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Council liaison reviews possible wildlife-feeding ordinance, business outreach and other priorities
Summary
County Council liaison Susie Haberman briefed the board on council discussion of a potential ordinance to restrict feeding wildlife, plans to form a small and local business working group, a possible 10¢ plastic bag fee study, consideration of a vacant-building fee, and earlier debate over a mandated minimum wage.
Susie Haberman, the county council liaison to the board, summarized several items discussed by the county council at its recent meeting, including a potential wildlife-feeding ordinance, small-business engagement, and other recurring council priorities.
On wildlife feeding, Haberman said council continued a multi-meeting discussion and considered adding supporting data such as accident and traffic-collision records. She said the draft being considered could “make it unlawful to feed wildlife with some exceptions like songbirds, pollinators, etcetera.” Haberman cited Ruidoso’s experience as an example the council is studying.
Haberman said council discussed how to better engage the small and local business community and agreed to establish a council working group comprised of three councilors and community business members to foster collaboration and information-sharing.
Councilors also asked the Environmental Sustainability Board to research a possible 10¢ plastic bag fee and return with a recommendation. Haberman noted that a prior 2015 effort to ban plastic bags failed in the Environmental Sustainability Board by a 4-3 vote.
The liaison said council briefly revisited earlier conversations about assessing fees on owners of vacant buildings (discussions traced to 2019 and 2022) but made no decision. She also noted that a proposal to mandate a minimum wage for Los Alamos County had been presented in 2024 and failed, and that a few councilors had wanted to revisit the issue but the matter “petered out” after additional discussion and public input.
Haberman invited the board to request additional updates or different formats for council briefings if the board wished more targeted information on any of the discussed topics.
