OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Rio Rancho Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - July 21, 2025

Meeting Portal — Monday, July 21, 2025
BodyRio Rancho, New Mexico
SessionMeeting Portal
DateMonday, July 21, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
Meeting Thumbnail
⇩ GET FROM SOURCE

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
0:46

Twenty-five minutes.

0:51

Has everyone had a chance to read them?

0:54

They're about four pages long, three pages long.

0:56

I have one correction which uh our director has made under um approval of the minutes.

1:07

I found a typo actually.

1:10

Um it's not November 18th, 2024, it's April 20th or 21st, 2025.

1:19

And I will sign the corrected copy.

1:22

Do I have a motion to approve the minutes?

1:26

I make a motion to approve the minutes as uh amended.

1:31

We have a second.

1:32

I'll second.

1:35

Do a roll call.

1:38

Commissioner Romero.

1:40

Uh, do you approve the minutes?

1:42

Do you approve the minutes?

1:44

Uh Commissioner Herrera?

1:46

Present, yes.

1:47

And do you approve the minutes?

1:49

Uh Commissioner French Barger.

1:51

I approve the minutes.

1:52

Uh Commissioner Marsh.

1:54

Yes.

1:54

So the minutes are approved as amended.

1:58

Thank you.

2:01

We'll go on to staff presentations, reports, and comments.

2:04

The first one is projects.

2:07

Update.

2:08

Diane Sonye, project division manager.

2:11

Good evening, Commissioners.

2:13

I believe many of you have had an opportunity to actually visit campus park now that it is complete.

2:19

If you haven't, please do so.

2:21

It's turned out quite lovely.

2:23

Um I believe that our park maintenance staff have already started taking care of it, and it's I I want to say I I hope it will flourish like phase one has.

2:34

Um so please visit it if you get a chance.

2:38

Um at the last meeting, I mentioned that we had completed part of our multi-generation center conceptual planning process.

2:46

Um we are moving forward with phasing that process further.

2:50

Um, once we get to something that is more complete and accepted by our city management, we will likely be bringing that to the commission for your review and information.

3:01

Um I don't know the full time frame on when any type of construction would occur, but right now we still are in that um conceptual planning phase.

3:10

Once that is completed and accepted, we would then move forward with completing at least the first phase construction plans.

3:18

So timing on that again is is open at this time.

3:22

We also have coming up our Vista Sandia playground replacement project and installation of new shade structure.

3:30

That's part of our 2024 bond projects.

3:34

We completed the other one, which was our uh Star Heights basketball courts.

3:38

That's been completed.

3:39

So next up is the Vista um Vista Sandia playground.

3:43

Um hopefully that will be completed, if not by the end of this calendar year, very early in 2026.

3:50

We've also ordered and are hoping to receive in the next two months the shade structure, a large metal shade structure, 30 by 30 feet um in size for our Star Heights Park.

4:03

It would be adjacent to the refurbished basketball courts, and that is being funded through community development block grant funds.

4:13

We have also um reached out to two different contractors to get prices for design and slash design build to replace the Haynes parking lot.

4:25

That is the parking lot that's south of the recreation center and the pool.

4:30

It's one of the original parking lots, and it definitely needs to be refurbished.

4:34

So we'll be working on that in the coming fiscal year.

4:37

Um also we have completed design for our animal resource center, kennel expansion, and so we will start looking at um going out to bid for that construction work.

4:50

Finally, um we were asked to move forward with the design of Sierra Norte 2 park.

5:00

That's just down the road here off of UNSER on Pine.

5:03

And it's a park that's been around for quite a while, and a large portion of that land has kind of stayed natural or undeveloped for many, many years.

5:12

And we will be looking at how we might be able to create some pickleball courts there as well as some necessary parking to serve those pickleball courts.

5:22

And that will be happening this school year as well.

5:26

So with that, I stand for any questions.

5:31

Any questions, Commissioners?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Capital Improvement Planning███████████████████19%
Community Engagement███████████████15%
Procedural███████████11%
Public Engagement█████████9%
Animal Welfare██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Rio Rancho Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - July 21, 2025

The Rio Rancho Parks and Recreation Commission met on July 21, 2025, at 1:00 PM. The meeting began at 6:30 PM and covered project updates, staff reports, and a presentation on proposed general obligation bond questions for the March 3, 2026 ballot. Commissioners approved the meeting minutes as amended and received updates on parks maintenance, aquatics, summer programs, and upcoming events.

Consent Calendar

  • Minutes Approval: Commissioner Romero made a motion to approve the minutes as amended, with a correction to the date (from November 18, 2024, to April 20 or 21, 2025). The motion was seconded and passed by roll call (Commissioner Herrera present/yes, Commissioner French Barger approved, Commissioner Marsh yes).

Staff Presentations & Reports

  • Projects Update (Diane Sonye, Project Division Manager):

    • Campus Park phase two is complete and now maintained by parks staff.
    • Multi-generation center conceptual planning is ongoing; construction timeline is not yet determined.
    • Vista Sandia playground replacement and a 30x30 foot metal shade structure at Star Heights Park are funded through 2024 bonds and a CDBG grant; completion expected by end of 2025 or early 2026.
    • Haynes parking lot (south of recreation center and pool) design/build pricing is being solicited for refurbishment in the coming fiscal year.
    • Animal Resource Center kennel expansion design is complete; bidding for construction will begin.
    • Sierra Norte 2 park design will explore adding pickleball courts and parking, happening this school year.

