Governing Body Meeting Wed, Nov 13, 2024 · Governing Body https://santafeminutes.space/meeting/7 == Executive Summary == The Santa Fe City Council meeting covered a wide range of topics, from community well-being and snowstorm response to significant redevelopment plans and legislative priorities. Councilors and the Mayor expressed gratitude for community service and emphasized supporting vulnerable residents, especially after recent snowstorm fatalities. The City Manager provided updates on the city's snow removal efforts and new programs for tree debris disposal. A major discussion revolved around the proposed sale of city-owned buildings at Midtown for a $5 million redevelopment into a "studio village," which includes film studios, residential units with affordable housing, and commercial spaces. This project is seen as a catalyst for economic development in Midtown. Key decisions included approving amendments to contracts for homelessness services with LifeLink and fiscal agent services with the North Central New Mexico Economic Development District. A resolution outlining the city's legislative priorities for the 2025 New Mexico State Legislature was tabled due to a pending amendment and concerns about the process for establishing these priorities. Public comments highlighted community needs, such as the urgent request for a splash pad in Santa Fe, concerns about the city's permitting policies, and advocacy for including rent control in legislative priorities. The council also discussed increasing IPRA requests and the challenges faced by city staff. == Key Decisions == - Approved the agenda with one item (9UU) moved from consent to discussion (Voice vote: Aye). - Approved the consent agenda (Voice vote: Aye). - Tabled Resolution 2024 (legislative priorities) to allow for a proposed amendment to be reviewed (Roll call vote: Yes from all present Councilors and Mayor). - Approved Amendment #1 with LifeLink for homelessness services (Roll call vote: Yes from all present Councilors and Mayor). - Approved Amendment #3 to the Intergovernmental Services Agreement with North Central New Mexico Economic Development District for fiscal agent services (Roll call vote: Yes from all present Councilors and Mayor). - Approved a motion to enter executive session to discuss bargaining strategy preliminary to collective bargaining negotiations with city unions (Passed). - Approved a motion to reconvene in open session after executive session (Passed). - Approved a motion for a 15-minute recess (Roll call vote: 7-0). - Approved a motion to take Item 9U off the table (Roll call vote: 7-0). - Approved a motion to postpone an item and schedule a special meeting, sending the item to the Quality of Life Committee on November 20th and holding a special governing body meeting on Monday, November 25th, at 5:00 p.m. (Roll call vote: Yes from Councilors Chavez, Flah, Lee Garcia, Michael Garcia, Cassette, and Mayor Weber). == Motions & Votes == - Approval of Agenda — Passed (Voice vote: Aye) - Approval of Consent Agenda — Passed (Voice vote: Aye) - Tabling of Resolution 2024 (legislative priorities) — Passed (Roll call vote: Yes from all present Councilors and Mayor) - Approval of LifeLink Contract Amendment — Passed (Roll call vote: Yes from all present Councilors and Mayor) - Approval of Fiscal Agent Services Amendment — Passed (Roll call vote: Yes from all present Councilors and Mayor) - Motion to Enter Executive Session — Passed - Motion to Reconvene in Open Session — Passed - Motion for a 15-minute recess — Passed (Roll call vote: 7-0) - Motion to take Item 9U off the table — Passed (Roll call vote: 7-0) - Motion to postpone an item and schedule a special meeting (sending to Quality of Life Committee Nov 20th, special governing body meeting Nov 25th at 5:00 p.m.) — Passed (Roll call vote: Yes from Councilors Chavez, Flah, Lee Garcia, Michael Garcia, Cassette, and Mayor Weber) == Public Comment == The public comment period featured several key themes. There was strong advocacy for a splash pad in Santa Fe, particularly at Swan Park, with speakers from "Growing Up New Mexico" and the "Santa Fe Family Leadership Council" highlighting the community need, lack of local options, and equity concerns. Concerns were also raised about the city's permitting policy, specifically requiring new property owners to obtain permits for unpermitted work done by previous owners. One speaker discussed the "United Nations Santa Fe plan" and requested revocation of a Presidential Freedom Award. A public commenter urged the City Council to amend its legislative priority documents to include a request to the state legislature to remove the ban on rent control, citing increasing unaffordability. Technical difficulties for Spanish-speaking attendees were also brought up. Regarding the Midtown redevelopment, a public commenter supported the project but raised concerns about architectural style and whether affordable housing would serve broader community needs. == Topics == - Legislative Priorities Discussion - Snowstorm Response & Debris Cleanup - Homelessness Support Funding - Fiscal Agent Services Agreement - Meeting Opening & Roll Call - Agenda Approval & Consent Agenda - Community Remembrance - City Manager's Report - Pojoaque Water Reclamation Facility - ADA Legislation Advocacy - Paid Family Medical Leave - Santa Fe Regional Airport Expansion - Midtown Redevelopment Funding == Full Transcript == We are now live. Thank you very much. It is 5:05 p.m., and I am calling to order this regular meeting of the governing body. I will begin with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Councilor Cassett, a salute to the New Mexico flag, and invocation remembrance is started by Councilor Romero-Wirth, with council members to follow. If you can, please rise as you are able. Good evening, everyone. I want us to take a moment in this new era we are beginning to focus on what an amazing city and state we live in, and all we can do to continue to improve life for everyone. In doing so, let us focus on the moment, express gratitude, continue to learn and grow, remember our shared purpose of service to community. Help us to be mindful of others, especially the most vulnerable, and help us to be kind and fair to all. And I hope we can think about these things as we move forward. Thank you, Mayor. Mayor: Thank you, Councilor. There are remembrances tonight. I would call to mind the two residents we lost in the snowstorm. Think about people who are really victims of their own condition that they did nothing to deserve, but that lose their lives because of cold weather, lack of shelter, lack of help. Perhaps we could and should do better every time and safeguard everyone in our community and make sure that no one is left behind, is left out, that everyone in our community who needs help gets the help they need. Let's take a minute and keep those lives and all lives in our community in our hearts. Thanks, everybody. Please be seated. Madam Clerk, do you want to call a roll? Clerk: Yes, Mayor. Councilor Cassett? Councilor Cassett: Here. Clerk: Councilor Castro? Councilor Chavez? Councilor Chavez: Here. Clerk: Councilor Castro is excused, I believe. Thank you. Councilor Faulkner? Councilor Faulkner: Here. Clerk: Councilor Lee Garcia? Councilor Lee Garcia: Here. Clerk: Councilor Michael Garcia? Councilor Michael Garcia: Present. Clerk: Councilor Lindell? Councilor Romero-Wirth? Councilor Romero-Wirth: Here. Clerk: You have a quorum. Mayor: I'm present too. Oh, sorry. Mayor Weber, present. Thank you for asking. Thank you, Madam Clerk, and welcome. Nice to have you with us tonight and your responsibilities. Next item is approval of the agenda. Are there any changes to be noted for the agenda? Madam Clerk? Clerk: We do have one change. Item 9UU is removed for discussion from consent, so that will be showing up on a different part of the agenda. Mayor: Yes, I think just to be clear, I think we're moving it to discussion. Moving to discussion. I think that will be part of approval of the consent. All right, we'll get there in a minute then. So, move to approve the agenda. Councilor: Second. Mayor: There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? All in favor, say aye. Councilors: Aye. Mayor: Opposed? And now we go to the consent agenda. There, what you were noting, there are no items removed from the consent. Clerk: Mayor Weber, Councilors, I'd like to clarify. So it's basically by a procedural matter that you don't need to remove it yourselves. Your own rules require that it be in discussion because it didn't go to committee. Mayor: Okay, we don't have to have a motion to change where it is. We, we, Councilors, that's correct. Very good. Can I get a motion to approve the consent agenda? Councilor: So moved. Mayor: There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? On, let's see, could do that with a voice vote, I believe we can. All in favor, say aye. Councilors: Aye. Mayor: Opposed? Motion carries. With that, Madam Clerk, could you take us to the first item of business for tonight on the agenda? Clerk: Yes, Mayor. We will move to item 9U, consideration of Resolution Number 2024, and it doesn't, it's not listed yet, sponsored by Mayor Alan Weber, a resolution establishing the City of Santa Fe's priorities for consideration by the New Mexico State Legislature during the 57th Legislature, State of New Mexico, First Session 2025. We have Regina Willer, Public Works Director, Marcy and Mario, Legislative and Policy Innovation Manager, Christine M. Spears, Legislative Assistant. Councilor: Mayor, yes, Councilor. I have an amendment which I don't see showing up here, so if it's not, can we lay this on the table? Clerk: Mayor, Councilors, I should be getting, I, I'm still connecting here, but I know that Miss Ian Arino has sent it to me for review, but I have not opened it yet, so I will do that as soon as I connect. Mayor: Why don't we, if you want to table it for now, and then we'll come back to it after your amendment is clear. Councilor: I, I'd like to do that if that's okay. I'd move to table. Councilor: Quick question. Can we discuss and then if there's any amendments, I mean, that way, right? But we, if any discussion in general outside of the amendment, and then talk about the amendment, if that might help. Councilor: I'd actually like to do it all at once if that's possible, but I don't want to speak to the amendment because I don't know about it, and I've got comments outside of the amendment. That's what I'm saying is I've got comments outside of the amendment that we can discuss. Oops, get it done. We'll put on the table. We bring it back, talk it all the same. So, there's a motion to lay it on the table and a second. And a second. So, Madam Clerk, can you just call the roll on that, please? Clerk: Yes, Mayor. Councilor Castro? Councilor Chavez? Councilor Chavez: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Faulkner? Councilor Faulkner: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Lee Garcia? Councilor Lee Garcia: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Michael Garcia? Councilor Michael Garcia: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Lindell? Councilor Romero-Wirth? Councilor Romero-Wirth: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Cassett? Councilor Cassett: Yes. Clerk: Mayor Weber? Mayor: Yes. Very good. After the amendment clears, we'll bring this back on. You take us then to the next item on the agenda, please. Clerk: Yes, Mayor. We are moved to action items. So, 9A, wait, I'm sorry, 10A, which is discussion agenda. 