This is your weekly update, which takes a quick look at the week ahead and some developments that El Paso Matters is following.
EPISD Selling School Building to City: The El Paso Independent School District is selling the former Bonham Elementary School campus, 7024 Cielo Vista Drive, to the city of El Paso for a police regional command center. The EPISD board of trustees approved a resolution to sell the property in a 5-to-1 vote on Tuesday. Trustee Isabel Hernandez voted against the sale. Trustees did not disclose the price of the school purchase. Sam Rodriguez, the city’s chief operations officer, during the school board meeting said the city aims to build a central regional command center on the property. The El Paso City Council in September purchased the former Morehead Middle School on the Westside from EPISD for $3.8 million and converted the property into an emergency center to house migrants and as an animal shelter.
Dignity March Set for Thursday: El Paso Catholic Diocese Bishop Mark Seitz and Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celina are partnering with several human and social rights organizations in El Paso for the “Do Not Be Afraid” march and vigil on Thursday, March 21. The march will begin at 6 p.m. at San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown. It will conclude with a vigil at 7 p.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 602 S. Oregon Street. The march is in response to Operation Lone Star, Texas’ immigration law SB 4, the state’s battle over records from Annunciation House and the one-year anniversary of the fire at a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez that killed 40 people.
City Launches Survey for City Manager Search: The city of El Paso has launched an online bilingual survey to gather community input on what residents would like to see in the next city manager. The English version can be filled out here. The Spanish version can be filled out here. The survey follows two community open houses hosted by the city this week. The city has been without a permanent city manager since Tommy Gonzalez was fired last February. Baker Tilly US LLP, a public accounting and consulting firm headquartered in Chicago, is conducting the national search. Interim City Manager Cary Westin is not seeking the permanent position.
City Rep. Hernandez Dropped from Lawsuit:A whistleblower lawsuit filed against the city of El Paso and former City Manager Tommy Gonzalez has dropped city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez and her husband, Jeremy Jordan, as defendants. The lawsuit, filed by the city’s Chief Internal Auditor Edmundo Calderon, alleges in part that he has been retaliated against by some city leaders for conducting an audit on elected officials’ use of fuel cards. The audit found some elected officials, including Hernandez, had used the tax-payer funded gas cards excessively. Hernandez was issued a letter of reprimand by the city’s Ethics Review Commission in July.
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