By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
All seven members of the city council were present.
Here’s what happened at the meeting:
Mayor proclaims childhood cancer awareness month, honors track stars
• Mayor Al Arreola read a proclamation designating September 2025 as “Childhood
Cancer Awareness Month.” The mayor was joined by members of the community whose
families have battled childhood cancer. The mayor and council also honored members of
the Code Blue Spartans Track Club AAU Junior Olympics 2025.
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Upcoming events announced
• Councilwoman Ernestina “Tina” Martinez reminded Del Rioans to register for the
annual Fiesta Amistad Parade, which will be held on Oct. 18 and which is part of the
annual Fiesta Amistad celebration organized each year by the International Good
Neighbor Council of Del Rio. Community Services Director Esme Meza also announced
the city will host the 2 nd Annual Monarch Butterfly Festival at Brown Plaza and on the
grounds of the Casa De La Cultura from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, Oct. 10.
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Council hears presentation on city bond ratings
• City council members heard a presentation on the city’s bond ratings from Tony Jaso,
of Estrada Hinajosa, the city’s financial advisors. Jaso, who appeared at Tuesday’s
meeting via video, went over the system for rating municipal bonds by the three principle
rating agencies, Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch. Jaso covered what rating
agencies evaluate and noted Del Rio currently has ratings of Aa3/AA-/AA-, which he
said were considered “high quality, slightly higher risk, investment grade bonds.”
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Council hears presentation on amendments to short-term rental ordinances
• City Planning and Zoning Director Janice Pokrant gave a presentation on amendments
being proposed to Chapter 15, Housing and Property Maintenance, Article VIII, Short-
Term Rental Registration, and Chapter 30, Zoning Ordinance, of the city’s code of
ordinances. Pokrant said she wanted to brief council on the changes being proposed,
adding she would hold a public hearing on the amendments during the city’s planning
and zoning commission meeting on Oct. 8 and a general public hearing during the Oct.
14 council meeting, with final city council action scheduled for Oct. 28.
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Council discusses application for HOT funds
• City council members voted 6-1, with Councilman Randy Quiñones casting the sole
opposing vote, to table action on proposed changes to the city’s hotel occupancy tax
(HOT) funds application and post-review report for organizations requesting money from
this source. Assistant City Manager Manuel Chavez went over changes being
recommended for the application and post-event report form. Mayor Pro-tem Jim DeReus
further explained what the city’s HOT Funds Committee looked at in revising the application and post-event report, adding that many of the changes were simply to
streamline and to clarify the application and report. Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez
suggested holding a town hall meeting on the issue and also asked that the city appoint a
local hotelier to serve as part of its HOT Funds Committee.
•
Council appoints five to Envision Del Rio Implementation Committee
• City council members voted 7-0 to appoint five persons to the Envision Del Rio
Implementation Committee, which was proposed to the council earlier this year by City
Planning and Zoning Director Janice Pokrant. The five persons appointed to the new
committee were Guillermo Garza, Ken Herrera, Laura Souba, Isidro Valdez and Bea
Vallejo. Pokrant presented the council with an additional list of names of persons who
had served on the initial Envision Del Rio Committee, but said she had not contacted
them to see whether or not they would be willing to serve on the new committee. The
council will take up naming additional persons to the committee at a future meeting. The
council will eventually appoint 11 persons to the committee.
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Council approves appraisal district budget for coming year
• City council members voted 7-0 to approve the 2026 adopted budget of the Val Verde
County Appraisal District, which was presented to the council by Chief Appraiser
Jaqueline Casanova. Casanova told the council the appraisal district’s board of directors
had approved the budget during its Sept. 8 meeting. Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez
said she appreciated Casanova’s and the appraisal board’s continuing efforts to reduce
appraisal district costs.
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Council approves grant agreement for airport improvements
• City council members voted 7-0 to approve a resolution to authorize City Manager
Shawna Burkhart to execute a grant agreement with the Texas Department of
Transportation Aviation Division for 90 percent reimbursement to the city for
expenditures of $111,111 for maintenance, repairs or improvements at the Del Rio
International Airport. Burkhart told council members the reimbursement is part of an
annual grant program to maintain the ramps at the airport.
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Council approves engineering work for new city water well
• City council members voted 7-0 to approve two resolutions for engineering services for
two city water infrastructure projects. The first was a resolution authorizing City
Manager Shawna Burkhart to approve a work order authorization in the amount of
$2,171,491 from Jimenez Engineering Solutions LLC DBA International Consulting
Engineers (ICE) for engineering services for a new municipal water well adjacent to the
San Felipe Golf Course. The second was a resolution authorizing Burkhart to approve a
work order authorization in the amount of $2,116,053.80 from ICE for engineering
services for replacement of the filtration membranes at the city’s water treatment plant.
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Council approves MOU with ATF for advanced ballistics testing equipment
• City council voted 7-0 to approve two resolutions approving memoranda of
understanding between the Del Rio Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) related to a National Integrated Ballistic
Information Network (NIBIN) Partner Site for services provided by the National NIBIN
Correlation and Training Center. Police officials told the council the partnership between
the DRPD and ATF will allow the DRPD to “submit ballistic evidence – such as
cartridge cases from crime scenes and test fires from recovered firearms – for analysis by
the National NIBIN Correlation and Training Center” and “marks a major step forward in
the department’s capacity to investigate and prosecute gun-related crimes.”
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Council split on dissolving golf commission
• City council members voted 5-2, with Mayor Pro-tem Jim DeReus and Councilman J.P.
Sanchez opposed, to approve an ordinance amending Chapter 7, “Boards and
Commissions,” Article X, “City of Del Rio Golf Course Commission.” The motion to
approve the ordinance passed after a motion by Councilman Jesus Lopez Jr. to table the
agenda item failed for lack of a second. The council also heard a brief presentation on the
issue from Scot Carcasi, the city’s operations and compliance manager. Under the
amendment, the golf course commission would be dissolved, but three of its members
would move to the city’s parks and recreation advisory board.
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Council approves collective bargaining agreement with DRPOA
• City council members voted 7-0 to approve an ordinance authorizing City Manager
Shawna Burkhart to execute a collective bargaining agreement between the city and the
Del Rio Police Officers Association (DRPOA) for the term of Oct. 1, 2025, through Sept.
30, 2026. The two primary amendments to the agreement include no base wage increase
for the duration of the agreement and a lump sum payment of $3,500 will be issued to all officers “as defined within the terms of the agreement.”
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
