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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Rio Rancho Council Meeting Summary: December 18, 2025

Meeting Portal — Thursday, December 18, 2025

BodyRio Rancho, New Mexico

SessionMeeting Portal

DateThursday, December 18, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:01:47

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

0:07

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

0:08

Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:11

Councilor Weimer, would you lead us, please?

0:21

One nation under our indivisible liberty and justice for all.

0:26

Please remain standing for a moment as I like to take this time to uh keep our first responders in our thoughts and prayers and give them a moment of silence and reflection as they're out there defending our lives and property each and every day.

0:39

So with that, we'll take a moment of uh silence.

0:51

Thank you very much.

0:52

You may be seated, and I'm gonna go ahead and call this meeting to order.

0:56

I'm gonna ask everybody to please silence all electronic devices while attending the governing body meeting.

1:01

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, Councillor Dabson, who is virtual present.

1:11

Thank you, Councillor Lynn Time.

1:13

Yes, thank you.

1:14

Counselor Tyler Present.

1:15

Thank you.

1:16

Counselor Weimer?

1:17

Present.

1:17

Thank you.

1:18

Counselor Colbreth.

1:19

Present.

1:20

Thank you, Councilor List.

1:21

Present.

1:22

Thank you.

1:23

All right, moving on to public forum.

1:25

Each comment will be limited to two minutes.

1:27

Uh no more than two hours in total will be allotted to public forum.

1:30

Uh Mr.

1:31

Van Horn.

1:46

Good evening, Mayor.

1:48

Good evening, counselors.

1:50

I uh would like to talk to you this evening about transparency.

1:55

Um last month I was visiting my son in Hawaii, and I really wasn't paying much attention to what was going on here, but I saw the in the news of this huge eruption of water that occurred here is a significant.

2:12

Um I still have not seen anything that tells me, citizens, what the cause of that water spill was.

2:26

And I would like to know the cause of it.

2:28

Uh I would really like the city, the utilities department to dig into this and find the cause.

2:35

Um if if something like that happens and there's not a rundown on what really happened and disclosure, discussion, perhaps consideration of what we should do to make sure it doesn't happen again.

2:53

Um identify systemic issues that we don't we're not aware of yet.

3:00

Umless you really start re thinking about things when they occur like this.

3:05

We have a history in the city of discovering we have big problems with the weather system.

3:11

We know that all the service lines have to be replaced because of issues with that material.

3:19

But um my question is is the city really being transparent?

3:25

Here we have uh uh a headlined item that came up, and what it appears to me is it's it's just it was addressed at the time, but you know, it's over and it's passed, and no one's talking about it.

3:41

If there was an entity like the public and uh infrastructure advisory committee that was tasked with looking into this, then maybe but they're not tasked with that.

3:51

In fact, they don't ever meet, so it's uh entity that's I'm not sure what it's even useful for.

3:58

But my question is uh would you all consider taking actions to make sure the system city is transparent specifically about water?

4:08

Thank you.

4:09

Thank you.

4:11

Okay, council.

4:12

Uh any comments by council.

4:17

Uh yes, Counselor List.

4:19

Uh I just want to take a minute to uh recognize Rio Rancho PD.

4:23

Uh they did a Christmas party for uh families in our community this past weekend.

4:28

Um it was huge, and uh hundreds of families benefited.

4:35

Um shout out to Officer Daisy Gomez, because I believe she kind of spearheaded it.

4:39

Also um wanted to give a shout out to uh dispatch supervisor Deedra Montana from Real Rancho.

4:46

Um they also uh adopted some some kids and provided Christmas for kids that otherwise wouldn't have it.

4:52

Um, but I think it's really important to remember our men and women that serve in our community, but also go above and beyond to serve our community in a different way, um, especially at this time of year.

5:05

So it's pretty extraordinary.

5:06

I want you to be recognized, and I want to say thank you.

5:10

Mr.

5:10

Mayor, Councilor Tyler.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Engagement█████████████████████21%

Procedural█████████████13%

Engineering And Infrastructure███████████11%

Public Safety█████████9%

Technology and Innovation████████8%

Economic Development███████7%

Capital Improvement Planning██████6%

Water And Wastewater Management████4%

Parks and Recreation████4%

Summary of Proceedings

Rio Rancho City Council Meeting Summary: December 18, 2025

The City of Rio Rancho Council convened to conduct a busy evening of business, including the approval of multiple site plans, zoning changes, and a significant contract for a new Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. The meeting featured extensive public comments regarding water system transparency and IPRA (Inspection of Public Records Act) reform, followed by the Mayor's final State of the City address and a comprehensive City Manager's report on government transparency and media relations. The Council subsequently approved city legislative priorities and capital outlay requests for the upcoming 2026-2030 session.