10A, request for approval of contract amendment number one with LifeLink, item 2023-7 of recovery funds subrecipient contract, increasing the total amount to $1.6 million for professional services and extend the term to June 30th, 2026. Present is Julie Sanchez, Youth and Family Services Director, Division Director, and Christine Woods, should you have any questions. Mayor: Great. So, I'd entertain a motion and then we can get a discussion going. Councilor: Move to approve. Councilor: Second. Mayor: There's a motion and then there's a second. Would you like Miss Sanchez to take us through this so that for the benefit of people who are not familiar with this item or may be listening or watching, they all understand what we're talking about? Ms. Sanchez: Sounds great, Mr. Mayor, and Councilors. So, this amendment is actually our American Rescue Plan Act amendment for our current, what we're calling, micro community, which is set up at Christ Lutheran Church. So, this is to add additional funding to support those efforts, as well as funding for outreach, because one of the things that we noticed in our current continuum of how we address homelessness is we have a lack of outreach to encampments to bring people into the micro community. So, this is further creating a much more coordinated effort. And so, LifeLink has an outreach team, and this would allow them to bring on additional staff to support those efforts. Thank you. Mayor: Questions for Miss Sanchez? Any discussion of the item? Madam Clerk, could you go ahead and call the roll then? Clerk: Yes. Councilor Chavez? Councilor Chavez: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Faulkner? Councilor Faulkner: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Lee Garcia? Councilor Lee Garcia: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Michael Garcia? Councilor Michael Garcia: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Lindell? Councilor Romero-Wirth? Councilor Romero-Wirth: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Cassett? Councilor Cassett: Yes. Clerk: Mayor Weber? Mayor: Yes. The motion approved. Thank you. That then would take us to the next item, please. Clerk: Item 10B, request for approval of Amendment Number Three to the Intergovernmental Services Agreement with North Central New Mexico Economic Development District for Fiscal Agent Services, item 23-0688, to add 2024 Capital Appropriations to the agreement. And here from staff is Regina Willard, Public Works Director. Councilor: Move to approve. Councilor: Second. Mayor: There's a motion and a second. Director Wheeler, do you want to again give the overview of this item for anyone who is not familiar with it, and then we'll entertain questions? Director Wheeler: Certainly, Mayor. Thank you so much, members of the governing body. This is, as the Clerk said, the third amendment to our Fiscal Agent agreement, and it's required in order for us to take advantage of our legislative appropriations. We've just added to this agreement now all of the 2024 appropriations so that we can receive those and get those grants executed and out building improvements in the community. Mayor: Terrific. Are there questions for Director Wheeler? In that case, Madam Clerk, could you please call the roll? Clerk: Councilor Faulkner? Councilor Faulkner: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Lee Garcia? Councilor Lee Garcia: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Michael Garcia? Councilor Michael Garcia: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Lindell? Councilor Romero-Wirth? Councilor Romero-Wirth: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Cassett? Councilor Cassett: Yes. Clerk: Councilor Chavez? Councilor Chavez: Yes. Clerk: Mayor Weber? Mayor: Yes. Motion moves forward. Thank you. Then take us to the next item, please. Clerk: Next item is matters number 11. Matters from the City Manager, Mr. Randall. Sir, you have the floor. City Manager: Mr. Mayor, thank you, and thank you to the members of the governing body. First, I want to say I'm delighted to be here with you tonight in this role. As you know, we had a little bit of snow last week, and more than just a little bit. I want to really commend our team on a great job on snow removal. I think I received two concerns during that whole storm sequence, and both concerns were checked out and quickly rectified. The team did an absolutely spectacular job. Communications, I think, went very well. We had a few, a little bit of slow uptick on getting a little bit of the information on the website, but that's going to be corrected going forward so that that will not occur again. And I'm really pleased. I, I just sent you all a note that in order, you know, that the storm, because it came early, there were a lot of leaves on the trees, and this caused a lot of branches to come down. It did slow the snow removal down a little bit, but the team did again a great job with that. But it's left a lot of debris. So, we have made arrangements that our citizens can take debris from the trees to the transfer station and be able to get in the fast lane and be able to get rid of the debris at no cost. And that now is going to be available through November 23rd. It was originally till the 16th, but the transfer station has agreed to extend that for another week, so it'll be till the 23rd. If people don't have the capacity to take debris to the transfer station, they can contact the Environmental Services Division and have the debris picked up. There's normally a $50 fee for pickup. that fee has been reduced to $25. So it's half the cost of having it picked up, and they'll be able to call the Environmental Services Division and make arrangements for the pickup rather than sending the trick trucks out to try to find the debris. So it'll be on a scheduled basis, and that also would be available to our residents on Friday, on this Saturday and Sunday, and then Friday or Saturday of the following weekend. I think it's Sunday of this week, but I'm not sure. It's definitely Saturday. Maybe just be Saturday. I correct that. So it'll be Saturday of this coming Saturday and then the following weekend, Friday and Saturday. We're not able to do it on Friday of this week because we're on the catch-up from the day off. So I think the city has done a good job of responding to it. Mr. Mayor, I think I just wanted to mention too that we did keep the city open on Friday. The conditions were safe. The county closed for two hours, the state closed all day. We stayed open so we could get more work done. That's it for any questions. Thank you. I don't have to ask a question. We don't do that right now. You can't ask any questions. We'll do it outside. We'll do it later. They'll catch you in the hall. I'm too used to presenting where you... I know you're still a creature of habit like we all are. Madam Clerk, what's next on the agenda, please? Item 12, Matters from the City Attorney. Thank you, Madam Clerk. Mayor Weber, Counselors, I wanted to give a little bit of an IPRA numbers update, which I also sent to the Santa Fe New Mexican earlier today. We are estimating that we're going to have 10,800 requests this year. Albuquerque has 13,000. That's approximately 80% of Albuquerque. Albuquerque is a city that's over five times our size. We have 20% of Albuquerque's staff. Albuquerque has 25 dedicated personnel. We now have five, which was an increase of 66% from three to five this summer. So now all five of those folks have been fully trained on all the new databases, have had their fingerprints, are able to access all those databases. That's not something that can start on day one, but now all five of them are all working together and have access to the same materials. So with the 66% increase, we have approximately 20% of the staffing of Albuquerque. The Albuquerque City Clerk told me that Albuquerque still gets one to three lawsuits per thousand requests. So staffing does not get rid of lawsuits necessarily. We certainly want to have fewer lawsuits about IPRA. Some people are interested in suing the city, and that's just always going to be true. Some people are interested in suing all cities. So do we need more staff? It definitely looks like it. I think our staff are working extremely hard to respond to the requests that they get, and people respond in a very rude manner. They are very rude to our staff when they ask for clarifying information. Sometimes people tell them they know what they're talking about, and that's how they respond when that particular request is submitted 20 in one day. And staff asked for clarifying information. That's what our staff is dealing with on a daily basis. So please thank them along with me. I really appreciate what they're doing. They all attended a training in Albuquerque recently, and our IPRA manager was one of the presenters about customer service with Albuquerque's IPRA manager. They participate in quarterly updates with IPRA people from all over the state, organized by Albuquerque City Clerk, who's a leader in IPRA, helping to manage all the IPRA folks across the state and keep them up to date and help them be responsive to the community. But it is very hard. That is a lot of requests, almost 11,000. And just within the last couple years, we only had eight. That's almost a 50% increase in a couple of years. We've increased our staff more than 50%, but we're catching up. So please keep that in mind. It's something we're going to have to consider very seriously in the near future. So I did want to give that update, and we're always happy to answer questions about that. Ms. Garcia Gayos spent a lot of time providing information to the Santa Fe New Mexican today about various lawsuits, including the one where there was 20 from one person in one day, and including in that is the same one where the person responded to staff with expletives about things that they might not know because, guess what, they don't know everything about the city of Santa Fe. So that's the kind of thing they're dealing with, and I do feel for them. And I didn't know this until today when I saw these responses. They don't necessarily complain about it, but I asked, you know, what's the status of these? And that's, and so I saw the responses that we were getting, and I was, I was pretty surprised how rude the public is to our staff. So with that, I would like to recommend that we go into executive session for discussion of bargaining strategy preliminary to collective bargaining negotiations under the Open Meetings Act, Section 10-15-1, Subpart H5. Mayor: I move that we go into executive session. Which section are we going? 