By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
Del Rio City Council members will meet for a special budget workshop on Tuesday.
Interim City Manager Manuel Chavez announced the special meeting during the council’s last regular meeting on July 28 during his informational update to the council. The special meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Chavez began his update by thanking city staff who responded to situations across the city caused by several days of rain earlier in July, including the placement of barricades and the monitoring of low-lying, flood-prone areas.
Chavez said, “I want to commend public safety, the fire department and police department, our public works staff, our parks and recreation staff. They didn’t know exactly what would come because it’s nature, right? But anything we had to react to, the city staff was ready and willing to get there, and I want to commend all city staff for their work on that day and every day, for being ready to answer that call.”
He added some city employees were affected by the storms and unable to come to work because of high-water situations.
“I also want to thank all of our partners, because they were all ready to go as well,” Chavez said.
When Councilman LeRoy Briones interjected he would like Chavez to stress to citizens not to “get in the water” during flooding caused by storm runoff, Chavez said, “Not only do you have to consider your own life, but you have to consider that if you go beyond those barricades and you do get stuck, then the individuals who go in there to rescue you are also putting their lives on the line, so we stress and we try to put out (information) as early as possible about the low-lying areas.
“I think living in the city we all know where those are at, but we always try to put out barricades as soon as possible. We always list them on our social media, and, again, we stress that if you don’t need to be out there, don’t, and if you are, avoid those low-lying areas,” the city manager finished.
Chavez then moved on to project updates, telling the council, “We are also working on a major project we have on our radar. We are pushing forward with the Paul Poag Theatre rehab project, and for your information, on Aug. 6, we are having the pre-construction meeting, and hopefully from that point, we can have a good timeline of this particular project, and as soon as we have that, we’ll share that with council and community.”
Chavez said he also wanted to continue to acknowledge “every city employee that reaches the 20-year milestone with the city.”
Chavez then listed those employees who have reached that milestone during the month of July.
They include Rebecca Acosta, toll collector and crew leader at the Del Rio International Bridge, 25 years of service; Del Rio Fire Department Assistant Chief Delbert Hill, 36 years of service; Ruben Veliz, head custodian with the facility maintenance division, 24 years of service; Soledad Gutierrez, head cook with the nutrition division, 23 years of service; Del Rio Fire Department Deputy Chief Jose “Joey” De Luna, 21 years of service; Javier Torres, groundskeeper with the parks and recreation division, 21 years of service; and “last but not least,” Chavez, who is celebrating 26 years of service.
Chavez said he wanted to remind the council July is Parks and Recreation Month.
“I want to recognize all our parks and recreation staff. We are planning on having a little something to celebrate them,” Chavez said.
Chavez said he also wanted to acknowledge and recognize the city’s lifeguards.
Finally, Chavez thanked the city’s media department for its work on a series of “Behind The City” short films about various aspects of city work and “those who keep this city running.”
Chavez then asked the media staff to play the first video, which featured lifeguards at the city’s pools.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
