OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Rio Rancho Economic Development Work Session - June 16, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, June 16, 2026
BodyRio Rancho, New Mexico
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, June 16, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:39:14

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

June 16th to order.

0:01

Councilor Tyler, will you lead us in the pledge?

0:04

Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which stands one nation under God in a visible with liberty and justice for all.

0:18

Thank you.

0:19

You may be seated.

0:27

Start off by uh asking everyone to please silence all electronic devices.

0:33

Which I need to do myself while while attending the governing body meeting.

0:38

For the record, I'm gonna announce the names of the governing body members.

0:40

When I say your name, please acknowledge your presence by saying present.

0:44

Counselor Dabson.

0:46

Present.

0:47

Councillor Lennon Tyne.

0:51

We will Councilman Time is not here yet.

0:54

We will announce his attendance when and if he arrives.

0:57

Counselor Tyler.

0:58

Councilor Colbert.

1:00

Present.

1:00

Councillor List.

1:01

Present.

1:02

For the record, public comment will not be taken at this work session.

1:06

Members of the public are invited to listen in, but we will not be taking public comment.

1:11

Moving on for to items of discussion.

1:14

City Rio Rancho Economic Development Overview.

1:19

City Manager Geisel.

1:22

Mr.

1:23

Mayor, members of the government body, good afternoon.

1:27

If I may, I'm going to present from here so I can uh see the uh my talking notes and the uh slide deck because I left my printed copy upstairs.

1:36

Um so I'm gonna uh present from here.

1:39

But um would just like to cover a few things here.

1:42

As uh the title I put on this uh presentation is economic development overview initiatives and opportunities in today's date of June 16th, if I'm not mistaken, today is flag day.

1:53

Um or yesterday was, I apologize.

1:57

Um so if I have the date wrong, I apologize, but I know we're right around flag day.

2:01

Was it Sunday?

2:02

My bad.

2:03

I'm gonna look that up and correct and correct myself.

2:06

Um kind of overview of uh um the agenda um for today.

2:11

Uh Alberto and I are both going to give uh uh present some material and then we'll have uh an update from the Sandoval Economic Alliance and then uh the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce uh will provide an informational overview of uh their activities.

2:27

Um if you recall in uh June of 2024, which is two years ago, um approximately, maybe not to the date, uh we had a presentation, did an economic development update.

2:40

And uh one of the thoughts um going into this uh to this work session as we uh prepared um you know, akin to how uh April has become the the roads work session.

2:52

Um, you know, that's uh you know, with with BJ, we've kind of turned that uh April work session into a roads update.

2:58

Uh had some thought about potentially making June a recurring economic development, economic themes uh uh presentation uh for us.

3:08

Um some of the slides I'm gonna have here are um recycled and repurposed and updated from what I uh presented in June of um 2000 and uh June 2024.

3:21

Um you know, want to kind of provide a little bit of a history of economic development and diversification efforts uh you know over the time, you know, history here in the city, a little bit of uh uh you don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been type thing.

3:34

And so this is a slide that I've slightly updated and uh it may sound a little familiar.

3:40

I would say that this slide is uh you know in broad strokes accurate.

3:43

Um I may be off by a year or two when I reference something, but uh definitely uh you know, in the realm of um, you know, from accuracy that pertain in the realm of horseshoes and hand grenades.

3:54

It's uh close enough to um to do things.

3:56

So initially Amrep had an in-house function uh to mer to market commercial properties, um, and in turn to uh you know spur demand for residential construction.

4:06

Um good example of that is uh um good example of that is uh um give me one second.

4:22

So I have my talking notes now, so I'll just be able to go from here.

4:28

Um good example of that is um you know the area around quantum that you know is something that I think Amrup developed in with their in-house functions.

4:38

Um and then Amrit morphed that uh in-house function uh into the original Rio Rancho Economic Development Corporation.

4:46

Um that was created sometime in the late 90s, going to the early 2000s, um, and somewhere along the way, I think you know, sometime after the turn of the century, the city started to support and fund uh the old or the former RREDC at about a hundred thousand dollars a year.

5:02

In the early 2000s, the city created a CVB tourism function to drive um economic activity through visitation, i.e.

5:10

events, sports tourism, small meetings, uh, with the goal of, as I call it in the tourism space, heads and beds and butts and seats.