10-5-1 H5, Subpart. Can you repeat just, can you repeat the what the, because my, my primary didn't pick this up. Absolutely. Yep, no problem. Discussion of bargaining strategy preliminary to collective bargaining negotiations with the city's unions. All right, I move we go into executive session to discuss that under the Open Meetings Act. Is there a second? Second. There's a motion and a second to go into executive session. Madam Clerk, can you call the roll, please? Yes. Councilor Michael Garcia? Yes. Councilor Lindell? Councilor Romero Worth? Yes. Councilor Cassid? Yes. Councilor Chavez? Yes. Councilor Fulmer? Yes. Councilor Lee Garcia? Yes. Mayor Weber? Yes. Very good. Mostly the, he said that was the woman that got that money, that $300,000. That's crazy. And he comments two weeks ago, the only thing that got picked up, the, and she was, great. Then, then also, and then there's some angle. Thank you. All right, it's 6:19, and Councilor Mayworth, do you have a motion? I do. Pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, Section 10-15-1 J, I move that the governing body reconvene in open session and state for the record that the matters discussed in the closed session were limited to those specified in the motion for closure. Second. There's a motion and a second. Any discussion? Madam Clerk, can you call the roll on that, please? Yes. Mayor. Councilor Lindell? Councilor Romero Worth? Yes. Councilor Cassid? Yes. Councilor Chavez? Yes. Councilor Fulmer? Yes. Councilor Lee Garcia? Yes. Councilor Michael Garcia? Yes. Mayor Weber? Yes. Motion has passed. Thank you. Next item, I believe, Madam Clerk, is Matters from you. Yes, Mayor. The next item, number 14, is Matters from the City Clerk. I have a couple of items to talk about. One, I want to say thank you to the City Clerk team and G, especially for helping out. This is my second day, and it has been a crazy one, but I have learned a lot already. And I know a number of you already know this. Izzy Sharp will be leaving us, and we are very sad to lose her. I have been learning a lot about what she does, and so it is a very big loss. So our team is sad about having this really amazing, dynamic person leaving our team, but we're happy for her. She will be joining the state, and they are lucky to get her. The other item is, we launched a new agenda management system, and I wanted to tell you, if any of you are having problems with it, please reach out to us. It, thank you. And that takes us to the next item is number 17, Petitions from the Floor. Or would you like to wait until seven? I think we're going to wait till seven. I think you maybe skipped a couple items there. Oops. All right, sorry, Mayor. Number 15, Communications from the Governing Body. Yes, and I think we'll go to that now, and I think I'll start with the Councilor Char. Thank you. I don't have much. I just want to thank Alexandra Modes and Izzy for their work. I feel like it's amazing when you see young women who are incredibly talented and strong and have amazing leadership skills. I think that is a huge loss for the city and a huge gain for somebody else. But I do want to thank them for their service, and I look forward to seeing all the things they're going to accomplish in the future because they are amazing women that we were lucky to have for the time that we had them. Thank you. Thank you, Council Garcia. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. As well, I want to thank Izzy and Alex for not only all the work that they did while they were kind of a nine-to-five job, but they were always doing events and representing the city outside of your typical nine-to-five hours. And so their commitment and dedication to the city is going to be a huge loss for us. So, Izzy, Alex, please don't forget us. I know that you're moving on to other avenues, but please come back and visit us. I also want to give a shout-out to Javi, Dan, and Brendan with the Parks team. As the City Manager noted in his comments, the winter storm really impacted the trees throughout, I would say, probably every park in our city. There was not one park left unscathed without a down branch. And in this instance, where I ran into Javi, Dan, and Brendan, they were picking up multiple, I mean, huge, huge, huge, huge limbs that broke due to the storm. And so I know that they are just one part of the Parks team that are cleaning up our parks. So, just many thanks to them for getting that work done. And many thanks to the City Manager and Swama and everybody else for working to negotiate a deal to help residents to get the tree limbs picked up from their residences. I, you know, the unfortunate thing in incidences like that, folks take those limbs and just throw them in the street, which we don't want because it becomes more of a hazard. And so, thank you for working to get limbs out of the streets and into the appropriate places. So thank you. No other comments. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Councilor. Councilor Lindell. Thank you, Mayor. Just a shout-out to our snow removal teams. They're amazing. They do an incredible job, and but we really got dumped on quick, and they responded even quicker. They were terrific. I'm here to report that Gonzalez Hill was not the hazard that it has all the potential to be, and very, very much appreciative to the long shifts that they run. Hopefully, we can get through the winter with as good a response as we had this last week. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. That's fair. I would also like to start by thanking Izzy and Alex. I know that every time I sent an email to them about what my constituents needed, they achieved the goal, and they achieved it with professionalism and very expeditiously. I would also like to thank the staff for the storm on Thursday. I know that the snowplow guys put a lot of work in, and I know Parks put a lot of work in, and I know that the Fire Department put a lot of work in, and so did the Police Department. And so, to echo Council Lindell's comments, it hit us fast, but our team, I think, responded really, really well. I would also like to announce the kickoff of the Northern New Mexico Toy Drive, which our Santa Fe Police, Santa Fe Fire Department is spearheading. I have made this one of my priorities for the holiday season, and I would encourage all of you to do the same. I will send language to you guys that you can put on your Facebook pages or whatever social media you use. It's an amazing program, and it helps a lot of kids. The estimate for this year is 6,000 kids, and that's just the kids we know about. And so this program really helps parents get Christmas for their kids so that their families have a nice Christmas. And so the contact for this, is Roland Jones or Chief Moya, but I think Roland Jones is who's been assigned to this. So I encourage all of us to reach out and dig in and get our constituents to participate, either as recipients or as givers. Oh, and also District 3 is having a La Posada, and I'll let Councilor Garcia dive into that one when it gets his turn. Mayor: Thank you, Mayor. I too want to wish Alex and Izzy well as they move into new endeavors and thank them for their always cheerful attitudes and hard work and good spirits about anything that they were asked to take on. I don't think I ever saw either one of them grumpy, and I do think there were times when they also were not treated well by the public. So I just want to thank them for their service and wish them the very best. That's awesome. It's sad for us, but I'm happy that they're moving on to other things. I want to just let everybody know how this green waste day happened. Right after the storm, I was walking into City Hall, and a constituent flagged me down and said, "Hey, would it be possible to have a free green waste day at the dump and the transfer station where we collect this kind of stuff?" And I want to thank our new City Manager, Randy Randall, because immediately I said, "Well, let me look into it." And I walked in and I talked to City Manager Randall, and I said, "Hey, I have this constituent, and he has this idea, and is that something you think we could accommodate?" And so with that, he immediately went to work working out the details of what's come forward this evening. And I want to thank him, but I also want to thank the constituent who flagged me down and noticed a problem and said, "Hey, is there something you can do about this?" Because I think that's a great thing that constituents feel like they could come to us and ask for problem-solving, and I am grateful that we were able to do something about it. So I also just want to read the email we got today from City Manager Randall. There are two options. The first option is for residents to take broken branches to the Buckman Road Recycling and Transfer Station, utilizing the express lane free of charge through Saturday, November 16th. Branches must be tied down and secured properly during transport, and the hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. The facility is located, as I think most people know, 2600 Buckman Road. The second option is to sign up for a large item pickup at a discounted rate through the City of Santa Fe's Environmental Services Division. The $50 fee will be discounted to $25 for residents having snowstorm-damaged tree branches picked up. That's a mouthful. Residents can call the Environmental Services Division. That number is 505-955-2200 or email ESD@santanm.gov to schedule a pickup appointment. The pickup is limited to clean green waste only, tree branches, and no trash. And ESD will schedule a date with residents for a Friday or Saturday through November 23rd. Residents will be asked to move the branches to the edge of the property on their designated pickup date. So I again, thank you, City Manager Randall. Thank you for the teams at those facilities who worked that out, and thank you to the constituent who flagged me down on the sidewalk and asked that we do something. So with that, Mayor, that's all I have tonight. Thank you. I think that free transfer was extended to the 23rd. Councilor Cassid: Thank you, Mayor. I, of course, also do want to express my gratitude to Alex and Izzy and all their incredible work. I, of course, as many of us, got to work extremely closely with Izzy, and the way that she took over constituent services and has really led the charge there has been impressive. And Councilor Marworth is quite correct. I know that there have been numerous times that the public has not treated her as they should have. She is incredibly hardworking. Do is very lucky to have her. The state is very lucky to have her, and we will miss her. I know that there has been a lot of transitions in that team, so Andrea, we're glad you're here to help lead the way on this because that really is going to be quite the loss in terms of a lot of our day-to-day activities. So thank you, Izzy and Alex. Good luck to both of you, and congratulations to the employers that will now be able to utilize your talents. I'm very jealous of them. I also do want to welcome Andrea. Welcome. We're very excited to have you back, and I'm really looking forward to working with you. Last but not least, I have a couple of birthdays in my family this past week. My grandmother, if she were still alive, we actually don't know how old she would have been. We apparently lost her age somewhere along the way, and so she just used