Las Cruces City Council Work Session - July 13, 2026
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Las Cruces City Council Work Session - July 13, 2026
The Las Cruces City Council held a work session on Monday, July 13, 2026, beginning at approximately 1:00 PM. The session covered three main topics: an update from Las Cruces Sister Cities Foundation, a review of the Tel Shore Facility Fund, and a quarterly update on the 2022 GoBond projects. No public comments were heard. Key outcomes included council direction to retain Tel Shore investments in the New Mexico State Investment Council, sell as needed for liquidity, hire a financial advisor, and preserve the corpus to ensure continued nonprofit funding.
Discussion Items
1. Sister Cities Yearly Update
Elaine McKinney, President of Las Cruces Sister Cities Foundation, presented on activities from FY25 to FY26. Las Cruces has two sister cities: Lerdo, Mexico (relationship since 1989) and Nienburg, Germany (since 1993). In June 2025, a delegation visited Nienburg for its 1,000th anniversary celebration, planting a tree as a gift. In November 2025, a delegation visited Lerdo for its 131st anniversary, renewing the friendship agreement. Educational efforts included architecture presentations, participation in National Night Out and Wheels United, and five presentations to civic groups. Student exchanges are being explored, including a partnership with NMSU's German program and pen pal exchanges in elementary schools. An agricultural exchange with Lerdo is also in development, focusing on the Yellowhorn tree. Council members expressed strong support; Councillor Corran shared her positive experience hosting students from Lerdo a decade ago. Mayor Enriquez suggested potential fire department exchanges. The organization is financially stable, with an increase of approximately $5,000 since January 2026.
2. Tel Shore Facility Fund
Leslie Doyle, Cynthia Alomeo, and Natalie Green presented on the history, expenditures, and future strategy of the Tel Shore Fund. Established in 2004 with $28.5 million from Memorial Medical Center lease proceeds, the fund has grown to $53.5 million as of FY26 despite significant expenditures. Investment returns have been strong (e.g., from $1.4 million in FY20 to $9.3 million in FY26), but Leslie noted that a 10% return is likely unsustainable. Past expenditures include $2.5 million for legacy parks, $1.9 million for playground replacements, $1.1 million for facility maintenance, and $2 million for fire station 9 and police crime center. Health-related public services (HRPS) have been funded annually, starting at $300,000 and now at $600,000 per year. In FY26, 17 organizations received funding, serving approximately 228,000 people (e.g., El Caldito served 153,000 meals; Roadrunner Food Bank served 656 households monthly). Affordable housing investments of $11.4 million leveraged $170 million in outside investment, creating 568 multifamily units and 114 single-family units.
Council discussion focused on investment strategy. Councillor Corran recommended keeping funds in the State Investment Council (SIC), selling only as needed, and hiring a financial advisor. Councillor McClure emphasized leveraging funds for immediate needs like cooling stations and youth programs. Councillor Harris advocated retaining the corpus and avoiding operational spending. Councillor Matisse stressed preserving the $28 million corpus to ensure perpetual nonprofit funding. Mayor Enriquez supported keeping investments in SIC with a financial advisor to also address overall city budget challenges. A consensus emerged: retain investments in SIC, sell as needed for liquidity, hire a financial advisor, and preserve the corpus to sustain annual HRPS allocations.
3. GoBond Quarterly Update
Kyle Aren reported on the 2022 GoBond projects. Fire Station 9 is 95% complete, with a total cost of $12 million ($10 million GoBond), targeting mid-August 2026 completion. Park improvements ($2 million) at La Ladona Park are nearly complete; a new restroom and playground are expected to open by end of July. Remaining funds will be used for playground equipment at Telbrook Park. East Mesa Rec Complex improvements ($4.9 million GoBond plus other funding) are complete, including new basketball courts and playgrounds.
Natalie Green provided updates on affordable housing projects: Peach Tree Phase 1 is fully leased (542 applicants on waiting list); Phase 2 is under construction with monthly building openings expected through early 2027. Arcadia Phase 4 (single-family lots) is 100% complete; disposition resolution will come to council soon. Skylark subdivision is near closeout. Amador Crossing is progressing with exterior work; Basos Verdes expects contractor mobilization by August. A downtown RFQ selected TWG as developer. Renovation projects include Doña Ana Parks apartments (using 4% tax credits) and Montana Meadows, both receiving facelifts. Councillor Harris inquired about a "dig once" utilities policy; staff noted it is still in development but coordination is pursued. Councillor Matisse requested rent information; Natalie cited one-bedroom at 60% AMI is $874, two-bedroom at $1,050, with many units substantially below market rates.