5:18

Um broadening of this initiative was the construction of the Rio Rancho Event Center, um, which was a you know, at that time known as the Santa Ana Star Center, um, and that was approved in 2005, opened in October of 2006.

5:33

Also around this time frame, the city adopted an overarching economic development policy and plan.

5:38

Um it's also when the city had uh enacted its grip ordinance, and then economic development manager position was added to the city manager's office and has been on the books uh since that time frame, 2022 years ago or so.

5:52

REDC was influential in the recruitment of many economic-based employers from the late 90s through the early 2000 and early 2010.

6:00

Companies such as Lettrasonics, Insight Lighting came in that era, and they're still long-standing employers here in our community contributing to um contributing to our local economy, creating jobs, as well as uh the recruitment of uh different call centers.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████████████████72%
Community Engagement████████████19%
Workforce Development██3%
Procedural█2%
Public Engagement█2%
Budget Equity Analysis█1%
Technology and Innovation█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Rio Rancho Economic Development Work Session - June 16, 2026

The Rio Rancho Governing Body held a work session on June 16, 2026, to discuss economic development initiatives, partnerships, and future strategies. Presentations were delivered by City Manager Matt Geisel, Economic Development Manager Alberto Solis, Sandoval Economic Alliance (SCA) President Fred Shepherd, and Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Schalow. Topics included the history of local economic development, site readiness efforts, business retention and expansion, and the role of various organizations.

Consent Calendar

  • No consent calendar items were on the agenda.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Public comment was not taken at this work session, as stated in the agenda.

Discussion Items

  • City Manager Matt Geisel provided an overview of Rio Rancho's economic development history, from early Amrep marketing to the creation of the Rio Rancho Economic Development Corporation (RREDC) and its restructuring into the Sandoval Economic Alliance (SCA). He noted that the city's current contract with SCA began in FY24 and is in its third year.
  • Geisel outlined key economic factors: growth in gross receipts tax from destination sourcing e-commerce, strong residential construction, and increasing anchor/institutional employers (LANL, Sandia, UNM RMC). He emphasized the need for a cohesive long-term strategy and proposed making June a recurring economic development work session.
  • He introduced an economic development framework highlighting the interconnectedness of quality of life, job creation, and tax base growth, and noted that the city's 2023-2028 strategic plan calls for revisiting economic development priorities.
  • Alberto Solis discussed his first two years as Economic Development Manager, focusing on fact-finding, internal collaboration, and external partnerships. Key accomplishments included:
    • Leading a site readiness exercise for 70 acres at Rio Rancho City Center (43 acres designated a strategic economic development site by the state).
    • Applying for $1.5 million in state site readiness grant funding to extend College Boulevard to Broadmoor.
    • Convening a quarterly meeting of small business assistance and economic development partners in April.
    • Identifying four key opportunity sectors: aerospace and defense, bioscience/biotech, healthcare, and higher education.
  • Solis stated that Rio Rancho's competitive advantages are being safe, stable (accountable governance), and scalable (families and employers can grow).
  • Councilor Bob Tyler pressed for concrete metrics on job creation, business growth, retention, and site readiness. Solis acknowledged that no jobs had been created under his direct watch, but cited collaboration with partners. Geisel noted that the city has supported incentive packages for companies like Intel and Deluxe Designs, and that growth should be measured broadly, not solely by job creation.
  • Fred Shepherd presented SCA's contract deliverables: site readiness, business retention and expansion (BRE), and microeconomic gardening. Key statistics:
    • 47 unique company interactions in FY24, 45 in FY25 (direct outreach, not mass emails).
    • 20 businesses responded to an anonymous survey; local business climate ratings were higher than state or national ratings.
    • One small company added 9 jobs through microeconomic gardening; two expansions pending.
    • Since 2025, conservative estimates show projects assisted by SCA projected 1,481 net new jobs, $2.1 million in direct city tax revenue, and $341.9 million in local household spending, with a 400% ROI on city funding.
  • Shepherd highlighted that site readiness is a long game, noting that private landowners of industrial land may seek residential rezoning due to higher short-term profits.
  • He also clarified that SCA focuses on economic-base employers (companies not seeking front-door traffic), while retail/restaurant referrals go to the chamber and SBDC.
  • Jerry Schalow described the chamber's role in business retention/expansion, attraction, workforce development, and quality of life. Notable achievements included:
    • The "Shop on Southern" program, which kept businesses open during road construction and increased Albuquerque awareness of Rio Rancho.
    • Revitalizing Country Club Plaza and Turtle Mountain expansion.
    • Advocating for Rio Tech (CTE center) and Market Street grocery store.
    • Managing Discover Sandoval, a geofencing marketing program targeting workers at LANL, Sandia, and Intel to attract them to live in Rio Rancho and Sandoval County.
  • Schalow stated the chamber is the fastest-growing in New Mexico and top ten nationally. He noted that 47,000 residents commute out of Sandoval County daily, representing $3.1 billion in outbound payroll, and that Rio Rancho is 1,600 businesses short compared to peer cities like Santa Fe or Las Cruces.
  • He proposed an MOU for $20,000 in city funding for business retention/expansion and workforce programs, with no funding going to chamber operations, and measurable metrics.

