Weeks after expressing support for placing more than $100 million in El Paso County Coliseum upgrades on the May ballot, the majority of Commissioners Court backed off the proposal Monday.
Commissioner David Stout, who represents Precinct 2 where the coliseum is located, made a motion to adopt a resolution calling for a May election for the proposal. No one seconded the motion, effectively killing the proposal – for now. Voters in November narrowly turned down the proposal, but Stout said he wanted to give voters a second chance to learn more about why the improvements are needed.
“The longer we wait to invest in this type of project, the more expensive it’s going to be,” Stout said, adding that, at some point, the county will have to invest in the venue or not maintain it at all.
He said the project should appeal to historic preservationists who want to see facilities maintained and not require any eminent domain, to fiscal conservatives who don’t want to spend many millions more on a new facility, and to community groups who can use the buildings at the coliseum property.
Commissioner Sergio Coronado agreed coliseum improvements are needed but said he wanted to prioritize water projects for the county. Commissioner Iliana Holguin said she understood the importance of the venue to the community but was concerned about taking back the exact proposition to the voters just months after it was turned down.
County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said he believed voters were still confused about whether changes to the Bridge of the Americas might impact the future of the coliseum and also expressed concern that the private sector has not invested in the facility as a public venue. Commissioner Jackie Arroyo Butler was not at the meeting.
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Commissioners Court had only until Monday to vote whether to place the proposal on the ballot, which will also include several school board races throughout the county. Although commissioners could put coliseum upgrades on a future ballot, some expressed concern over a Senate bill before the Legislature that seeks to limit local governments’ ability to ask voters to reconsider failed bond propositions for five years. Governments can now take failed bond proposals to voters at any time.
Monday’s vote came after several residents spoke out against putting the proposal on the ballot again, saying the court should respect the will of the voters the first time around. Others said the county faced more important infrastructure needs such as streets, water and sewer services.
Leaders of some organizations that host events at the coliseum, including ice hockey, supported taking the proposal back to voters, arguing that the venue is in much need of upgrades and renovations.
Deputy County Administrator Jose Landeros on Monday told the court that if approved, the coliseum upgrades would have cost the owner of a $200,956 home about $20 a year.
The post El Paso County Coliseum upgrades will not appear on May ballot appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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