Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima gave the State of the City address Wednesday, highlighting how Las Cruces has worked to overcome pandemic related challenges.
“The state of our city is strong. In the face of adversity, we've come together powerfully as a community, with renewed purpose and eagerness for the future,” Miyagishima said.
The mayor called attention to various pandemic efforts during his State of the City address, including the authorization of city funds for pandemic related assistance. This month alone, the city approved $977,000 of additional funding, helping to provide resources for programs like food initiatives and emergency shelter operations.
“I tried my best to harmonize emergency guidelines with medical consensus, the best thinking of my fellow council members, and mandates from the state,” Miyagishima said. “Working with area nonprofits, the council authorized approximately 3 million dollars in city funds for COVID related needs, working directly and through area nonprofits to provide food, rent, mortgage, utility and medical assistance for area residents.”
According to Miyagishima, one of the top priorities going forward is creating opportunities for Las Cruces residents to obtain greater financial freedom. The city is already working on both educational and workforce development, but the mayor stressed the need for an increased focus on local wealth creation.
“I recently asked that our new strategic plan call on the Economic Development Department to develop a component dedicated to local wealth creation,” Miyagishima said. “One task of this initiative would be to help local entrepreneurs start or expand their own enterprises, especially those that produce goods and services that we are currently buying somewhere else. We want to provide our businesses better access to local capital.”
Miyagishima shared the city is working to cultivate greater personal wealth by expanding home ownership opportunities. In the last two years alone, the median cost of residential listings has risen by approximately $30,000 in Las Cruces, raising questions of affordability for residents. Now, the city plans to target current zoning codes to spur construction of different housing options such as duplexes and triplexes.
He stressed the importance of financial security, saying that investing in opportunities to generate local wealth will lead to greater prosperity for future generations.
“Creating local wealth leads to the intergenerational transfer of wealth within our community, helping our children gain a financial foothold in their own lives,” Miyagishima said. “We need to open the doors of prosperity to all of our residents, so that building wealth is an activity of the many, not just a few.”
The mayor also reaffirmed the city’s commitment to establishing a behavioral health district, a project previously outlined in the last State of the City address. The district would help to organize service needs related to mental health more effectively.
“Last year, in the State of the City address, I talked about the creation of a behavioral health district for our area,” Miyagishima said. “Though slowed somewhat by COVID, and the many pressing needs it created in our community, we are still fully committed to better coordinating the behavioral health efforts of the county, city, public schools and area municipalities.”
Miyagishima ended his address by thanking city councilors and pledging his commitment to ensuring a bright future for the city of Las Cruces.
“We are thankful for every one of you in this special community,” Miyagishima said. “Personally, I am especially grateful to share this precious life with you, and for the opportunity to serve as your mayor.”
