Council - Regular Meeting

I'd like to call to order the regular City Council meeting of September 9th, 2026 to order.

Mayor David Romero? Here. Councillor Marvin Martinez? Present. Councillor Barbara Casey? Here. Councillor Benito Pacheco?

Present.

Councillor David Ulivari?

He's excused.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. We do have a quorum.

Thank you. Mr. David Marquez, will you lead us in the pledge? Councillor Martinez, moment of silence.

Thank you, Mayor. Just wanted to recognize a young man that got injured in a motorcycle accident the other day, Justin Martinez, and just prayers for him and his family. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, approval of the agenda?

Mayor, I move approval of the agenda as presented.

Second. A motion by Councillor Casey, second by Councillor Martinez. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Those opposed? The ayes have it.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Moving on to our public input, we have one individual signed up for public input this evening, Ms. Starford, speaking on the Commerce Street item and the roundabout.

Should it be right here? Yes. So I have a some background in transportation planning so I noticed two items I wanted to speak on it one in favor and one opposed with the Commerce Street obviously is in Terrible need of fixing so I'm really happy to see that that's on the agenda So I would support that With the state funds and the second one is the the resolution expressed the opposition to the roundabout alternative for Grand Avenue and Mills and And that does not seem appropriate to me because we all have personal preferences. But for the city to eliminate that takes away the transportation planners that have data and experience doing this from choosing the best alternative. The reason that more roundabouts are being built in New Mexico and across the country is mainly safety. Car safety is improved. Pedestrians and bicycle safety is greatly improved. And also there's lower operating and maintenance costs. And there's other reasons. And they may not choose that alternative, but if they wanted to, and that was the best one, they should be allowed to do that. Yeah. Okay. I think that's it. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Moving on to our next item, Mayor's Appointments, Reports, Recognitions, and Proclamations.

Okay. Well, at this time, I have a special guest in the audience, Mr. Philip Modis. Councillor Martinez and I had been in discussion, and I know Mr. Modis spent over 30 years with the City of Las Vegas, and I think it was well appropriate for THAT WE RECOGNIZE HIM FOR NOT ONLY HIS YEARS OF SERVICE BUT HIS COMMITMENT AND DEDICATION TO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. COUNCILOR MARTINEZ, BEFORE I READ THE PROCLAMATION, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANTED TO SAY A FEW WORDS.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. YES, I WOULD. I WAS APPROACHED BY CONVERSATION WITH NIKKI, HIS DAUGHTER, IN REFERENCE TO THE YEARS OF SERVICE THAT HER FATHER HAD PUT INTO THE CITY OF LA ZEGAS. Of course, being just a regular resident of the city of Las Vegas, I've known that he's been part of our community forever. You know, part of the fire department, part of ambulance service and everything else that we've had here in our community and training, of course, has been big. So I brought that up to the attention of the manager and the mayor and we felt that it was good and right. that we recognize Mr. Matas for his long years of service and accomplishments at the City of Las Vegas. So that was a big thing for me. I thought it was very appropriate and we wanted to honor you today to make sure that we're doing our part as a council and taking care of the people that have taken care of us, our community. FOR YEARS, YOU KNOW, FOR YEARS THAT WE'VE HAD YOU. SO WITH THAT BEAR, I'LL JUST TURN IT OVER TO YOU AND I'LL LET YOU READ THAT PROCLAMATION. OKAY.

SO CHIEF SPEN, IF YOU DON'T MIND COMING UP, I'LL READ THE PROCLAMATION AND CHIEF SPEN COULD GO AHEAD AND HAVE THE HONORS OF PRESENTING MR. MAURICE AND THE FAMILY WITH THE FLAGS. MR. MAURICE, IF YOU DON'T MIND COMING UP AND YOUR FAMILY AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND READ THE PROCLAMATION FOR THE RECORD. It says, whereas Philip A. Modest was born in 1961 in Las Vegas, New Mexico, to Philip and Ginny, and was the third of three children, and whereas he attended the schools in Las Vegas, New Mexico, and graduated from West Las Vegas High School in 1979, where he met the love of his life, Luan. Philip and Luan were married in 1979 and raised two children together and have two grandchildren. And whereas Philip A. Mares joined the City of Las Vegas E. Romero Hose and Fire Volunteer Fire Department, serving from 1982 to 1985. And whereas in 1985, he was hired by the City of Las Vegas Fire Department as a relief driver engineer. And whereas he continued serving as a relief driver, firefighter, engineer, and emergency medical technician until his promotion to the rank of fire chief, a position he held from 2003 until his retirement in 2007. And whereas following his retirement in 2007, Philip Mares remained actively engaged in the fire and emergency medical services as a contract employee for the state of New Mexico through EMS Region 1, where he assisted fire departments, ambulance services, and hospitals with grant applications, training, and compliance with state requirements. And whereas Philip A. Mares also served as an instructor at Luna Community College in Fire Science degree program, helping educate and mentor future generations of firefighters and emergency responders. And whereas in 2009, Philip A. Mares once again answered the call to public service and returned to serve the citizens of Las Vegas and surrounding communities. And whereas Philip A. Mares continued his dedicated service as fire chief from 2009 through 2016, demonstrating exceptional leadership, commitment, and devotion to public safety. And whereas the city of Las Vegas recognizes Philip A. Mares for his decades of distinguished service, unwavering dedication, and lasting contributions to the communities of Las Vegas, San Miguel, Mora, and surrounding regions. And now, therefore, I, David Romero, Mayor of the City of Las Vegas, along with members of the Governing Body, do by here proclaim September 9th, 2026 as Philip A. Modest Day. In recognition of his generosity, leadership, dedication, and countless contributions to the citizens of Las Vegas and surrounding communities, we extend our sincere gratitude and wish him continued health, happiness, and many blessings in the years ahead. That one for me. That's yours. Thank you so much. And thank you for your counselor. Congratulations. Thank you so much. Counselor, congratulations. Thank you. Do you mind if I say a word?

Yeah.

Thank you.

Those of you that know me know that I love the fire service. And that was my life. I love the fire department and I love the family that we had in the fire department. But my family and the fire service actually started when I was a little boy. My father was a volunteer, and he worked his way up to assistant chief with Auro Merrill Hosen Fire Company, worked 25 years volunteering. And as a little boy, I'd sit in the car and watch these guys do their job. And I always said, I'm going to do that. And so I followed in those footsteps in that sense. But on the way, my brother, Kenneth Modest, joined the fire department. My brother-in-law, Robert Court, was a volunteer in the fire department. My uncle, Cecilio Lujan, and our late Harold Ledoux, Counselor Ledoux was also, he was my uncle and he was a volunteer firefighter. It really truly was family for me. And it went on with my staff, the people I worked with, and some of these people in the audience. We could take over City Hall, Mayor. Yeah. We have some experienced people that have retired from the city that they helped me to do my job. I could never do it without those people. Elmer and Carlos, they mentored me in the sense of budgets and things that I had to learn along the way and I know you guys are doing that now. You have a chief of police that started as one of my firemen. He's a great guy. And you know what? He has a commitment to the community. And those are the kind of people you want here because they love their community and they're serving their community. They're not coming here for two or three years and leaving. Now, sometimes that happens because that's all we can find. But when you get people like that, Mr. Marquez, people that live here, work here, want to be here, You know, we love you guys. Thank you so much. I love serving my community. But to be honest, Mayor, the biggest honor I have this evening is that my daughter made the effort to bring this forward. And that's even bigger than this to me. I REALLY LOVE HER. SHE'S GREAT. AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, I WAS INTERIM FIRE CHIEF WHEN MR. MORRIS MADRID WAS BROUGHT IN AS A CITY MANAGER, AND HE ACTUALLY APPOINTED ME AS THE FIRE CHIEF BACK IN THOSE EARLY YEARS, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, MORRIS. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I GOT IT RIGHT, CHIEF.

