Your life.

Well, good afternoon, everyone.

Welcome to the city council meeting.

Today is Monday, June 1st, 2026.

It's approximately one PM.

I'm Mayor Eric Enriquez.

Before we start, I want to mention that we have the American Sign Language up in front as interpreters available.

They're here at every city council meeting.

We'll start with a moment of silence for the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces as they protect our interests around the globe, as well as the courageous men and women of the Las Cruces Police Department and the Las Cruces Fire Department as they keep our city safe twenty-four-seven three sixty-five.

Councilor Brigoma, if you'll lead us in the pledge.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Champions.

Thanks, Mayor.

As you can see, Mayor wore exactly the right colors today, so he did he did good.

Okay, now we have a proclamation for National Automotive Service Professionals Week presented to May say to May Mercedes Tamayako, and if we can have all of you come down.

See lots of you in the audience.

I know I want you all to come down.

Well, they're making their way.

Can you raise your hand who you are?

Yes, hi.

Couple of her parents work for the city, so we're very proud.

Proud of them.

Don't be shy.

Come on down.

I know it's hard to follow the softball champs, but we want to celebrate you all as well.

Okay, and the proclamation reads as follows.

Whereas the city services team plays an essential role in maintaining the safety, reliability, and readiness of the vehicles that support our organization's daily operations, and whereas our technicians, service writers, parts specialists, and support staff demonstrate exceptional skill and diagnostics, maintenance, and repair across a diverse fleet that includes light duty vehicles, electric, hybrid, and conventional, heavy equipment, emergency response units, and specialized machinery.

And whereas the work of fleet service professionals ensure that our employees can perform their daily their duties effectively, our operations remain uninterrupted, and our community receives dependable service.

And whereas the rapid evolution of automotive and equipment technology requires continuous learning, adaptability, and professional excellence, qualities consistently demonstrated by our fleet services team.

And whereas National Automo Automotive Service Professionals Week provides an opportunity to acknowledge the dedication, craftsmanship, and behind the scenes contributions of the individuals who keep our fleet safe, efficient, and mission ready.

Now, therefore, we, the mayor and city council of Las Cruces, New Mexico, do be hereby proclaim the week of June eighth through June 14th, 2026 as National Automotive Service Professionals Week, and extend our sincere appreciation for their expertise, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to supporting our organization.

This proclamation is issued with gratitude and respect for the outstanding service provided by Fleet Services.

Thank you so much.

On behalf of the dedicated teams across our fleet services, Transit Department and Solid Waste Division, thank you for this proclamation recognizing National Automotive Service Professionals Week.

We are honored to accept it on behalf of the many dedicated individuals who keep our city moving literally and figuratively.

Across fleet services, the transit department and the solid waste division.

But it its impact is felt every single day.

They work in demanding conditions, often at odd hours, and they do it with pride, precision, and deep commitment to serve our community.

This proclamation is more than recognition.

It is a reminder of the value of their expertise, their dedication, and their teamwork.

We are grateful for the opportunity to shine a light on the people who keep our operations running and our community supported.

On behalf of all our automotive service professionals, thank you for this honor and for acknowledging the essential work they do every day.

Thank you.

And that's it for today.

Thank you all so much.

Next on the agenda, we have the departmental highlights.

We'll have community development.

Come up first.

Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council, Chris Favor, Community Development Director for the record.

So I just thought I'd take a few minutes today to update everybody on the progress with the short-term rental ordinance that was adopted in December.

I know there were some questions when we adopted it to get an update before it goes into enforcement in July, so I thought I would uh present a little bit of information today.

So real real quick recapping what exactly is a short-term rental, uh dwelling rented out without the intent of becoming a residence, typically listed on a third-party website like Airbnb, booking.com, Expedia, those types of websites.

And it excludes hotels, motels, and BMBs.

So since we adopted the ordinance in December, staff has been working, both community development staff and the staff of Visit Las Cruces to compile all of the properties that have been listed as a short-term rental.

Through the end of 2025, there were 624, and through the first few months of 2026, there's been an additional 101 properties.

And so we've had about a hundred and twenty-two register with Visit Las Cruces, about 72 register to get their business registration, and then only about 35 who have done both.

So we have a lot of follow-up to do staff initially sent out letters to all of the property owners, and now we're following up via phone calls and emails to get people in compliance.

So part of that outreach, we have done some uh social media initially when it was adopted, and then communications is now going forward with another round of outreach since we have about a month left until the ordinance does uh go into effect from the enforcement side of things.

There is a dedicated website, uh excuse me, web page on the website for short-term rental, short-term rentals, and then communications again added short-term rentals back to the hot topics on the home page.

Um, as I stated before, we initially sent out letters to all of the property owners, and now it's just a matter of doing that follow-up to make sure that they receive those letters and that if they're still continuing as a short-term rental that they follow the process to get up to speed and in compliance.