Coming in May, a new Customer Service Center will open to provide services for an estimated 10,000 Las Cruces Utilities (LCU) customers living on the city’s East Mesa. As a result, out near Mesa Grande Drive, a small cheerful yellow building with lots of parking is getting a modest renovation right now. New blue-grey commercial quality carpet is going in and the interior lemon-colored paint still smells fresh.
Add office furniture, computers, phones, and LCU Customer Service staff, and that empty building will be transformed into a new center to provide all the utility services area residents access who now drive to City Hall. They will be able to set up new gas, water, wastewater, and solid waste service connections, pay bills, ask for billing assistance, and get account information.
“We hope this office will provide convenience to the residents on the East Mesa, especially those previously served by Jornada Water and Mesa Development Center,” explains Estela Sauceda, LCU customer service supervisor, who toured the new location with Joe Padilla, senior collections representative, and Jeanette Morris, customer service representative.
Five LCU Customer Service representatives will be moving from City Hall to the new location at 5195 Bataan Memorial West, to help provide the same services currently available at the downtown location.
“We’re excited to branch out to this side of town,” said Sauceda. “Customers who might have a longer drive down to City Hall can more easily get assistance and can drop off their payments closer to home.”
Sauceda says, “The new East Mesa Customer Service Center is considering having slightly different hours than their City Hall location to better accommodate the public. The hours of operation options are either opening early or closing late.” For now, the East Mesa Customer Service Center will begin with a 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. schedule. Because this is a new satellite location, the operating hours will be evaluated and revised based on customer input and convenience. Sauceda welcomes customer input and encourages feedback regarding hours by emailing her directly at esauceda@las-cruces.org.
The new location has a 1-year lease with a 4-year extension and room for growth, with a backroom that employees can expand into if needed. Now, the wait is on for office furniture and to figure out who gets the desk with the view of the glorious Organ Mountains.
Submitted by Las Cruces Utilities
You can reach Las Cruces Utilities at 528-3500 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Las Cruces Utilities provides GAS – WATER – WASTEWATER – SOLID WASTE services to approximately 100,000 Las Cruces residents and businesses.