Who benefits from the San Jacinto Plaza project?

January 23, 2014

The 2012 quality of life bonds are funding the new Cheryl Ladd neighborhood park in east El Paso.

According to El Paso Development News:

New amenities planned for the park include a new multi-purpose field, playground areas, a canopy shelter, picnic tables, benches, bike racks, paths, rock walls, lighting and an angled parking lot. The picnic tables and parking spaces with be compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

Aside from the multi-purpose field, other athletic improvements include a basketball court, a sand volleyball court, and exercise equipment. Opposite the basketball court will be a “futsal” court. Futsal, from the Portuguese meaning “hall football,” is a form of soccer played on a hard-surface “pitch” which resembles a miniature soccer field.

The site’s landscaping plan includes an underground irrigation system, new grass, mulch, trees, shrubs, and boulders. The majority of landscaping will be focused on the park area closest to the parking lot, as the soccer field takes up much of the rear park space.

The park will be 6.3 acres in size and will cost $1.67 million dollars.

Plazas are expensive

On the other hand we have the San Jacinto Plaza project downtown.  It will remodel for the umpteenth time the square block.  That project will cost $4.5 million  according to the city and over $7 million according to two of the contractors who bid it.

Who benefits?

The neighborhood park probably will be used by residents of the area.  Who will enjoy the benefits of the plaza?

We deserve better

Brutus

3 Comments | Ball park, City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Double your pleasure

January 18, 2014

These slides from the city web site show us the cost of selling bonds instead of saving up our money and paying cash:

2013bTaxableBonds

2013aTaxExemptBonds

So far we have sold two types of bonds to finance the ball park.  We sold 30 year taxable bonds totaling $15,660,000 and 25 year tax exempt bonds totaling $45,125,000.

That comes to $60,785,000.

What will it cost us by the time we have paid them off?  The number comes to $137,286,965.10.

That means that we will actually pay more than 2.25 times what we financed.

Why can’t our governments develop a pay as we go strategy? We would get at least twice as much for our money.

We deserve better

Brutus

4 Comments | Ball park, City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District, Federal Government, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Contractor friendly?

January 17, 2014

Item 3.3 on the city council’s January 14, 2014 consent agenda asks for an additional $178,000 for an affordable housing development project.

Council awarded the contract in November of 2012.  They now think that they will be ready to bid the project in the first quarter of 2014.  The original amount was $812,000.

Why is more money needed?

According to the backup material:

“Delays in City plan approval have resulted in additional time and costs for the Architect and Engineer.”

I guess city staff was busy with other matters.

We deserve better

Brutus

3 Comments | Ball park, City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

We’re number one

January 15, 2014

The fact that El Paso was once again ranked the safest large city in the nation was significant enough that the El Paso Times wrote about it on page one of section B.  I suppose the front page needs to be reserved for whatever issues the Times decides to promote.

We were also ranked as the best city in Texas in which to raise a family.

As for per animal lovers we were ranked number two.

In the “best cities for home buyers” we were ranked number four.

So if we are the safest major city in the nation and the best place in Texas to raise a family, what is our quality of life problem?

Is the quality of life drum being beaten to promote spending?

We deserve better

Brutus

5 Comments | Ball park, City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District, El Paso Times, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

The truth slowly emerges

January 11, 2014

Checking on our “minimal due to the condition of the building” remodel of multiple buildings that was caused by the city tearing down it’s old city hall to make way for the ball park, I saw this presentation on the city web site the other day:

fall2013buildings

It is now the winter of 2014 and as far as I can see we have not even started to occupy these “essential” buildings that we are somehow living without today.

Maybe the tear down and move were not as simple as the city told us.  The costs certainly have exceeded what they promised.

We deserve better

Brutus

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