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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

October 19, 2026 – Parks and Recreation Commission Reviews Multi-Generational Center Plans and Annual Report

Meeting Portal — Monday, October 19, 2026

BodyRio Rancho, New Mexico

SessionMeeting Portal

DateMonday, October 19, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 47:15

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

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:01

The October 19th, 2026 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission is now called to order.

0:09

Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:39

Okay.

0:41

The only item on our consent calendar tonight is approval of the September 21st, 2026 minutes.

0:49

Has everyone had a chance to review them.

0:53

May I have a motion then?

1:00

Go ahead.

Speaker 2

1:05

A motion to approve the meeting.

1:10

Is that

Speaker 1

1:11

Chris?

Unassigned speaker

1:14

That

Speaker 2

1:14

was Renee, and I thought I heard somebody else talking, so I muted.

1:17

Oh,

Speaker 3

1:17

go ahead.

Speaker 2

1:18

I'll make a motion to approve the minutes.

Speaker 3

1:20

I'll second.

Unassigned speaker

1:24

Okay.

Speaker 1

1:25

May we have a roll call for the vote?

Speaker 4

1:28

Commissioner Romero, do you approve the minutes?

1:33

Okay.

1:35

Commissioner Herrera.

1:37

Present.

1:38

Approved.

1:39

Commissioner Edwards.

Speaker 1

1:42

Present, approved.

Speaker 4

1:43

Commissioner French Barger.

Speaker 5

1:46

Approved.

Speaker 4

1:47

Commissioner Leading.

Speaker 5

1:49

Present and approved.

Speaker 4

1:51

The September minutes have been approved.

Speaker 1

1:59

Tonight we have a presentation on the multi-generational center concept design.

Speaker 4

2:27

Commissioners, good evening.

2:31

I'm really excited about today's presentation because this is a project we've been working on for several months.

2:38

And it's exciting to finally see some of the ideas start to take shape.

2:44

As you know, the city's been exploring the possibility of developing a multi-generational recreation facility here in Rio Rancho.

2:52

And we all believe that this has the potential to be a wonderful addition to our community, offering recreational opportunities and gathering spaces for residents here in Rio Rancho of all ages.

3:02

Up to this point, much of that work has been behind the scenes looking at property, evaluating some of the obvious needs and how to prioritize those needs, exploring different options and developing some preliminary context concepts to see what might actually be for uh feasible.

3:20

So we're now at the point where we have some more tangible uh things to share with you, and we're excited to begin getting feedback from our advisory boards and from the community.

3:31

So I want to emphasize that these um these plans are still in uh conceptual form.

3:37

There are decisions to be made, funding to be secured, and a lot of work still ahead of us.

3:43

So with that, I'm gonna turn it over uh to Aaron Zom.

3:46

I'd like to introduce him.

3:47

He's our principal landscape architect with architect with Plan Collaborative and his team.

3:52

Um, and this is who we've been working with on this project.

3:55

And Aaron and his team are gonna walk us through the concepts, explain the proposed phases, and help us kick off this next phase of the process.

4:07

And this is Aaron.

Unassigned speaker

4:19

Sorry,

Speaker 4

4:19

that's

Speaker 6

4:19

my is that working?

4:21

Okay.

4:22

Chris Van Dyck and Samantha Spitzer with Rear Stafford Architects.

4:25

There are um subconsultants that are also helping us with this planning effort.

4:29

So uh Chris will speak with you in just a moment.

4:32

So um, Connie, thank you for the lead in.

4:34

Um she mentioned it's it's been something that's been in the works for a couple of years, so uh in the middle of 2023, I think as part of the strategic plan.

4:44

Um, the multi-generational center was um identified as uh as a need.

Unassigned speaker

4:49

Um since that time we've been brought on board, we've done a needs assessment with uh city staff and um have been working on some conceptual designs uh to to imagine how big it is, what's included, and what it might cost, so that we can continue to move this forward.

Speaker 6

5:06

So the location of the site that's been identified is pretty centrally located as you can see within the city limits.

5:15

This is a city-owned property.

5:17

It is goes back to 1989.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████51%

Miscellaneous████████████████████23%

Public Engagement████████████████████23%

Land Use Planning██2%

Procedural█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting – October 19, 2026

The Parks and Recreation Commission held its regular meeting on October 19, 2026. After opening with the Pledge of Allegiance, the Commission approved the consent calendar and then received a comprehensive presentation on the multi-generational recreation center concept. Commissioners later discussed the annual report to the governing body, directing staff to add specific highlights before final approval. No public comments were received.

