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.
Voters to Decide Whether to Scrap Downtown Arena
El Paso voters on Nov. 5 will decide the fate of the Downtown arena after the City Council on Tuesday voted 5-3 to approve the ordinance calling for the special election.
City Reps. Brian Kennedy, Art Fierro, Joe Molinar, Chris Canales and Henry Rivera voted in favor of putting the bond revocation on the ballot. City Reps. Cassandra Hernandez, Isabel Salcido and Josh Acevedo voted against it.
If voters approve the bond revocation, it would allow the city to nix the $180 million multipurpose performing arts and entertainment facility approved by voters in 2012 and revoke the city’s authority to issue bonds from that project that have not yet been sold.
The ballot language will allow voters to vote “for” or “against” the proposition, which will read: “To cancel the city’s authority to issue the remaining $128,455,636 in general obligation bonds for the multipurpose performing arts and entertainment facility to be located in Downtown El Paso which was approved by the voters in the city’s November 6, 2012, election, resulting in the revocation of the bonds?”
If voters approve the bond revocation proposal, the unused funds could not be spent on other projects – but it would not prohibit the city from proposing other entertainment venues using bonds in the future.
If the proposal is rejected, the city would be able to move forward with a Downtown arena and could seek out additional funding, including partnering with other public or private entities to build it.
Ocaranza Named to El Paso Water Public Service Board
Pediatrician and city-county health authority Dr. Hector Ocaranza next month will join the influential Public Service Board that governs city-owned El Paso Water after the El Paso City Council unanimously approved his appointment Tuesday.
The seven-member Public Service Board oversees El Paso Water – and its three separate functions as a water, wastewater and stormwater utility.
The PSB has a wide range of duties, including approving El Paso Water’s rates, authorizing contracts and overseeing construction projects. And the group also approves occasional land sales for El Paso Water – which owns about 167,000 acres of land holdings including nearly 21,000 acres within El Paso County – that help fund water and sewage projects. The PSB also oversees trash collection in some parts of El Paso County that are outside the city limits.
Ocaranza will fill the seat most recently held by Ivonne Santiago, an associate professor at UTEP who chaired the board and termed out last month. PSB members are paid $20 per meeting they attend, and they serve staggered four-year terms, with a limit of two consecutive terms. The board expanded from five to seven members in 2010.
The PSB members each are selected for different specialties, such as finance or environmental health. Ocaranza will serve on the board’s communications and development committees.
Ocaranza earlier this month relinquished his role as El Paso’s interim public health director. The city in June hired Dr. Veerinder “Vinny” Taneja as the permanent health director starting Aug. 5.
Ocaranza, who practices pediatrics in Anthony, New Mexico, will still be the city-county health authority in El Paso, a separate position as an officer of the state in which he can implement and enforce state and local laws to protect public health. Ocaranza is paid $50,000 per year for the health authority role. He was appointed as the city’s interim health director in spring of 2022. For that job, he entered a formal contract in August 2023 with an annual salary of $160,000.
Students walk past the Arts, Science & Technology building at El Paso Community College’s Valle Verde campus. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Proposed EPCC Budget Includes Staff Salary Increase
The El Paso Community College Board of Trustees will vote later this month on a proposed 2024-25 budget of nearly $166.5 million that includes a 4% raise for college employees and no increases in tuition.
Trustee Jesus Mendez made the motion for the 4% pay increase, and trustees approved it by a 4-2 vote during an Aug. 7 budget overview at the EPCC Administrative Services Center, 9050 Viscount Blvd.
Trustees John E. Uxer Jr. and Carmen Olivas Graham voted against the motion. Uxer suggested a smaller increase of around 3.5%, and Graham made a motion for a 4.5% increase, which trustees voted against. Trustee Nina Piña was not at the meeting.
Graham said the college needs to increase salaries, especially in high demand areas such as nursing instructors and information technology positions. President William Serrata agreed with her and said that he is working on solutions with members of his cabinet.
Fernando Flores, CFO and vice president for Finance and Administration, said the proposed budget includes projected revenue from property taxes, $73 million; state appropriations, $44 million; and tuition and fees, $39 million. The biggest expenses will be faculty salaries, which includes counselors and librarians, $54 million; and staff salaries, $48 million. Benefits will cost another $14 million. Together, those expenses make up about 74% of the budget.
The proposed budget is about 5% more than the 2023-24 budget of just over $158 million. The fiscal year starts Sept. 1.
The trustees will decide the college’s budget at its next meeting at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 28 in the ASC, Room A200.
El Paso International Airport seen in May 2022. (Cindy Ramirez/El Paso Matters)
El Paso Airport to Get $10 Million Pavement Upgrade
The El Paso International Airport has been awarded a $10.6 million grant to improve its apron pavement, the ramp where aircraft are parked, loaded, fueled and maintained. The funding is part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Airport Infrastructure Grants, a $427 million initiative by the Biden-Harris administration to enhance airport infrastructure nationwide.
City officials in a news release said the apron pavement has not had major repairs in more than 30 years. The project, which will be carried out in three stages, will also improve safety and efficiency by enhancing drainage and reducing foreign object debris.
The airport last year received nearly $8.4 million in infrastructure grants to reconstruct taxiways.
The El Paso Police Department Northeast Regional Command on Dyer Street. (Corrie Boudreaux/El Paso Matters)
Architects Selected for Northeast Regional Command Renovation
The City Council on Tuesday approved a contract for professional services with MNK Architects Inc. for architect and engineering services for the El Paso Police Department’s Northeast Regional Command Center renovation. The firm will be paid no more than $858,000 for the services.
City staff said it will likely take about three years to complete the renovation. The command center, located at 9600 Dyer Street, will still operate during the renovations. The project is part of the 2019 voter-approved $413 million public safety bond. About $221 million of the bond is allocated to police facilities, including $90 million for new police headquarters; while the remaining $191.2 million will go to fire facilities, including $29.6 million toward new Fire Department headquarters.
The post Downtown arena goes to voters; EPCC proposes pay raises; Ocaranza named to PSB; other El Paso news appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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