This would be a good time to contact city council and let them know what your thinking is about the quality of life bonds.
We are now being told that the financial estimates that we were given with each project were not developed by people in the construction business. We are beginning to see that the estimates were low and that more money will be necessary to accomplish construction.
Word on the street is that the improvements to the archaeological museum have already been sacrificed to build the digital wall.
The other day our new city manager told the public that the costs of operation and maintenance of the new facilities have not been budgeted.
What we have is a recipe for disaster. We need to remember what happened years ago when the county judge tried to build an indoor swimming pool. They ran out of money in the middle of the project and what we ended up with was an overly expensive outdoor pool.
For the record, I am not against quality of life projects or children’s hospitals. I am against wasting money building part of what we want and not getting us what we agreed to and then not having the money to operate the facility.
Do we need a do-over here?
Should we stop where we are and start over? First we should decide what we want to have. Then we should have competent people tell us what it will cost. Then we should have another election but this time the projects should be put on the ballot as separate items so that we don’t get railroaded into another “all or nothing” decision.
The people who did this to us should be ashamed.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
They borrow from one (or two, or more) projects to pay the overages on another. How do they explain to those voters who got gipped out of their park to pay for that olympic pool? The olympic pool is not really a project that benefits a majority of the community considering it will be greatly used for competitions, trainings, etc for the competitive swimming community. To sacrifice a park or other project that does offer more recreational options to a greater, albeit less vocal (or politically connected) community is unconsciounable and irresponsible of city council. Bond elections have become a farce. The county and city end up holding out on those projects for many, many years so they can do their dirty dealings and blame things on people that are gone or hope that voters forgot about what they voted for in those bond elections. Perhaps there should be a time element, a deadline, to spend those approved funds properly. .
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All of it was put together under the watchful eye of the person now receiving all those awards for meritorious service to us the city.
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That once a journalist man from El Pado Inc should be ashamed of himself.
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I think, in the conceit of their infallibility, the people who made those questionable decisions are incapable of shame. They hunker down in their private clubs and walled communities and pat themselves on the backs, sanctimonious and self-righteous, confident that they’re the only ones who can appreciate the emperor’s new clothes.
They promised everything to everyone to get those QoL bonds passed, and now that reality is rearing its ugly head, they won’t even say they’re sorry.
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And where do you leave the fair progressive elected misleaders like Byrd, Ortega, Escobar and their social-climbing cohorts like Niland and Noe and flip-flop Ema? Voters managed to throw out the weak link, Steve, but the others are entrenched in one office or the other, serving their oligarch masters.
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The report about the westside 50-meter pool indicated that Council said this week to put off other projects in the westside in order to get the money needed for the pool ($13.4 million) above the $8 million budgeted by El Pasoan of the Year Wilson.
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Yes, a city council decision which is financially irresponsible and robs non-swimmers of basic parks in multiple neighborhoods. It’s interesting how sports win out over basic parks and playgrounds. Once again, the wants of a select group win out over basic needs for ordinary folks, regardless of the cost.
As I understand it, the new pool is being built at Franklin High School. Ironically, the city gets to use EPISD land for this pool, while it is in the process of forcing EPISD to relocate its admin offices which are currently on city property.
The same people who influenced EPISD open enrollment and the funding of a separate football stadium for Franklin probably played a hand in the decision to spend whatever it takes to build the Westside pool.
Is this just another part of a marketing plan to support a developer in that area? The more amenities in that area, the more that developer benefits even though much if not all of their development is in the Canutillo school district. That developer benefits if Franklin is the crown jewel and people who reside in his development can send kids to Franklin. That developer also has strong personal and political connections to the EPISD board.
Always follow the money.
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I stand corrected. Mea culpa. While the media once reported that Franklin was to be the site, they are now reporting that it will be built next to the senior center on Wallenberg. I do not retract my distrust of certain, but not all, developers who are benefiting on the backs of taxpayers.
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How about they build an 8 Million dollar pool facility…?
