The Rio Rancho Governing Body held a work session on August 19, 2025, at 3:00 PM in the Council Chambers. Mayor Greggory D. Hull presided, with Councilors Deb Dapson, Bob Tyler, Paul Wymer, and Nicole List present. Councilors Jeremy Lenentine and Karissa Culbreath were absent. The agenda included updates on the Facilities Master Plan, a discussion on amending horse regulations, and an overview of weeds and debris maintenance. No public comment was taken.
Ryan Chavez, Assistant to the City Manager for Policy and Planning, provided an update on the city's Facilities Master Plan, which prioritizes long-term capital needs based on growth and the Strategic Plan. Key projects include:
Additional future needs include a City Hall annex, outdoor pool, open space/dog park, wastewater contractor space, and park improvements.
Councilor Dapson presented a citizen request to amend Municipal Code 154.05 for E-1 zoning to allow up to two horses on a one-acre lot (currently one horse per acre). She provided comparisons with other cities (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, etc.) which allow more horses per acre. Discussion included concerns about a slippery slope (e.g., half-acre lots wanting horses, other animals), the impact on existing code enforcement complaints, and the potential for unintended consequences. Council members expressed cautious interest but emphasized the need for community input and stress-testing scenarios. Staff was directed to conduct community outreach and surveys before further consideration.
BJ Gottlieb, Director of Public Works, and Amy Rincon, Director of Development Services, presented an overview of city weed maintenance responsibilities and challenges. The city maintains arterials, collectors, and city-owned property, while residents are responsible for adjacent right-of-way. A wet summer increased complaints. Key challenges include high vacancy rates (63% for laborers), limited contractors, and potential costs of $500,000–$1 million annually to take over private side yards (122.77 acres) plus AMREP-owned drainage areas (128 acres). Targeted options were discussed: median landscaping, stabilizing city facilities to reduce runoff, and reviewing dust control policies. Two policy options were presented: keep the status quo (education and enforcement) or form a Governing Body working group to explore ordinance amendments. Council showed interest in further discussion, particularly on common-sense adjustments and improved penalties for large property owners.
Councilor Weimer, would you lead us please? Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and the Republic for which it stands. One nation under Godisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. If I could remind everybody, including myself to please silence your cell phones. I'm gonna take that advice right now. Um for the record, I'll announce the names of the governing body members. When I say your name, please acknowledge your presence by saying present. Let's see here. Counselor Dabson present. Councillor Lynentine. Oh, let's see here. Ums Hugh attending remotely today or okay. Um Councillor Tyler, Councillor Weimer present. Councillor Culbreth has been excused, Councillor List present. Okay, virtual members, please activate your cameras for the duration of the meeting and use the raise hand feature if you wish to speak. Uh public comment will not be taken at this work session. Moving on to the first item facilities master plan update. Uh Ryan Chavez. How are you today? Good afternoon, Mayor, members of the governing body. Um I'm going to give another update on our facilities master plan. Um the purpose of the facilities master plan is to identify and plan for the needs based on growth and the strategic plan. And the facilities master plan goes beyond the ICIP but has been incorporated into the ICIP. Um to recap our process and how we got here. Uh we originally met with and requested facility needs and priorities from the police department, fire and rescue, public works, and parks and rec. We inventoried maintenance needs and developed a maintenance schedule, identified potential funding sources, and then we presented those priorities to you all at a work session in June of 2023 with an update in June of 2024. In those updates, we uh you saw a similar version of this slide a couple of times now. Um as these debts retire, the city can replace these payments with new and future debt to fund some of these projects. Um additionally, when the higher ed GRT earmarks unsets in FY28, the governing body can reauthorize the increment to go towards a facilities master plan, future staffing needs, and other needs. Um the current five-year forecast projects that it will be at nearly six million a year. So with that, um we have the big five projects that we've considered in the facilities master plan, which include Fire Station 8, the Fire and Rescue Training Facility, Operational Annex, and Streets of Ridaway, Multi-Generational Recreation Center, Police Headquarters, and some others. Um I'm going to pass it off to the project managers for each of these projects to provide a status update, starting with Chief Wenzel to talk about Fire Station 8 and the training facility. The second being the training facility. So station eight, station eight will station eight, excuse me, will be located at the corner of veranda in Cabezone Boulevard. It'll be sitting on approximately 1.35 acres of land and have a building envelope size of just over 15,000 square feet. So the current status of the project is we have received our 60% uh plans. We are reviewing them and hope to have those turned back to the architect and engineers by this Thursday. That will then allow us to uh work on the 90% completion plans. Those are due to us within two weeks of this Thursday. We'll then send it back to the department as well as other city staff for a comment and review, and then another two weeks that'll come back with 100% plans. Once we receive our 100% plans, we will go to the bid. We are looking at doing about a 45 uh day bid for the construction. Once that bid is awarded, that's probably gonna put us late November to early December. Realistically, that probably puts us at breaking ground and shovels uh putting place in the ground, uh the beginning of 2026. So funding for the station, we're sitting at roughly about 12 to 14 million dollars. We did receive five million from state appropriation. So the city would be uh responsible for the additional seven to possibly ten. That would be coming from a GRT bond that was just purchased by the city.