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.
GECU CEO Crystal Long to Retire in April
Crystal Long, who has been CEO of El Paso’s GECU credit union since 2011, will retire April 30.
“It has been one of my greatest privileges to lead GECU and help empower the communities we serve,” Long said in a news release announcing her retirement. “I am deeply proud of the team and all we have accomplished together; and with a strong foundation and clear vision for the future, I am confident the organization will continue to grow, innovate and serve members for generations to come.”
Long started at GECU, then known as Government Employees Credit Union, in 1979 as a file clerk. She went on to work as a teller, supervisor, manager and vice president before succeeding Harriet May as CEO in 2011.
GECU said in the news release that Long’s successor would be named soon, with a starting date of May 1. GECU is El Paso’s largest credit union headquartered in El Paso, with more than $4.5 billion in assets and 441,000 member-owners.
El Paso County Hosts Ascarate Park Community Meeting for Feedback
El Paso County will host another community meeting to gather feedback for Ascarate Park renovations.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. March 24 at the Ascarate Park Pavilion, 6900 Delta Drive.
The park improvements are part of the $95.6 million Capital Improvement Bond approved by voters in November 2024.
The meeting will include a summary of previous feedback and survey results, highlight key themes and priorities, and explain how the feedback will guide the next steps in the planning and design process. The community will also be able to see conceptual visuals of the potential park improvements for the entrance, festival area, trails and lake shoreline.
The County Commissioners Court in October unanimously approved a $4.2 million contract with Exigo Architecture to oversee the first steps of the Ascarate Park renovations. The firm is overseeing the project including community engagement, conceptual design, construction documents and is consulting with landscape architects, ecological restoration and lake conservation experts, as well as water and well assessment infrastructure experts, for the work.
The team includes landscape architects Surroundings Studio, ecological consultants Biohabitats, and infrastructure experts CDM Smith.
Key improvements to the park will include a new entrance, expanded and renovated walking trails, modern shelters, restrooms and concessions, a new festival area, and underground electrical lines. The park’s 48-acre lake will also get upgrades, including restoration of its shoreline and rehabilitation of its island. The improvements are anticipated to be completed by fall 2029.
For more information on the park and other county bond projects visit the capital improvement bond tracker.
TTHEP to Use $1 Million Grant to Buy Linear Accelerator for Cancer Treatment, Research
Texas Tech Health El Paso will use a $1.031 million federal grant to purchase a medical linear accelerator to treat large cancer tumors with radiation. It also will be used to study the biological and therapeutic effects of different doses of radiation on the body.
The availability of this machine, used for external-beam radiation therapy, will allow more regional cancer patients to remain in El Paso for treatment. It will be a key piece of equipment in the planned Fox Cancer Center being built on the north end of the campus, 5001 El Paso Drive.
The funds were part of a $15 million appropriation by U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. She announced how the money would be divided among 12 community projects earlier this month.
Clinicians use the LINAC machine to aim beams of high-energy electrons or X-rays to destroy tumor cells while protecting nearby healthy tissue. TTHEP said it plans to purchase the machine in 2027 and start using it after the cancer center opens in 2028.
The multi-level, 131,000 square-foot cancer center will conduct research, clinical care and education. The center will be connected to a planned Clinical Sciences Building that will be approximately 225,000 square feet, and offer numerous medical specialties. Construction of both will be about $342 million.
In a TTHEP news release, the cancer center will merge multidisciplinary cancer care to reduce delays, improve coordination and expand access to advanced therapies that will allow regional patients to stay closer to home.
TTHEP President Richard Lange said this machine was another step in providing state-of-the-art care to the region.
The other projects in Escobar’s district that will receive federal funds include water infrastructure, public safety communications and economic development.
City Seeks Federal Funds for Deck Plaza
The deck plaza proposal could get a shot in the arm after El Paso City Council this week approved an application seeking $2.4 million in federal funds for the initiative through U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar’s office.
In order to be eligible for the federal funds, the application requires a $300,000 match from the city and a $300,000 match from the Deck Plaza Foundation, the private organization that’s lobbying for the project. The Deck Plaza Foundation was established by the Paso del Norte Foundation.
The deck plaza would span five blocks over the trenched portion of Interstate 10 in Downtown El Paso and create an amenity-filled park above the capped highway. The Texas Department of Transportation is planning to spend $1.3 billion to widen that portion of the highway Downtown, so backers of the deck plaza want to build the deck at the same time while the highway is closed for construction. But that creates pressure to put tens of millions of dollars together for the project in the coming months.
But even after the Deck Plaza Foundation said it could raise $35 million from private donors for construction, the still-unanswered question of how to fund development of the deck project has shrouded it with uncertainty. Opponents say it’s too expensive and unnecessary.
Still, city leaders have pressed forward. The city earlier this month separately agreed to contribute $561,000 toward a $10 million agreement to fund a portion of the design cost. Most of that $10 million comes from the Texas Legislature.
However, after the deck project did not win two multi-million dollar federal grants that backers had looked to as a major source of potential funds, the focus has shifted to “future-proofing” the Downtown portion of I-10. In other words, the goal for supporters of the deck project is to fund designs so that TxDOT can rebuild the highway to support a concrete cap on top – for example by building strong enough retaining walls or other structures needed to hold the weight of a deck in the future.
That “future-proofing” – rebuilding I-10 in a way to support a deck in the future – will cost $43 million. Construction of the deck plaza itself is expected to cost around $207 million, according to Joaquin Rodriguez, the city’s director of grant funded programs.
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