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Question? Is it a conflict for Sylvia Firth Borunda s father to be sitting on CAD BOARD? What Re his qualifications? Is a governmental meeting supposed to be held on private property? UMC at EL Convention? Not even on tax rolls
Sent from my iPhone
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Maybe a complaint to the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice department in regards to the election and carrying out what the people voted for. While one is at it they should request a FBI investigation of UMC and CH along with a Medicare DSH payment investigation. Also would be a great help would be an investigation of contracts between UMC and CH to see if they are in compliance with Texas Procurement Laws.
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The one -two punch that put the City of El Paso on the road to exorbitant taxes, no services and bankruptcy will be its first and second CM with unwavering support from councils and Mayors that abandoned
their responsibility,
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As I recall in the 1999 QoL, the CC was very keen to follow the issue exactly and not substitute their judgement over what the voters approved. I remember one case where a pool was to be built and there was some NYMBY protest over it in Dan Powers’ district. Dan courageously stood up to his own constituents and said that he would not vote to overturn the terms of the QoL that had been approved by the voters.
That kind of backbone is rare on CC these days.
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As I read this, I reflect how a private business person gets professional estimates from architects and contractors before they make their business decisions. Our previous city manager, mayor, Mountainside at Group, and city council should be totally embarrassed how they rushed the QOL estimates thru in hopes of getting the ballpark funding pushed thru under the guise of being paid for by the HOT. This entire QOL bond election was a joke….they pulled their numbers out of the air without realistic estimates from professionals. Well, they got their stadium, spread our City Hall all over town, destroyed the children’s science museum, and left us taxpayers a long-term debt service on their frivolity. Unfortunately, it seems these city leaders have no self pride, so they can’t even be embarrassed into saying, “El Paso, we are sorry for our terrible mistakes which have strapped you with ungodly taxes for the next 30 years.” Instead they are being honored by El Paso, Inc. as citizens of the year.
Yes, Brutus, we deserve MUCH better, don’t we?!
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Amen. Well said. As I commented last week, the El Paso Taxpayers should have been named the Inc’s Citizens Of The Year for footing the bill for baseball for which Hunt, Foster de la Vega, and Wilson alone received the accolades.
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But the taxpayers were ONLY asked if they would approve raising the HOT to help pay for the ballpark. It was Wilson et al who then claimed that the taxpayers approved the ballpark. Some of us voted against the QoL purely as a way to say “we don’t trust you and this is our vote against the ballpark!”
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Helen, I understand that it wasn’t put to a vote. I also understand that the spin was that the HOT tax alone would cover the cost, which some of us knew full well would not be the case, especially when you consider the operating and maintenance costs. In the end, however, we the taxpayers still deserve the credit since we and our children and grandchildren will be subsidizing Mountainstar for years to come. They definitely don’t deserve an award or “thank you” from the community.
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Yes, exactly, Helen. Whata whopper to say voters approved the ballpark. I voted against, too, for the same reason. Now apparently even the QoL is up for amending without voter approval. Our reps are not comprehending or just trying to be progressive, I guess, but in many ways it is not progressive at all.
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Mamboman and Desearatjim, I agree with you about all of your comments, but you have to ask yourself why do cities and counties spend more than what they have in the bank. Do they really have anything in the bank, and do they do what Congress does best, use debt as credit and spend more. I see bankruptcy in the near future for El Paso, and I’m just trying to decide which flavor of popcorn to buy and sit and watch the crash and burn. I think it will be a great site to see a city full of corruption, deceit, and theft fall completely apart. Judges and lawyers and politicians, you are pathetic con-artists, and you made disaster follow every city and town you tore apart with your deceit in the “color” of law (fake law) you made and enforced to make people PAY for your public bankruptcy.
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karma-l corn
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How do we get them to stop? Not enough eligible voters ever turn out at election time. It is next to impossible to get any member of Council to listen to input. As for speaking in open Council meetings, how much time do they allow? Do they even listen when this does happen? We do indeed deserve better, but right now we are so deep in these multiple “projects,” that nothing will ever be completed. Wait a minute! What am I saying? They haven’t really started any of the so-called QoL projects, have they? Here’s an idea: get somebody to work on repaving streets, put everything else on hold, and for all your future downtown renewal projects, and QoL projects, seek private funding, or forget it.
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