Key Outcomes
- Sister Cities: Council expressed strong support and commitment to continuing exchanges. No formal vote.
- Tel Shore Fund: Council directed staff to (a) retain investments in the New Mexico State Investment Council, selling as needed for liquidity; (b) hire a financial advisor to review the investment strategy and overall city budget; (c) preserve the corpus (target $28 million) to ensure ongoing annual nonprofit funding; and (d) evaluate the HRPS committee, consider two-year service agreements, and review award amounts.
- GoBond: Staff will continue work toward project completions. No formal action required.
Meeting Transcript
Your life. Well, good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to our work session. Today is Monday, July thirteenth, twenty twenty six. It's uh approximately one PM. We're good. Okay. If you all rise and join me in the pledge. I pledge the allegiance of the United States. Uh meeting statement. Los Christians City Council met in a closed meeting this morning, July thirteenth, twenty twenty-six at approximately ten thirty-two AM. The following were in in attendance. Councilor Harris, Councilor McClure, Mayor Pro Tem Munoz, Mayor Enriquez, Councillor Coran, City Manager County Tamopayao, City Clerk Christine Ribera, Utilities Director Adrian Whitmer, Assistant City Manager Sonia Delgado, City Attorney Brad Douglas, Attorney Henry Becker. We also have outside counsel from Brad Spring Springer and Chris De Filippo. Also in the meeting from Public Works were Vanessa Romero, David Cedillo, uh interim ACM, a public works acting director Kyle Aren, and through teams was Deputy Chief of Police Eric. The items that we discussed were appending litigation regarding Klein Charles Maynard versus Lorenzo Tovar in the city of Las Cruces. We also discussed the pending or threatening litigation regarding Brandon Baron versus the City of Las Cruces, which is closed pursuant to New Mexico State Statute 1978. We also discussed pending litigation regarding the City of Las Cruces, Doniana County versus Apollo Global Management, Life Point Health and Memorial Medical Center. Also in discussion was to discuss the purchase, acquisition, or disposal of real property or water rights by the public body, which is closed pursuant to NMSU, NMSU, I'm sorry, New Mexico State Statute 1978. And the meeting adjourned at 1231 p.m. So now the first item on agenda 2.1, Las Cruzos Sister Cities Yearly Udate. And Karina, you can go get it started. Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council. My name is Katrina Godinez, the community outreach manager for the city. I'm also the city's liaison to the Sister Cities. Today our sister cities will be talking about their yearly update from FY25 to July 25 to June 26th. And we'll have our president of Sister Cities, Elaine McKinney giving the presentation. Elaine has been with Sister Cities for over 30 years. She has a lot of experience working with our sister cities. Thank you. Mr. Mayor, City Councilors, Mr. City Manager, thank you for inviting me to give you an update on Las Cruces Sister Cities Foundation. On behalf of the Board of Directors and members of our sister cities, I would like to thank you for your support of our organization and the city's sister cities program. We appreciate the opportunity to share how citizen diplomacy and international friendships have benefited our citizens here in Las Cruces. I'd also like to introduce and recognize members of the Sister Cities Organization who are present. If you would please stand. Tim Chapel, who is chair of the Lair though Sister Cities Committee. Our chair of the Niemberg Committee is not able to be here. But I wanted to recognize these people because they have contributed and dedicated many volunteer hours to the support of our organization and to Sister Cities, and we are grateful for their support. Thank you. And then I will talk more about the accomplishments of our organization this past year. Sister Cities was suggested by President Dwight Eisenhower after World War II. He felt that this would help to encourage peace and understanding and international relationships between people. As a result of this, Sister Cities International, a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization was established in 1956. Sister Cities International as a member organization is set up for individual states, cities, and counties who are wishing to partner with international communities. As a result, the network of sister cities unites tens of thousands of citizen diplomats. Over 2,000 cities and partnerships are cities, the counties and states within the U.S. And excuse me, over 500 cities and counties with over 2,000 partnerships around the world in 140 countries. So it is extensive.
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