LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Las Cruces city councilors on Monday turned down a proposal to send a three-project, $10 million package of general obligation bonds to voters in a November election.
Citing a desire to increase public awareness about a proposed GO bonds package being considered, City Manager Stuart Ed on Monday advised city councilors not to place the projects on a Nov. 7 city election ballot. At issue, he said, is that he didn't believe there had been enough public involvement in the process or enough public buy-in to the bonds package for it to pass in the municipal election.
If more feedback is garnered, the city can still move forward at a later time with a GO bond election, Ed said.
"I think that's a stronger recipe," he said.
A GO bond, if approved by voters, would increase property taxes in the city, city officials said.
City councilors, according to Monday's meeting agenda, were considering adding three projects to the November ballot: a $4.5 million enclosure for a long-discussed Olympic-sized swimming pool; a $2.5 million expansion of Thomas Branigan Memorial Library and $3 million in improvements to existing city parks and trails.
The projects were three of 30 initially vetted by a city Staff GO Bond Committee. The number was whittled down to 18, which were discussed in a February 2016 city council work session. And the list was finally narrowed down to three.
Mayor Pro Tem Greg Smith said he believes that process had been enough vetting and public involvement for the proposed projects and bonds package. He said there was still time to inform the public about the projects further before November.
"I feel very strongly we need to go ahead and go forward," he said.
But City Councilor Gill Sorg said he still had questions about the projects list. He does support the pool enclosure. But he said he's heard from constituents in his East Mesa district that they want a library annex in that area, not an expansion to the main city library. Also, a proposal to revamp existing city parks wouldn't help his district which is short on parks, he said.
"When I talk to my hundreds of constituents, they don't say these things (are) the things they want," he said.
Other councilors questioned whether the public had been involved enough in the process to place the package before voters.
City councilors voted 5-2 to oppose, for now, placing the GO bonds package on the Nov. 7 election. Smith and City Councilor Jack Eakman supported placing the package on the November ballot.
City councilors in the 2016-17 Infrastructure Capital Improvement Plan budgeted $6.2 million for a new competitive swimming pool, as an expansion to the Las Cruces Regional Aquatic Center, 1401 E. Hadley Ave. However, there was only enough funding for it to be an outdoor pool. City officials said extra money would be required to enclose it, the reason for the proposed GO bond.
The 2016-17 financial year grinds to a close June 30.
Asked about the status of the proposed new pool, Ed said the project is in the procurement phase for its design.
