Tel Shore Fund and other one-time sources eyed for parks, housing and public safety in Las Cruces

City staff urged council direction April 22 on several one-time funding choices to support 'community livability' projects, highlighting the Tel Shore Fund as a major discretionary source and proposing other revenue options including cannabis excise tax and a possible local bump in the gross receipts tax (GRT).

Barbara Vencomo, Chief Administrative Officer, summarized the Tel Shore Fund’s origin (prepaid 40‑year lease proceeds from Memorial Medical Center) and said the city’s most recent valuation cited in the presentation was approximately $42.9 million. She described existing restrictions (adopted by resolution) limiting the fund’s use to activities that support the health, housing and safety of city residents and listed current carryovers and new proposals totaling approximately $28.3 million in requests (carryovers of $5.5M plus $22.8M new proposals in presentation slides).

Departments presented sample requests to be considered for Tel Shore or other funding streams:

- Public Works requested $672,000 to close prioritized sidewalk gaps, using a draft priority map that targets pedestrian-focus areas, low/moderate income census tracts and locations within a quarter mile of transit stops.
- Public Works also requested $275,000 to reinstall a monitoring well (MWG-W-03) decommissioned during natatorium construction; EPA approval/conditions remain under review.
- Parks & Recreation proposed 'legacy park' renovations (Pioneer Women’s Park and Apodaca Park) and discussed a multi-year plan for Young Park; Parks cited an $860,000 grant for Pioneer and estimated full-renovation per-acre costs in planning documents.
- Housing staff requested financing commitments for Peachtree Canyon (Phase 1 pre-commitment $4M; Phase 2 $6M anticipated) and gap funding for Amador Crossing (state commitment just under $6M; total project cost cited by staff and public comments during the meeting). Natalie Green said Peachtree units would include affordability restrictions lasting 30–40 years and rents could be restricted up to 80% of area median income for certain units.

Economic Development staff proposed allocating $400,000 of cannabis excise tax revenue to jump-start Metropolitan Redevelopment Area (MRA) programming (matching grants, retail and small-business supports) and outlined options for generating recurring capital revenue, including council-authorized GRT increases (staff estimated ~ $9M/year by ordinance alone and an additional ~ $11M/year if taken to referendum; a cited example: a 56¢ per $100 increase on goods and services) and periodic GO bonds.

Councilors and community members disputed the scope of tapping Tel Shore’s corpus. Several councilors stressed the fund’s one-time nature and urged measures to protect ongoing programs currently receiving fund-supported investment (for example, health-related public services historically supported at $300K–$600K annually). Some councilors favored using Tel Shore for capital catch-up (parks, municipal court needs, public safety), while others urged a sustainability plan for organizations that rely on recurring Tel Shore investment.

Public commenters asked the council to prioritize library funding and affordable-housing trust contributions, and some community members criticized proposals to draw down Tel Shore corpus if that would reduce long-term fund sustainability. One commenter alleged access-to-care problems at Memorial Medical Center and urged Tel Shore use for healthcare needs; that allegation was not resolved in the meeting.

Council asked staff to return with more detail and a recommended phasing so the FY25 adoption on May 20 would reflect council priorities and any protections for existing recurring commitments.