to say, "You know, I'm around 72, maybe." And then we'd change that the next week. So happy birthday to Grandma up in heaven or whatever happens afterwards. I'm not going to figure that out today. We have other things to deal with. And then I also wanted to wish my nephew a very happy birthday. He turned four earlier this week, my nephew Asher. So happy birthday to him, and of course, my brother and sister-in-law who have two very rambunctious boys. So happy birthday to them as they've done a lot of work. That's all. Thanks, Mayor. Thank you, Councilor Lee Garcia. Councilor Lee Garcia: Thank you, Mayor. I join in all the congratulations. I won't go into it extensively. I did want to elaborate a little bit more on the La Posada that has been proposed, a collaboration with councilors in District 3, Councilor Faulkner and myself. The information would be December 19th from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Teen Center. And so thank you to the city. Thank you to a few of the people who are collaborating, which are Southside businesses, Bea's Fashion, Andino Mini Market, Latino Small Business Association, Gemma Salon, Bano Boys and Girls Club, Santa Fe Housing Trust, Toys for Tots, and Youth. Just a few of the people who are collaborating together to bring a community celebration for everyone. So all are invited. There's going to be food baskets, gift cards, toys. Everything is free. So once again, thank everyone for their collaboration and their help. AP and Gina are big in helping to do this. Thank you. I've enjoyed everybody's comments about our two departing friends. They're more than employees, and the way we've all talked about them is Alex and Izzy. It's they really were a team of a partnership and a collaboration in so many different ways, both putting on events, being at the events, staffing the events. Like Councilor Garcia said, they not only make the events possible, but they were there working at every single one of them to distribute and help people who were celebrating. And they're just, each of them in their own way, terrific, great people. And I've invited both of them to come back and boomerang. I think our City Clerk is a boomerang model, so they can learn from her that after a short sabbatical elsewhere, it's always good to come home and return to the people who have great appreciation for all the work you've done. And it's good to have our City Clerk boomeranging back, and who knows what the future holds for Alex and Izzy. I hope they'll come back, and we'll welcome them with open arms. And if they wait a little while, that's okay, but they should definitely know they're always welcome back here. I want to extend the thanks that have been given already with regard to the city's response to the snowstorm. It stretched across every department. It involved people going out to deal with in events that change weather events that chain traffic signals from working to not working, plowing the streets, continuing to collect trash on that day, not recycling, but the trash was picked up. When other communities were folding up and waiting for the storm to pass, our team was out there from early till late doing the work. And that's really, I think, a testimony to the women and men who make Santa Fe work. They do it every single day, and snow doesn't deter them. I also do want to recognize the two lives that were lost. Our Code Blue effort was phenomenal. There were several hundred, 200 people who were sheltered. On the worst night, more than a dozen people transported to shelter. More than 30 overnight warming kits were passed out, people who didn't want to go into a shelter but did appreciate some warm clothes and some hand warmers, some assistance just to make it through a tough night. And we'd far prefer everyone to find a warm place to be safe, and we'll continue to extend that effort through every Code Blue episode that we have. But I think the city and our community does have a compassionate heart and a desire to protect life first of all as the highest priority. And my appreciation goes to the Code Blue team that was out that night and every time it hits Code Blue to try to make sure that people are safe. So thank you to them. Thank you to everybody for working through a very difficult storm. What's next, Madam Clerk? May item 16, introduction of legislation. Let me go back to the item laid on the table. I don't know, are we ready to take that up at this time? It may take us longer than we have. Yeah, I just, I think given that we're need to do petitions in the floor, it might be better to, let's not interrupt our process and hit seven, and then we'll bring it off the table. I'm sorry, Madam Clerk, go ahead. All right, item 16a, introduction of legislation, consideration of Bill 224-232-D1-D23.1 of Article 1, definitions of Exhibit A, Chapter 24 SFCC 1987 to Section 12-10-D110 of Article X, vehicle regulations of the same exhibit. Very good. And do either one of you want to make a comment about this at this time? Thank you, Mayor. It's just a technical change that I think that legal has been waiting for us to have the opportunity to do, so we're getting it done along with the next item that will be introduced. Councilor Faulkner, you want to speak to this? All right. Next item, Madam Clerk. Item 16b, consideration of Bill number 2024-the penalties for muffler noise violations, eliminate a distinction between the categories, second offense and subsequent violations, recognizing community service as an alternative to all vehicle traffic, sorry, all traffic violation penalties under City's general penalty and establishing an effective date. And that is both of you again. You want to speak to it? Sure. Thank you, Mayor. You know, we've talked about this and talked about it and talked about it, and we've wrung our hands about it, and we've had dozens of emails from constituents about it and plenty of articles in the newspaper about it. And this change is offering us an opportunity to do something to meet the needs of our constituents and the things that we've been asked to do. So Councilor Faulkner and I put our heads together and came up with this, and we'll see what the council wants to do if they want to do something about the noise issue. Here's an opportunity. Thank you. Thank you. In my district, this is one of the biggest complaints I've received is the noise pollution from mufflers. One thing I did want to make sure of is that this wasn't too punitive for people who could not afford a $500 fine. And so I really liked the community service component because I feel like sometimes we can take punitive action and use it to maybe build community in some way. And I think if you go out and work in the community that you live in and you interact with the community that you live in, you might learn some things about how your actions are impacting the people who are your fellow citizens. So, I'm in full support of this, and I hope the council will be as well. Thank you. Next item, Madam Clerk. Item 16C, consideration of resolution sponsored by Councilor Chavez, a resolution assigning authorized officers and agents for Grant Agreement Number SAAP 22-G 2419 DSTB for the plan, design, and construction of improvements on Hesh Road. I think that says enough. Thank you, Mayor. Okay, thank you. Very good. Madam Clerk, ordinarily we would go to the next item, which is petitions from the floor, but we're about 15 minutes early for what we advertise as the opening of that item. So I'd entertain a motion to change the agenda to come back to that subsequently. So moved. Second. We want to go to 18 and then come back at... Can I move to... I know we already have a motion on the floor, but I would entertain the possibility that we take a 15-minute break and then take up the next two items. If I would get... Can I remove my... So I move to take a 15-minute break and then take on the business we have in front of us, items 17 and 18, at 7:00. Second. There's a motion for a 15-minute recess. Madam Clerk, why would you just call the roll on that motion, please? Yes, Mayor. Councilor Romero Worth? Yes. Councilor Cassett? Yes. Councilor Chavez? Yes. Councilor Flor? Councilor Lee Garcia? Yes. Councilor Michael Garcia? Yes. Councilor Lindell? Mayor Weber? Yes. Motion is approved. Thank you. We will take a 15-minute break, back at 7:00 to take petitions from the floor. Thanks, everybody. Okay, very good. Thank you, everybody, for your patience. It's 7:02, so we missed our deadline by two minutes, but we're close. So with that, Madam Clerk, I believe we are ready to go to petitions from the floor. Yes, Mayor. Item 17, petitions from the floor. If you're here to speak to the governing body on any item other than a public hearing, this is your opportunity. Please come to the podium, and everyone here, and then we'll go to the Zoom room. Everyone is offered an opportunity to speak for two minutes on any subject that you wish. You have the floor. Not sure your mic is on, Mayor. Thank you and Council. This is the United Nations flag. Two, would you please watch Lenore, Princess of Asu's videos on YouTube to find out some of what's going on with my project? Three, Mayor, you told me about three weeks ago, I was very grateful to know that you two were acolytes and appreciative of Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. And therefore, it's possible for you to appreciate how it is possible to save a billion lives. Four, both Donald Trump and Melania Trump, as well as Robert F. Kennedy, approve of the United Nations Santa Fe plan, as does the ranking member in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dr. Rand Paul, the eye surgeon from Kentucky. What we do need is a big pile of letters to on the web contact form to the new UN Ambassador, USA UN Ambassador. And then, let's see, four, maybe I'm not sure the numbers. The Dutch trial of William Henry Gates and the Greek veterinarian where pharmaceutical genocide has started at the lower courts in the Netherlands. And it's a shame I only have two minutes because it takes a long time, but you have emails from me on this, and the New Mexican could certainly cover it, which there's only about three or four newspapers in the United States that even have anything about it at all, but it's a very significant breakthrough. I've been telling you about this for four years now. It's a big validation for what I'm trying to do. Okay, let's see. Also, could you send a note to Obama on his web contact form and ask him to please resend and revoke the, what do you call it, Presidential Freedom Award? And I guess that's time's up. Five seconds. