Rio Rancho Governing Body Regular Meeting - May 14, 2026
Rio Rancho Governing Body Regular Meeting - May 14, 2026
The regular meeting of the Rio Rancho Governing Body was called to order at 6:00 PM in the Council Chambers by Mayor Paul Wymer. Councilors Deb Dapson (District 1), Jeremy Lenentine (District 2, arrived after call to order), Karissa Culbreath (District 5), and Nicole List (District 6) were present. Councilor Bob Tyler (District 3) was excused, and District 4 remained vacant. The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM. Key actions included approval of the consent calendar, approval of a site plan for a credit union, public hearings on the FY2027 budget and ICIP, first reading of a $18 million general obligation bond ordinance, and election of a new Deputy Mayor.
Consent Calendar
- Minutes of April 21, 2026 Work Session and April 23, 2026 Regular Meeting were approved.
- R33 – Budget adjustment to Law Enforcement Retention Fund (239)
- R34 – Budget adjustment to General Fund (101)
- R35 – Budget adjustment to State Appropriations Fund (315)
- Motion by Councilor List, seconded by Councilor Culbreath. Carried 4-0 (Councilor Lenentine not yet present, Councilor Tyler absent). Yes: Wymer, Dapson, Culbreath, List.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Stephen vanHorn (public forum) requested that the Mayor appoint members to the Public Infrastructure Advisory Board, citing concerns about water and wastewater injection projects based on historical documents from 2002 and issues seen in other states. He argued the board is not populated and no one is reviewing water issues.
- Stephen vanHorn (on FY2027 budget) expressed opposition to the omission of details on wastewater injection in the capital projects list, noting the "Rio Rancho Pure project" is barely mentioned in the annual water report.
- Tom Dixon (on FY2027 budget) requested $20,000 for vehicle barriers on a pedestrian walkway from Chiotte Road to Springer Road in District 3, citing safety concerns from drag racers. He also asked for a more user-friendly, drill-down budget document for citizens.
Discussion Items
- D11 – Site Plan Approval for a Bank (Sandia Area Credit Union) at Commerce Center Commercial, Enchanted Hills, Block B, Lot 1A (1.54 acres, zoned SU). Director Amy Rincon presented, noting the planning and zoning board approved it on Tuesday. Applicant Sergio Lozoya spoke in favor, stating it is a much-needed use for the area. Motion by Councilor Dapson, seconded by Councilor Culbreath. Carried 4-0 (Councilors Lenentine and Tyler not voting).
- Public Hearing for Fiscal Year 2027 Budget – Two speakers as above. No vote taken.
- Public Hearing for Fiscal Years 2027-2031 Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan (ICIP) – No speakers. Hearing opened and closed.
- First Reading of O6 – Ordinance Authorizing $18,000,000 General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2026 – Director of Financial Services Stephanie Yara presented. The bonds, approved by voters, will fund roads ($12.4M), public safety ($4.4M), and quality of life facilities ($1.2M). Bonds will mature in 20 years (2046). The municipal market rate (MMD) is currently between 3.84% and 4.19%. Sale targeted for June 24, 2026. Motion by Councilor Culbreath, seconded by Councilor List. Carried 5-0 (Councilor Tyler absent). Yes: Wymer, Dapson, Lenentine, Culbreath, List.
- Selection of Deputy Mayor – Councilor Jeremy Lenentine nominated Councilor Karissa Culbreath for Deputy Mayor, noting her service since the pandemic, fiscal prudence, and representation of District 5. Motion seconded by Councilor Dapson. Councilor Culbreath accepted. Carried 5-0 (Tyler absent). Councilor Culbreath becomes Deputy Mayor.
Key Outcomes
- Consent calendar approved (4-0).
- D11 site plan approved (4-0).
- O6 bond ordinance passed first reading (5-0).
- Karissa Culbreath elected Deputy Mayor (5-0).
- City Manager Matt Geisel announced: Fallen Officer Memorial earlier in the day; yard sale at Cabezon Park on May 16; three outdoor pools open May 23; Aquatic Center extended hours May 26 to August 2; Memorial Day ceremony May 25 at Veterans Memorial Park.
(Note: Councilor Lenentine joined the meeting after the consent calendar vote but was present for later items.)
Meeting Transcript
States of America. Under God Liberty and Justice for all. Please remain standing. As has become somewhat of a tradition, I want to take a moment to recognize our first responders for their commitment to our safety as well as to acknowledge the dangers they face every day. It's particularly appropriate today since earlier this morning we had we honored officers Benner, Casey, and Haas at the fallen fallen officers memorial ceremony here in Rio Rancho. Each of these officers made the ultimate sacrifice for us. All right, a couple order of business here. Please silence all electronic devices while attending the governing body meeting. For the record, I will announce the name of the governing body members. When I say your name, please acknowledge your presence by saying present. Counselor Dabson. Present. Councilor Lynentine advised me he'd be about 10 minutes late, so we will acknowledge his presence when he arrives. Councilor Tyler has been excused. We have no counselor assigned yet to District 4. Councillor Colbreth. Present. And Counselor List. Present moving on. We have no proclamations of awards or merit public forum. Each comment will be limited to two minutes with no more than two hours in total for the allocated or allocated to the public forum comments at any meeting. Do we have anyone signed up for public comment? Yes, we do have two. Okay. Casey Robinson. I'm sorry, Casey, please repeat. Okay. All right, moving on. Stephen Van Horn. Mr. Van Horn. Good evening, Mayor. Counselors. It's been a long time since I said good evening, Mayor, to someone besides Mayor Hall. The handout I gave you this evening is from a very old document. 2002. I would ask you to go into the city's archives and look at this document. It gives you a lot of information of where our whole plan as far as water, wastewater injection came from. The reason why I'm asking you to look at it is some of the things that are in there based uh were based on successes they had with injection and so forth in places like Florida and Texas and other places. Now all these years later, if you go and look at those same places that were considered um good examples of what we could hope for, what we're what we're seeing is is catastrophe. There's a lot of issues with something that Mayor Hall talked about subsidence. And uh if this was to happen here, it really would be a catastrophe. The reason why I'm asking you to look at this is because we don't have a functioning public infrastructure advisory board. It's not been populated. There's no one looking at things like water issues, especially this year with the Rio Grande drying up again. And I think you all understand that the aquifer and the river are connected. Our source is connected to the river. So I'm just asking if you would please, Mr. Mayor, appoint people to the public infrastructure advisory board that can give you all good advice on what to do going forward. Thank you.
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