I GOT IT RIGHT. THANK YOU SO MUCH.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. I JUST WANT TO ADD, KIND OF BEAT ME TO THE PUNCH, YOU KNOW, TO ACKNOWLEDGE ALL THE INDIVIDUALS IN THE AUDIENCE HERE TONIGHT. Some former firefighters, city managers, directors that are in the audience. And I was going to mention Mr. Madrid because he's been here a long time. So he's been around the block.

He's showing it.

And also acknowledging that I know Chief Marquez was one of your firefighters when he first started. So it just goes to show, you know, the. dedication that you've had, but the commitment that you've had in bringing up some of these firefighters and, you know, the dedication that they've had now in serving the community. So thank you, Mares. I know sometimes I think with transitions and leadership changes, we forget about those that serve us for a long time, and it's well deserving. Probably longer than what we should have done this sooner, but I'm glad that we did do it.

I don't expect much. I got my honor by serving the community I got to live in my hometown. I made a home. I took care of my family. We didn't go hungry. Las Vegas was good to us. It really was, and it can be good to you, too. And I know Cassandra, I see some of my staff that are back there, thank you for supporting my administration at the time, because it wasn't mine, it was ours. And without all those people, like you know, Mayor, you need them to get things done. You're just kind of like the captain on the boat. Somebody's got to paddle. Thank you.

Councilor Casey?

I'VE KNOWN THE MODEST FAMILY FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, AND TO ME, THEY ARE ALL VERY HONORABLE, HARD-WORKING PEOPLE THAT MAKE LAS VEGAS WONDERFUL AS IT IS. SO I WANT TO THANK THEM FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE AND THE that they still have for Las Vegas. And I think that's amazing. So thank you so much for everything.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Moniz, congratulations. It's a pleasure meeting you. Pleasure having your family here. Welcome. I just want to say that I'm new to city government, so there's a lot of faces out there. We know each other, but we haven't ever had the honor and privilege of working together in this type of format. But I want to say that I see a fire department that has been led well, that has progressed to a level of professionalism that I have been able to experience firsthand with some of the services that they provide. It's an unfortunate circumstance, but it's a circumstance that nonetheless allowed me to see the professionalism that we have built into that department. So thank you for your commitment to the city of Las Vegas. Thank you for your commitment to the fire department. And best of luck to you. Congratulations, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yeah, just in closing, I just want to make mention that Philip and I are classmates back in 1979 from West. And here we are today in the same room, you know what I mean? Thank God. Pretty good. We could be somewhere else. You're right. So I appreciate all of the hard work that you have dedicated to our community. all those years of service, and you've been a mentor to so many people out there. That's great, and I appreciate that a whole lot. I'm glad that we could serve you today. It's been a blessing, and it's very well deserved. Thank you, Phillip, and I do appreciate you.

He was the smart one in school.

I JUST WANT TO SAY THANK YOU FOR ALL THE COMMUNICATION BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN COUNCILMAN MARTINEZ AND THE CITY MANAGER, ESPECIALLY CITY MANAGER AND JIMMY SIZE FOR HELPING ME GET THIS GOING AS WELL. THERE WAS A LOT OF COMMUNICATION THERE. I'M NOT THE BEST HISTORIAN, BUT I TRIED. BUT ALL OF YOU GUYS PUT IN A LITTLE BIT TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN. I APPRECIATE IT. I KNOW MY DAD DOESN'T EXPECT MUCH, BUT IT MEANS A LOT TO ME AND MY CHILDREN. AND TO HAVE HIS LEGACY REMEMBERED.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU, GUYS. CHIEF MARQUES, AND IF WE GET A PICTURE AND, YOU KNOW, THOSE THAT SERVED WITH CHIEF MARQUES, MAYBE GET A PICTURE, I MEAN... CHIEF, ONE... WELL, MAYBE... YOU GUYS DON'T MIND COMING UP? THOSE THAT SERVED WITH HIM OR... WHAT'S THAT? I'M SORRY. One is for you to take home. The other one will be hung up at the E.M.O. Mayoral Museum.

Why don't we do one of them, Chief? I'd love to talk to you someday.

I never have met you, but thank you for everything. So we can get some up. We'll take a picture. But meanwhile, Mr. Madre, if you don't mind, you're going to join us in the picture.

Thank you, Mayor. You know, Chief Maris, when he was chief, showed two real good things. true leadership, he never asked for anything for himself. He was the first chief to request Class A uniforms for his men. Everything was for his men. He was also one of our best team players. You can see that by the people that are here tonight. So I've known him for over 50 years. What I have to say for him personally, I'll keep I wish, and I'm comfortable speaking on behalf of Henry Sanchez, who loved you and would tell you right now, Chief, job well done. Thank you.

He was a good man.

You can get a picture, and I want a copy somehow, someplace.

WHO'S THE PICTURE TAKER AND WHERE DO YOU WANT ME TO STAND? JUNE? ELMER? CARLOS? YOU WORKED WITH ME.

I WANT YOU ALL.

COME ON. Lucas, you worked with me too. Hi, Elmer. You too? We're from the old guard. We could have a mutiny right now. We have the knowledge. That's what I'm wondering.

Danger, danger, yeah. Edit. Big smile. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

Okay. Why do you have to put YOU KNOW, CHIEF MARES GAVE ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO START WITH THE CITY AT 18 YEARS OLD, RIGHT OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL, AND THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT'S HERE TODAY,

THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT THERE AND DRINK COFFEE WITH ALMER AND CARLOS AND MR. CLARK. IT WAS A GOOD EXPERIENCE, AND YOU PUT US ON THE RIGHT TRACK FOR SURE. I APPRECIATE THAT.

NOT REALLY. YEAH, BUT YOU ABANDONED US.

YOU HAVE THE HUMOR.

He went to blue.

He went to blue.

And knowing Chief, this isn't his thank you that he expects, but it's awesome to honor him in that way. And just thank you for the opportunity of starting with the city and keeping us going throughout. You keep going.

You got a tough job. I'll call you back. I'll call you back.

Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Manager.

Thank you, Mayor. I just wanted to say before the Morris' leave that it was pretty awesome speaking with Nikki, who took the charge after Councillor Martinez and the Mayor said let's make this happen. But a funny story was she said you're going to have to keep it on the down low because if he finds out, it's going to be a problem. And he's going to fight it. And then the other thing she said is, and we got to wait a few months because he's in Alaska and he won't be back for a few weeks. So I just want to say shout out to all the people you already acknowledged and congratulations to the chief and his family.

Thank you.

Thank you guys. Mr. Mayor, I believe you have one other proclamation.

Yes, I don't know, is Mr. Craig Bellows in the audience? So we were approached by Mr. Bellows to do another proclamation. I know it's, and I'll go ahead and Mr. Councilor Pacheco read this one.

So I'll do my best to follow the mayor, because I'm the rookie. This is the first proclamation I read, so be patient with me. Proclamation for Adult Education and Family Literacy Week. Whereas more than 41 million American adults struggle with foundational literacy skills, more than 62 million lack numeracy skills, more than 28 million lack basic digital skills, and millions more seek the education, credentials, and workforce training needed to fully participate in today's economy, and whereas already 69% of American employers report challenges in finding the skilled talent they need, and whereas illiteracy costs the U.S. economy over $300 billion per year in lost earnings, lower productivity, less innovation, and increased need for government assistance, and Whereas, adult education and family literacy programs open doors to opportunity by helping adults earn high school equivalency diplomas, improve English language skills, prepare for college and careers, strengthen digital literacy and the ability to use AI and emerging technologies, and build the skills needed for lifelong success. And whereas a strong adult education system strengthens our workforce, helps employers meet growing talent needs, increases economic mobility, and builds healthier, more resilient families and communities. And whereas during the 2025-2026 program year, 227 adult students were served by local programs, and whereas National Adult Education and Family Literacy Week recognizes the achievements of adult learners, honors the educators, volunteers, and partners who support them and raises awareness of the essential role adult education plays in strengthening families, communities, and the nation. And whereas the New Mexico Higher Education Department, the New Mexico Adult Association, Albuquerque's adult education programs, and Albuquerque's community-based and nonprofit literacy organizations are jointly committed to eradicating illiteracy in our state, and now therefore I, David Romero, Mayor of the City of Las Vegas, New Mexico, along with the members of the governing body, do hereby proclaim September 13th through 19th, 2026 as Adult Education and Family Literacy Week in Las Vegas, and encourage all residents to recognize the value of adult education, celebrate the achievements of adult learners, and support the programs and educators who create pathways to opportunity for individuals, families, employers, and our community.

