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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Las Cruces City Council Work Session: Strategic Plan and Three Crosses Hospital Presentation - September 28, 2026

City Council Meetings & Work Session — Monday, September 28, 2026

BodyLas Cruces, New Mexico

SessionCity Council Meetings & Work Session

DateMonday, September 28, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:36:45

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

4:17

You are alive.

4:44

Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the work session.

4:46

Today is Monday, September twenty eighth, two thousand twenty six.

4:50

It's approximately one PM.

4:51

I'm Mayor Eric Enriquez.

4:53

We will start with a moment of silence for the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

And also for the men and women of the Las Cruces Police Department and Las Cruces Fire Department as they keep our city safe 24-7 365.

Speaker 2

5:20

If you join me in the pledge.

Speaker 1

5:27

And to the report, which is one issue under with liberty and justice for

Unassigned speaker

5:35

all.

Unassigned speaker

5:53

So

Speaker 1

5:54

we have a couple of items on the agenda.

5:56

And since we have uh item number two strategic plan update and individuals that are traveling and due to the weather, want to see if it's okay with council if we go ahead and take a vote and switch uh so that we can have item two uh presented first and item one second.

6:16

Terry Oh, can I have a motion and a second?

Speaker 3

6:21

I move to switch.

6:23

Second.

Unassigned speaker

6:28

This

Speaker 4

6:28

is on a motion to change the order of the agenda.

6:31

Counselor McClure.

6:33

Yes.

6:33

Councillor Matisse.

Speaker 2

6:38

Yes.

Speaker 4

6:38

Counselor Harris?

6:40

Yes.

6:40

Councillor Bencomel?

6:41

Yes.

6:42

Counselor Kuran?

6:43

Yes.

6:43

Counselor Munoz?

6:45

Yes.

6:45

Mayor.

6:46

Yes.

6:47

Motion carries.

Speaker 1

6:52

So we'll go ahead and start with the strategic city's strategic plan number.

6:57

Chris Favor, if you want to start.

Speaker 5

6:59

All right, thank you, Mayor.

7:00

City Council, yes, Chris Favor, community development for the record.

7:03

Thank you for making this accommodation for single space traveling back to Albuquerque after this.

7:10

So, real quick, um, I'm gonna turn this over to um Brittany and and um Janelle from Single Space to lead you through the discussion, but just wanted to point out a few things before we get into it.

7:23

This is the third of our three work sessions that we had scheduled for um the Strat Plan.

7:29

Uh the next meeting will be November 16th, and that will be for council adoption of the strategic plan.

7:36

There will be a public engagement period that opens today and runs through the 10th of October, and that will give the community the opportunity to provide their comment and feedback on the draft of the goals that you'll be reviewing today.

7:49

From that point forward, they would the they will take those that information, compile it, and come back with a final recommendation for council to adopt um in uh in November.

8:00

So I will go ahead and turn it over to the consultants to kind of walk you through the process and then uh any questions that you guys have, you can certainly um have that conversation with the consultants.

Unassigned speaker

8:21

Hi,

Speaker 6

8:22

Mr.

8:22

Mayor, Council.

8:23

So good to be with you again.

8:24

Uh my name's Brittany Poss.

8:26

I'm with Single Space Strategies, and I'm here with Janelle Johnson, also of single space.

8:30

Uh and thank you for that great tee up, Chris.

8:33

Appreciate it.

8:34

So we can just dive right in.

8:36

Uh

Unassigned speaker

8:37

just

Speaker 6

8:37

a level set again, as always.

8:39

What is the strategic plan?

8:41

So the strategic plan is the city's near-term roadmap for the next two to five years, identifying shared priorities for focused attention in that sort of shorter term time frame.

8:51

Um, you know, we've really thought about how to translate the longer term vision from elevate Las Cruces the Comprehensive Plan into near-term action in the next two to five years.