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Wait one second while we do a little reset here. Are we good? No, that's the end of that last two minutes. We need a new fresh two minutes. No, I don't think you did it, Mr. Fox. I think you're innocent. That's another possibility. We'll get our IT folks to fix the timer for us. Lovely charm. Yeah, that's much better. We're working on this. We're at 1:56, so we'll give you a little bit of grace there. You, let's see if you can take us forward, please. Thank you, Mayor, members of the Council, community. My name is Kate Noble. I'm very pleased to be here tonight. It's been a long time. I'm here as the President and CEO of Growing Up New Mexico, an early childhood organization in this community that also works statewide. We hold a grant for an early childhood steering committee, we call it, which is a coalition funded by the Early Childhood Education and Care Department. And tonight, we have the great pleasure of having some of our Santa Fe Family Leadership Council, which is part of the Early Childhood Steering Committee, here tonight to talk to you. Some of them have been working for about a year and a half, developing their leadership, advocacy, and some very specific projects. Honestly, it's so humbling to see what they do in terms of balancing jobs, parenting, and community building. They are all parents of young children, so they are on Zoom tonight. And you'll be hearing from some of them, as well as some members from our Early Childhood Steering Committee. Just a technical note, we do have a staff member there to provide translation for some of the Spanish speakers on Zoom. Her name is Diana Hidalgo. So, if after the Spanish speakers speak, she could be queued up, she will be doing the translation. I want to thank you all for your service. Thank you for listening. And especially, I want to thank the family leaders for doing the work they do for this community and making the time and energy. Some of them are very nervous, I'm sure, to come and speak to you tonight. So thank you, everyone, for the building of the community that you do. Thank you. I think we have to wait for the music. See if we can get this to work right. I think we're good to go. I'm Susie Harberg, and I'm on the board of Growing Up New Mexico and on this Early Childhood Steering Committee. And I just wanted to say that we've been hearing about this splash pad idea for a while, and I think it's been in the works for a while. And these families that you're going to hear from tonight, they really need someplace for their kids to go when it's hot. And apparently, with a swimming pool idea, we can't seem to get enough lifeguards, which my husband's going to talk about in a minute. But it's something that we need. We need a place for these people to be able to go and enjoy and have fun and cool off in when it's so hot. So we'd really like to advocate for getting this thing done. Can we move it up on the list and really try to get it? Because this is one specific thing these families have asked and asked and asked for, and we'd just love to see it happen. So thank you very much. Thank you. Let's hit reset on the clock if we can. Where did you go? You have the floor. I'm Fred Harberg. I'm Susie's husband. We met in the seventh grade in Portales, where we grew up. So I've known her for some time. We're getting familiar with each other at this point, and I love her very much, but I love our children as well. And growing up in New Mexico, my father died when I was young, and I, I made part of our living by being the head of the swimming pool and the head lifeguard in Portales. And I had the privilege of watching children grow, enjoy the water. And in the hot summer of Portales, it was a lifesaver for them, but in many ways, it enriched their lives. It was a social focal point of the community, and I enjoin you to produce something like this here. I think the splash pad is an extraordinary opportunity, and I strongly encourage you to support for the children. Santa. Thanks. Thank you. Hello, good evening. My name is Rebecca Baron Reese, and I'm with Growing Up New Mexico. I just want to thank you all, members of the governing body, for listening to our family leaders that will be here tonight. I have just some materials that they prepared, and I can pass those on, highlighting some of the community work and outreach they've done. They'll speak to some of that as well. But there was both a survey and a petition that they circulated. And just thank you in advance for hearing some of their concerns and supporting the leadership growth that we want to see and continue to have in Santa Fe. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else in the Council Chamber who wants to come forward and use this opportunity to speak to the governing body on any topic that you wish to raise with us? If no one in the room wants to come forward, Madam Clerk, let's go to the Zoom room and remember the comment about the Spanish translation service. I am promoting Meredith's iPhone. You should be able to speak now once you unmute. Hi, can you hear me? Yes. Great. Let me know when my time starts. Your time has started. Okay, good evening, City Council. My name is Meredith. I'm a mom to two little boys, one of whom I'm holding right now, who love water. Families in Santa Fe have been asking for a splash pad for kids to play for in for a long time. And we're tired of feeling left behind retirees and tourists, and we don't want another pickleball court. Every single major town in New Mexico has at least one splash pad. Amazingly, Hobbs has five, except for the capital of our state. So our families really want a safe, inclusive place to play during hot summer days, especially for little kids, a place that doesn't need lifeguards, something that Santa Fe is really always struggling with. I just want to point out, this is not a new idea. This was originally planned in the next phase for Swan Park, which has infrastructure already in place. And I've been asking about this for about a year and a half now. In July, in 2023, I was told that the RFP had been submitted. In December 2023, I was told they closed the RFP to select a landscape architect firm. And in May of this year, I was told that they were finished with negotiations and anticipated moving forward to Council with the contract after July 1. But here we are now at the end of the year, and families are now being told that it's going to be three to five years, and that that's really disappointing to hear. And I'm here today to ask for your help in making sure that it doesn't take that long. I think they printed it out, the survey that I conducted in the fall of '23. When asked if their family would benefit from a splash pad being built in Santa Fe, all of 183 families, representing over 500 young children, said yes. And 84% of those families said that they leave Santa Fe to recreate at a splash pad. So I see this as a win-win. I know some of you are parents and want this for your kids too. So I really look forward to working with you all to make this happen and happen soon. This is a really good time to discuss priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Who's next, Madam Clerk? Next, I am unmuting Miss Beninato. You may speak. I'm asking you to unmute. Yes, thank you. Can you hear me? Yes. Now we can't. Hold the, hold the clock for a sec. We lost you there, Miss Beninato. Are you still with us? Are you on mute again? What do you see, Madam Clerk? Hi, you actually unmuted Meredith Ziggler again. Sorry. Am I unmuted now? Yes. Okay, great. I wanted to bring to your attention something that at least two people have told me about, which is that they have a property that they're trying to get a permit for, and they said that they couldn't get it unless they got a permit for work that was done before they owned the property and was done without a permit. It depends on what kind of work it is, but it could be incredibly difficult to even be able to know what was put into that job. And I wonder why this policy has occurred because again, the city, for example, on my street, the owners built a shed 2 and 1/2 feet from the lot line without a permit, supposedly a permit. I'm still checking on that, but it was never required to get a variance because it was too close to the lot line. So, is the next owner going to be burdened by that? Again, this whole thing about sometimes things get red-tagged, sometimes they don't. It just seems very haphazard, arbitrary, capricious. Also, I just want to point out that we have a new boiler at Salvador Perez, but it's still not working very consistently. That's kind of disappointing since it's completely new and then it got closed down so other parts of the system would also get improved. Third and last thing I'd like to just bring to your attention is you have been lauding employees, sometimes long-term, sometimes not so long-term. I'm going to ask that you consider honoring a 33-year volunteer on the Historic District Review Board. That would, of course, be Cecilia Rios. I will ask for the help of some of the counselors in a more formal way, I hope in the next couple of weeks, on that point. I think a 33-year volunteer deserves recognition. Thank you. **Mayor:** Thank you, Madam Clerk. We have another hand up in the Zoom room. **Clerk:** Yes, Mikel P. I am allowing you to speak. **Mikel P.:** Hi, my name is Nel Ananda, and I'd just like to speak on the legislative priority documents that have been introduced for the city to hear. I want to congratulate the city on putting this document together. I think there is a lot in here that I would certainly agree with, but also plenty of items that I'd have disagreements or I'd prefer to change. I think one thing that is very critical for the City Council to amend into this document and consider is an ask to the legislature to remove the state's ban on rent control. Currently, we're seeing rental housing being more and more unaffordable, and the homeless population in Santa Fe and much of Northern New Mexico continues to increase as we face the costs of inflation and living. So, I think it's very, very important that municipalities are equipped with a variety of tools to address the problem. That includes expanding the supply of housing for sure and building more affordable housing, but it also means having the ability to set checks on these massive rent increases we're seeing across the board. Limiting the ability of local governments to address this situation through a multifaceted set of policies, I think, is very harmful to the state. So, I think it would be very valuable if we were to request to the state legislature to consider repealing the state's ban on rent control. Thank you. **Mayor:** Thank you for weighing in. Whose hand is up next, Madam Clerk? **Clerk:** Mayor, we don't have any hands up, but I'm going to ask, there are several people, attendees, if you would like to speak, please raise your hand. One came up. Please, you are allowed to speak. Please unmute. **Speaker:** Good evening, everyone. My name is [unintelligible] and I'm with Family Leadership Council Group. I have two children, eight and seven, in K-U-S. Currently, I'm working at Santa Fe Community College Kids Campus as a teacher assistant for the TOA classroom. Today, I would like to raise my question about the splash pad. When is it happening? The past seven years, I was asking and waiting for a family member to take me and my kids to the splash pad. First of all, I'm tired of that. When we take my kids, they are happy, but coming back was hard since it's happening only once a year. I want a splash pad here in Santa Fe. Second, I work and I have a limited time to take my kids to Albuquerque, but if we have it here, I can take my kids two or more days a week to a