Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Del Rio Economic Development Director Ori Fernandez will be leaving her position soon after she was hired to fulfill a similar role in the nation’s 12th largest city.
Fernandez made her imminent departure public during Tuesday’s city council meeting and confirmed the move in an interview recently.
“I’ll be headed to the city of Ft. Worth as its new assistant director of economic development,” Fernandez said.
She noted her new job will entail much of the same type of work she spearheaded and shepherded to fruition in Del Rio.
“(The new position) will include pretty much everything related to economic development, but on a much larger scale. Ft. Worth is the 12th largest city in the nation, right behind Austin,” Fernandez said.
“It will include everything from helping oversee managers that oversee tax increment reinvestment zones (TIRZs), and over there, there’s already two TIRZs that are about to be completed within the year, so that’s something I’m definitely looking forward to. The new job will also include downtown revitalization efforts, business retention and expansion, but again, on a much larger scale,” she added.
Fernandez said much of Ft. Worth’s economic development initiatives dovetail with work being done by the area’s many chambers of commerce.
“There, because of the great diversity of the population, they have chambers for African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latino/Latinx, so there will be a number of different groups that I will be working with because there isn’t just one chamber but several,” Fernandez said.
Ft. Worth, she said, also initiated a small business grant program, similar to the one she helped oversee in Del Rio.
In total, Fernandez has worked for the city of Del Rio for five years. During her first stint, she served from June 2015 until January 2018 and was re-hired in April 2019 to the present.
Fernandez said she feels her “biggest win” for the city is the Del Rio Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
“When I first came in, I was, literally, shown an office with a desk and a computer and told, ‘Best of luck.’ I wish there had been someone here at the time that I could have learned from. I think (former assistant city manager) Ryan Rapalye did the best he could at the time because he had some knowledge from working with the city of San Antonio and the special projects area, so he knew some of the basics, but on day one, what I did was to go on the Texas Municipal League web site, looked at their economic development handbook and started reading that,” Fernandez said with a laugh.
“I feel like my big win, starting from scratch, and largely the help of (former city attorney) Suzanne West, who is now our district attorney and who I consider one of my mentors, I think together, seeing the formation of the city’s economic development corporation and now, seeing the fruits of our labor, seeing all the workforce development grants, the school district, the Jon Hart project, putting funding towards the expansion of the cargo lane at the international bridge, because that’s going to be huge,” Fernandez added.
She remembered that the EDC was somewhat of “a hard sell” for the community, but credits both the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce and the Del Rio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce with helping bring her efforts to fruition.
“I think they definitely helped push that initiative forward in terms of getting people out to vote and set aside a portion of the local sales tax to fund it, and I’m very grateful to Blanca Larson and her team, because I know they help a lot with that movement,” she said.
Asked what she will miss the most about the Texas border region where she was born, raised and has worked, Fernandez said without hesitation, “The Mexican food.”
“My wife is from Mexico and before COVID we would go over there almost every weekend. There’s something so special about walking on American soil and within 15 to 17 minutes, you’re in another country. . . That is a feeling that I’m going to miss. People who don’t live on the border don’t understand how special this place is,” Fernandez said.
“There is just something unique about being in a border town, two different countries, two different cultures,” she added.
Fernandez said she wants Del Rioans to know she gave her best every day.
“I did the best I could with everything that was given to me at my disposal. I want to also say there are a lot of wonderful, hard-working, largely underpaid employees here at the city. . . I truly believe they want the very best for the city.
“I’m truly grateful, and I know every day when I came in to work I had to answer to every taxpayer, because they were paying my salary, and I never forgot that, and I’m truly grateful for everyone who supported me along my path, whether it was here or teaching or coaching, I worked with a lot of amazing people here in Del Rio. There are just a lot of really great people here, and I’m going to miss them,” Fernandez said.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com .
