The new Splash Pad at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Recreation Complex probably won’t be ready for the Fourth of July but will be opening sometime in July, said Infrastructure Director Byron Landfair during Tuesday’s Artesia City Council meeting. Other project updates from Landfair included:

• Final plans are in review for street maintenance for the Second Street and Richardson Avenue area and the city is hoping to have it out for bid in the next two months.

• Bids will be out by the end of the year for 20th Street 18-inch RCP waterline replacement project.

• 26th and Main streets is open again. The outage was caused by a citizen that was transporting a backhoe with the attachment in the upright stored position, which was above maximum height, and accidentally took down four or five power poles.

• Excel Energy is going to work on their substation so there will be an outage starting about 10 p.m. Wednesday, June 26, that will be wrapped up by 6 a.m. Thursday.

In an effort to help increases pet adoptions, the City will be holding a Big Dawg Park Adoption event at Jaycee Park’s big dog park from 8:30-10:30 a.m. Friday, June 28. The City is partnering with the Artesia Animal Shelter and Paws & Claws. Norbert, the resident Great Dane from the Artesia Animal Shelter, will be there to take pictures with attendees, and there will be a socialization area for one-on-one time with a potential new furrever friends, food and drink vendors, and a ribbon cutting for a grand opening of the Big Dawg Park.

Mayor Pro Tem Jeff Youtsey shared information about a group trip to the Espanola animal shelter last week. The trip was inspired because of the amazing results Expanola is having with their shelter. He reported the City runs the shelter and it is located next to a veterinary clinic.

“We toured the veterinary clinic and they had four people just answering the phone,” said Youtsey. “All the services were free. They anticipate spaying and neutering 6000 animals this year. They have a separate entity of volunteers who go out and catch cats and spay and neuter them and take them back to the same location.”

“We are doing about 20 spay and neuters …

… per month, so there’s obviously a lot of room to improve,” said Police Chief Kirk Roberts.

The council watched a presentation on RAVE and Smart 911 by Bambi Kern, AA REDA executive director. The Smart 911 system provides more information to dispatchers or first responders. Items that you can provide that would be provided to emergency responders include phone numbers, name, address, people in household, photos of children, medical conditions, medications, allergies, rescue notes, bedroom locations, utility shutoffs, emergency contacts, vehicle descriptions, and number of pets and allergic reactions. You decide what information you want to include. You can sign up at Smart911.com During the recreation committee report District 1 Councilor Raul Rodriguez reported 60 to 80 kids per day are taking part in the Summer Recreation Program. He also reported they will be partnering with a company to provide lunch for the kids one day before the program wraps up for the summer.

Rodriguez also reported the infrastructure committee is discussing the future of the Artesia Industrial Park and will provide a presentation to the Council in the future.

During the government committee report Youtsey said the committee met at the Artesia Historical Museum and Art Center and it looks really good.

“They have installed new rolling shelving systems so there is more room to store artifacts and have developed a new website,” he said. “New members have joined the board, and we talked about an option to replace the airplane that was removed from Eagle Draw Park.”

Roberts reported the Artesia Police Department sent two officers to help enforce road blocks in Ruidoso on Sunday.

“We’re real proud to help,” said Roberts. “Six area agencies sent two people each to help in Ruidoso.”

Roberts also reported proposed court fee increases are only on penalty assessment fines and asked to place a notice for a hearing on the ordinance. He also reported recruiting within the department is going well.

Artesia Fire Chief Kevin Hope reported a 9.6% increase in call volume over the same period as last year.

“We just keep increasing year over year,” said Hope.

The Council set a hearing for July 9 for an ordinance amending Title 9, Sections 9-2-2 and 9-4-11 of the Artesia City Code and passed Resolution 1865 a budget adjustment to FY2023-24 budget.

“We have had some really good investment returns that weren’t expected,” said City Clerk Summer Velverde.

The Council approved a bid for the Jaycee Park Athletic Field East Concession and Restrooms Construction project to White Sands Construction, Inc., and a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) between the Artesia Public School and the City of Artesia Police Department.

Via the consent agenda the council approved the following: Hires: · Dwayne Porter, IT Administrator, at $5,576.46 p/mo · Hector Varela, Police Officer, at $4,264.00 p/mo Ratification: · Lorenzo Cardona, Certified Police Officer, at $4,860.26 p/mo Resignations: · Amber Bell, Evidence Tech I, Police, effective June 13, 2024.

· Briana Rojo, CSO, Police, effective June 21, 2024.

· Kristen Cook, Police Clerk I, Police, effective June 28, 2024.

Travel and training: · Water – one employee to attend the NMWWA SE Conference in Ruidoso, NM · Police – one employee to attend the Basic SRO Course in Albuquerque, NM.