This is your weekly news roundup, which takes a quick look at some developments in government, politics, education, environment and other topics across El Paso.
El Paso Animal Services Director to Retire, City Appoints Interim
Terry Kebschull, the director of El Paso Animal Services, will retire effective Sept. 12.
Kebschull has served as director since March 2022. He has worked for the city for more than 30 years. Kebschull worked for the El Paso Fire Department before being hired as the animal services director by former City Manager Tommy Gonzalez.
“Serving as Director of Animal Services is both rewarding and demanding. The challenges are significant, but so are the opportunities to make a difference,” said City Manager Dionne Mack, in a city news release Wednesday.
Dozens of animal advocates and nonprofit animal rescues have expressed concerns over Kebchull’s leadership and management – including during Wednesday’s City Council meeting.
In May, the city hired an independent consultant, Shelter Savvy LLC, an independent consultant based in Auburn, Georgia, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of El Paso Animal Services. The city is paying the firm $40,000.
Michael Wachsmann, deputy director for the department, will serve as the interim director while the city conducts a national search for a permanent replacement.
Wachsmann has more than 15 years of experience in animal care and management, with previous leadership roles at the Houston SPCA and has experience with animal adoptions, foster care programs, veterinary services and public education on responsible pet ownership.
First Phase of Modesto Gomez Park Improvements Completed
After years of construction delays, Modesto Gomez Park in South-Central El Paso now has two renovated diamond sports fields with new lighting.
The city’s Capital Improvement and Parks and Recreation Departments held a ribbon cutting Thursday for the first phase of improvements at the park, 4600 Edna Ave. The $1.7 million in improvements include the fields and a 12-foot-wide walking trail, as well as park benches, bicycle racks, landscaping and ADA accessible areas.
The second phase, estimated at about $6 million, will include two championship sports flat fields with lighting, renovations to the restrooms, parking lot and additional park amenities, such as landscape upgrades, picnic tables, park benches, shade structures and solar lights along the walking trail.
Those upgrades are in the design phase, with construction projected to begin in 2026, “barring any unforeseen events,” the city said in a news release.
The park improvements, part of the quality of life bond approved by voters in 2012, faced an array of delays. The park was built on a closed municipal landfill, and over the years, uneven settlement impacted the usability of sports fields and the walking path around the park. The instability caused several delays in the project, which underwent several contractor changes since 2020.
Funding for the first phase came from the 2012 bond, but city officials didn’t immediately respond to questions about the funding source for the remaining $6 million in improvements.
Canutillo ISD Trustees Adopt 2025 Tax Rate
The Canutillo Independent School District Board of Trustees adopted the highest tax rate possible without triggering an election, although homeowners are expected to see a reduction in the school portion of their 2025 tax bill if Texas voters in November approve a constitutional amendment to raise the homestead exemption.
The board took multiple unanimous votes Wednesday to adopt a tax rate of $1.15 per $100 valuation. The rate is about 12 cents higher than its no-new-revenue rate of $1.03 per $100 valuation, meaning the district will collect more money in property taxes compared with last year.
If Texas voters approve the amendment, however, homeowners in the district will see a $185 reduction per year on the school portion of their property tax bills on the average valued-home of $306,900, according to a district press release. This reflects a $25,000 increase in average home valuation.
The proposed state amendment would increase the homestead exemption for school taxes from $100,000 to $140,000 and increase the exemption for seniors older than 65 and individuals with disabilities from $10,000 to $60,000.
EPCC Selects New Deans as Part of Academic Reorganization
El Paso Community College recently named Olga Valerio and Jonathan C. Nickerson as its two newest deans as part of a general administrative restructuring to better integrate career and technical education, according to a college official.
Valerio will lead the Industry Partnerships and Workforce Training that includes oversight of the Center for Corporate and Workforce Training. It involves the establishment of external partnerships and the creation of customized training for regional industries. She also will supervise the offices of Children’s College, Personal Enrichment, Continuing Education, and Business and Technical Education.
EPCC hired her more than 20 years ago. During that time, she has served as director, executive director and dean of the Advanced Technology Center, which included such career and technical programs as HVAC, welding, electrical and renewable energy.
Prior to EPCC, she held a faculty position at the University of Texas at El Paso and worked for Chrysler in Mexico. Valeria earned her doctorate in materials science from UTEP.
Nickerson will oversee a new division made up of the Advanced Technology Center at the Valle Verde Campus, 919 Hunter Drive, as well as the Culinary Arts and Hospitality sections at the college’s Administrative Services Center, 9050 Viscount Blvd. The ASC programs include cosmetology, massage therapy, nail technology, and travel and tourism.
EPCC hired Nickerson in 2014 as a student culinary services manager. Prior to his current position, he was an assistant professor of culinary arts. Through the years, he has served on numerous college and community committees.
He earned his doctorate in educational leadership and administration from UTEP, a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Washington and a culinary certificate from L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Blayne Primozich, associate vice president of EPCC’s Workforce and Continuing Education, said Valerio and Nickerson bring a “tremendous” mix of workforce experience, community engagement and teaching background to their latest roles.
City Council OKs Incentives for Data Center Cooling Startup
The El Paso City Council on Wednesday voted to give incentives worth $875,000 to a technology startup company called Ferveret that develops technology to cool data centers with a liquid solution. In exchange, Ferveret said it would hire 30 workers for its facility located at the so-called Innovation Factory at El Paso International Airport.
Ferveret, based in San Jose, California, was founded in 2021 and raised $2.1 million in initial funding that year from a handful of investment firms. The company committed to a five-year lease at the Innovation Factory.
Details on Ferveret’s technology are scant, but the company says it “develops liquid cooling technology for data centers inspired by nuclear power plant cooling.” The company says its technology saves data center operators money on cooling- and electricity-related costs.
The city is paying for the incentive package using money from the Texas Economic Development Fund, a pot of money established after El Paso Electric agreed to pay the city $80 million over 15 years in exchange for approval of the acquisition of the utility in 2020 by a J.P. Morgan-owned investment fund.
So far, the city has committed to spend $26.8 million from the fund, including the incentives approved for Ferveret. The biggest outlay from the fund so far is $12.5 million that the city is planning to use to rebuild Stan Roberts Road on behalf of Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram – which is building a big data center nearby in far Northeast El Paso.
Ferveret could represent another step toward developing a regional high-tech industry centered around data centers, which house computer servers and hardware that process and store data for big technology companies. In addition to Meta’s project, an Austin-based firm plans to invest $165 billion to develop a massive campus that would house data centers near the Santa Teresa port of entry in New Mexico.
“There’s always a lot of concerns about data centers coming,” District 3 Rep. Deanna Maldonado-Rocha told a Ferveret executive during the City Council meeting. “This type of product that you offer gives those of us that are so concerned about water waste and electricity waste and all of that a lot of hope, because you provide an actual solution for that.”
TASB Selected as EPISD’s Superintendent Search Firm
The Texas Association of School Boards will lead the search in finding a new superintendent for the El Paso Independent School District.
TASB is a nonprofit educational association that provides services and guidance to local school boards across Texas.
After interviewing four candidates, the EPISD board voted unanimously Wednesday to select TASB as the search firm to help replace former Superintendent Diana Sayavedra.
Negotiations will begin in the coming days and the board will meet again Sept. 16 to approve a contract, said Haydee Pena, EPISD’s executive director of Procurement and School Resources.
Chief Financial Officer Martha Aguirre has served as interim superintendent since June after Sayavedra suddenly retired under a controversial separation agreement following a change in the board majority.
The post El Paso Animal Services director retires amid criticism, Modesto Gomez Park new sports fields open appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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