splash pad park. I can't drive to Albuquerque, and there are a lot of parents who are like me and who also do not have a car or do not drive. But if we have it here, they can drive or walk to a splash pad park. I know and I believe you can make it happen, and please, I'm asking you again, make it happen as soon as possible. Thank you for your time. **Mayor:** Thank you very much. Let's see, Madam Clerk, other hands up in the Zoom room? **Clerk:** I'm not seeing any other hands. If you would like to speak, please raise your hand. Mayor, I'm not seeing any other hands raised. **Mayor:** Let's make sure that everybody understands the technology. If you want to speak, there's a way to raise your hand on your device so that we see that you are waiting in line to address the governing body. We'd love to hear from you if you've been waiting in the Zoom room for this purpose. There, maybe we got one now. **Clerk:** Do you? **Speaker:** Yes, I just want to express, we have a Spanish speaker who may be having just technical difficulties in accessing. So, I just wanted to raise my hand and mention that, but I do want to speak and have my full two minutes. **Mayor:** Okay, I think we can give you your full two minutes. If there's some way to help people with the technology, I know everybody's at home with their families and it's tricky to get everything to work properly. If you can't get your comments in tonight, please do send us a communication either through email or however works for you so that your voice is heard, because I know you've organized yourselves tonight to be able to be heard. But if the technology somehow prevents it, and it doesn't get worked out in time, please don't be thwarted and do send us either a letter, an email, however you want to get us your point of view, because I know you've been working hard to get organized to bring that to us. **Speaker:** Mayor, it might be worthwhile to unmute after Megan to unmute Melago to let her provide some information in Spanish for anybody who maybe is not understanding. **Mayor:** That's a great suggestion. So, let's take it first with the hand that's up now, and then we'll see if we can offer some technological support through the translator. So, Madam Clerk, can we start with whoever's hand is up now and unmuted? **Clerk:** Miss Megan Mobano Warman. **Mayor:** Very good. You have the floor. **Megan Mobano Warman:** Thank you. Good evening. My name is Megan Mobano Warman, she/her. I'm a mama of two 16th generation New Mexican boys, ages three and seven months, and I'm also a business owner. I'm speaking today in support of the splash pad and the many ways it can enhance life for all Santa Feans. This project goes beyond serving just families. My colleague Meredith mentioned 84% of locals from our survey said that they're currently leaving Santa Fe for recreational activities, so that's money being spent in other markets. As a local business owner, I want those dollars to stay here. I want them to be invested in my neighbors, and a splash pad increases foot traffic. So, I envision stopping by Angel's for a burrito or El Pano for lunch on the way home, creating a ripple effect of benefits that benefits the entire economy. Additionally, a splash pad addresses the growing issue of heat and equity by providing a cooling space that is accessible and free. This isn't just about families with children, it is about everyone who may want a reprieve from the heat but doesn't have access to pools or cooling centers. Again, our research has shown, and we've spoken to technical experts, it's a fallacy to say that this wastes water. Splash pads can be built without compromising our values of sustainability. So, I think you all understand why this is important. You have the data, you have heard from us for years, and we are met with inaction or worse, being labeled as angry, emotional moms. Frankly, I'm tired of the misogyny and minimization of our power as mothers. If we can do this while nursing babies, changing diapers, working in and outside of the home, and raising kind, thoughtful humans, I'm hopeful we can work together to fast-track the completion of the splash pad. Thank you so much for your time. **Mayor:** Thank you. Let's try unmuting the translator and see if there's a way to get, if people are struggling with the technology, maybe some Spanish language assistance can get people to click the raise your hand symbol. **Clerk:** Miss, I have, I raised you up so you should be able to speak. **Translator:** Thank you. I'm here to, well, see everybody through the Zoom. I'll say something in Spanish to those folks who are bilingual or Spanish speakers. Raise your hand. Thank you. Thank you. One hand has been raised. Miss, Miss Hernandez. Mary Hernandez. **Maria Hernandez:** [Speaking in Spanish] **Mayor:** Thank you. I think we can now turn it over to the translator to give us the translation since she's on duty. **Translator:** Yes. Did I do it perfect? Am I unmuted? Yes, yes, you are. Sweet. Thank you so much. Good afternoon. My name is Maria Hernandez. I am also part of the Santa Fe Family Leadership Council. I would like to share my experience as a mother. I have two girls, one of four years old and one that's eight years old. I am a single mom. I have visited the splash pad up in White Rock, and I think the splash pad for Santa Fe is a great idea. It's hard for me to frequent the splash pad because it is so far away, but when I do visit, I see the happiness in my child's face and they light up while they're playing, and it's not only my children's, but all the other kids that are around them. It brings me happiness to see them that way. Unfortunately, being so far, I can only make the trip so often since it's so far. I consider Santa Fe to be a very touristy place, as we all know, a place with culture and history, and people from all around bring their families and bring their children to visit. I personally think, this is my two cents, my own thoughts, that having a splash pad in Santa Fe would bring a better economy to our city. All I ask is that we bring this to Santa Fe to have more children reap the fruits of the splash pad and having something like this close by. Thank you for your time. **Mayor:** Thank you. Other hands up in the Zoom room, Madam Clerk? **Clerk:** There are no other hands in the Zoom room. Sorry, one just popped up. Rebecca DeMello. **Rebecca DeMello:** Good evening. My name is Rebecca DeMello. I am also a member of the Santa Fe Family Leadership Council, and I'm also here to advocate for the acceleration of the splash pad project at Swan Park. Swan Park is very near and dear to me as I visit Swan Park very regularly with my toddler-aged daughter, especially during the warmer months, as I live in the area, and I know many other families with young children live in the area and utilize Swan Park on a regular basis because I see them there. The southwest side is one of the few affordable areas of the city for working families like mine, so a splash pad at Swan Park makes perfect sense because it would be well utilized and very accessible to many families. There are these spray-down events that happen on occasion at Swan Park, and those events are also very well attended by families, but these spray-downs also have many limitations and do not by any means replace the need for a splash pad. For instance, the spray-downs are only offered a few times over the summer and during very limited hours, and have sometimes been canceled altogether. Also, the water is being shot from a fire hose, so this is a very powerful stream, and it's raining down quite aggressively. So, this can be pretty scary for some toddlers and young children. I know because when I took my toddler daughter, she was screaming in horror because it was just pouring so much, along with many of the other toddlers in the group of parents I attended the event with. A splash pad, on the other hand, would be a safer and more accessible option for all ages, and my daughter really loves water and would enjoy playing in a really safe and less threatening splash pad. So, please, let's make the children of Santa Fe happy and give them a splash pad so they have a safe and fun place to recreate. Thank you very much for your time. **Mayor:** Thank you. Other hands up now that the hands are starting to go up? Is there another one up in the Zoom room? **Clerk:** All attendees in the Zoom room have spoken, and everyone here has had their opportunity in the Council chairman. **Mayor:** So, thank you, everybody, for your attendance and your comments and the translation services as well. Very much appreciated. Madam Clerk, let's go back to the agenda item 18, public comment on bills. The first one is 18a, consideration of Bill 2024-9, adopting of Ordinance Number 2024, sponsored by Mayor Alan Weber, a bill approving the sale of city-owned buildings, improvements, and six parcels located at 1600 St. Michael's Drive within the City and County of Santa Fe, New Mexico, Aspect QZBL LLC, in three phases for a total of $5 million. Staff here tonight are Daniel Hernandez, Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Director. And if staff would like to give a brief description before public comment, thank you. Mr. Hernandez, you have an opportunity to spend a few minutes, five or less, giving us the framework of this proposal. Thank you. Thank you for letting me introduce the project. It's been a long time coming, and probably within about two days, a day maybe, after we, the governing body, approved the master plan for the redevelopment of the Midtown site, we issued an RFP, a Request for Proposals, for the redevelopment expansion of the existing Midtown Production Studios. And so that RFP went out in December of '22 to redevelop these underutilized buildings, these film buildings that had been used but were actually fairly underutilized, as well as some vacant parcels that surrounded them. The development entity that submitted was Aspect Media Village, whose principal was Philip Jesu, who was here this evening, and we'll meet him later in this process at the City Council committee meetings, as well as the next governing body meeting when you vote. He has an excellent presentation that really describes the full breadth of his development. But the response was a studio village. It was a concept that combines the film studio, residential development, commercial, as well as reuse of the movie theater to create a mixed-use development that will be integrated seamlessly into the rest of the Midtown neighborhood. This was not really envisioned in the Midtown master plan, but it actually really helped with the concept of the Midtown master plan, which is overall to create a mixed-use urban neighborhood. So this village is now going to be part of the whole redevelopment site, which was a really exciting concept for the panel. The development proposal was evaluated by a panel of city staff who had knowledge of the master plan and the redevelopment plans for Midtown, as well as for the first time that the city has ever done it, we included community members who really wanted to know more about the redevelopment of Midtown. So the community members were experts in film, in the