Consent Calendar

Routine Appointments: Councilors thanked community members appointed to city commissions and boards. Councilor Weimer and Councilor List specifically noted the importance of community representation on these boards.

Public Comments & Testimony

Transparency and Water Systems: Mr. Van Horn criticized the city's lack of transparency regarding a recent significant water eruption, urging the utilities department to identify systemic causes. He questioned the utility of the Public and Infrastructure Advisory Committee, noting it does not currently meet.
Community Recognition: Councilor List, Councilor Tyler, and Councilor Linantine recognized Rio Rancho PD officers for a Christmas party for families, the Castillion company for handling a busy meeting with grace, and the Winter Fest team, including director Connie, for their event success.
School Construction Concerns (Item D71):
- Mr. Joseph Carreri and Mr. Daniel: Expressed strong opposition to the Ask Academy Gymnasium application as submitted. They argued the proposal conflicts with the comprehensive plan and zoning standards, citing unnecessary impacts on neighboring homes. They requested denial of the current proposal and revision to relocate the structure away from residences and reduce its size.
- Patrick and Manuelita Wolf: Opposed the location of the gymnasium near residential properties, requesting relocation to the southern parcel to minimize visual and scale impacts and improve traffic circulation.
Legislative Priorities (Item R143):
- Stephen Van Horn and Michael Farrell: Expressed strong opposition to the proposed IPRA reform. Mr. Van Horn characterized the priority list as a "political signal" that would allow the city to limit public access to records while seeking more data for the city. Mr. Farrell argued the city is prioritizing public record requests over substantive issues like water security and infrastructure capacity.
- Jillian King: Expressed concern regarding the retirement "return to work" provision, questioning the lack of a transparent recruitment plan and warning against a future workforce reliant on retirees.

Discussion Items

D70 - Liquor License: Approved onm Ja LLC for a restaurant beer and wine license. Councilor Tyler commended the business for community engagement.
D71 - Ask Academy Gymnasium:
- Discussion: The Council debated the site plan, specifically the building's height (34.5 feet, approved under a 10% variance) and placement near residences. Councilor Tyler questioned the feasibility of moving the building. Councilor Weimer proposed a condition to move the building 30 feet east or re-evaluate placement.
- Positions: Councilor Colbreth and Councilor Linantine opposed the specific relocation condition, arguing against the city mandating specific site layout changes without full financial examination and noting the importance of protecting property rights. Councilor Weimer acknowledged these points and withdrew the condition proposal.
- Outcome: The item was approved as presented.
D72 - Church Site Plan: Approved for a church site plan in the Village location with shared access points.
D73 - Solar Facility Site Plan: Approved for an 80-acre solar generation and storage facility featuring a 6-foot fence with barbed wire atop.
O29 - Zone Map Amendment (Plaza Rio): Approved rezoning from SU to Special Use (limited commercial retail) to permit multifamily townhomes, capped at 12 units per acre and 32 feet in height. Staff recommended approval despite a Planning and Zoning Board recommendation for denial.
O30 - Zone Map Amendment (Vista Hills): Approved rezoning from C1 to C2 for a marketing and design business. Councilor Tyler asked about current operations; staff and applicant clarified the building currently lacks power and only hosts occasional maintenance for printers, but the rezoning is a prerequisite for bringing the structure up to code.
R140 - Papillon Master Plan: Approved amendment to expand the master plan boundaries by approximately 98 acres (43 acres south, 55 acres north) and update park locations.
R141 - High Range Six Master Plan: Approved amendment adding four lots and amending their zoning to R5, creating a roadway connection to Broadmoor.
O31 - Zone Map Amendment (High Range Six): Approved zoning changes for the four lots added to the High Range Six Master Plan.
D74 - ERP Contract Award: Approved contract award to DLT Solutions for an Enterprise Resource Planning system to streamline city operations (finance, HR, permitting, etc.).
R142 - Budget Adjustment: Approved a $1.9 million budget adjustment to fund the ERP implementation and software licensing. Councilor Tyler noted the costs are offset by eliminating legacy software licenses. Councilor List questioned future staff efficiencies.
Legislative Priorities and Capital Outlay (R143 & R144):
- Discussion: The Council reviewed legislative priorities (including IPRA reform and return-to-work laws for retirees) and capital outlay requests totaling millions for sports complexes, fire equipment, and street medians.
- Transparency Defense: City Manager Geisel and Mayor presented a detailed defense of the city's IPRA compliance and media practices. The City Manager argued that the 400% increase in IPRA requests (from ~900 to ~5,000) necessitates new staffing and that the city follows state guidance on "broad and burdensome" requests. The Mayor defended IPRA reform efforts as necessary to prevent commercial exploitation of public records (e.g., monetizing body cam footage) while maintaining compliance.
- Positions: Councilors supported the priorities but sought clarification on costs and IPRA impacts. The debate highlighted the tension between transparency and administrative burden.
State of the City (Mayor): The Mayor delivered his annual State of the City address, highlighting 12 years of service, city accolades (safe city rankings, affordability), private investment ($2 billion in commercial/Residential), new fiber infrastructure (Comcast, Easy Fiber), the return of professional hockey (Goatheads), and infrastructure achievements (road bonds, water line replacements paid in cash, no new debt for specific projects).