9:01

Uh this plan is uh intended to guide decisions about funding, staff capacity, services, and capital investments to coordinate work across departments and also define what progress looks like and how it will be measured.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Healthcare Access███████████████████████████████████████████43%

Strategic Planning██████████████████18%

Fiscal Sustainability███████████11%

Public Works██████6%

Public Engagement██████6%

Economic Development█████5%

Procedural████4%

Affordable Housing██2%

Engineering And Infrastructure██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Las Cruces City Council Work Session: Strategic Plan and Three Crosses Hospital Presentation

On Monday, September 28, 2026, at approximately 1:00 PM, the Las Cruces City Council convened a work session led by Mayor Eric Enriquez. The council unanimously voted to reorder the agenda, placing the Strategic Plan update first and the Three Crosses Hospital presentation second. The meeting included a moment of silence for military and first responders and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Consent Calendar

No formal consent calendar items were presented; the meeting consisted of two presentations and discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were made during this work session. The meeting was dedicated to presentations and council discussion.

Discussion Items

Strategic Plan Update (Item 2) – Presented by Single Space Strategies

Chris Favor (Community Development) announced this was the third of three work sessions. The public engagement period opens today and runs through October 10, 2026, with a final adoption expected November 16, 2026.
Brittany Poss and Janelle Johnson (Single Space Strategies) presented the draft strategic plan framework, including a mission statement, four priorities, and goals.
Mission Statement: Draft mission is "To serve the people of Las Cruces by delivering reliable public services, investing responsibly in our community, and working with residents and partners to expand opportunity and support community well-being."
Feedback on Mission: Council members expressed strong support. Councilman Curry liked removing "quality of place" quotes; Councilor Harrison agreed thematically; Councilman Matisse appreciated "working with residents" and "investing responsibly" given budget constraints; Mayor Pro Tem suggested adding "high performance."
Priority 1: Opportunity and Quality of Life – Goals: expand housing opportunity and neighborhood stability; strengthen local economy and pathways to good jobs; make Las Cruces a place where young people can build their future; strengthen vibrant connected places and community amenities. Councilor Harrison had no notes; Mayor Pro Tem requested more inclusive language for Goal 1.3 to avoid sounding exclusionary to older residents or newcomers.
Priority 2: Infrastructure, Growth, and Resilience – Goals: maintain and modernize infrastructure; align growth with infrastructure, mobility, and service capacity; strengthen water security, climate resilience, and environmental stewardship. Councilor Bencomo emphasized urgency due to recent weather; Councilor McClure requested inclusion of non-car-focused mobility (walking, biking); Councilor Harris suggested elevating transit; Mayor Pro Tem agreed on urgency and community assets.
Priority 3: Community Safety and Well-being – Goals: improve safety through prevention, preparedness, and effective response; strengthen coordinated response to homelessness, behavioral health, and crisis. Councilor Harris cautioned against tightly equating homelessness with behavioral health and crisis, suggesting they be separated. Councilor Bencomo agreed and proposed splitting the goal. Mayor Enriquez stressed reducing crime as a key component.
Priority 4: Responsive and Sustainable City Government – Goals: align resources and outside funding with highest priorities; make city government easier to understand and work with; create one coordinated system for planning, investment, and implementation. Councilor Matisse called for courageous conversations about investing in historically underfunded areas (public works, parks) using GRT revenue; Councilor (unidentified) asked for return-on-investment metrics to show how many people benefit; Councilor Kerr requested inclusion of financial risk planning; Councilor Harrison emphasized 4.2 as underpinning economic development and housing; Mayor Pro Tem supported data-driven operations (CRM, Six Sigma). Consultant acknowledged comments.
Public engagement: Survey launched today, open through October 10, available in English and Spanish. Previous engagement received ~380 responses and 70+ attendees at public meetings. The new survey allows highlighting specific text.