Key Outcomes

  • Councilor Karissa Culbreath called for quarterly collaborative meetings among the city, SCA, and chamber to reduce overlap and align efforts.
  • Councilor Bob Tyler expressed interest in an MOU with the chamber, including a city seat on the chamber board, quarterly reporting (similar to SCA's), and a requirement for collaboration among all entities. He suggested revisiting funding at mid-year budget.
  • The consensus among councilors was to increase collaboration and clarify roles to avoid duplication.
  • No formal votes or directives were taken; the work session was informational. The meeting adjourned at 5:40 PM.

Meeting Transcript

June 16th to order. Councilor Tyler, will you lead us in the pledge? Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which stands one nation under God in a visible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. You may be seated. Start off by uh asking everyone to please silence all electronic devices. Which I need to do myself while while attending the governing body meeting. For the record, I'm gonna announce the names of the governing body members. When I say your name, please acknowledge your presence by saying present. Counselor Dabson. Present. Councillor Lennon Tyne. We will Councilman Time is not here yet. We will announce his attendance when and if he arrives. Counselor Tyler. Councilor Colbert. Present. Councillor List. Present. For the record, public comment will not be taken at this work session. Members of the public are invited to listen in, but we will not be taking public comment. Moving on for to items of discussion. City Rio Rancho Economic Development Overview. City Manager Geisel. Mr. Mayor, members of the government body, good afternoon. If I may, I'm going to present from here so I can uh see the uh my talking notes and the uh slide deck because I left my printed copy upstairs. Um so I'm gonna uh present from here. But um would just like to cover a few things here. As uh the title I put on this uh presentation is economic development overview initiatives and opportunities in today's date of June 16th, if I'm not mistaken, today is flag day. Um or yesterday was, I apologize. Um so if I have the date wrong, I apologize, but I know we're right around flag day. Was it Sunday? My bad. I'm gonna look that up and correct and correct myself. Um kind of overview of uh um the agenda um for today. Uh Alberto and I are both going to give uh uh present some material and then we'll have uh an update from the Sandoval Economic Alliance and then uh the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce uh will provide an informational overview of uh their activities. Um if you recall in uh June of 2024, which is two years ago, um approximately, maybe not to the date, uh we had a presentation, did an economic development update. And uh one of the thoughts um going into this uh to this work session as we uh prepared um you know, akin to how uh April has become the the roads work session. Um, you know, that's uh you know, with with BJ, we've kind of turned that uh April work session into a roads update. Uh had some thought about potentially making June a recurring economic development, economic themes uh uh presentation uh for us. Um some of the slides I'm gonna have here are um recycled and repurposed and updated from what I uh presented in June of um 2000 and uh June 2024. Um you know, want to kind of provide a little bit of a history of economic development and diversification efforts uh you know over the time, you know, history here in the city, a little bit of uh uh you don't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been type thing. And so this is a slide that I've slightly updated and uh it may sound a little familiar. I would say that this slide is uh you know in broad strokes accurate. Um I may be off by a year or two when I reference something, but uh definitely uh you know, in the realm of um, you know, from accuracy that pertain in the realm of horseshoes and hand grenades. It's uh close enough to um to do things. So initially Amrep had an in-house function uh to mer to market commercial properties, um, and in turn to uh you know spur demand for residential construction. Um good example of that is uh um good example of that is uh um give me one second. So I have my talking notes now, so I'll just be able to go from here.

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