The Los Alamos County Council met in regular session on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (2026-07-28 13:00:00+00:00; noticed for 6:00 PM) in Council Chambers at 1000 Central Avenue, with virtual participation via Zoom. The Council approved the consent agenda, adopted two public-hearing items, approved an Olympic Pool contract amendment, and voted to send a letter opposing revocation or reduction of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park buffer. The closed-session statement reported that the closed session began at 5:00 PM, was limited to noticed topics, and no action was taken.
device to connect to as well. So public comment will be accepted at the beginning of the meeting on topics that are not on the agenda tonight. And then as we go through each agenda item we'll be seeking public comment during that time as well. So please limit your comments to three minutes or as otherwise directed. And we just ask that you state your name before making comments. We also ask that we have virtual attendees that to use the naming feature to so you can properly address on Zoom. And also ask the comments be addressed to the chair and and the question the topics like question here. So I think with that we're ready to uh go to the roll call opening roll call so um I can actually see everybody here tonight that's in person so we have um six or seven counselors here in the chambers uh counselor uh have them in his excuse tonight and then on to number number items item number two which is the pledge of allegiance so if you're willing and able please join us in pledge I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible liberty and justice for all so now we're on to item number three which is a statement regarding the closed session is there a counselor have that statement right counselor call the matters discussed in the closed sessions of county council held on july 28 2026 that began at 5 p.m was limited only to the topics specified in the notice of the closed session and no action was taken in any manner in the closed session we request that this statement be included in the meeting minutes. Thank you counselor call um so now we're on to uh item number four public comments so this as I mentioned just a moment ago this uh is for items not on the agenda tonight so we have anyone present here in the council chambers wanting to make public comment not seeing any so Ms. Madison can you check online for us I can if you'd like to make public comment please raise your hand I'm not seeing any hands raised okay thank you Ms. So now we're on to uh item number five which is approval of the agenda um is there a counselor interested in making motion regarding the agenda council call I move that we approve the agenda as presented second okay so we have a motion by councilor call second by councillor Neil Clinton seeing no discussion um can we uh indicate uh approval by um raising your hand okay all uh let us show that all uh six counselors were in favor of the motion um so that's as a unanimous okay so now we're on to item number six which is presentations proclamations and recognitions so 6a is 21159-26 it's the proclamation declaring august 2026 as bear month in Los Alamos County and it'll be accepted by um some folks I think that are here tonight um I think maybe Casey Lindbergh and Kristen O'Hara from Pirate and very much here. It's the proclamation declaring August of 2026 as Bear Month in Los Alamos County, and it'll be accepted by some folks, I think that are here tonight. Um I think maybe Casey Lindbergh and Kristen O'Hara from Pirito and very much center here. Um Councillor Nil Clinton has the proclamation to read. Whereas Los Alamos County is home to an abundance of wildlife, including the American Black Bear, and the presence of this wildlife contributor to the ecological balance and natural beauty of our area. And whereas it is the responsibility of our community to coexist peacefully with wildlife while taking necessary precautions to minimize potential human and bear encounters. And whereas five critical bear safety practices should be added to our daily and recreational activities. When out in nature, keep dogs on a leash, talk and make noise, stay alert and actively look for signs of bear activity. Never I I'm including this word ever approach a bear, stay calm and do not run into a bear encounter. And whereas we can also reduce bear encounters at home by never feeding bears, securing garbage and bear-resistant containers, removing bird feeders at night, planting gardens away from game trails, frequently turning compost and securing chickens, and whereas the Pajarito Environmental Education Center and Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation will host New Mexico's only annual bear festival, sponsored by N3B and Century Bank on August 29th at the Los Alamos National Nature at the Los Alamos Nature Center from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. And whereas local, regional, state, and federal organizations will be present at the Bear Festival to educate the public on how to keep human and bear populations safe by engaging with the community through crafts, games, food, and other activities. Now, therefore, on behalf of the county of the incorporated county of Los Alamos, I do hereby proclaim August 26th as Bear Month in Los Alamos and urge our citizens to participate in the Bear Festival to raise awareness and encourage responsible practices to ensure the safety and preservation of both humans and bears. Dated this 28th day of July 2026, signed by Randall Ready, Chair of the Los Alamos County Council. Okay, thank you, Councilor Neil Clinton. So I just saw Mr. Robinson appear. So did you want to make you have some other folks with you? Sorry about that. I got caught on the phone. Mr. Chair and Council, thank you for once again proclaiming August Bear Month. This has been uh I think we're on our tenth Bear Festival this year. So this has been something that the county has been working on a lot with its citizens, and I think we're seeing it pay off in this year of a lot of bear incursions into our and our neighborhoods because of the ongoing drought. So I'm here to thank you all on behalf of the board of Land of Enchantment Wildlife Foundation for your continued support in this program, and I think it's gonna be another successful year. So thank you all. Okay, thank you. So photograph. Yes, okay, thank you. Um let's go on to item uh 6B, 21982-26 introduction to discussion on the local economic development act, leader participation agreement, and metropolitan redevelopment area development agreement, high-level terms for the guest house project. Okay, uh good evening, everybody. So my name is Mike Skudikoff. I'm the uh economic development administrator for the county. Uh so I'm excited to introduce uh the developer, uh Mr. Tucker Sharp with uh Grand Mesa Partners, who's gonna um talk about the uh project that we're discussing today. Uh essentially the guest house, uh, it is located at 400 uh Trinity Drive, uh also known as the former Hilltop uh House uh site. Um the project is located within the East Downtown uh Los Alamos uh MRA district. Um the project is going to contain 60 uh room uh hotel developments, uh targeting business and leisure tourists, uh, with uh some rooms reserved for um extended state options, for summer interns, uh postdocs, uh visiting researchers, etc. Um, overall uh the project budget is over 30 million dollars. Um the county investment requested is the combination of FLEDA and MRE funds uh for the total of uh 3, uh $875 uh thousand dollars.