The Council of Las Cruces informs about the police work and the revitalization of El Paseo / Solano

LAS CRUCES – Members of the public concerned about crime and policing should get some answers at an upcoming working session of Las Cruces City Council.

The city said the Las Cruces Police Department will provide the council with data and numbers by the third quarter of 2021 at its meeting on Monday, November 8.

“The presentation includes crime statistics and strategies, an update of LCPD staff and recruitment, and community engagement initiatives,” the city said in a press release.

The update comes after record highs in murders and serious assaults in the city, as well as a recent shortage of officials due to a lack of applicants. Data has shown that reported robberies, rape, break-ins, arson and theft in Las Cruces have hit near all-time lows in recent years.

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City councils will also hear on Monday the results of a report from the Ad Hoc Committee on the El Paseo-South Solano Corridor, which met for 10 months to develop economic development strategies to alleviate the rot in the area.

The redevelopment of El Paseo Road was discussed during Mayor Ken Miyagishima’s 2020 city-state speech – the culmination of the mayor’s idea was trolleys that would travel from the New Mexico State University campus to downtown along El Paseo.

District 3 city councilor Gabe Vasquez later advocated that the city include South Solano Drive, which is in his district, in the revitalization talks. Vasquez chaired the ad hoc committee.

More:Trolleys on El Paseo? City discusses revitalization efforts

“Special attention” has been paid to El Paseo Road and the corridors of South Solano Drive, the city announced. After “reviewing current conditions and policies adopted,” the city said the committee was in favor of several revitalization strategies that were submitted to the Transport, Sustainability and Infrastructure Policy Review Committee. The PRC supported the recommendations and agreed to submit them to the Council.

Finally, on Monday, the council will also hear from the Neighborhood Leadership Academy, which the city said is announcing efforts to continue the program amid the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The program, which began in 2017, educates city residents over 18 about how the city council works in the hope that it will increase civic engagement and create more community leaders.

Participants in the free program “will get first-hand information about the city’s services and programs through extensive presentations by city staff and on-site field trips to various public facilities,” according to the program’s website.

The working session on Monday will be held in person at City Hall, 700 N. Main St. and will be broadcast live on Comcast cable channel 20 from 1 p.m. The session will also be available online at clctv.com and YouTube.com/clctv20.

Michael McDevitt is the city and county government reporter for Sun News. He can be reached at 575-202-3205, [email protected] or @MikeMcDTweets on Twitter.