– From the President –
Fred Evans
Current Conundrums
I find myself thinking that El Paso is in a time of very great difficulties and conflicts and a potential turning point.
We are presented with a proposed city charter climate amendment that proponents say will bring prosperity and health. The opponents say it will bring job loss and economic ruin.
We have a city government that spends millions on bike lanes and subsidized transportation yet endorses the widening of a monument to automobiles and trucks in the very heart of our city.
We have a group that wants to build a park in downtown that could cost up to $750 million when we have many needs community-wide that would be well served by that amount of money. The backers support the widening of I10 that will eliminate all but three bridges but say that it will restore connectivity to create the “Uptown Downtown” concept. Seems to me you wouldn’t have to restore connectivity if you didn’t tear down bridges.
And, speaking of bridges, there has been a long and expensive battle over a “performance, sports, arena facility or you name it” for the past few years. Now comes a proposal from GSA to spend $700+ million to increase the footprint of the Bridge of The Americas (Chamizal or Free Bridge to those of us who remember its building) that will likely result in the destruction of the historic County Coliseum that has housed WWII POWs, seen some of the most famous musicians in the country perform, and been the scene of countless sporting events and other entertainment. I guess if it’s not downtown it doesn’t count as a “performance, sports, arena facility or your name it.” Increasing the bridge footprint will also quite likely encourage traffic on I10 providing even more support for increasing the size of I10 and result in increased pollution for the residents and businesses nearby. It is not just supported by but is being pushed by Rep. Veronica Escobar who says it will bring prosperity and improve the environment.
Political Philosophy
Seems there’s a philosophy that any state or federal funding is good–whether or not it provides something worthwhile or lasting for the community. Think trolley. We were told we had to come up with a purpose for a $97million grant before someone else got the money. So, we ended up with a trolley system that impeded traffic flow and costs taxpayers $3,000,000 per year or a subsidy of $44.62 per ride (you’ll be pleased to know that buses only cost us a subsidy of $8.77 per ride). Now the mayor says we should shut it down except for special occasions. Weren’t we lucky to get that grant!
Action
What is one to do? One thing you can do is join the Five Points Development Association and attend meetings where you can hear about these serious issues, talk to others with the same concerns and arrive at an educated decision.
April Program
Someone once told me that the best programs come from within the organization and this month we are certainly going to see that. Most of you have already received your little “love notes” from the Central Appraisal District. I would venture a guess that few are happy. However, really, we should be happy because that means that an asset has increased in value—think IRA or 401K. Just like IRAs or 401Ks, that value is meaningless until you cash it in. Unfortunately, unlike those other investments that carry reasonable fees, real and business personal property carry a hefty annual fee known as a property tax—hence our wailing on receipt of Dinah’s billets doux. Next Wednesday at noon at Timo’s, 2000 Montana, Dinah Kilgore, the Chief Appraiser and Executive Director of El Paso CAD (and one of our members and directors!) will be telling us why another appraisal, why the values, what you can do if you don’t agree, and answer other related questions you may have. Remember CAD only sets the values not the tax. So, “don’t shoot the messenger.”
Mixer
We had another great if small gathering last month at our member Gary Monteleone’s food and décor smorgasbord. This month he is opening a different area for us on Tuesday, April 25th at 5:30 at 512 San Marcial. Give the mixer a try. We always have good conversation and just a generally good time.
See you Wednesday at Timo’s at noon.
EDITORIAL EXTRA (if you’re interested) A Revolting Review
This week, while trolling “the source of all truth” otherwise known as the internet, I came across a series of 25 pictures by the El Paso Times. The publication date of the series, headlined “Take a photographic journey through Interstate 10’s history of construction in El Paso”, is June 23, 2020 but the pictures are from the early 1960’s. I’m old enough to remember those times but was too young to appreciate the significance of what was happening. Seeing the pictures of the bulldozed traditionally black neighborhood south of Missouri Street, the destruction of the historic railroad roundhouse, the historical buildings and homes leveled, horrified me as I realized what we lost as a community, how we sacrificed the cultural, social and architectural heart of El Paso to the god of I10. Perhaps that ripping asunder of our cultural, social and architectural fabric was the beginning if not the reason for what is viewed by many today as the dysfunction and dissonance that sometimes characterizes our community. We just seem to have lost our way and our sense of community. Certainly we have lost our standing in a variety of areas when compared to many cities e.g. Phoenix, Tucson, Austin, etc. How could we possibly have thought that all that destruction was the right thing to do? It looked like a war zone. Given the choice today would we do the same thing? I hope not. If that’s so, how can we possibly even consider giving one more inch to any traffic-promoting voracious monster?