  • Parks & Facilities Update (Charles Fernandez, Superintendent):

    • Staffing shortfall: 7 full-time and 3 seasonal positions unfilled, requiring prioritization of safety, irrigation, trash, and mowing over weed control.
    • Pre-emergent weed treatment applied April–May is holding; weeds will become a challenge in August.
    • Mariposa fire station cleanup completed and now under parks maintenance.
    • Two post-and-cable projects completed at Los Milagros (vehicle barrier) and Trailhead (replacing broken chain link).
    • 600 yards of playground wood chips distributed to 11 parks.
    • 12 trees being planted via a KRRB grant (2 at Western Winds, 3 at Los Montoyos, 2 at ZIA, 5 at Chianti).
    • Commissioner commended park maintenance at Enchanted Hills; Fernandez acknowledged staff as "unsung heroes."

  • Aquatics Update (Noah Trujillo for Bianca Baca):

    • Competition pool was down for 1–1.5 weeks due to motor replacement; now operational.
    • Summer aquatic hours: two weeks remaining; fall schedule begins August 4.
    • New deck lights installed at aquatic center (improved lighting).
    • ICIP project: Aquatic Center closed September 15–October 31 for HVAC and ceiling light demolition; rainbow pool remains open.

  • Deputy Director’s Report (Noah Trujillo):

    • Summer camp: week 8 of 9, ending August 1; approximately 180–200 participants across 4 locations (capped at ~40 each).
    • Upcoming events: Pooch Punch (Sept 6, Haynes), Fall Festival (Oct 18, Campus Park), Veterans Day Parade (along Southern), Winterfest (Saturday, Campus Park), Shop Local (Aug 2), Back to School Rummage Sale (Aug 9, Cabezon Park).

Key Outcomes

  • Bond Question Discussion (Connie Peterson, Director):

    • Staff proposes placing three GO bond questions on the March 3, 2026 ballot totaling $18 million with no property tax increase: $4,365,000 for public safety, $12,435,000 for roads, and $1,200,000 for quality of life (parks, libraries, recreation).
    • Historic voter support for GO bonds since 2016, with quality of life added in 2022.
    • Proposed park projects: skate park replacement at High Resort/Squirts Complex and playground replacement at Sugar Park; library projects: digital materials, subscriptions, and outdoor programming space renovation at Estherbone Library.
    • A 2025 citizen survey (3,000 randomly selected addresses, ~10–20% response rate) is being compiled to gauge support; results expected soon.
    • Commissioners gave informal thumbs-up/approval of proposed projects. City Council will approve a resolution this fall to place bonds on the ballot.

  • Director’s Report (Connie Peterson):

    • June events recap: Shop Locals at Cabezon (with councilor meet-and-greets), Juneteenth celebration at Haynes Park (June 21, with proclamation, performances), Father’s Day Tea (June 7, 12 dads with kids), 4th of July parade and fireworks (ribbon cutting with Commissioner Herrera).
    • Ongoing programs: adult flag football, tennis, archery, gymnastics, fitness classes (line dancing, tai chi, aerobics, yoga) at community centers, senior centers, and aquatics facilities.
    • Fall brochure in progress, not yet finalized or online.

  • Commissioner Comments: None additional; meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Twenty-five minutes. Has everyone had a chance to read them? They're about four pages long, three pages long. I have one correction which uh our director has made under um approval of the minutes. I found a typo actually. Um it's not November 18th, 2024, it's April 20th or 21st, 2025. And I will sign the corrected copy. Do I have a motion to approve the minutes? I make a motion to approve the minutes as uh amended. We have a second. I'll second. Do a roll call. Commissioner Romero. Uh, do you approve the minutes? Do you approve the minutes? Uh Commissioner Herrera? Present, yes. And do you approve the minutes? Uh Commissioner French Barger. I approve the minutes. Uh Commissioner Marsh. Yes. So the minutes are approved as amended. Thank you. We'll go on to staff presentations, reports, and comments. The first one is projects. Update. Diane Sonye, project division manager. Good evening, Commissioners. I believe many of you have had an opportunity to actually visit campus park now that it is complete. If you haven't, please do so. It's turned out quite lovely. Um I believe that our park maintenance staff have already started taking care of it, and it's I I want to say I I hope it will flourish like phase one has. Um so please visit it if you get a chance. Um at the last meeting, I mentioned that we had completed part of our multi-generation center conceptual planning process. Um we are moving forward with phasing that process further. Um, once we get to something that is more complete and accepted by our city management, we will likely be bringing that to the commission for your review and information. Um I don't know the full time frame on when any type of construction would occur, but right now we still are in that um conceptual planning phase. Once that is completed and accepted, we would then move forward with completing at least the first phase construction plans. So timing on that again is is open at this time. We also have coming up our Vista Sandia playground replacement project and installation of new shade structure. That's part of our 2024 bond projects. We completed the other one, which was our uh Star Heights basketball courts. That's been completed. So next up is the Vista um Vista Sandia playground. Um hopefully that will be completed, if not by the end of this calendar year, very early in 2026. We've also ordered and are hoping to receive in the next two months the shade structure, a large metal shade structure, 30 by 30 feet um in size for our Star Heights Park. It would be adjacent to the refurbished basketball courts, and that is being funded through community development block grant funds. We have also um reached out to two different contractors to get prices for design and slash design build to replace the Haynes parking lot. That is the parking lot that's south of the recreation center and the pool.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com