“Major projects are helping to vitalize the downtown area and the city as a whole,” claims City Manager Terrence Moore. “We are fortunate during this national economic downturn that major projects continue to move forward in Las Cruces, contributing to employment levels and the circulation of money. Large-scale projects are a stimulus for maintaining a viable economy and are catalytic in nature for revitalizing a specific area. They contribute to the quality of life for the entire community.”

“Las Cruces remains in better shape than most cities...,” Terrence continues, “ as indicated by the fact that we are continuing to hold our own. We have not had to go into a cutback mode. The 2010 budget, of course, was extremely conservative and cost conscience, holding the line with no budget increases, no additional positions. Everything will remain flat for the short term, including flat, if not less, in vehicle and durable good replacement activity. Our revenue estimates, primarily gross receipts tax, were also conservative and are slightly higher than anticipated. May 2009 was up a little over May 2008. The budget was significantly reduced from $425 million to $387 million, partly due to closing out capital projects and removal of projects that were resolved.”

“We were all disappointed by the Army’s cancellation of troop relocations to White Sands,” Terrence relates. “We had invested a great deal of time and energy incorporating the anticipated increase in troop levels into our growth management program. Hopefully that exercise will be useful down the road. We do, of course, appreciate the current level of activity at White Sands, a major contributor to our relative economic stability.”

“The City should be in a good position for the recovery that has been predicted by national economists. Unemployment at 5.9 percent in the Doña Ana / Las Cruces Metropolitan fiscal area is far below the 9 percent national rate, but due to the recession, we are certainly not where we want to be, at maximum employment.”

Current major projects:

City Hall is nearing completion and offices will be relocating in phases from November 2009 through January 2010.

Regional Recreation and Aquatic Center, Phase I, is moving quickly toward completion and the design for Phase II will be finalized shortly.

Convention Center ground was officially broken June 29, with completion expected by the end of 2010.

Runway 12-30 ground was broken July 15 at Las Cruces International Airport for improvements funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and channeled through the Federal Aviation Agency. It is a World War II era runway that has begun to sink in some areas. JA-AR Concrete was awarded the $11.3 million bid. A number of local subcontractors are taking advantage of the city project.

Downtown Plaza – The second phase of the Main Street/Downtown Revitalization Program has been initiated and will include opening the thoroughfare between Amador and Mountain Avenues. It will incorporate the first commercial traffic circle in Las Cruces. Phase III is in the design phase.

Federal Courthouse – The city maintains a good relationship with the United States General Services Administration and helped get construction of the new downtown federal courthouse in motion. Construction will continue for another year.

Mesilla

“The economic conditions in Mesilla have leveled and appear to be slowly improving,” says Michael Cadena, Mayor of Mesilla. “We are certainly not where we were before the recession started, but we are pointed in the right direction. The cut in employee work hours last year also saved building utilities and vehicle expense, which helped the village stay in balance. The Town of Mesilla has experienced no loss of employees.”

When asked about services, Mayor Cadena responded, “I am involved with the Southwest Area Workforce and utilizing stimulus money, we were able to hire three part-time employees. The Village, therefore, has been able to maintain its prior levels of services.”

“This past July 1, we were able to increase work hours from 32 to 35,” the Mayor continued. “My feedback from employees indicates that even though they still have less take-home pay than before the economic downturn began, they have enjoyed the additional time with families. The Village will consider a future workweek of four nine-hour days and a pay increase to get workers back to what they were previously earning.”