The Doña Ana County Board of County Commissioners held their first regular meeting of 2025 Tuesday.
Monday’s meeting of the Board of County Commissioners lasted nearly six hours, with nearly half that time in discussion as to whether or not to approve a preliminary plat for a Type II subdivision to be known as Alta Vista Estates Subdivision Phase One. Several questions were asked of community development director Christina Ainsworth; the executive director of the Camino Real Regional Utility Authority (or CCRUA), Juan Carlos Crosby; and a representative of Alta Vista Estates. After going into closed session to discuss the matter, the board of commissioners returned and approved the preliminary plat 4-1, with two conditions that were listed by board chair Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez:
“The two conditions are: number one, agency comments shall be addressed before final plat approval; and number two, that a master plan amendment be submitted by the developer prior to any future phases in conformance with the U.D.C. (Unified Development Code).”
In other business, the board elected to keep Schaljo-Hernandez on as the board’s chairperson, and voted for District 4 Commissioner Susana Chaparro to be the board’s vice-chairperson, for the 2025 calendar year.
In the Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Kickoff, Finance Director Asma Dawood reported a $12.5 million revenue increase, and a $7.67 million expenditure increase.
The board also proclaimed January as Youth Mentoring Month in Doña Ana County, and proclaimed January 20th, 2025 as Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Doña Ana County. That proclamation was presented to Dr. Bobbie Green, president of the Doña Ana County chapter of the NAACP.
“We’re facing some very difficult challenges,” Dr. Green told the commissioners. “We’ve got homelessness, we’ve got immigration, the threat of deportation for many of our citizens who’ve been here. So we have a lot of work to do. But, the good news is, I can rely on the wonderful support (of the board of commissioners). We are grateful. And I am so proud of the board of commissioners for the work that you do. We, as a people—as Dr. King said—we will overcome.”
The next board of commissioners meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 28th, at 9am.
