By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Del Rio City Council members heard updates on more than 25 ongoing city projects, including the Buena Vista Pool reconstruction, the Paul Poag Theatre renovation and water line replacement, during their most recent regular meeting.
Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez told the council at the outset of the presentation, “We want to come in and give the city council an update on our capital improvement projects. We have about 27 projects that we want to go through.”
Chavez said City Purchasing Agent Luis Menchaca and Interim Finance Director Roxy Soto would give the presentation, adding Public Works Director Greg Velazquez was standing by via Zoom to answer any questions.
Menchaca began the briefing, first explaining the city’s capital improvement plan (CIP) as “a multi-year plan identifying capital projects to be funded during the planning period.”
He added, “The CIP provides for such items as major construction or reconstruction of streets, gas, water and wastewater lines and parks.”
Menchaca also explained why it is important for the city to have a capital improvement plan, noting the CIP “gives (city) departments and divisions a roadmap of what is important to the city.” He said the plan also allows “the city to know specifically what needs to be budgeted for (in the) long term and helps shape the rate structure required to ensure the city is charging the utility fees required to be able to not only fund current costs, but upcoming infrastructure costs associated with projects listed in the CIP.”
Menchaca began his review with sewer projects.
Menchaca said the major sewer project the city is currently undertaking is the design and construction of the Northside Wastewater Trunkline. He said the project will increase the size of the primary sewer outfall pipeline that moves wastewater from the city’s north side to the Silver Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant in far south Del Rio.
“The larger pipeline will relieve the existing pipelines that are currently flowing at full capacity,” Menchaca said.
He told the council currently only the first phase of the project, with an estimated cost of $7 million, has been funded, but the second phase, with an estimated cost of $23 million, has not.
Menchaca also reviewed plans for $4 million in proposed upgrades to the Silver Lake Wastewater Treatment Plant. He said the city is in discussions with its financial advisors to borrow the money to fund the upgrades.
Menchaca said another project being carried out by the city is Phase 2 of the water pipeline project to replace “undersized and aging pipelines in the north central area of Del Rio from 10th Street to 18th Street.”
Menchaca said the engineering and design of the pipeline replacement project cost about $1.1 million and were funded through the Texas Water Development Board and NAD Bank. He said the second phase of the project is estimated to cost $15 million, adding the city is waiting to hear from the Environmental Protection Agency for a potential $8 million in grant funding.
Menchaca also reviewed several other water projects, including the reconstruction of the retaining wall around the city’s East Spring, the ongoing installation of automated metering infrastructure, replacement of membranes at the San Felipe Water Treatment Plant and the completion of a new municipal well adjacent to the San Felipe Springs Golf Course.
Menchaca then turned the presentation over to Soto, who discussed parks projects underway.
Soto began with a discussion of the Blue Wall stabilization project (see separate story) and the rehabilitation of the Buena Vista Pool, which she said will be repaired and ready by the summer of 2027.
Soto reviewed parks projects that have been completed, including the placement of modular buildings to replace existing sheds at the San Felipe Springs Golf Course, an aluminum fence installed at the San Felipe Springs Golf Course, the completion of a skateboard facility in the Severiano Perez Parkway and a volleyball court and splash pad at the GI Forum Park.
Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez asked, “I understand there was a part that was needed to make that splash pad at the GI Forum (Park) operational. I understand that it went most of last summer without being operational. Were you all ever able to get that part?”
Soto replied, “Yes, I do believe they have received the part, and it is currently operational.”
Scot Carcasi, the city’s operations and compliance manager, added, “It is operational now. We had some overheating issues that were causing breakers to burn up, and we’ve developed a plan to solve that, and once we got it operational again, we suffered a failure of some of the piping, so we repaired that, so it will be ready to go for this summer.”
Councilman Jesus Lopez Jr. asked if any of the problems with the splash pad were covered by the warranty, but Mayor Al Arreola said the council was hearing an overall facilities update, telling the councilman, “That’s another story,” but Lopez said he had another question.
Lopez said that on projects completed, Soto had failed to mention new bridges that had been installed at the golf course.
Soto agreed and said the bridges were another project that had been done through CIP operating funds in the city budget.
“This list is, of course, not a full, comprehensive list. There are some projects that have not been included, such as the second international bridge. We also have some landfill projects and projects at the airport that were not included, but we are working on a second update, and we will include those projects in that update,” Soto added.
Menchaca went over city facilities projects currently in progress.
He started with the ongoing work to renovate the city’s historic Paul Poag Theatre.
Menchaca told the council, “Right now the project is in its third phase. The project is intended to ensure the Paul Poag Theatre is a safe and accessible to all citizens, with a focus on maintaining the historical integrity of the location.”
He said the city has received three bids for the renovation work from three different vendors.
“Right now, they’re being reviewed, and the intent is for us to bring it back to you for an approval on May 12. Fingers crossed,” Menchaca said, adding, “Right now, the intention is for the theater to open in early 2027.”
He said funding for the project includes $3.3 million from 2023A certificates of obligation and noted $430,000 of that amount has already been spent for the design portion of the renovation.
Menchaca also spoke about plans to remodel the city’s animal services building, noting staff expects the work at the facility to be completed by early 2028.
He told the council other city facilities staff have been working on or will be working on include the rehabilitation of the Southern Transportation Depot, upgrading the restrooms and the gym floor at the Joe Ramos Center, maintenance on bay doors at four of the city’s fire stations and phased upgrades at City Hall.
Soto then addressed the issue of the city’s emergency sirens. (See separate story.)
She next briefed the council on street projects, beginning with the Highland Park subdivision.
Soto said, “The city began utility work last year. Ardurra Group prepared the engineering and design services for this project, and the construction portion was awarded to STX Civil in the amount of $2.9 million, and it is funded through the 2023 certificates of obligation. This was recently awarded, at the last council meeting, and we are working with the engineering firm as well as the construction firm to receive the notice to proceed.”
Soto also spoke to the council about other paving plan projects, including Griner and Strickland streets, noting it was recently completed at a total cost of $2.3 million, and the mill and overlay of the Del Rio International Bridge, which was completed in March and funded through international bridge reserves at a total cost of $1.7 million.
Soto said in 2024-2025, the city’s in-house streets division completed 2.3 miles of street improvements and is expected to complete one mile of street improvements in 2025-2026.
After the presentation, Arreola asked if there were any more questions, and Gutierrez said she had sent an email to Chavez, noting that before he became interim city manager, “there was a plan in place to meet with the residents of these areas to inform them of the planned actions and how they may or may not be affected.”
“I’d like to see that come to fruition … I’d think that would be something positive, for the administration to meet with the residents,” the councilwoman added.
Chavez thanked the council members for their attention, adding he planned more updates in the near future.
“We want to make sure council and citizens are informed about the major projects we have,” Chavez said.
Arreola also thanked Chavez and staff for the update and said he hoped the updates could be given every quarter.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