Yeah, so my name's Craig Bellows. I'm the Director of Adult Education at Luna Community College. We're known colloquially as the GED program, but we're a lot more than that at this point, right? So we prepare people to take their high school equivalency tests and push them through that. We've had a lot of success in the last few years. I think last year we graduated 25 students, which if you look at our program data, across time like we're really really making improvements we also participate in integrated education and training programs where we partner with luna departments to kind of push people through high needs certificate areas and we also run an adult and family literacy program right so we're really trying to up the basic skills of adults and kind of pad out the workforce because we all know that we're kind of in some sort of dire straits right as that says but I THINK THE FUTURE IS REALLY PROMISING AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CITY OF LAS VEGAS FOR ACKNOWLEDGING US IN THIS WAY.

CONGRATULATIONS. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BRINGING THIS TO US. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT, THANK YOU. AND THAT'S IT FOR NOW.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. MOVING ON TO OUR COUNCIL'S REPORTS.

Councillor Martinez.

Thank you, Mayor. Well, the only thing I've, well, it's an everyday thing here at the City of Las Vegas, of course, but one of the events I recently attended was the veterans meeting that was put together by Mr. Jimmy Seiss, and it was the committee that you put together, Mayor. And I attended that meeting because of the... The commitment that we have with the crystal circle and its commitment for the little veterans memorial up there on top of the hill. That was a good. It was a good meeting. A lot was discussed and of course manager was there and concert Casey showed up and we we attended and was. We're happy to be part of that meeting as well. Thank you Cassandra for. acknowledging the new members of the committee and getting them sworn in. And Haley was also there present to help Mr. Seitz. That's all I have, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Councillor Casey.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As Councilor Martinez mentioned, we were both present at the Veterans Advisory Committee meeting and it kind of was rough go to get started because there was A TIME CHANGE THAT A LOT OF THE VETERANS WERE NOT AWARE OF, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND GET THE MEMBERS THWORN IN. THERE WERE OVER 11 VETS THAT WERE THERE, AND WE TALKED ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTS FOR VETERANS DAY AND VETERANS PARK AND, OF COURSE, THE VETERANS PARK ALSO.

SO THAT WAS A VERY PRODUCTIVE MEETING.

And I do want to thank Mr. Seiss and Haley Lucero for being there.

Haley took minutes and she helped to get everybody kind of settled and organized.

And I want to thank our city clerk, Cassandra Fresquez, for being there to swear in the members who were appointed to the committee. I also want folks to know that a couple of weeks ago, the mayor was out of town at a conference and other people were out of town at a conference. So I... was asked to represent the city in an interview with Telemundo. And I was so thankful that I'm a native Spanish speaker because, and I still had to look up a few things like How do you say, you know, water treatment facility infrastructure in Spanish? And so, but I got it done. So I did spend the whole day with Barbara Ramirez, and she thought it was really fun that we were tocayas, and that we both had the same first name. And I took her every place that I could think of. And we did the interview in the mayor's office, And Haley was very helpful there rearranging furniture and getting out of the way to put up the cameras and all of that. And also Haley also helped us secure a place to eat because things get really crowded in Las Vegas and she wanted to see Bridge Street in the park and all of that. And of course I took her there. I took her to see some of our older historic buildings. I took her to the Castaneda, to the Catholic Church at Our Lady of Sorrows, and took her inside so she could see the wonderful Kilden organ that we have. Carnegie Library, you name it, we were all over town. And so I took her to Montezuma, and we were not able to go inside the castle because we couldn't find the security guards. I think they were hiding somewhere. So we gave up, but she did see the water treatment facility from the road, and she asked a lot of questions. And I thought it was a very productive day for both of us. Maybe because I got a chance to speak in Spanish all day long, which I really like to do anyway. And so that was wonderful. And we ate at the Rialto and she had never had chili before. And so She decided that she wanted to try both. And so she was very proud of herself when they asked her what she wanted. And she said enchiladas. And they asked her red or green. And she said, Christmas. She felt like a New Mexican. So she was from Venezuela. And she did say that the interview would be shown on Telemundo sometime in September, but she didn't have an exact date. So as soon as I find out, I will let everybody know so that hopefully they can watch and hopefully I made a good impression. It's kind of nerve-wracking when you have to think about every little word that you're going to say. I had to do a background of Las Vegas. Why do people... How did Las Vegas come about? Is it the old Las Vegas or the new Las Vegas, which came first? Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas, New Mexico. So I did a quick little blurb on, you know, the Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo and all of those kinds of things to give her a little bit of background in how we became a state and how Las Vegas grew and the merchants that came in from the east and all of those kinds of things. So it was a very wonderful day, very, very tiring. We were both pretty much wiped out by the end of the day. But I think she really enjoyed being here, and so I'm looking forward to that. So thank you, Mr. Mayor, for asking me to do that. And Haley did such a wonderful job that day that... The reporter had asked me, what are the people in Las Vegas like? And I said, they're friendly. They're very accepting of people. They love Las Vegas. And Haley, that day, and every day that I have seen her since, and had more contact with her, Haley is the embodiment of what the people of Las Vegas are. She's friendly. She's productive. She is helpful. And so I was very pleased that she was there to do a little extra stuff that needed to be done that day. And for the Veterans Committee, she was there to take notes. And Mr. Saez did a very good job of running the meeting. until committee leadership was voted on and all of that. So that was a very productive meeting also. And finally, I do have one request. I haven't looked at the city website, but it did have my email address listed as a Gmail address for the city. I cannot open those at all on any of my devices at home. So I would very much appreciate it if whoever does the website will change my email address on the website to my personal email, which all of you know can be used legally even for city business. So I just want to make sure that that occurs because I had several people call me up upset because I hadn't responded to their email. Well, I can't respond if I can't get to it. So I would appreciate that very, very much if that could be switched out if it hasn't been. That's all, Mr. Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you, Councillor. So I think, Travis, you got to learn about the water treatment plant in Spanish. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Not too many. Let's practice now. We're going to give you your first quiz. You ready? Just a few quick updates. As I mentioned the last time we met, there was a group of us of city councillors, the mayor, other representatives from the city, our manager, other directors, that went to the Municipal League Conference in Las Cruces. I think it was a good opportunity for us to showcase what Las Vegas is all about and some of the things that we're doing. I think we have some opportunities moving forward to really showcase what our strengths are here as a city moving forward in some of these larger platforms. And I know there's some plans for that. We also, a group of us attended the Economic Development Conference last week in Albuquerque, the Governor's Economic Development Conference. There was a lot of conversation, a lot of good ideas. Again, a lot of good networking. I think one of the things that we undervalue to an extent, and Councillor Martinez, you know, I think is had some conversation on this, is our airport. There's a lot that can be done with that airport if we start thinking outside the box, potentially. And anyhow, I think there's some opportunities with my next point, the water treatment plant and the upgrades going on there, ongoing. I drove by the other day. I see part of the new system, the GAC system, is already being covered. There's a building going up around it, a structure going up around it. But with that water and with some other foresight in economic development, I think there are some things that we could change in terms of what happens here in Las Vegas and how we grow. I do want to comment that one of the things that I was big on when I ran and I've been kind of getting my feet wet and starting things out, but it's infrastructure. And we do have a lot of infrastructure projects moving along. But I just want to note to the public that that remains a priority for me. I think the only way we move forward as a community is to get some of this infrastructure in place. Also get some of the public safety aspects in place. And that's not just things with the police force or with crime per se, but there's issues that we have in terms of public safety with loose animals, other matters of that nature. I get quite a bit of feedback on the number of loose dogs that we have here in town. And it's the truth of the matter. I mean, it is what it is. But as we progress, those are things that we definitely need to address as we move forward. THE OTHER THING I WANT TO MENTION IS THAT WE HAVE A COUPLE OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE, ONE THAT'S GOING THROUGH A TRANSITION, OUR LOCAL UNIVERSITY, OUR COMMUNITY COLLEGE IS ALSO GOING THROUGH, THEY'RE NOT GOING THROUGH A TRANSITION BUT THEY'RE GOING THROUGH SOME GROWING PAINS AND I JUST WANT TO STATE AS A MEMBER OF CITY GOVERNMENT THAT I REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE INSTITUTIONS TO LAS VEGAS, TO MEXICO, TO THE COUNTY OF SAN MIGUEL. I just want to make sure that we're aware that, I think we all are aware, but I want all of our partners to be aware that we're here to work together. We're here for the betterment of our community, and that includes all of our partners here in the community of Las Vegas. So with that, thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Councillor. And you just reminded me of something that I want to acknowledge, I think. Congratulations to you, Mr. Manager Robert Anaya, for being elected to the Board of Directors on the City Managers Association. I think that's important to know. Now I sit on the Municipal League Board, you sit on the City Managers. I know tomorrow, hopefully this week, we get somebody in the New Mexico Planning and Zoning. So we're having, I mean, I think what happens is for the longest time, and I know, you know, following city government for a long time, is we weren't at the table of leadership within the municipal league. And I think we're starting to get there. So congratulations, Mr. Manager. I think that was a big accomplishment. I know I challenged a few of you guys to run for some of these offices because... IT MATTERS WHEN, YOU KNOW, POLICY IS BEING MADE THROUGHOUT THE STATE AND WE'RE, YOU KNOW, SITTING AT THE TABLE, IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE AND OUR VOICE IS STARTING TO COUNT. AND I THINK WITHIN MUNICIPAL LEAGUE, YOU KNOW, SOME PILOT PROJECTS THAT WE'RE RUNNING, ESPECIALLY IN PLANNING AND ZONING, AI, STUFF LIKE THAT, WE'RE RIGHT UP THERE AS WE'RE PART OF THE DISCUSSION AND PART OF THE PLANNING. SO KUDOS TO YOU, MR. MANAGER. I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. MS. EXTENDER.

THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR. MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT ITEM, OUR FINANCE REPORT. WE HAVE OUR FINANCE DIRECTOR, MR. MORRIS MADRID.

Good evening, Mr. Madrid. Good evening, Mayor and Council. My report tonight is not going to be so much about the numbers. I will give you one highlight, one summary. We are ahead on our revenues and we're behind on our spending. The main anomaly we have is we haven't paid our general liability insurance for the year. It's about two million dollars We usually pay it in August, but we haven't been invoiced so that will show up in next month That's really the only thing outside the ordinary. It looks like we're not spending money, but that's the reason why What we are doing in finance is we continue to provide information to for our FEMA claims and to our auditors and We're also working on some policy review and creation. I'll give you an example. One thing that we're doing is we're trying to better communicate and improve our processes in grant application, administration, and closeout. We haven't had a very structured process for those, and we're working as a team to try and get a handle on them from the point of application to the point of closeout. Some of them have been only handled by Mr. Archuleta. Some of them weren't handled at all by Mr. Archuleta. So we're trying to coordinate from beginning to end on that, and we are improving. One thing that is happening in relation to that is we're developing a better system of tracking each individual grant and each individual project. Mr. Travis Martinez already had a worksheet to do that. to both track progress, payments, and even comments along the way. And he's working with Elena to develop a spreadsheet and a system that'll work for everyone. And eventually we'll have a folder where anyone can go in and access and see the daily status of each individual project and the related funding. We had been caught Historically and recently and having to put together information for submission to the state or the feds Right at the last minute and That could have resulted we came close in not getting reimbursed some money but I want to I want to quote mr. Anaya he doesn't know I'm going to do this and saying that I Losing a dollar in funding is not an option. So this is towards that effort to make sure that that doesn't happen. And the last thing I want to do is, there's other policies we're looking at, but in relation to the purchase of the bank building, to me that's a reflection of the last few years that we've had of collaboration with the whole management team and the manager and the council. This shows our improvement in planning. I've had this discussion with Bob on the finance committee and we have a tug of war about do we nurture healthy reserves or do we spend those reserves and make progress? Well, we're able to do both because we did build up our reserves, but by this whole process and the exchange of ideas, if we had to pay for that building today, we could write a check today. We wouldn't even have to do a line item transfer. And that's a credit to the entire management team and the administration, and I just want to highlight that. Outside of that, I stand for any questions.

Councilor Casey?

I have a quick one. On the Recreation Department, under Recreation Other, there's an amount, $24,492, just dangling out there. It's not under any of the headings. Can you tell me what that is?

Is it on the expense side or the revenue side?

On the...

It's...

or it says expenditure comparison, that first graph that you have?

That's a check on the formula. It doesn't really have any relevance, counselor. Yeah, it's outside the box.

You can put it if it's not relevant.

Yeah, it is misleading. I'll have that removed.

Yeah, and I, because it was like, it struck me as why is it there if, you know, it doesn't relate to anything in the graph.

No, I'm sure that was just a double check on the formula that we put in and didn't delete. It shouldn't be there.

Okay. Thank you very much. That's all, Mr. Mayor. Any other questions?

Thank you, Mr. Madrid, and again, I know we keep saying this, but thank your staff for their hard work. I know sometimes, especially during audit time, it's difficult, but everybody's working hard, doing the best that they can, and I still say that maybe you need a couple more employees with everything that you deal with, but kudos to your team and what you guys accomplished, so thank you.

I'll carry the message, Mayor. Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Moving on to our next item, approval of minutes for August 19th and August 31st, 2026.

Mr. Mayor, I move approval of the minutes for August 19th and August 31st, 2026. They were perfect. Motion by Councillor Casey.

Second by Councillor Martinez. I mean, Pacheco. All in favor? Aye. Those opposed? The ayes have it.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Moving on to our consent agenda, if I may read the two items into the record. Yes, please. Item one, request approval of addendum number two to contract 414524 with PVSDX Incorporated for sodium chloride for the water treatment plant. And item number two, request approval of addendum number two to contract 414424 with Domenici Law Firm PC Incorporated for water right consulting and legal services.

Mr. Mayor, I move that we approve the consent agenda as written into the record.

Second. A motion by Councillor Casey, second by Councilman Martinez. Roll call.

Councillor Pacheco?

Yes.

Councillor Casey? Yes. Councillor Martinez? Yes. I have a motion by Councillor Casey, a second by Councillor Martinez. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion carries. Moving on to our business items. Item 1 is a presentation and possible discussion by Angie Lister, Executive Director of the Las Vegas San Miguel Chamber of Commerce, giving a quarterly report.

