Los Alamos inclusivity task force approves slides for council, asks council to extend charter to Feb. 28, 2026

The Los Alamos Inclusivity Task Force approved a revised slide presentation for the County Council and voted to request that the council extend the task force’s charter through Feb. 28, 2026.

The task force’s sponsors and working‑group leads briefed members on progress and near‑term plans for accessibility, BIPOC and cultural outreach, LGBTQ+ initiatives and economic equity, and discussed recruitment and data‑collection needs. Members also heard a public comment from a volunteer at the demonstration garden asking the task force to consider inclusivity improvements for the sensory garden.

The demonstration garden volunteer, Janine Fales, told the task force she and other Master Gardeners work with the Los Alamos County Parks Department and are “looking for improvements to the garden, upgrades to the garden,” and invited the inclusivity task force to coordinate on making the garden and sensory area more inclusive.

In its review of working groups, the accessibility group reported five meetings and several tours of county facilities and community programs; it recommended a short list of “low‑hanging fruit” improvements for open space and trails and suggested reviewing the county ADA report/plan with county staff. The accessibility subgroup also noted barriers reported by vision‑impaired residents, including limited evening transit service, obstructed sidewalks and the need for audible pedestrian signals in some crossings.

The BIPOC and cultural working group reported two meetings and outlined items to research, including continuing the library’s guest‑speaker series with attention to minority authors, exploring “libraries of things” (tool and equipment lending), and working with Pueblo representatives on local cultural visibility and land acknowledgements. The LGBTQ+ working group reported two meetings and plans to recruit members, develop assessment questions and carry out an assessment later in the year. The justice working group remains largely unformed and was acknowledged as a placeholder in the task force’s schedule. The economic equity group reported initial outreach to county departments and local nonprofits and is recruiting members.

Members debated whether the task force should finish work by November or be allowed extra time to finalize cross‑group recommendations. Task force member Rachel said she would “like to see all the working groups draft up their basically their summaries by November” and use additional months to combine and polish shared recommendations. Other members said they would prefer to finish working‑group assessment work by November but supported allowing the task force itself to continue finalizing a consolidated report into early 2026.

After discussion the task force voted to ask County Council for an extension of the task force charter through Feb. 28, 2026; the motion passed. The group also approved the presentation, with edits and a one‑slide summary to highlight top items for council. Staff indicated they will prepare a staff report to place the extension request and the presentation before County Council.

The task force set its next meeting for July 9 and asked working‑group sponsors to report progress at that meeting, including any obstacles to completing their assessments by November. Members asked staff to continue supplying raw survey data on request and to help coordinate any needed data analysis.

Votes at a glance - Motion to approve the meeting agenda: moved and seconded on the record; approved by voice vote. (Mover/second not identified in the meeting transcript.) - Motion to approve the minutes: moved and seconded on the record; approved by voice vote. (Mover/second not identified in the meeting transcript.) - Motion to approve the presentation to County Council “as amended and changed”: moved and seconded on the record; approved by voice vote. (Mover/second not identified in the meeting transcript.) - Motion to request County Council extend the task force charter to Feb. 28, 2026: moved and seconded on the record; approved by voice vote.

The task force did not enact ordinances or adopt formal policies; its actions were approvals of internal documents and a formal request that the County Council modify the task force deadline. Staff will file the request and the presentation package with County Council for their consideration.