Key Outcomes

Approved Items: D70 (Liquor License), D71 (Ask Academy Gymnasium), D72 (Church Site Plan), D73 (Solar Site Plan), O29 (Plaza Rio Zoning), O30 (Vista Hills Zoning), R140 (Papillon Master Plan), R141 (High Range Six Master Plan), O31 (High Range Six Zoning), D74 (ERP Contract), R142 (ERP Budget), R143 (Legislative Priorities), and R144 (Capital Outlay Priorities).
Vote Tally: All final votes were unanimous (Yes: 6, No: 0).
Directives: The City committed to pursuing IPRA reform at the state level and capital outlay funding from the state legislature.
Next Steps: Implementation of the ERP system by DLT Solutions; preparation for the upcoming 30-day legislative session in Santa Fe; and execution of the capital outlay projects including sports complex expansions and fire truck replacements.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilor Weimer, would you lead us, please? One nation under our indivisible liberty and justice for all. Please remain standing for a moment as I like to take this time to uh keep our first responders in our thoughts and prayers and give them a moment of silence and reflection as they're out there defending our lives and property each and every day. So with that, we'll take a moment of uh silence. Thank you very much. You may be seated, and I'm gonna go ahead and call this meeting to order. I'm gonna ask everybody to please silence all electronic devices while attending the governing body meeting. 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, Councillor Dabson, who is virtual present. Thank you, Councillor Lynn Time. Yes, thank you. Counselor Tyler Present. Thank you. Counselor Weimer? Present. Thank you. Counselor Colbreth. Present. Thank you, Councilor List. Present. Thank you. All right, moving on to public forum. Each comment will be limited to two minutes. Uh no more than two hours in total will be allotted to public forum. Uh Mr. Van Horn. Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, counselors. I uh would like to talk to you this evening about transparency. Um last month I was visiting my son in Hawaii, and I really wasn't paying much attention to what was going on here, but I saw the in the news of this huge eruption of water that occurred here is a significant. Um I still have not seen anything that tells me, citizens, what the cause of that water spill was. And I would like to know the cause of it. Uh I would really like the city, the utilities department to dig into this and find the cause. Um if if something like that happens and there's not a rundown on what really happened and disclosure, discussion, perhaps consideration of what we should do to make sure it doesn't happen again. Um identify systemic issues that we don't we're not aware of yet. Umless you really start re thinking about things when they occur like this. We have a history in the city of discovering we have big problems with the weather system. We know that all the service lines have to be replaced because of issues with that material. But um my question is is the city really being transparent? Here we have uh uh a headlined item that came up, and what it appears to me is it's it's just it was addressed at the time, but you know, it's over and it's passed, and no one's talking about it. If there was an entity like the public and uh infrastructure advisory committee that was tasked with looking into this, then maybe but they're not tasked with that. In fact, they don't ever meet, so it's uh entity that's I'm not sure what it's even useful for. But my question is uh would you all consider taking actions to make sure the system city is transparent specifically about water? Thank you. Thank you. Okay, council. Uh any comments by council. Uh yes, Counselor List. Uh I just want to take a minute to uh recognize Rio Rancho PD.

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