Welcome, Angie. Hello.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. I came on board mid-May as Executive Director of the Las Vegas Summit Give Chamber of Commerce. Excuse me. And you'll note in your packet that on the deliverables of our contract from the money that you have allotted us, in green ink, I have put down all the updates of the things that we have been doing. It's pretty detailed, so I won't go through all of that. But I just wanted to say that since I've started, we've hired visitor center staff, updated chamber membership lists, prepared for the launch of our Orana software chamber app, We've had two business after hours, one at ECC and one at the New Mexico Highlands University Golf Course to highlight their night driving range. We also had a Ransom Canyon screening. That event was tied to our San Miguel County MOU. I do want to take a side note and say A big thank you to Amanda Salas for the incredible publicity that she provided and pictures that she took for that event. We've also put up a billboard that had marketed the county fair and a local festival, and we've collaborated on community goals such as affordable housing, the meeting that was held here. Partnerships have been formed with local and New Mexico entities to bring information and training to chamber members and the community at large. So we've got a lot of things in the works for that. Our visitor center staff are Jennifer Roybal Jaramillo. The pamphlets that she received are some that she recently created with a collaboration of the organizations of those new ones. We're still working on a lot of them, but they're gathering a lot of information. We're also updating rental information lists, reaching out to people that we had prior taking off people that are no longer renting. Yvette Padilla, she's working with Jennifer on current menus, restaurant, food truck information, and history. You'll see the pamphlet with the hours, the dates, phone numbers, and what they are. Those are things that we get asked about several times a day. We have a volunteer, Ann Bradford. She's putting in 15 hours a week, and she's also helping us by collaborating on historical information. We're also doing a lot of brainstorming on marketing of the Visitor Center and the Chamber of Commerce. We have Brooke Gracek. She's currently updating our website and information. You won't see that now because it's in the background that she's doing that, but she has a corporate design background. We held an orientation for the staff that we had and the new staff that we had. There's a schedule there of the people that spoke during the orientation. This orientation that we had, lasted for two hours, and we had it in the lobby. That way we wouldn't leave the lobby unattended if visitors came in. But what it did was it fired up employees with lots of ideas and plans to grow our tourist visits, also updating all the community information. It was just a really great meeting every day. These ladies have new ideas, new things, and we're working as a team. So this is really great, and we're supported by our board. I also want to thank the public works staff for helping move the furniture in the lobby and out of the offices, actually moving it. I didn't help at all, just put drawers in and stuff because there were some big desks and things. And we made the lobby more welcoming as tourists walk in. They have someone there to greet them. And then it's also safe for the visitor center clerks. As you know, we had some incidents and once in a while we have things that happen. So right now they feel very safe. If, you know, worse came to worse and they need to escape, there's ways to Marcelino told them about the phone system and different things like that to help them out with that. So far this year, the visitor center has seen over 3,000 people. The information that we give includes local events, restaurants, hotels, outdoor recreation, such as hiking trails, boating. short-term and long-term rentals in the city and San Miguel County. We regularly refer people and tailor all our information to the requests that we receive because we know that if one person asks, then we're going to get several people to ask. Sometimes people will call from Taos and ask, do you have flea markets? When are they? How much do they cost? So, you know, today we had a new one and It was someone that's bringing their mom to visit that used to live here, and she used to go to Bingo, and she wanted to go to Bingo while she was here. So we were tracking down who has Bingo on Thursday. So we gather all that information. We get visitors from all over the place. Just on one page of the sign-in sheet, we've had California, Texas, Arizona, France, Japan, Australia, Mexico, India, Germany, Egypt, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, China, Bulgaria, England, Turkey, Europe, the Netherlands, Italy, Brazil, just to name a few of the places. And then we want to invite you all to attend our next business after hours, unless we have one in October. It depends on if a business wants to have one. But we're going to do a grand reopening. This is pending the permit. On November 5th, and we're inviting our chamber members, especially the ones who don't have a brick and mortar office, to set up and to show the community what they offer. and also so people will come and see the visitor center. I believe a lot of businesses don't know how much information we give. I think we probably had some people either reminded or wondering why we were going out to the food trucks getting their menus, why we were getting their hours, and just knowing that we publicize that information, whether it's by phone or whether they come in So that'll take place November 5th at the train station. And then finally, for the first time in I'm not sure how many years, we're going to have an annual gala and fundraiser at the Plaza Hotel. That'll be December 31st, which is New Year's Eve, and we've secured wild country for that. So I invite you to attend and take your money. So I stand for questions.

I just want to comment. Thank you, Angie. And I know we've met a couple times, not only with you guys, but also Las Vegas first. And hopefully we continue, you know, with community development and meeting regularly, you know, to find out. You guys are finding out a lot of things that I think you guys didn't know what was happening in the city, some of the marketing things that we're doing. So I think that collaboration has been good. So thank you, Angie, for participating in that and helping. and making an effort to anything that we're doing here. So thank you. And then I do want to acknowledge, I know this has been something Angie's been working on. Her and I have been for a couple years now, but finally we were able to get a letter out, so we're trying to see about doing a Patrick Swayze memorial. So we reached out to the family. We haven't heard back that I know of, unless we heard something lately, but we're waiting on that. Okay, so hopefully that goes through, and I think that'll be something that can become a destination or visitors that will get people to come. And I know Angie has bigger plans, and I won't... say what exactly they are, but, you know, hopefully that'll be something big for us and attract visitors and, you know, heads and beds for lodgers tech. So thank you, Angie, for that work. Councillor Casey.

I just want to thank Angie for the work that she does. She's absolutely amazing and she knows everybody and everybody knows her. And even with our film work that is done here in Las Vegas, Angie has been a leader in that for a long time. And I'm so happy that you're with the chamber now because everything that you do is excellent. And I'm very happy that you're there. And I see the chamber moving forward at a little bit faster pace. and maybe delving into some things that had been set on the wayside and kind of ignored. So I'm very, very happy that you're there, and I thank you for your leadership and your love of Las Vegas.

Thank you. Mr. Martinez. Thank you. Angie, I just wanted to ask, I know we had an issue with the elevator. I think, was that finally addressed and all that?

Someone went to work on it last week.

Okay.

They went back another day, but it was,

Still down right now?

I think he had to order a part, if I'm not mistaken.

Okay. I know that we've talked a little bit.

Mr. Marcus, did you have an update on that?

Yeah, she's right.

They worked on it.

They got things going in the right direction, but there was some parts that needed to get. It was a certain key that the gentleman couldn't get into the elevator. So, yes, it's about there, sir. But they are working on it. I had direction from our city manager, and Morris worked with me to get that accomplished. So thank you, Morris, for helping to get that money together.

Thank you. One of the other things I wanted to mention, I know right across the street from the railroad, where you guys are placed at Railroad Depot, there's that big mural that's going up, and can you touch a little on that, or is that something that...

THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WENT THROUGH THE DESIGNER REVIEW BOARD. THAT'S PUT TOGETHER THROUGH MR. BUSTOS. HE WENT AND WORKED WITH JAIME CHAVEZ IS HIS LAST NAME. THEY WERE APPROVED THROUGH THE DESIGNER REVIEW BOARD TO GO AHEAD PUT THAT MIRROR UP. IT'S A PRETTY GOOD RENDITION OF LAS VEGAS. HAS SOME GOOD HISTORICAL ASPECTS INTO IT. THE BIGGEST THING THAT THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT WAS PAINTING ON THE BRICK. HOWEVER, THAT BRICK HAD ALREADY HAD A LITTLE BIT OF PAINT ON IT AND INSTEAD OF IT BEING GRAFFITI, THEY DECIDED TO ALLOW OUTWORK TO BE PUT UP.

OKAY. THEN ANOTHER EVENT THAT'S KIND OF HAPPENING THERE IN THE AREA. WOULD BE THE PEOPLE'S FAIR BASICALLY MOVING TO THAT DISTRICT, RIGHT? WHEN IS THAT DATE?

I BELIEVE IT'S COMING UP HERE SOON, NOW IN SEPTEMBER SOMETIME. I'M NOT 100% SURE OF THE DATE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT IT WAS PUT TOGETHER ON RAILROAD FOR ONE DAY.

OKAY, AND THAT WILL BRING PEOPLE INTO THE RAILROAD, YOU KNOW, THE DEPOT ITSELF AND SO FORTH, BUT THAT WILL BE A GOOD START. for the area to have the general public visit that area because it's pretty newly renovated and so forth. But moving forward, I know you do excellent work, Angie, and I appreciate the... the commitment that you have also for your position there with that department. So I just definitely want to acknowledge that you've always done good work, and I know you're trying to get all that. You've had to come a long ways from even, we didn't even have a 501, what was that, C6 at the time. So a lot of movement has taken place since then, so. A lot to acknowledge there, and I hope you, you know, you're always showing that big success out there. Thank you.

