For a short video recapping the July 8th, 2025 City Council meeting, click the following link.
For a written recap, read below:
At City Council, they started by approving multiple requests to reserve city facilities. The requests included a soccer tournament to be held at Jaycee Park on July 12th and a softball tournament to be held at Jaycee Park on July 18th
Then our infrastructure director gave us some updates. Phase 1 of 26th street is wrapping up July 9th. Phase 2, which will run from Grand to Washington, will begin immediately after.
The engineering team working on the 26th street project reported that we are a few weeks behind schedule on the project. This was due to a mix of weather delays and hiccups with contractors onsite. The engineering team said that they may be able to make up for that time in the next phase. They’ll also take a different approach in phases 3 and 4 to avoid further delays.
Next it was announced that new tie downs are being installed at our airport. That work should be done in 2-3 weeks. Additionally, interior renovations are underway at the airport. This work is scheduled to be completed before the National Championship Air Races come to Roswell in September.
Then the council discussed the installation of a baby box in Artesia. The council remains committed to having one installed in town. The plan for installation was set in motion over a year ago with the hospital chosen as the location for the box. The hospital district has run into delays in the engineering, and architectural design of the box. The hospital district says they are now close to the finish line on the project and will sign a contract for the installation as soon as they can, though they’re looking at about a 9-week timeframe for the agreement to be drafted.
With this in mind, the council directed city staff to begin preliminary design work for installing a baby box at the fire station on Chisum. This is only a backup option in case plans fall through with the hospital district.
During the conversation, the mayor also noted that under New Mexico’s current Safe Haven law, a parent can legally surrender their baby to a hospital, firefighter, or police officer as long as the child is 90 days of age or younger.
Finally, the council voted to establish a City Administrator position at City Hall. The position will rank below the mayor and council, but above the existing department heads at the city. The council wants the position to push forward ongoing initiatives when a mayor is unavailable, and to help keep the mayor and council informed on city business.
A public meeting will be held on July 17th where citizens can voice their opinion on what the new position should look like.
This has been your City Council Recap. We hope you join us for our next meeting July 22nd at City Hall.