– From the President –
Fred Evans
A Refreshing Breath of Fresh Air!
I along with over 30 others including Kristin Perez and Carlos Aguilar from FPDA attended a District 2 meeting hosted by Representative Annello. The purpose of the meeting was twofold: first to introduce the Interim City Manager Col. Cary Westin and hear his plans for the city and second to discuss with him the Memorial Park Mutilation Plan—sorry, I mean Master Plan.
I introduced myself to Col. Westin before the meeting started and asked him about speaking to FPDA. He said he would very much like to do so as a means of his learning of the desires and needs of El Paso residents. I have emailed his staff and we will be working on a date for his presentation. Because he will speaking himself to us, I won’t “steal his thunder” by going into great detail here. However, I and others found him very open and approachable and, as you will learn in a moment, willing to respect the views of residents.
In his presentation he noted that he has no way of knowing how long he will be in the job so wants to focus on areas in which he feels he can make an important difference. His views on city finances seem to indicate a change in direction more in keeping with that of many business people including us in Five Points. Of course, he is on board with the Mayor and several Representatives who have said their goal for the coming fiscal year is a no new revenue tax rate that means your tax bill will not increase—no fancy dancing around the issue with “we have not raised your tax rate.” He also outlined the process for selecting a new police chief and told us that there will be citizen input. In broad terms, these are two of my major “take-aways” from his presentation. You’ll have to wait until his appearance at FPDA for more.
When the subject of the Park came up, the fun really began. Long-time Manhattan Heights Neighborhood Association President Craig Peters was unable to attend due to previous travel plans. A group of residents asked a neighborhood resident and me to act as spokespersons for the neighborhood—a plan that sort of worked. Tempers ran high as attendees objected in strong terms to the plan’s proposals declaring that it should be scrapped (as I said, never again to see the light of day). Local architect Martina Lorey even referred to the city planners as “arrogant” to which I loudly proclaimed “Amen!” They also demanded that the park be watered (some said it had been three weeks for some areas since there had been water applied) immediately—not wait for some master plan. They just wanted simple maintenance and repairs as any other neighborhood park. I spoke also as a representative of FPDA and El Paso County Historical Society to state that our boards had voted to vigorously oppose the Master Plan as wrong for a National Register Historic Site, the neighborhood and the community. Although other issues were discussed such as emphasizing its dedicated purpose as a Veteran’s Memorial Park (one of only six in the nation built specifically for that purpose), ‘killing the Master Plan” was the overall objective of the residents. In the end, Col. Westin said he would not force something on the residents that they so strongly objected to, see that the watering was done and work with Representative Annello to convene a meeting where residents could make their desires known for appropriate park improvements.
My headline said A Refreshing Breath of Fresh Air. I think you can now understand that I was referring the Interim City Manager Col. Cary Westin whose attitude and demeanor were a very welcome change from those of his pompous* predecessor. (* take your choice of synonyms, my thesaurus runneth over: boastful, bombastic, grandiose, imperious, overbearing, presumptuous. Only time will tell whether action follows words but I am hopeful.
In the end I, as FPDA President, briefly stated some of our concerns for those in attendance including the Interim City Manager. Those concerns are: FPDA involvement in future plans for the EPPD property; the City’s creation of bar districts such as Five Points and Cincinnati Street and the murders and other bad behavior and costs they bring; the City’s penchant for forcing plans on residents without invitation or input; the use of federal and state grants (the expensive “gifts” that keep on taking) for large capital projects without consideration for long term operating and maintenance expenses, their impact on future budgets and the resulting proliferation of poorly maintained city properties and facilities; and the newly adopted Uptown-Downtown Master Plan (yes, those arrogant little elves in Capital Improvements are still up to their old tricks).
I shall spare you a diatribe on the Uptown-Downtown Master Plan until next month because there is a meeting Monday evening to “understand the Plan, the implementation and Vision” according to Julia Del Campo of the El Paso Neighborhood Coalition. Dinah and Tracy have indicated a willingness to suffer through the evening so I suppose I must gird my loins, pack my air sickness bag and clothespin and join them. I’ll report on our illumination next month. Who knows? I might not be able to contain myself and have to spill a little slime at the July meeting.
July Program
This month our program will be Robert Cortinas, Chief Financial Officer of The City of El Paso. Mr. Cortinas has presented to us before and has always helped us understand city finances and budgets. The City is currently at work developing the fiscal 2024 budget. This year may be different in that there has been a change in the composition of city council and we have a new Interim City Manager. The Mayor, Council and Interim City Manager have indicated they want to see changes in the way the City approaches its finances. Even though the budget will not be finalized by the time of Mr. Cortinas’s presentation, I’m sure we will find it very interesting. I, of course, will have some questions just in case no one else does. Teaser: The Ponzi scheme theory of city financing.
July Mixer
Finding an establishment in Five Points where one can hold a conversation is well-nigh impossible. The usual suspects found Aviator’s satisfactory and affordable. It has therefore been designated the new home of the Five Points Mixer. Come join us for interesting conversation and beverages of your preference.