Ms. Cassandra, just one thing I noticed in the report that Angie turned in. I could have, did we not, I thought we had appointed Councillor Martinez to, as the representative for the city. Could we actually? I am.

Yes, I am. I just had you attend the last meeting.

It is in there.

But I think we did take a formal vote on this.

Yes, we did.

Yeah, okay. I just wanted to make sure.

Number 14.

Yeah. So he has been formally appointed. Yes. So, okay. All right. Councillor Martini. Pacheco. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. You can just call me Martinez today. Angie, thank you so much for your presentation. I just have a couple of comments and comments. Really no questions. I do like the documents and the pamphlets that are being created. One thing I would recommend is QR codes that link them back to the website, and then we could capture some data off that and then measure what each flyer is driving back to the website, and that creates a click, and if we get any of that data that we could utilize to Proactive with some of those people in terms of reaching out to them save Las Vegas website or to each place that Because we have we do have a website yeah, no I know you know I don't know what I'm recommending is maybe These pamphlets that are being created by the chamber these these are being created by the chamber correct It since they're being created by the chamber if the QR code linked back to the Chamber website. And then it could track while it came off the flyer for the E Romero Hose and Fire Company. So we could say, okay, this year we had a million hits off the pamphlet for E Romero, or whatever it is. So we have that data at the end of the year, right? I think if it goes to your central location, all that data could be kept. But I would definitely integrate that QR code or recommend that. The other thing is that, and this is just, I'm a very, I guess, data-oriented person. And a lot of the people in the room have learned that about me as I've been on the council. And I appreciate everything that you put into this report. I would. ask that for the next report that if we have a deliverables matrix based on that contract and some measurable outcomes built into that. So I see a lot are in progress, but are we at 50% of the progress? Are we at 20% of the progress? what steps have been taken in that progress. I would appreciate seeing some of those deliverables reported on. So we can evaluate the scope of work as it progresses, if you will. But again, I appreciate the hard work. I think there's a lot going into this. I know there was a lot that needed to be improved upon in a quick fashion. So thank you so much. I appreciate your time.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Moving on to our next business item. Item number two, request approval of resolution number 2644 A and B to accept a grant offer in the amount of $3,226,759.75 and to apply for a match waiver for fiscal year 2027 Transportation Program Fund administered by the New Mexico Department of Transportation. We have our Public Works Director, Mr. Arnold Lopez.

But real quick, before we start, Arnold, sorry to put you on the, but I know we have the Modest family here still, and they brought us some goodies. So if we could take a five-minute recess. So I'll go ahead and, do we need a motion for the recess? Just so we could eat with them. They brought some cakes and pizza just to, we'll just make five minutes just, you know, to have an opportunity.

Mr. Mayor, I move to take that recess for five minutes.

A motion by Councillor Martinez, second by Councillor Casey.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Motion by Councillor Martinez. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second by Councillor Casey. We need a roll call on that one. Roll call.

Councillor Pacheco?

Yes.

Councillor Casey? Yes. Councillor Martinez?

Yes.

I have a motion by Councillor Martinez, second by Councillor Casey. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion carries. Thank you. We were on item number two, Mr. Arnold Lopez.

So on item number two, you guys have the memo. What's the pleasure of the council, Councillor Casey?

Mr. Mayor, I move that we approve resolution number 2644-AMB to accept a grant offer in the amount of $3,226,759.75 and to apply for a match waiver for fiscal year 2027, Transportation Program Fund, the TPF, administered by the New Mexico Department of Transportation.

Motion by Councillor Casey. Second. Second by Councillor Pacheco. Roll call.

Councillor Martinez.

Yes.

Councillor Pacheco.

Yes.

Councillor Casey. Yes. I have a motion by Councillor Casey, a second by Councillor Pacheco. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion carries.

And real quick, Mr. Arnold, I just want to thank you. You know, I know this project is, you know, we got the phase one and you and your staff are you know, have continued to be successful in these applications that you're submitting, and that's a great asset to the community. I think if we could count, we probably have about over $10 million, $11 million in funding that you've, you know, you've gotten in the past two, three years. So thank you for all your hard work and your team also. And I just wanted to acknowledge that.

Thank you for your appreciation also. Thank you, Arnold.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Moving on to item number three, request approval of resolution number 2643, a budget adjustment for the 2026-2027 fiscal year. We have our finance director, Mr. Madrid.

Mayor and council, this is a simple one. This is to appropriate the funding that you just approved to receive and to adjust the budget for compensation increase for contract managers.

I move to resolution 2643.

Second. Motion by Councillor Pacheco. Second by Councillor Martinez. Roll call.

Councillor Casey? Yes. Councillor Martinez?

Yes.

Councillor Pacheco?

Yes.

Have a motion by Councillor Pacheco. Second by Councillor Martinez. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion carries.

Thank you.

Moving on to item number four, request approval of the Lodgers Tax Board's recommendation for funding New Mexico Highlands University Foundation's application for funding support of various events in the amount of $10,000. We have our Community Development, Parks and Rec Director, Mr. Lucas Marcus.

Welcome Chairman Martinez. The Councillors, you guys have the notes, any questions?

So everyone's aware I do work for Highlands. I just want that on the record. I do want it on the record that I do support this endeavor. I know these events, especially a homecoming event and that wrestling event that will bring in people from across the state will bring in a lot of dollars to the community in the form of people at hotels, eating in restaurants, and just exposure to our community. With that being said, I will abstain from this vote.

So just to counsel, and I know sometimes we get, it's a gray line, but I've always been, I guess, in many of the OMA ethics classes, as long as you disclose, you could still vote as long as there's no financial interest. Am I correct? I mean, what's... Yeah, generally that's correct.

The disclosure is sufficient. Usually, however, the guidance is the appearance thereof. We want to try and avoid even just the appearance. And so sometimes it's safer to advise an abstention to avoid any appearance of bias or anything to that effect. But generally you are correct as long as the disclosures made and there's no financial interest a vote can be taken again, there's just some guidance to Protect the city from any future issues.

I just wanted to bring that to so with that Councillor Casey

I move that we approve the Logis Tax Board's recommendation for funding New Mexico Highlands University Foundation's application for funding support for various events in the amount of $10,000.

I'll second it. Casey, seconded by Councilman Martinez. Roll call.

Councillor Casey. Yes. Councillor Martinez. Yes. And Councillor Pacheco. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I have a motion by Councillor Casey, a second by Councillor Martinez. Motion carries.

Mr. Mayor, just real quick, if we could hear out the chair real quick, and just a little bit of clarification for the Highlands application.

Just a clarification, Mr. Mayor Romero, members of the council, city manager, thank you for having me here. Yes, the Lodgers Tax Board heard the application from Highlands University. It was additionally for a higher amount, but the intent was to do two different events. One was HOMECOMING AND THE WRESTLING EVENT. SO THE WRESTLING EVENT WILL OCCUR LATER ON. SO WE TOOK THE WRESTLING EVENT OUT AND WE'LL BE HEARING THAT APPLICATION LATER. SO THAT'S WHY THIS IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE HOMECOMING EVENT ONLY. SO WE'LL BE HEARING, HOPEFULLY THE BOARD WILL HEAR THEIR APPLICATION FOR WRESTLING, APPROVE IT, AND WE'LL BE HEARING THAT IN THE FUTURE. ALL RIGHT.

THANK YOU. AND THANK YOU AGAIN, CHAIRMAN, FOR YOUR WORK IN THE LARGER STEPS. THANK YOU. MS. CASANDRA?

Mr. Mayor, moving on to Item 5, request approval of the Lauder's Tax Board's recommendation for funding the Latin Desire Car Club's application for funding support of the Latin Desire Car Club car show in the amount of $3,500.

It's the pleasure of the council.

Mr. Mayor.

Councilman Martinez.

We'll go ahead and move to approve the Lodgers Tax Board recommendation for funding for the Latin Desire Car Club's application for funding support for the car club in the amount of $3,500.

