Mayor: Despite COVID-19, ‘the state of our city is strong’

Because of the city council’s “careful financial stewardship over many years; the focus, teamwork and dedication of city staff; and most of all to the courage and character of the people who live here, I can announce that the state of our city is strong,” Mayor Ken Miyagishima said Feb. 24, as he delivered a 22-minute state of the city report – his 15^th as mayor – on Las Cruces TV and the city website.

The speech included a moment of silence for “all those we have lost in the COVID pandemic this year, those who continue to suffer with health problems from the virus and all those who grieve for their family members, friends and neighbors,” Miyagishima said.

About $3 million in city funds has been authorized for COVID relief efforts in the city, the mayor said, as the city helped local nonprofits provide assistance to residents.

Miyagishima’s remarks on other topics include the following:

• Personal wealth: The mayor asked the city Economic Development Department to include local wealth creation in the city’s new strategic plan to help local entrepreneurs start or expand their businesses, to share financial literacy and wealth-building principles and to expand opportunities for home ownership. “We need to open the doors of prosperity to all of our residents, so that building wealth is an activity of the many, not just a few,” Miyagishima said.
• Affordable housing. “Nowhere are the barriers to personal and family security more visible than in the lack of quality housing options our residents can afford,” the mayor said. The median price of a Las Cruces home is about $250,000, which is “out of reach” for most city residents, he said, adding there also is a lack of affordable rental property in the city.

Toward that end, city-owned property on East Lohman Avenue will be developed as a mixed-use residential and commercial district that includes affordable housing, he said, adding mixed-income housing in the development in the El Paseo Corridor and other infill areas also is possible.

Focusing on infill, along with “a revitalized downtown, vibrant city corridors, healthy and steadily renewing existing neighborhoods,” is important because it will help maintain a strong city core as Las Cruces grows, he said.

• Public safety. As many communities deal with “a long-delayed acknowledgement of the personal and systematic mistreatment suffered by many of our neighbors,” Miyagishima said, “much of the discussion nationally has focused on policing.” Las Cruces is ahead of other cities on this issue, the mayor said, adding, “We can benefit greatly from a wide-ranging consideration of best practices for modern public safety [and will] likely include the development of specialized roles and procedures better able to address behavioral health, addiction-related crises, domestic violence and our homeless and transient populations.”
• Sustainability. The city has had a sustainability officer since 2010. “I’m hopeful that our sustainability officer [Lisa LaRocque since 2013] can use her experience and extended knowledge base to help our departments move forward with all due speed toward a low carbon, less costly future for the city and its residents.”

“For all of these reasons and many others, the state of our city is strong,” Miyagishima said.