What about the new hotels?

December 21, 2016

I’m at a loss to find a single word that describes the continuing saga related to the potential arena site.

Maybe our readers can help, but if they do we ask that they keep it clean.

It seems that some members of city council now want the city to tear down our convention center and make it the site of the new arena.

Many separate issues come to the fore now.

Let’s start with this one:

The city and developers have been working to construct or rebuild downtown hotels that are within 1,000 feet of the convention center.  The private developers have been promised access to tax credits that are applicable to such projects if they are within 1,000 feet of a convention center.

If the city tears down the existing convention center and replaces it with an arena, what will happen to those developments?  Will we end up with a downtown/convention/arena/cultural something-or-other facility?

We deserve better

Brutus

14 Comments | City government, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

City representatives choke

December 19, 2016

The Times published a disturbing account about the actions of some city representatives the other day.

Evidently two city council members were meeting with some citizens in a public hotel restaurant to discuss the arena situation.

A Times reporter and photographer approached the group, whereupon one of the city representatives “rushed to the front desk to request a private area to meet to shield the discussions from the Times”.

Upon reconvening another city representative stood in the doorway to the room “to prohibit the Times from entering”.

The group could be heard “talking about the convention center as a potential site”.

Then a third city representative arrived and used his cell phone to play something “to block out the conversation inside”.

It seems that we have three out of three city representatives that did not realize that all they had to do was adjourn and meet somewhere else.  Instead they have antagonized a reporter and shown us what they think of the public.

Will the Times editor endorse these representatives next time?

And what about the hotel?  Why did the city representative think that she deserved special treatment?  Does she think that she is entitled to special privileges because of her office?  Would one of us get immediate free access to a private room for any reason at all?

We deserve better

Brutus

10 Comments | City government, El Paso Times | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

It depends upon who wants it

December 18, 2016

We’re finally getting to see an update on the quality of life projects that we approved back in 2012.

According to the chart below they have completed 43 out of 129:

qoldec2016

At their rate of four years for 43 projects they will be at this for another 12 years.

They don’t tell us when the rest of the projects will even be started.

The neighborhood Chelsea pool is a tragic example.  Elsewhere in the presentation we learn that it is still in the design phase.

This is a situation where the neighborhood had a swimming pool but the city closed it.  Now years later they still have not replaced it.

On the west side of town a brand new aquatic center is already under construction–right next to an existing pool that still serves the neighborhood.

We deserve better

Brutus

3 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Evict, don’t negotiate

December 13, 2016

Our thanks to elchuqueno.com for pointing out what one of our city representatives said at a recent city council meeting.

From their blog post:

Niland lashed out at the Railroad during the City Council meeting.

“But you ask yourself why in the world would they be telling the media not the truth? I can’t imagine. Is it because they want to force us back over here to have a conversation with them? So we will be forced to negotiate with them and shut down closures in our own districts that we all know none of our neighborhoods wants to happen? Did that maybe dawn on anyone? Because that it what’s happening,” Niland said.

Different story

Where was this city representative when the city agreed to close eight railroad crossings as part of the deal when the city needed a sliver of land for the ball park?

Train wreck was an April 2013 post about the deal between the city and the railroad.

How can we avoid concluding that this city representative thought it was ok to close eight popular railroad crossings and tear down city hall when she wanted land for the ball park but that closing more crossings does not make sense when she can have citizens evicted from their homes instead?

We deserve better

Brutus

 

6 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

City representative helps the public

December 10, 2016

Our thanks to city representative Jim Tolbert who evidently read our recent posts about the broken link on the Sun Metro web site.

He sent an inquiry to a city official and now both the original link and another one work.

Another city employee reached out to confirm that the link was working.

The result is that we now have access to the mass transit board agendas.

This was better

Brutus

 

6 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

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