Motion by Councilor Martinez. Second by Councilor Casey. Roll call.

Councilor Pacheco.

Yes.

Councillor Martinez?

Yes.

Councillor Casey? Yes. I have a motion by Councillor Martinez, a second by Councillor Casey. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion carries.

I just want to make a quick comment on the Latin Desire Car Club because it started when I was back in my prime. It says here 1989 when we were all bumper to bumper there on... down on Douglas. And so I remember when that club started, I was never a member of Land Desire, but they've always been a big club. I'm glad they're still going strong, and I'm glad we can support them here.

Mr. Manager.

Mr. Mayor, just a brief comment. You know, you hear throughout the state of New Mexico about the low rider capital and the car rebuilding capital being Espanola. But I'll just tell you that I think maybe there could be a mayor to mayor friendly competition that we could start because I think some of the best, most professional and awarded CAR BUILDERS ARE RIGHT HERE IN THE CITY OF LAS VEGAS, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE. AWESOME WORK, AWESOME CRAFTSMANSHIP, DEDICATION, SKILL SETS, AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PEOPLE SITTING AROUND THIS TABLE, LUCAS AND MR. MARCUS, AND BOTH MARCUSES AND OTHERS THAT VENTURE IN SOME OF THAT WORK THEMSELVES, AND SO I JUST WANTED TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO

those craftsmen, mechanics, and maybe, Mary, we can do some kind of friendly challenge and maybe have a traveling trophy or something that... Or maybe with my group here, I could honestly say I probably worked on more lowriders than what the mayor of Española has. That's a guarantee. So I think the team we have here between Chief Marquez and the staff we have here, we could probably build a lowrider and challenge him, no? Thank you.

Mr. Mayor, moving on to our next item, request approval of the Lodgers Tax Board's recommendation for funding the City of Las Vegas application for funding support of a photo booth in the amount of $1,549. Mr. Mayor.

Councilman Martinez. I move to approve the Lodgers Tax recommendation for funding the City of Las Vegas application for the funding support of the photo booth in the amount of $1,549.

Second, Mr. Mayor.

Second by Councillor Casey, roll call.

Councillor Martinez?

Yes.

Councillor Pacheco?

Yes.

Councillor Casey? Yes. I have a motion by Councillor Martinez, a second by Councillor Casey. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion carries.

This is a great idea. I love it. Yeah.

You might touch it up on kind of what it involves.

Sure. So, Mr. Mayor, Mr. Council, or Council, and Mr. Manager... Just to let you guys know a little bit of clarification for what the camera booth is. It's not an actual photo booth where you sit down and put the curtain on the side of you and you take funny pictures or whatever. This is actually a 360 camera. So you'll stand in the center of this platform. And I'm going to get with the dial when it does come in because we're going to be able to It's almost like a green screen that's going to be able to be put in there. So if Elmer was to stand in the middle of this thing and say, I want to take a picture in the middle of Plaza Park, this 360 camera will go around Elmer and have a picture of Elmer inside our Plaza Park, even though he's at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. And that's one of the main things that we're going to use to attract people to our booth at the Balloon Fiesta, and we feel it's going to be very successful. It's popular right now, and when we go to our conferences, You guys see those booths over there at many spots, and people are always in there taking pictures. And Las Vegas is very nostalgic, whether it be that our fiestas that are the best fiestas in the state, or our mayor who has worked on tons of lowriders. There's lots of nostalgia over here, and And, you know, we ran it through everybody, and Elmer, who is very critical of our applications that come through, he was happy with it, so I'm very confident that we're going to be successful with this camera, or this photo booth.

The information that was provided to us was also excellent because it gives you a better idea as to what that camera, how it works.

Yes, yes. Thank you. That was one thing for sure is that we had plenty of time to work on it and I wanted to make sure Eric got everything he could over to Scott so Scott could present it over to the board. Thank you.

One of the selling points was the fact that when they do a photo, let's say at the Chester Park, The city will be getting an email address or a phone number to send that photo to that person. That starts to develop a database for future marketing for other things besides just the photos. So that was one of the selling points. What we liked about the whole thing is that you're able to do a unique picture of some place in Las Vegas, and secondly, that you'll be able to market it to a person.

Well, just in closing, I just want to thank Elmer. He's always here supporting us when it comes to lodgers tax stuff. There's some tough questions, and lodgers tax isn't easy to deal with, so I'm very appreciative to Elmer Martinez and to Morris Madrid for being there with their experience to help me out.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I just want to note on those camera systems, I have experience with one at West Las Vegas High School, and my wife's a principal there. I've mentioned several times in this meeting, but... The first time I get on that little round thing, I just stand there, right, that thing's scanning around. And I had to, my wife had to give me direction, like, hey, it scans around us a few times, you gotta move, you gotta get in different poses. So the second go around, we got a good little video. But if you need any expertise on that, just contact West Las Vegas High School. And I will say that when I see it in use at the functions with the young people, It's always getting used. They are drawn to it.

This was something that was recommended to us a long time ago, and it's a long time coming, and I think it was a great idea. So I'm glad you guys approved it. Thank you guys very much. This is a goodbye.

Screen has moved.

Thank you, Mr. Manager, too.

Just for the record, Chief, it's not a flock camera, no.

Thank you. Thank you, guys. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, Elmer. Thank you. Thank you, Elmer.

Mr. Mayor, moving on to our next item, request approval of resolution number 2645, expressing the opposition of the governing body of the City of Las Vegas to the roundabout alternative at the intersection of grand avenue and mills avenue proposed for consideration under the new mexico dot grand avenue alignment study control number 410960 and requesting that new mexico department of transportation advance conventional signalized intersection alternatives mr mayor and councillor martinez so i'll go ahead and start off so uh

You know, as you guys are all aware, I know we've had, you know, discussions with DOT. I think the first meeting, Councillor Casey, Councillor Martinez went. The second meeting we just had, I believe, last week. I think Councillor Martinez, myself, Councillor Pacheco were on there. And I just thought, you know, on the roundabout, there seemed to be, you know, a lot of favouritism towards that. I just think in our community, it's not something that doesn't fit. I understand the data and the information that they provide as far as it being safe. But I think our experience here in this community, and I don't think we're large enough to where something that big would be fit for us. There's a reason why we have local control, local autonomy, being a municipal and we're not, governed by the federal government, we have our right to object sometimes, and I think we've been down this road, and I could set for an example the South Grand Project. Myself, Councillor Martinez, they talked about safety with medians, and I think that's, in my opinion, we've had three deaths in that, and that was based off of their recommendation that that was gonna be the safest, you know, design. So, you know, every design's gonna have flaws, but I just think as local officials here, I think it's more of a voice, you know, whether, you know, however the vote turns out tonight, you know, that we, you know, support it one way or another. I know in speaking with many constituents, public safety, truck drivers, There's a lot of opposition to this. I don't know if they'll show up to a public meeting, but I thought it was an appropriate time for us to, as a governing body, to either support. And it's not to disapprove the project. It's for them to look at other recommendations besides the roundabout. That's just my feeling. Of course, that's why we're a governing body, and this is the democratic way. It's just something that I felt that it'd be stronger if we all, you know, either support it or deny it, whatever it might be, but at least, you know, that's why we're elected. If we gave it to, you know, we're elected by the community, right? And we hear what the community has to say. I have had an opportunity to speak with commissioners from the county, with school officials, and I would say there's probably more against than for. But again, I mean, this is just a letter asking them to look at other options that they provided. THAT'S JUST MY TWO CENTS. COUNCILOR MARTINEZ, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING.

