yet signed; councilor urged prompt action.
Key Outcomes
- Votes:
- Consent agenda (except EC-25-314): Approved 8-1 (Champine dissenting).
- EC-25-314 (Grant report): Approved 9-0.
- EC-25-309 (Admin hearings contract extension of $25,000): Approved 9-0.
- P-25-7 and R-25-119 (Performing arts center charter amendment): Postponed to March 3, 2025 (9-0).
- R-25-121 (Route 66 master plan): Passed 9-0.
- M-25-4 (Military spouse licensure): Amended and passed 9-0.
- Executive Session: Held to discuss EPA Complaint Nos. 04NO-24-R6 and 06RNO-24-R6 under attorney-client privilege; motion passed 9-0. President Bassan affirmed only those matters were discussed.
- Next Steps: Deferred items (P-25-7, R-25-119, and certain consent items) to March 3, 2025. Administration to respond to outstanding questions on Listo contract, supportive housing repayment, head start committee, and Wilson & Company contract.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. This is the 26th meeting of the 26th Council, and we will come to order. All counselors are present this evening with Councillor Sanchez joining on Zoom and Councilor Lewis should be here momentarily. We're going to begin the evening with a moment of silence, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance in both English and Spanish. Civic Plaza parking passes are provided for members of the public. You can obtain a parking pass from council staff at the near at the table near the chamber's entrance. Members of the public, city staff, and the media have the ability to view this meeting in person. Bear with us as we test out some of our sound time and try to improve it. Pardon me. So members of the public can view this meeting in person and on live streams through four different platforms Gov TV on Comcast Channel 16, the Gup TV website, YouTube, and Zoom webinar. The live streams can be can be accessed from most smartphones, tablets, or computers. Also, this meeting is closed, captioned, and you may enable the closed captioning services on your television or device at this time. We're good for now. Okay. The video recording of this and all past council meetings will remain available for viewing at any time on the city council's website. Council staff is available via telephone. If members of the public need assistance finding the videos online, please call 505 768-310 for assistance during business hours Monday through Friday, 8 to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The council will take a break at approximately 7 p.m. this evening if needed. With regard to decorum in the chambers, we want tonight's proceeding to be as civil and respectful as possible. Please do not make any personal attacks and please no applause or snapping or other outbursts during the meeting. Good evening. Hello. Okay. Okay. Just have to read and click at the same time. And I do the best I can. All right. So I assume you guys can see the presentation. Yes, we can. Thank you. Okay, great. All right. Um, Council President Sun, members of the council, thank you so much for this opportunity to talk about the Route 66 Centennial. Uh, it is just less than a year away now. So it seems like we've been talking about it for a while. Um, and it's getting closer and closer, and we've made a lot of great progress. Um, I'm gonna just hit on a couple of high notes today. Um see here. Uh one thing that we're very proud of is that we've brought in quite a bit of external funding. So we've had um really generous support from the mayor's office and from council over the past few uh few years in non-recurring funding, but we've also brought in additional funding. So we've have um the Department of Arts and Culture has brought in over a half million dollars from New Mexico True. No, the council brought in over $300,000 from I mean New Mexico Tourism Department, New Mexico True Money, and um, we've also brought in a little bit of money from the National Endowment for the Arts and also the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Um we have started on our big initiative, which is uh really to activate the whole length of Route 66 from singing arrow open space all the way to Nine Mile Hill and the Route 66 Visitor Center through what we're calling art fueled road trip. So this is gonna be about 20 different stops from open space all the way to the visitors center. It's gonna be a combination of augmented reality and new murals and sculptures along the way, and they'll be uh kind of um an overarching story that will guide visitors and locals alike to visit um different stops along the way and experience new uh art activations. So we'll be working with local artists, and we have two really important and exciting creative partners for that. One of them is Refract Studio, which is an augmented reality studio out of um Santa Fe that's done some amazing national work and gotten some really impressive recent awards, and the other one is familiar to a lot of people, and that's meow wolf. And so we just finalized our partnership with Meow Wolf, and they'll be coming on board for those of you that joined us yesterday.
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