City Council Recap – June 1, 2026

At its Monday, June 1, 2026, regular meeting, the Las Cruces City Council discussed and voted on three resolutions and one ordinance.

City Council approved a request for a beer and wine liquor license with on premises consumption and patio service, to NYP Slice House, LLC, 3290 Rinconada Blvd. The City Council also held a public hearing on the request, which had previously been given preliminary approval by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABC) of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. The public hearing, which elicited no public comments, is required by state law to determine if ABC should move forward on approving the license request.

City Council accepted two grants to through an amendment to the City’s fiscal year 2026 budget. The grants were $29,867 to the Las Cruces Fire Department from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration to reimburse the cost of equipment required for new firefighters; and almost $1.43 million to Information Technology from the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion for the construction, expansion and replacement of core high-speed broadband infrastructure used to provide services across City facilities.

The City’s FY2026-31 Capital Improvements Program was amended to reflect adjustments in available funds (adding $2.82 million for intersection improvements); new grant funding (almost $1.43 million for broadband access and expansion); and new gross receipts tax funding (almost $5 million) for citywide projects, including parks deferred maintenance, restroom repair and rehabilitation, drinking fountains and lighting replacement; surveillance and access controls; parking lot rehabilitation (including downtown parking lots 3 and 4, the Frank O’Brien Papen Center and Maag Ballfield parking lots); roof preservation and rehabilitation projects (including the Armando “Mondy” Castañeda Service Center building); facilities deferred maintenance; and security and fire alarms (including municipal court and Mesilla Valley Community of Hope’s Camp Hope). An amendment to the resolution removed $360,000 for a Las Cruces Police Academy roof rehabilitation project.

City Council amended the municipal code to extend the allowable timeframe for the use of appraisals done by qualified independent appraisers licensed in New Mexico regarding the acquisition and disposition of real property. The six-month timeframe sometimes resulted in the need for unnecessary updated or duplicate appraisals, which created delays and increased costs in completing real estate transactions. Extending the allowable timeframe to 12 months provides additional flexibility in the use of existing appraisals, supports more efficient transaction timelines and reduces redundant costs, while still allowing City staff and the City Council to obtain updated appraisals if necessary.

This meeting and all City Council meetings can be viewed on the City’s YouTube channel.