By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Despite the claims of one Del Rio resident, city officials say the civic center is not for sale.
Del Rioan Bea Vallejo confronted city council members during the citizen comments portion of their July 25 meeting, asking about rumors she’d heard recently.
“I was in San Antonio for a meeting last week, and several people came up to tell me the city of Del Rio was selling the civic center. Why would any of you consider selling it, when it happens to be in a prime location, and we own the land?” Vallejo told the council.
“Keep in mind, when a business depreciates a building to zero, the building has no value on the books. Therefore you may tear it down and rebuild it. And that is the most logical solution for the civic center,” she said.
“Why sell our civic center when you were frivolous with our money when you purchased two dilapidated buildings that may need to be torn down? Those investments are going to cost us dearly,” Vallejo added.
She also took issue with the way to city manages the buildings it owns.
“By the way, we need to consider hiring reliable, experienced managers to run our buildings, parks, et cetera, with experience in electrical, plumbing, construction and maintenance, experience in general, so they can take the income that is earned from those places to getting needed repairs done as the need arises and not wait until the buildings are dilapidated,” Vallejo said.
Vallejo also told the council all the money they spend comes from city taxpayers. “You should be spending our money wisely, building up the infrastructure. Our streets are horrible. Our police men and women could use a salary increase. We need to purchase new vehicles, and I see that we are intending to do so. But we need to set up our own mechanic shop for the police department, so they don’t have to wait on their vehicles to be repaired,” she said.
“Council members, if we cannot trust you to upkeep and maintain the little things, how can we trust you with the building of an international bridge?” Vallejo asked.
“And by the way, we elected you to run the city, so if things don’t work or if they do work well, and if they don’t have any problems, we’re going to give you credit for it, whether you fail or you succeed. So stop blaming others. . . You are the masters of this ship, don’t let it sink,” Vallejo finished just as her allotted time to speak ran out.
City council members and city staff do not reply to citizens who address the council during the citizen comments portion of the agenda.
After the July 25 meeting, The 830 Times asked City Manager John Sheedy to address Vallejo’s comments about the reported sale of the civic center.
Sheedy emailed the newspaper the following statement:
“There are currently no plans to sell the Del Rio Civic Center; however, the city of Del Rio will always search for options to advance our community and provide upgraded amenities for our residents. We understand the Del Rio Civic Center has played just as much importance to our community members as it has to our organization.
“With that being said, we have assessed where we should consider some changes. The city of Del Rio loses between $400,000 and $500,000 each year for the civic center operations. With nearly $5 million lost in the last decade, the city has looked at possibilities for the property.
“Some of these possibilities include:
“• Selling the civic center to a retailer due to its high visibility/traffic to then incur property taxes for the property. (For example, a $30 million development would result in $212,000 annual contribution to the city’s general fund. Including the $400,000 savings per year, we could see an increase of $600,000 to the general fund budget for a brand-new convention center.)
“• Expanding the current civic center, due to the current facility’s inability to host actual conventions. The current condition of the building would require extensive upgrades to attract conventions to Del Rio. Due to parking limitations, the only way to expand is upwards.
“• Keeping the civic center as it is and charging a higher fee to reserve the facilities to reduce the loss each year.
“The discussion to make changes to or sell the civic center are not taken lightly. We must remember that change is the only constant, and we should embrace any changes that will make our community more attractive, lively and strong for our future generations,” the city manager said in his statement.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
NEWS — City officials: Civic center not for sale
By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Despite the claims of one Del Rio resident, city officials say the civic center is not for sale.
Del Rioan Bea Vallejo confronted city council members during the citizen comments portion of their July 25 meeting, asking about rumors she’d heard recently.
“I was in San Antonio for a meeting last week, and several people came up to tell me the city of Del Rio was selling the civic center. Why would any of you consider selling it, when it happens to be in a prime location, and we own the land?” Vallejo told the council.
“Keep in mind, when a business depreciates a building to zero, the building has no value on the books. Therefore you may tear it down and rebuild it. And that is the most logical solution for the civic center,” she said.
“Why sell our civic center when you were frivolous with our money when you purchased two dilapidated buildings that may need to be torn down? Those investments are going to cost us dearly,” Vallejo added.
She also took issue with the way to city manages the buildings it owns.
“By the way, we need to consider hiring reliable, experienced managers to run our buildings, parks, et cetera, with experience in electrical, plumbing, construction and maintenance, experience in general, so they can take the income that is earned from those places to getting needed repairs done as the need arises and not wait until the buildings are dilapidated,” Vallejo said.
Vallejo also told the council all the money they spend comes from city taxpayers. “You should be spending our money wisely, building up the infrastructure. Our streets are horrible. Our police men and women could use a salary increase. We need to purchase new vehicles, and I see that we are intending to do so. But we need to set up our own mechanic shop for the police department, so they don’t have to wait on their vehicles to be repaired,” she said.
“Council members, if we cannot trust you to upkeep and maintain the little things, how can we trust you with the building of an international bridge?” Vallejo asked.
“And by the way, we elected you to run the city, so if things don’t work or if they do work well, and if they don’t have any problems, we’re going to give you credit for it, whether you fail or you succeed. So stop blaming others. . . You are the masters of this ship, don’t let it sink,” Vallejo finished just as her allotted time to speak ran out.
City council members and city staff do not reply to citizens who address the council during the citizen comments portion of the agenda.
After the July 25 meeting, The 830 Times asked City Manager John Sheedy to address Vallejo’s comments about the reported sale of the civic center.
Sheedy emailed the newspaper the following statement:
“There are currently no plans to sell the Del Rio Civic Center; however, the city of Del Rio will always search for options to advance our community and provide upgraded amenities for our residents. We understand the Del Rio Civic Center has played just as much importance to our community members as it has to our organization.
“With that being said, we have assessed where we should consider some changes. The city of Del Rio loses between $400,000 and $500,000 each year for the civic center operations. With nearly $5 million lost in the last decade, the city has looked at possibilities for the property.
“Some of these possibilities include:
“• Selling the civic center to a retailer due to its high visibility/traffic to then incur property taxes for the property. (For example, a $30 million development would result in $212,000 annual contribution to the city’s general fund. Including the $400,000 savings per year, we could see an increase of $600,000 to the general fund budget for a brand-new convention center.)
“• Expanding the current civic center, due to the current facility’s inability to host actual conventions. The current condition of the building would require extensive upgrades to attract conventions to Del Rio. Due to parking limitations, the only way to expand is upwards.
“• Keeping the civic center as it is and charging a higher fee to reserve the facilities to reduce the loss each year.
“The discussion to make changes to or sell the civic center are not taken lightly. We must remember that change is the only constant, and we should embrace any changes that will make our community more attractive, lively and strong for our future generations,” the city manager said in his statement.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
Brian
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