By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Rio Rancho has crossed 19 items off its five-year to-do list. Six more are still “on deck,” including a rewrite of the map that guides where new homes and businesses can grow. City staff want councilors to decide whether those goals stay in the lineup or head for the dugout.
Ryan Armijo, deputy director of Parks, Recreation and Community Services, delivered the year-three update on the city’s 2023-2028 strategic plan during a Sept. 24 governing body work session. Of the plan’s 70 objectives, 19 are complete, 45 are in progress and six haven’t started, according to the city’s report.
Armijo pointed to several wins. The state’s Site Readiness advisory committee unanimously approved about $1.5 million for work at City Center. Fire Station 8 is under construction, and the real-time crime center is 95% complete. The city will receive more than $2 million in congressionally directed spending for a second aquifer injection well, championed by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján.
A new citywide software system sits at just 20% but “will really be a game changer for our internal and external services,” Armijo said.
Three of the six unstarted objectives involve updating the city’s Generalized Land Use Map, plus the rezoning and neighborhood design that would follow. Two would create metropolitan redevelopment areas to spur reinvestment. The last calls for reviewing what the city charges for services to keep pace with inflation. The governing body can add or drop objectives by resolution, Armijo said.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 70: Total objectives in the 2023-2028 plan
- 19: Completed (about 27%)
- 45: In progress (about 64%)
- 6: Not yet started (about 9%)
- 47,800: Library cardholders, toward a goal of 50,000
- 99%: Arterial streetlight outages repaired within 48 hours (June 2026 average; goal is 90%)
Read the strategic plan progress report: rrnm.gov/DocumentCenter/View/83919/Complete-2026-Strategic-Plan-Update-Document
Watch the work session: rrnm.gov/2303/Watch-and-Download-City-Meetings
Weigh in: Public comment isn’t taken at work sessions. Speak at the next regular governing body meeting, 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, Council Chambers, 3200 Civic Center Circle NE, Rio Rancho, or contact your elected officials:
- Mayor Paul Wymer: pwymer@rrnm.gov
- District 1, Deborah Dapson: ddapson@rrnm.gov
- District 2, Jeremy Lenentine: jlenentine@rrnm.gov
- District 3, Bob Tyler: btyler@rrnm.gov
- District 4, David Mann: dmann@rrnm.gov
- District 5, Karissa Culbreath: kculbreath@rrnm.gov
- District 6, Nicole List: nlist@rrnm.gov