film industry, local film industry, as well as people who were community advocates and experts in community development who participated in the master planning process. They were excited to see their efforts actually come to fruition and to participate in the selection of the developer. The developer demonstrated their qualifications based on their experience on large-scale mixed-use redevelopment for the past 30 years. So we felt as though we had a really solid developer with financial and the expertise, the capacity to bring a project to fruition. Their development proposal was also highly competitive because it had a really great advantage that the panel and I was excited to see: they had recently purchased the adjacent site, the former Shellberg Tennis Center, which is an approximately 9-acre site, where he had developed already 22,000 square feet of sound stages, which instantly enabled him to attract large Hollywood productions, as evidenced, as you probably know, the production of "Outer Range" and "The Lost Bus." And they also use Midtown facilities, the existing sound stages and some other buildings on the Midtown site. So this acquisition provided the developer with the unique opportunity and ability to combine its adjacent facility with Midtown's 11.5 acres to create Northern New Mexico's largest integrated studio, which is now will be about a 20-acre parcel. So when we had originally envisioned our 11, now matched by nine more, we have a much larger footprint in the film industry than we anticipated, which was made that proposal particularly exciting. In addition, the development proposal included key elements of the master plan and the community development plan, as I said previously, a studio village, a mixed-use development concept that included residential development with affordable housing. So they'll be using the city's 15% inclusionary affordable housing program at the site. They'll be renovating and reprogramming The Screen, which was really important for many communities in Santa Fe when we were out doing our master planning. There will be a neighborhood commercial component in the old Driscoll Hall, which will actually contribute to this mixed-use and bringing people into Midtown. There's also education programs there. There's agreements with Santa Fe Community College, with Stagecoach Foundation, and they have also commitments with local high schools through their dual credits program to bring high school students into training programs and internships that also meet union requirements. So these were all elements that were in the community development plan that we wanted to see, and they are now part of the redevelopment proposal. So the most exciting thing for me, I mean, I think it's an amazing proposal, but as the Director of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, the redevelopment and the expansion of this area is really the catalyst for the next phases of investment and development at Midtown. The development will anchor that side, the Siler side of Midtown, and the upcoming proposal that you will see for the renovation and reoperation of the Digital Art Center will anchor the Cerrillos St. Michael side of the site. Both projects will begin to bring people back to Midtown. These two developments are the cornerstones of achieving the arts, culture, film production, and economic development objectives described in the Midtown Redevelopment Plans, creating a mixed-use district grounded in community arts and culture. Arts are always the initial investors in urban redevelopment that you know quite well when you see in other cities that these arts and culture and entertainment, particularly this film now, is so exciting to bring new people and investment to Midtown. In the Midtown Redevelopment Plans, the city set the... I'm going to ask you to wrap it up. I am. We have about a five-minute limit. The city set the stage for attracting mixed-market development, but through the approved redevelopment plans, the city also committed to stabilizing community arts, creating jobs for Santa Fe communities, attracting economic generators in film and multimedia, and developing new housing, including affordable housing, so that local families and communities are a part of the future of... So we're very excited tonight to hear more supporters and other public comments. So thank you for the opportunity to introduce the project to you. Thank you. Thanks for being here and thanks for bringing that overview. This is an opportunity for public comment. This is not... there won't be voting tonight. There's no action. But if there's someone in the Zoom room or in the audience tonight who wants to have a two-minute opportunity to speak to this proposal, this would be the time to come forward and address it as public comment. Hi, my name is Robert Dennis. I'm here just to reiterate a letter that I sent to all of you earlier this week in support of the project. I happen to serve on the Santa Fe Film and Digital Media Council, and many of us on the council support this effort to bring in Aspect Studios. I think it's a very important addition to the city, and it will really round out our offerings to the film production community. We're hoping also to work with Philip on bringing in some post-production capability here as well. So I just want to add my voice to those who support this project. Thank you. Thank you very much. Anyone else for public comment on this bill, who's either in the room or if we have anyone in the Zoom room, now would be the time to raise your hand. I think there's a hand up in the Zoom room. Benato, if you will unmute. Yes, thank you. Can you hear me? Yes, we can. Great. I applaud that it's a mixed-use proposal. I hope that it will go through smoothly. I hope that you have ways of dealing with the project if it doesn't go through. I hope that the drawings that we saw in the paper were just concepts of a plan as opposed to a plan for a what looked like a 50-foot high apartment building that wasn't really anything close to Santa Fe style. And I'm just concerned too that although it says affordable housing, that over time it will really just be for people in the film industry. Not that that isn't an important industry in our state and in our city, but again, is it actually addressing the needs that this campus is supposed to be addressing? So those are questions. I need to do more reading on it. And I guess you'll have another public hearing when you're going to vote on it. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else with a hand up in the Zoom room or anyone here in the council chambers? There's someone else with a hand up. Madam Clerk, do you...? No, there is no one else with a hand up, and there's no one coming forward to the podium. So thank you for those comments. Let's go to the next item on the agenda. And then item 18b, consideration of Bill 2024-12, sponsor Councilor Lindell, a bill amending SFCC 1987 Section 12-3 pertaining to the public display of fireworks, recognizing the Fire Department will apply the International Fire Code to the public display of fireworks, making other terms consistent with the International Fire Code, and providing for governing body approval of public fireworks display permits without legislation. If staff would like to give a brief description, I believe Fire Marshal Dono Grio is in the Zoom room. Good evening. Can you guys hear me? Yes, we can. Thank you for being here. Thanks for having me, Mr. Mayor and members of the governing body. This is just a bill to change the way that we do things in the city. It hasn't been changed since 1987, so it's just kind of an update to the current code. In 1987, it was probably the Uniform Fire Code. We now have adopted since April the International Fire Code 2021 Edition. And in Chapter 56, the International Fire Code, which deals with public displays of fireworks, it just allows us a little bit more regulation based off the code that was adopted through the City of Santa Fe in April. So this is just kind of an upgrade since it hasn't been done since 1987, so we just kind of wanted to get with the times. But thank you. If anybody has any specific questions for me, I'm available. Thank you. Is there anyone on the in the chambers or on Zoom who would like to speak to this bill? Is there a hand up? I don't see any hands on Zoom room. Madam Clerk, do you...? No, I do not, and no one's coming forward. So let's, in that instance, go to the next item on the agenda, which I believe is what has been laid on the table. Mayor, I would move that we take item, what is it, 9U, off the table for the next order of business. There's a motion and a second to take off the table the item that was laid on the table earlier, 9U, while we're waiting for amendments to clear. There's a motion and a second. Can you please call the roll? Councilor Cassett? Yes. Councilor Chavez? Yes. Councilor Fowler? Yes. Councilor Lee Garcia? Yes. Councilor Michael Garcia? Councilor Lindell? Councilor Romero Worth? Yes. Councilor, I'm sorry. Mayor Weber? Yes. Very good. Motion's approved. Thank you. So we have this item in front of us. I know there's at least some amendments already been dra... There may be comments. I know that Councilor Michael Garcia wanted to speak. Why don't we see if we can begin with a motion, and then we'll go forward from there. Move to postpone this item. A motion to postpone the item. Is there a second? Second. Councilor Garcia, since you made the motion, you have... Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I guess the reason why I'm asking to postpone is, first question, is there time sensitivity around this issue? Yes and no, Councilor. It's a fair question. The reason we were expediting it was hoping to get Council action on it prior to the legislative breakfast that we have scheduled, where we would present our documented priorities to the members of the legislature. At the same time, I don't believe that that is an ironclad deadline. It's simply a courtesy that we are trying to observe. Okay, thank you, Mr. Mayor. I appreciate that. The only reason I ask is in years past, we've been able to, as a governing body, debate and really discuss what's in our legislative priorities request. I know in years past there's been some discussion around what are the two, the five top items that the city looks at that we want to reach out for. That has changed from last year. Last year we had two items that I specifically advocated for, which were the soccer complex and the fire station, and they're not on this year's list. I'd like to know why they're not considered, and I think this is where the discussion is helpful because I think if we're going to have five priorities, we should at least understand what we're all going to be advocating for. This year's five priorities for the public that might not have it handy, let's see, it is $5 million for permanent transitional housing to aid veteran youth and chronic homelessness, $4.5 million to replace the Pojoaque Water Reclamation facility, which is a great drop from the number we requested last year, $2.5 million for the Arroyo Los Chupaderos Richards Avenue project, $10 million for the Santa Fe Regional Airport expansion, and $5 million for Midtown Redevelopment. So, with that being said, there are also additional items that I don't see in the legislative, for the resolved kind of priorities list, which covers... I know ADA is mentioned, but it's mentioned in reference to the Downtown Improvement District, and I'd like a much broader supportive ADA legislation, not specifically for the Downtown Improvement District. As well, paid family medical leave. I know it's mentioned in here, paid sick leave, but that is, in my opinion, a bit different than paid family medical leave, and I would like for us to advocate for passage of paid family medical leave. So, I think if by delaying it, it would allow us to propose some amendments that wouldn't have to be created on the fly if we were to hear it tonight. If that means it's not available for the legislative breakfast, I think we can express to our delegation what our priorities might be, or kind of give them some insight in regards to what we're looking at. But I just wanted to bring that up just because I think there are some other issues. I know, for example, Councilor Castro and I had been talking about incorporating additional language into this legislation, and based off of the timing, I thought we were going to have an opportunity to review it later, and she's not here with us today. So I don't want to... I want to respect the conversation I had with her in regards to incorporating additional items that I would like the city to advocate for during this upcoming session, especially given it's a 60-day session where there aren't any limitations in regards to what our lobbyist can begin to advocate for. So that's just my thoughts on the matter, Mr. Mayor. Thank you, Councilor. I think in the Zoom room, I believe there's a hand up. Madam City Attorney or City Clerk, from Regina Wheeler. Would you unmute her and let her have an opportunity to respond to the comments about legislative priorities that we just heard and what we have, whether we delay it or not? I think Director Wheeler wants to give a little more context. So you have the floor, Director Wheeler. Thank you. Thank you so much, Mayor, members of the governing body. Sorry to not be present during this conversation, but the governing body has adopted its ICIP submittal to the state of New Mexico already in July, and there was some consideration of the top five priorities at that time. To answer Councilor Garcia's questions, somewhat what we've asked for is the funding that's needed in the 2025-2026 fiscal year, rather than asking for huge amounts like $300 million for a wastewater plant, but really trying to be conscious of our immediate needs for the next steps in projects. So the projects that aren't on the priority list have funding, particularly Soccer Valley is carrying quite a bit of funding to carry it through the next year or more of the project. So there was a really strategic approach to the requests that were already approved by the governing body as we submitted the ICIP to the legislature. Thank you so much. Thank you. Councilor, other... Councilor Cassutt. Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. I do agree that this... I was unhappy with the process of this being introduced last night for final and then having final approval. I unfortunately was not able to get into Civic Clerk. I was in PrimeGov. PrimeGov had a different schedule that showed it going through committee, although if I had looked at it and checked it against my calendar, I would have noticed that we don't have many committees right now. I do know that there was conversation around trying to avoid a special meeting. In my personal opinion, for this matter, I actually would have preferred a special meeting than a quick turnaround. I will also offer up that while many of the committees, or the other two committees, I believe, are not having their second meeting in November, Quality of Life is, due to a presentation that we've rescheduled three or four times, and I just could not reschedule again with these individuals, which would allow an opportunity for at least one committee. I know not everybody is on there, but I would welcome my other colleagues who do not sit on Quality of Life to join us in that meeting for at least discussion. I understand that you would not be able to have a vote at that day, but it would give us the opportunity to really do some of this discussion in Quality of Life for some of these amendments to move through. I myself, in reading through this, I do have some questions. I do have some things that I would have liked to potentially propose an amendment for, but unfortunately just did not have the opportunity with that quick turnaround. So I very much agree with Councilor Garcia that these conversations are really important. Director Wheeler, you do always come to us and we get to have this wonderful back and forth around why this and not that, what are the other funding sources, what is already funded that has not been expended. I always have found that to be very valuable as we make these decisions because it is important, as we're doing these requests, we frequently talk about who has another fund or which project has another funding source that we already have accessed or should be accessing. But I do think that is crucial. Also, it does give more opportunities for members of the public to take a look at what our legislative priorities are, and if there are others, as was spoken to today during petitions from the floor, that we do have the chance to hear them and incorporate them. So I would also agree to postpone this item. I do think that having something ready for the legislative breakfast is important, so I would be in favor of scheduling a special meeting. My proposal would be after the Quality of Life November 20th meeting, so that we do have a chance to bring this to a committee and do some of that work in committee as we like to do. So thank you. Thank you. I appreciate that. We did get pushback from the proposal for a special meeting, but if in reconsideration, folks are perfectly amenable to that, I have no problem with that at all. I think the goal is to make sure that what we present to the legislature at the breakfast or thereafter really does have the full support of everybody on the governing body, or at least a majority of it. As we take votes on items that people may not agree with, it's a majority document. We have to hear everybody's arguments, everybody's voice, and everybody's proposals for either additions or subtractions or language changes. So if there is an appetite now for a special meeting, I'm absolutely good with that. We, I originally proposed that through the City Clerk's office, and it was not universally responded to with positive feedback, but whatever the governing body wants to do works wonderfully for me as well. We can move it to the... we can postpone it tonight for sure. We can take it to Quality of Life, where, as you pointed out, Councilor, people, whether they can vote or not, can present their thoughts and find advocates perhaps on the Quality of Life Committee who could carry amendments at that time, and then we'll have a more complete opportunity for discussion. I want to go back to Director Wheeler because the issue of the priorities was raised, and I, if we can be clear about whether or not there was some deviation or lack of communication about the priorities that are established here. I was under the impression, and the reason those are stated in this resolution the way they are, was not because they're my priorities, but because I believe those were the established priorities as voted by the governing body. If I'm incorrect, I need to be advised to that so we take remedial action. Director Wheeler, are those, were those established priorities that were voted on by the governing body? Yes, thank you so much, Mr. Mayor, members of the governing body. They are already established by the ICIP resolution that was adopted by the governing body, and that particular ICIP was already submitted to the state of New Mexico in that order of priority, where the top five are indicating the city's priorities. And do you happen to remember when we, when that vote was? Look, it should, it's July or August, and I can get you that information. Councilor Faulkner, regardless of whether we did it then, I think there's some of us on the Council who would like to review it again. I can say my experience has been as a lobbyist, the city, the ICIP lists were generally finalized in October or November because I had to be my clients before Council to lobby for them to be part of the process. I don't think there's any harm in doing a special meeting to review it again, just so we're all on the same page because the legislators will be asking each of us as well what the priorities are, and I think it's best for the community if we are on the same page on this. So I'm not arguing we shouldn't have a special meeting. As I said, if the, if the governing body feels that that's a good use of everybody's time, I proposed it originally and only backed off from it when I got not everybody believing it was something they could squeeze into their schedules in the holiday season. But I just want to reiterate that the, the list that was produced at the top of the resolution is something we did establish. It was not something that came out of the Mayor's office. Yes, Councilor Cassutt. Thank you, Mayor. I actually, I'm realizing I missed this email. I just found it, the one that was proposing a special meeting. It did not necessarily mention this specific legislation, but if any of my other colleagues missed it, I was out of town that week. but it does contemplate either Thursday, November 21st, or Monday, November 25th. It says before Finance, but I do believe that Finance is no longer meeting on the 25th. So we could do it during the Finance Committee meeting. I know that when we postpone, we do have to postpone to a date certain. So looking at these options, I know I could make either of these work on my end. Potentially, maybe that Monday the 25th might be better if we do have Quality of Life on the 20th. It does provide a bit more time in between. So if Councilor Garcia is amenable to an amendment to his proposal to postpone this, send it to Quality of Life on November 20th, and then bring it back for a special meeting of the governing body on Monday, November 25th, at 5:00 p.m. if that's amenable to everyone. Everybody do a quick calendar check. Willing to entertain that friendly amendment to my motion. I think we have a motion on the floor. Any further discussion? Madam Clerk, can you call the roll? Madam Clerk: Yes, Mayor. Councilor Chavez? Councilor Chavez: Yes. Madam Clerk: Councilor Flah? Councilor Flah: Yes. Madam Clerk: Councilor Lee Garcia? Councilor Lee Garcia: Yes. Madam Clerk: Councilor Michael Garcia? Councilor Michael Garcia: Yes. Madam Clerk: Councilor Lindell? Councilor R? Mayor Worth? Councilor Cassette? Councilor Cassette: Yes. Madam Clerk: Mayor Weber? Mayor Weber: Yes. Motion is approved. Very good. Anything else on the agenda for tonight, Madam Clerk? Madam Clerk: No, Mayor. Mayor Weber: In that case, congratulations. We are adjourned.