NEWS — Citizens speak about road issue

By Karen Gleason

The 830 Times

Comments from leaders of The Border Organization regarding the Moreno Valley Subdivision and Old Foster Road weren’t enough to change the minds of county commissioners court members during a special meeting Tuesday.

About 25 county residents, some leaders in The Border Organization and some of them residents of the Moreno Valley Subdivision, spoke to the court during the meeting.

At issue was whether or not Old Foster Road, one of the main thoroughfares in the Moreno Valley Subdivision in southern Val Verde County, is a county road.

County officials, including County Judge Lewis G. Owens Jr. and County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores, in whose precinct the subdivision is located, have repeatedly said Old Foster Road has never been accepted for maintenance by the county and will not be accepted for maintenance by the county until it is constructed to model subdivision standards.

Gabriel Zapata, who told the court he lives in Moreno Valley and is a leader of The Border Organization, was the first person to address the court.

“Along with other residents of Moreno Valley, we’re in need of water, basic resources, services. The solution is simple. We’re asking the commissioners court to vote to declare that Old Foster Road is a road that is maintained by the county. That it’s so because it’s recorded in the Val Verde County maintenance road book,” Zapata told the court.

“Now let’s be clear. To declare that Old Foster Road is a county maintained road is a necessary first step in getting water to the people of Moreno Valley. The Border Organization has contacted state officials and their response is that maintaining the road has nothing to do with violating the model subdivision rules.

“If you maintain the road, there are any number of state and federal grants the county can apply for. It is within your power to bring water to the people of Moreno Valley. If you decide not to maintain the Old Foster Road, it’s not because it’s not legal, it’s not because there aren’t any grants to make it happen, so let’s do what’s right for the people of the county. It’s in your power to do so,” Zapata said.

Irma Cardenas, a leader of the Border Organization, told the court she did not live in Moreno Valley.

“But I want to encourage you to do right by the people of Moreno Valley. Accept that Old Foster Road is a road maintained by the county, a first step to getting water to the people. As commissioners and county judge, your responsibility goes beyond maintaining roads and bridges. You have the responsibility to assure the safety and welfare of the people of the county.

“It is not healthy for people not to have water. It is not safe for them. It is not safe for the rest of the people in the county. The reason people live longer today is because they have access to clean drinking water. To not take this first step is to neglect your responsibility as commissioners and county judge,” Cardenas said.

Karen Gonzalez, another leader of The Border Organization, first thanked the court for holding the meeting in the evening.

“I want to add my voice to those that have testified this evening . . . It’s time to begin to solve this issue. You know what you have to do. You know what the right thing is to do. It’s time to make it happen. Vote to recognize that Old Foster Road is a road maintained by the county. The road is used by Border Patrol, National Guard, sheriff’s deputies, county fire and emergency units. It should be recognized as a road maintained by the county to bring water to the people of Moreno Valley, but also to provide for the safety of the people who live in the area,” Gonzalez said.

The Rev. Ruben Chairez of Del Rio addressed the court in Spanish.

Raul Gaona, who lives in the Vega Verde area, said he had attended the meeting “to speak in tandem with the Old Foster Road.”

“I am not a resident of Moreno Valley. I live off of Vega Verde . . . but my road is Pace Miller Drive. That goes into Old Foster Road, and I’m assuming it’s a county road because it’s labeled, it’s got a name. If it has been adopted, which I think I pulled up some old public records and it looks like it is, my asking is it be maintained,” Gaona said.

He said when it rains, there are 12-inch-deep crevasses in the road’s surface and that carrizo cane overgrows its edges.

“It’s near impassable,” he added.

County Commissioner Pct. 4 Gustavo “Gus” Flores told Gaona, “I’ll have the county engineer look into it to see if it’s a county road. If it is a county road, we’ll go ahead and maintain it.”

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