Sunland Park City Manager Mario Juarez Infante told the Transportation Infrastructure Revenue Subcommittee at a meeting in Sunland Park that the city is pushing a package of multimodal projects intended to link an entertainment corridor, trail segments and new housing while moving to operate its own water utility.

The presentation focused on Futurity Drive — the town’s “entertainment corridor” — where Sunland Park is advancing a two‑lane roundabout and pedestrian improvements. Infante cited a letter dated 05/23/2025 from U.S. Rep. Gabe Vasquez requesting $3,000,000 toward the project and said the city has been notified that the federal/state funding process could allow design agreements this fall and construction to start in 2026 with completion in 2027 if awards are executed as anticipated. “We hope…we would be well under construction” in 2026, he said.

Why it matters: the site is a gateway to 10 miles of planned Rio Grande Trail and abuts existing anchors — a casino, racetrack and Western Playland — the city argues will increase visitor traffic, pedestrian activity and economic opportunity. Infante said Sunland Park recently completed 1.25 miles of trail and is designing an additional 5 miles in packages aimed at competing for federal construction funds.

Officials presented traffic and safety data for the intersection of Southern Park Drive and Futurity Drive: level‑of‑service F during the evening peak and 19 reported crashes from 2018–2022, nine of them rear‑end collisions. City staff said that roundabouts and streetscape work aim to reduce crashes and support walkability and placemaking. The presentation included renderings and a proposed timetable: design completed, funding agreements in the new federal fiscal year, and construction beginning in 2026 with a 2027 finish if schedules hold.

Infante also described a mixed‑use concept on McNutt/riverfront property where ground floor retail would underlie a four‑story multifamily building. He said a market analysis purchase order would be issued this fall and that Sunland Park will seek projects and partnerships with the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (NMFA) and others in early 2026.

On water utilities, Infante said the county notified the city of a termination of the joint powers agreement (JPA) on May 13 and that Sunland Park’s council on June 4 passed a resolution directing development of a municipal utility. "Make no mistake about it: the city of Sunland Park is going to create its own utility department," he told the committee. He said an amendment to the JPA approved by the county board and city council allows migration of fiscal and administrative services to the city and that the county has given a verbal commitment that investments made inside city water infrastructure would remain with the city. Infante said the city is compliant with consumer confidence/arsenic requirements and offered to provide written documentation of testing and reports.

Committee members asked about affordable housing and school and public‑safety coordination. Infante said the city is pursuing a cost‑share agreement with a private landowner, expects the market analysis this fall, and has made housing one of five council priorities. He described ongoing coordination with the school district for easements and school‑area connections, and said the city provides and coordinates with school resource officers and other public‑safety partners.

The presentation closed with an invitation to a year‑end ribbon cutting for trail segments and a call for partnership on the South Connector Road and other DOT projects.

Ending: The city presented assembled designs, crash data and a short funding timeline centered on a congressionally‑requested $3 million allocation for the Futurity Drive phase. City officials framed the work as a coordinated push to make Sunland Park a trail and entertainment gateway and to centralize water services under a new municipal utility to improve local responsiveness and planning.