THANK YOU, MAYOR. YOU KNOW, FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS ALREADY, THE NEWSPAPER HAS SHOWN A ROUND ABOUT, YOU KNOW, PHOTO ON THE NEWSPAPER, AND I STRONGLY FEEL THAT THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO, THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT IS, YOU KNOW, THE ENGINEER THAT'S PUT THAT TOGETHER IS PUSHING THAT ITEM ON US. And, you know, again, like, you know, the mayor mentioned, I think there's other ways to achieve safer speeds and not confuse individuals from our community. We have a lot of elderly in our community. And, you know, you think about your parents or grandparents having to drive through that intersection. It's probably an intersection they're going to want to avoid. And That puts a lot of pressure on different areas of our community, which is fine, but the city streets belong to all of us. To have such a large item placed in this location, I appreciate the time and effort they're putting into it, but I do also oppose it, and I'm not in favor of it. It's not because of the reduction of speed, of course. The reduction of speed is very important. We heard an individual that signed up for a public comment earlier, and she is in favor of the roundabout. And there's... Whether you're for it or against it, at the end of the day, what are we going to get? We're not sure, okay? But take the time to examine what's there, what's going to be there. You know, you're talking a big four-way intersection. One of the streets off that four-way is going to have just two lanes on it, and the other three are going to have, it's basically a four-lane road. So. When you talk about pedestrians and we've had that, you know that information come across, I'm not sure exactly fire and safety feel about that intersection. But I, again, I oppose it because the elderly community, it's something different to have to get used to. And I think it's gonna pose problems being that it's a four lane roundabout. And we do have a lot of heavy truck traffic. If the interstate back here behind us at any point has a large accident, all of that traffic's gonna be funneled through our town. So it's not my choice, it's everybody's choice to voice their opinion for or against. Again, my opinion in this matter would be that I am against this. Refer back to the mayor. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

I read this several times, and I did a little bit of research on roundabouts in other places. And in a large city, yeah, it would slow down the traffic. But in Las Vegas, we're too small of a town. And in a lot of the literature that I read, it says, well, You know, there are educational institutions, and there's stores, and there's this, and there's, you know, all these things. We don't have that here in Las Vegas. I mean, if the roundabout is going to be down here on Mills, what do we have there? You know, the golf course that isn't even that close, and, you know, the sheriff's office across, and then empty field. And so what's the sense of having a roundabout there? If they want to slow down traffic and make it safer, I think that alternative number three would be the way to go because that gives you a signalized intersection that has the regular signals. And then with dual protected northbound left turn movements, that means they would have to add another LANE FOR THE LEFT HAND TURN WHICH MAKES SENSE BECAUSE YOU HAVE MORE SPACE IF PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO TURN THEY CAN KEEP GOING STRAIGHT THOSE THAT WANT TO TURN CAN GET INTO THE TURNING LANE AND MOVE ON FROM THERE SO I I AM NOT IN FAVOR OF HAVING A ROUND ABOUT I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE OF THE GREAT BENEFIT THAT IS BEING TOUTED BY OTHERS THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S GOING TO HELP BUSINESSES AND ALL OF THAT.

I SERIOUSLY DOUBT THAT.

I'M ALSO VERY CONCERNED ABOUT PEOPLE GOING THROUGH THE ROUND ABOUT and paying more attention to the roundabout than to the people who are crossing the street. And we have a lot of students from Robertson that cross where the roundabout would be because when they run cross-country, they practice, they run from that field over to this other side and then run over into the golf course and run around that golf course and then back again. And so I think that that would probably put Are students in danger? And I would not want that to happen either. So I really have concerns about a roundabout coming in. And to be quite honest, I don't think that, I mean, the engineer for the Department of Transportation, I don't know who that person is. And I'm sure that they're qualified and they mean well, but I don't think that they're being realistic in taking a really close look as to how Las Vegas functions. We have a lot of people who walk, and if people are going through the roundabout and they're trying to get used to it, they're not going to be paying attention to the people that are crossing the street. They're going to be paying attention to What lane do I get in, you know, to go around this roundabout? So those are some of the issues that I have concerns about, and I cannot support a roundabout at this point in time. Thank you. Senator Pacheco.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, councillors, for your perspective. You know, I hang my hat on information and data, and I have to be honest, I just don't have enough at this point. I'm not I'm neither in favor nor opposed the roundabout proposal. I think all proposals that are being submitted are still on the table according to the information that I looked at or that I took from the last meeting. So I have not seen any formal public feedback that Will will have me vote either way tonight. So I will say that. The informal feedback that I received from from constituents and other citizens of Las Vegas. Seems mixed. But I am going to take a wait and see approach as this develops. Thank you.

I just want to note for the record. was kind of interesting because they're developing Grand Avenue, and the disappointing part was they don't take local ordinances into consideration. So I did bring up in our last public meeting about ordinance number 20-11, which regulates heavy and restricted vehicle traffic within the city of Las Vegas, which I know one of the hardest parts that we've had is trying to divert heavy traffic on Legion. We've had to reconstruct that, make it more heavy duty. But I think one of the things that will happen with the roundabout is we're going to have more heavy traffic on Legion. That's going to affect the neighborhoods there. And that was one of my big things there is I asked them, did they take into consideration And for the record, they said that they weren't aware of it. So that kind of just threw me into, you know, they're doing this without, I know, yes, they had public input, but I don't think they researched any data or information for us here locally. So that was one of my strong sticking points. That's one thing that I know that, you know, We've tried to eliminate all the traffic on legion, and it's been difficult. I mean That that that has you know gained a lot I know chief was under the gun for a while to stop very semi. I was going through legion, but you know and it's impossible right It's impossible, and that's just one of the probably the biggest concern that I have but with that Mr.. Mayor one more one more comment.

I I wanted to add that at one point Back several years ago on Lee Drive, I think it was Lee Drive that had the roundabout was installed and put in and then I think it was not very accepted. I know it's in a neighborhood and I get that. But you've got a number of things happening at a roundabout. You've got four roadways basically that are yields. They're not stops anymore. Now before, even if people ran a stop sign, at least I knew there was a stop sign. The fact is that now you've got four streets that can run a stop sign, basically. Four different locations that can run that same location every time. They can run that. You've got to know where you fall in in a roundabout. Another big thing to me is they make the roundabout with so much concrete. that I guess it's okay or permitted by the state of New Mexico to have heavy truck traffic in the inside lane of that roundabout because you see, if you look at other roundabouts in other communities, you'll see the tire tracks of the trailer they're pulling behind get into that middle area or median area. There's other areas of concern right now rather than a roundabout to me that would be more beneficial like Grand Avenue and Legion, which is a big intersection right now, today because of the gas station that's there, that little corner is just impossible to get in and out of anymore. That's a different thing, a different phase. I understand that. We're putting a lot of emphasis, time and effort, and dollars. This project to do a roundabout is about another $500,000 more than leaving it as a conventional signal light four-way stop. So I just wanted to bring those points up. I appreciate everybody's comments. And again, I strongly oppose it. Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Again, I just want to know, and just to be clear on Legion, because that is in Ward 2, and I did hear a lot about the semis when I was campaigning, and I am not in favor of more heavy truck traffic being on Legion. You have a school there. You have neighborhoods there. So, again, my point is that I want to see more data and more information and more public input before I come out and say I'm not in support of the roundabout. Again, I'm not saying I support it, but I want more information to make a more informed decision when that time comes. Thank you. What's the pleasure of the council?

Mayor. I move to approve resolution 2645 expressing the opposition of the governing body of the City of Las Vegas to the roundabout alternative in the intersection of Grand and Mills Avenue proposed for consideration under the New Mexico DOT. Grand Avenue alignment study, control number 410960, and requesting that New Mexico DOT advance conventional signalized intersection alternatives.

Second.

Motion by Councillor Martinez. Second by Councillor Casey. Roll call.

Councillor Casey? Yes. Councillor Martinez?

Yes.

Councillor Pacheco?

No.

I have a motion by Councillor Martinez, a second by Councillor Casey. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Motion carries.

Thank you. Mayor, I move that we adjourn.

Mr. Manager?

Mr. Mayor and Council, and so I don't think it's out of the realm of a local government to request additional analysis specifically around the interchange and connected to the vote that was taken tonight as well. And so I just wanted to put that on the record and also put out that just because a project has advanced