Three Crosses Hospital Presentation (Item 1) – Presented by CEO Denton Park

Denton Park, CEO, provided an overview of Three Crosses Hospital, a local independent hospital with 75% of board composed of medical staff.
Financial turnaround: Moved from untenable financial position to stable month-to-month; still paying off debt.
Expansion plans: Primary care expansion starting October 1, 2026, with 7-8 additional providers by year-end; urgent care opening November 1 (5 days/week) expanding to 7 days in December; two additional cardiologists by November; electrophysiology program with four new electrophysiologists; structural heart program and cardiac surgery anticipated by Q1 2027; Da Vinci surgical robot by year-end; OR expansion by 35-40%; additional CATH labs; new South Main campus with 6-7 primary care providers; residency clinic relocation.
Price transparency: Hospital prices are dramatically lower than market averages; examples: lab testing $41 vs $223 market median; imaging $383 vs $1,778; ER visits $960 vs $5,000; knee/hip replacements $75,000 vs $148,000. Contracts limit price increases to 3% annually.
Quality and patient experience: CMS five-star cleanliness; top 5th percentile for patient experience in Q2 2026; 82.7% of patients rated 9 or 10; zero infections in 2026; 20+ performance improvement projects annually.
Community impact: Goal to keep patients out of hospital through preventive care; today hospital was at full capacity (zero beds).
Council Q&A: Councilor Bencomo asked about price transparency compliance and helipad plans; Park confirmed federal reporting and working on helipad (40-yard difference). Councilor Matisse asked about medical malpractice reform; Park said it's helping recruitment but malpractice costs haven't dropped yet. Councilor Harris asked about ownership and new providers; Park confirmed local LLC with owners across country, and providers are mostly local transitions with net new goal. Mayor Enriquez praised positive community feedback and asked about hiring; Park mentioned ~12% FTE increase (from ~500 to ~550) within three months, cardiac surgery adds 15-18 staff.

Key Outcomes

Council unanimously approved reordering the agenda.
Council provided feedback on the strategic plan, including several requested changes: adding "high performance" to mission, making Goal 1.3 more inclusive, adding urgency to infrastructure goals, incorporating non-car-focused mobility, separating homelessness from behavioral health/crisis goals, adding return-on-investment metrics, and including financial risk planning.
Public engagement period for strategic plan opens September 28 and closes October 10, 2026; council adoption scheduled for November 16, 2026.
Three Crosses Hospital presentation received positive feedback; council acknowledged the hospital's community role and transparency.
Meeting adjourned without formal votes beyond agenda reorder and adjournment (both unanimous).

Meeting Transcript

You are alive. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the work session. Today is Monday, September twenty eighth, two thousand twenty six. It's approximately one PM. I'm Mayor Eric Enriquez. We will start with a moment of silence for the brave men and women of the United States Armed Forces. And also for the men and women of the Las Cruces Police Department and Las Cruces Fire Department as they keep our city safe 24-7 365. If you join me in the pledge. And to the report, which is one issue under with liberty and justice for all. So we have a couple of items on the agenda. And since we have uh item number two strategic plan update and individuals that are traveling and due to the weather, want to see if it's okay with council if we go ahead and take a vote and switch uh so that we can have item two uh presented first and item one second. Terry Oh, can I have a motion and a second? I move to switch. Second. This is on a motion to change the order of the agenda. Counselor McClure. Yes. Councillor Matisse. Yes. Counselor Harris? Yes. Councillor Bencomel? Yes. Counselor Kuran? Yes. Counselor Munoz? Yes. Mayor. Yes. Motion carries. So we'll go ahead and start with the strategic city's strategic plan number. Chris Favor, if you want to start. All right, thank you, Mayor. City Council, yes, Chris Favor, community development for the record. Thank you for making this accommodation for single space traveling back to Albuquerque after this. So, real quick, um, I'm gonna turn this over to um Brittany and and um Janelle from Single Space to lead you through the discussion, but just wanted to point out a few things before we get into it. This is the third of our three work sessions that we had scheduled for um the Strat Plan. Uh the next meeting will be November 16th, and that will be for council adoption of the strategic plan. There will be a public engagement period that opens today and runs through the 10th of October, and that will give the community the opportunity to provide their comment and feedback on the draft of the goals that you'll be reviewing today. From that point forward, they would the they will take those that information, compile it, and come back with a final recommendation for council to adopt um in uh in November. So I will go ahead and turn it over to the consultants to kind of walk you through the process and then uh any questions that you guys have, you can certainly um have that conversation with the consultants. Hi, Mr. Mayor, Council. So good to be with you again. Uh my name's Brittany Poss. I'm with Single Space Strategies, and I'm here with Janelle Johnson, also of single space.

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