By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
County residents heard updates on several projects underway in Val Verde County Precinct 2 during a recent town hall meeting hosted by Val Verde County Commissioner Pct. 2 Juan Carlos Vazquez.
Vazquez welcomed about 30 county residents to the Precinct 2 community meeting room in the Judge Antonio “Tony” Faz III County Annex, 315 E. Chapoy Street, on Wednesday, Sept. 9.
County annex serves community
Vazquez first handed out a map of the county annex, showing all of the agencies with offices in the facility, including his own office, the Val Verde County Branch Library, Community Action, CASA of Val Verde County and a Veterans Administration medical clinic.
Vazquez told attendees, “About four or five years ago, I approached Dr. Carlos Rios, the superintendent of the local public school district, about maybe doing something for the community at this particular location, and within a couple of months, he had asked the school board to let the county take over this property.”
The commissioner next asked everyone attending the town hall to introduce him- or herself. He asked several attendees to elaborate on their past work or projects, including Patricia Hernandez, a retired U.S. Marine Corps veteran who spoke about her previous work with veterans experiencing homelessness.
Jap Lowe residents seek de-annexation
Several of the persons attending the meeting were residents of the Jap Lowe area on the east side of Del Rio, and Vazquez gave an update
on some of the issues residents in that area have had in trying to obtain public services.
Vazquez said he supported Jap Lowe residents who are seeking de-annexation from the city of Del Rio. He said he has met with city officials, but added he believed any forward progress on the issue has slowed because the city only recently hired a full-time city attorney and does not currently have a permanent city manager.
Lausen Lane drainage project nears completion
Vazquez next gave updates on several projects underway in Precinct 2, beginning with a drainage project along Lausen Lane, just east of Veterans Boulevard north of Walmart.
“I believe it’s at 85, maybe 90 percent, completion. That’s a $375,000, close to $400,000, investment. I used some ARPA funds that I had, but it’s almost there. With the recent flooding (because of heavy rains in July), we did not have a single home that got flooded in that area, and from the calculations from our county engineer, if it wasn’t for the drainage ditch, we would have had some flooded homes there,” Vazquez said, adding residents have provided positive feedback on the project.
Vazquez said he has money set aside to pave Lausen Lane and to place guardrails along the entire length of the drainage ditch.
Sports complex moving ‘full throttle’
Vazquez said the commissioners court earlier on Wednesday, Sept. 9, had voted to approve a bid for constructing the parking lot at the Roberto “Bob” Chavira Sports Complex.
“We’ve got $4 million set aside for that sports complex already. . . we’ve got three full-time employees there with bulldozers and motor graders, and it’s moving along. It’s going full throttle. Once we get the concrete parking lot (done), I think after that, we’ve already started moving dirt from Lausen all the way to the sports complex, to level out the ground, and that will save us some money on fill dirt for the soccer and basketball areas,” Vazquez said.
One man asked when the project would be completed, and Vazquez said it should be done in a year-and-a-half. In answer to other questions, Vazquez spoke about some of the different types of fields that will be available once the complex is opened, noting the county has also awarded a bid for the drilling of a water well for the complex and praised County Engineer Carlos Velarde for his design of the facility.
Booster station to improve water pressure
Another project ongoing in Precinct 2 is a water pressure booster station for the San Felipe Pastures area of the county, located between the county jail and State Loop 79. Vazquez said he believes the project, which uses grant funds, will be completed in a month or two.
“This booster station is really going to bump up the pressure, so we’ll have more water pressure for the people on Tierra Blanca, Alma, Benita Lane. It’s really going to help out the community,” Vazquez said.
Road work continues across precinct
Vazquez also spoke about a number of road paving and improvement projects his crews are working on. He said his crews are working on asphalt patching and paving in the Rough Canyon area adjacent to Lake Amistad. He also spoke about work being done to repair flood damage to the Dolan Creek Road in north-central Val Verde County.
“This coming year, I got some extra paving money, per mile, that I’ll be able to use. There are a couple of roads out there I want to do completely instead of just doing patch-up jobs. We’re working hard to improve Rough Canyon,” Vazquez said.
Rough Canyon resident Gus Chavira thanked Vazquez for his work in the area.
Residents encouraged to share concerns
Vazquez repeatedly encouraged attendees to contact him with concerns, questions and suggestions, whether calling him directly, texting him or sending him a message on social media.
“I want to know what we’re not doing right, so we can correct it. When we see a negative comment, we don’t take offense to it, we make an effort to contact the person, ask what we’re doing wrong, what we haven’t accomplished, because we’re here for the taxpayers, and we want do things in the right way,” Vazquez insisted.
Vazquez said he sits on the Middle Rio Grande workforce solutions board as its vice president, CASA of Val Verde County board of directors, the Amistad Land Use and Zoning Commission and the South Texas Food Bank board of directors, the I-27 Advisory Committee and the county’s purchasing policy committee. He also spoke about how his participation on those boards helps Val Verde County residents.
The group spent much of the rest of the meeting asking questions and voicing outrage and concerns about the possibility of the construction of a data center somewhere in Val Verde County.
Following the meeting, attendees enjoyed a dinner of hamburgers and fries and several spoke individually with Vazquez.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
