City Council Recap May 4, 2026

At its Monday, May 4, 2026, regular meeting, the Las Cruces City Council discussed and voted on three resolutions and three ordinances. All six were passed.

City Council authorized a contract between the City and Pivot Evaluation, LLC of Albuquerque for program evaluation services related to the allocation of almost $10 million in opioid settlement funds the City and Doña Ana County will receive through 2038 because of nationwide and state opioid legislation resulting from settlements and agreements with opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers. The City and County will use the funds for treatment services and prevention programs. Pivot will provide independent evaluation and reporting of settlement-funded programs. Without these evaluation services, the City and County would lack the required unified, credible reporting. Pivot’s contract for up to $147,253 is effective through Nov. 30, 2029. The resolution was approved 7-0.

Council awarded grants to 18 Las Cruces nonprofits from the Health Care Fund. The City Council approved a resolution last August allocating up to $600,000 a year to eligible nonprofit organizations in exchange for providing qualified healthcare and supportive services to sick, indigent, and low-income residents of Las Cruces. The City conducted a competitive application process to determine who would receive grants, which are awarded on a two-year funding cycle with renewed funding based on overall program performance. Applications were reviewed by the City Health and Human Services Advisory Committee, which recommended awards. The council voted to approve the resolution 4-2, with Mayor Eric Enriquez, Mayor Pro Tempore John Muñoz and Councilors Johana Bencomo and Michael Harris voting yes, and Councilors Cassie McClure and Bill Mattiace voting no. Because she serves on the board of one of the organizations receiving funds, Councilor Becky Corran recused herself from the vote.

These organizations will each receive $33,333 grants: Amador Health Center; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Las Cruces; Boys and Girls Club of Las Cruces; Casa de Peregrinos; Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico; Community Action Agency; El Caldito Soup Kitchen; El Calvario United Methodist Church; Families & Youth Inc.; Jardin de los Niños; La Casa, Inc.; La Piñon Sexual Assault Recovery Services; Lutheran Family Services; Mesilla Valley CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates); Mesilla Valley Community of Hope; New Mexico Legal Aid; Roadrunner Food Bank;  and Southern New Mexico Diabetes Outreach.

City Council adopted the 2026-2030 Consolidated Plan, Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, and 2026 Action Plan for the City’s participation in the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) programs, as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The resolution was approved 7-0.

The five-year Consolidated Plan identifies community development and affordable housing needs the City will attempt to address during the plan period. The impediments analysis includes a review of City policies, household economic conditions, the occupancy and location of public and government-assisted housing, possible forms of discrimination and other factors impacting fair housing. The Consolidated Plan and impediments analysis are based on stakeholder interviews,  surveys, public input meetings, a City Council work session, four public hearings and a 30-day comment period.

With goals that include increasing affordable housing and addressing homelessness, the Action Plan allocates almost $2.2 million in CDBG and HOME funds for home rehabilitation, playground renovation, weatherization, land acquisition, home construction, rental assistance, food banks, addressing homeless and domestic violence and assisting abused and neglected children. Organizations receiving funding include Jardin de los Niños; Abode Inc.; Casa de Peregrinos; Mesilla Valley Community of Hope; Mesilla Valley CASA; Mesilla Valley Habitat for Humanity; La Casa, Inc.; and Tierra del Sol Housing Corp.

City Council approved three real estate ordinances. They approve the sale of about 15.3 acres of City-owned land in the Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park (LCIIP) for $573,792 to CLS Development Partners, LLC, which will develop the site with about 150,000 square feet of speculative warehouse space to accommodate future tenants and a proposed capital investment of $12.2 million. They also approved the donation of a City-owned, vacant parcel of land at 705 N. 5th St. to New Mexico Wind Inc., DBA Crosstown Ministries, for the development of affordable housing and approved the conveyance of four City-owned parcels of land to Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation for the development of affordable housing. The properties are on the 1200 block of N. Tornillo St. and 1040 Campo St.

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