Consent Calendar

The Commission unanimously approved the minutes from the September 21, 2026, meeting by roll call vote. Commissioners Romero, Herrera, Edwards, French Barger, and Leading voted in favor.

Discussion Items

Multi-Generational Center Concept Design – City staff member Connie introduced the presentation, noting the project is still conceptual and requires funding and community feedback. Aaron Zom (Plan Collaborative) and Chris Van Dyck (Greer Stafford Architects) presented the design for a facility at Northern and Rockaway (former Stapleton Elementary site). Phase one (50,000 sq ft) includes a multi-sport court with four basketball courts, lockers, admin, two outdoor basketball courts, parking, etc., estimated at $42 million. Phase two (33,000 sq ft) adds gymnastics, climbing wall, fitness, multi-purpose rooms with stage, snack area; two tennis courts, ten pickleball courts, two play areas, agility course, flexible lawn and picnic pavilion, estimated at $33 million. Both phases include 4% annual inflation. Design emphasizes flexibility, accessibility, night-sky compliant lighting, and hours from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Commissioner Edwards noted that 20% of the city's population is over 65 and asked about therapy pools (none included due to proximity to existing aquatic center). Commissioner Herrera asked about lighting and hours. Commissioner Leading asked about classroom spaces (flexible partitions can be used). Construction and design each estimated at 18 months per phase. Only design funding ($2.5M) secured; future funding sources to be pursued. A public open house is scheduled for November 9, 2026, at 6 p.m. at the Loma Colorado Library.
Annual Presentation to Governing Body – Staff presented a draft annual report for submission to the City Council on December 17, 2026. Commissioner Leading requested adding specific highlights from Keep Rio Rancho Beautiful and Camazone events, including the tree seedling giveaway. Commissioner French Barger supported more detailed listing of KRRB events. Staff will revise the draft and circulate it for commissioner input; final approval will occur at a future meeting.

Key Outcomes

Consent Calendar: September minutes approved unanimously (5-0).
Multi-Generational Center: No formal decisions made. Next step: public open house on November 9, 2026, and continued design development pending funding.
Annual Report: Draft to be revised with additional highlights and approved at a later meeting.
Public Hearings: None.

Meeting Transcript

The October 19th, 2026 meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission is now called to order. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Okay. The only item on our consent calendar tonight is approval of the September 21st, 2026 minutes. Has everyone had a chance to review them. May I have a motion then? Go ahead. A motion to approve the meeting. Is that Chris? That was Renee, and I thought I heard somebody else talking, so I muted. Oh, go ahead. I'll make a motion to approve the minutes. I'll second. Okay. May we have a roll call for the vote? Commissioner Romero, do you approve the minutes? Okay. Commissioner Herrera. Present. Approved. Commissioner Edwards. Present, approved. Commissioner French Barger. Approved. Commissioner Leading. Present and approved. The September minutes have been approved. Tonight we have a presentation on the multi-generational center concept design. Commissioners, good evening. I'm really excited about today's presentation because this is a project we've been working on for several months. And it's exciting to finally see some of the ideas start to take shape. As you know, the city's been exploring the possibility of developing a multi-generational recreation facility here in Rio Rancho. And we all believe that this has the potential to be a wonderful addition to our community, offering recreational opportunities and gathering spaces for residents here in Rio Rancho of all ages. Up to this point, much of that work has been behind the scenes looking at property, evaluating some of the obvious needs and how to prioritize those needs, exploring different options and developing some preliminary context concepts to see what might actually be for uh feasible. So we're now at the point where we have some more tangible uh things to share with you, and we're excited to begin getting feedback from our advisory boards and from the community. So I want to emphasize that these um these plans are still in uh conceptual form. There are decisions to be made, funding to be secured, and a lot of work still ahead of us. So with that, I'm gonna turn it over uh to Aaron Zom. I'd like to introduce him. He's our principal landscape architect with architect with Plan Collaborative and his team. Um, and this is who we've been working with on this project. And Aaron and his team are gonna walk us through the concepts, explain the proposed phases, and help us kick off this next phase of the process. And this is Aaron. Sorry, that's my is that working? Okay.

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