El Paso City Council Work Session Summary – February 24, 2025
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El Paso City Council Work Session – February 24, 2025
The El Paso City Council held a work session on Monday, February 24, 2025, at 9:44 AM in Council Chambers. Mayor Renard U. Johnson presided. The session featured annual reports from three economic development partners (Project ARRIBA, STTE Foundation, and the Medical Center of the Americas), an overview of the Economic and International Development Department, and a presentation on the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The council also deliberated in executive session on several legal and economic development matters, returning to open session to take votes on six items.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were presented.
Public Comments & Testimony
- One member of the public, Ms. Turner, had signed up to speak on agenda items 4 and 5 but left before being called; no public testimony was delivered.
Discussion Items
1. Project ARRIBA Annual Report (Agenda Item 1)
- Presentation by Romano Ortiz, President & CEO of Project ARRIBA, on the first year of a five-year, $815,000 City Impact Fund grant (Chapter 380 Agreement). Key metrics: 410 individuals served, 93% persistence rate, 115 graduates, 72 job placements with average starting wage of $29/hour (over $60,000/year). Participants entered the program earning under $12,000/year, representing a 12:1 return on investment. $4.3 million in annual payroll generated from first-year graduates. The organization met all compliance requirements and raised $1.5 million in state/federal grants and $121,000 in new private investments to meet required matching funds.
2. STTE Foundation Annual Report (Agenda Item 2)
- Presented by Joseph Sapien (Executive Director) and Stephanie Schilling (Ventures Manager). The STTE Foundation received a four-year ARPA sub-recipient grant of $500,000 ($125,000/year) to support startup ventures. In FY2024, all performance targets were exceeded, generating a 12x return on investment ($2.9 million economic impact). Five startups (Oram, Chuco Relic, Halle, Try Some Saunas, and a concrete/3D printing firm) achieved milestones including grants, national contracts, and product launches. The Ventures 2025 application is open through March 2025. Council members praised the program and suggested increased funding to scale impact.
3. Medical Center of the Americas (MCA) Annual Report (Agenda Item 3)
- Presented by Carlos Ortega (CEO), Nancy Lowry, and Michaela Lindon Johnson. MCA supports health/life sciences growth via the Innovation Center. Highlights: Clinical trial activity grew 548% over nine years (from 2015), now supporting 70 sites and an estimated $125 million in revenue and 191 high-wage jobs. A researcher from UTEP (Dr. Hermon Rosas-Costa) testified that MCA’s support was instrumental in advancing his biotech startup, Sumolon. Council members commended the MCA’s work, including the monthly “One Million Cups” entrepreneurship event and youth STEM camps.
4. Economic and International Development Department Overview (Agenda Item 4)
- Karina Brasgalla, Director, presented the department’s structure, incentive programs (Chapter 380, 312, 311, 253), and the negotiation process. Key points: El Paso has no dedicated sales tax for economic development (the city’s 1% general fund sales tax is fully allocated; the county collects 0.5% within city limits). Funding sources include the Impact Fund (~$4.5M/year from EP Electric franchise, expiring 2030), the Auxiliary Fund, and the Texas Economic Development Fund ($80M over 15 years from EP Electric sale). The department emphasizes compliance and accountability; every incentive agreement is publicly voted on. Council members discussed retail development, workforce training incentives, and the need to communicate the net benefit of incentives to the public.
5. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Presentation (Agenda Item 5)
- Adriana Pulecio presented the purpose, process, and timeline for the five-year CEDS update. The plan is regional (including Doña Ana County, NM; Ciudad Juárez; and West Texas counties) and requires alignment with federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants. A steering committee of ~60 members has been formed. Timeline: analysis and stakeholder outreach through March 2025; draft plan in spring 2025; 30-day public comment period; final submission to EDA by summer 2025. The strategy aims to unify economic development initiatives, identify projects, and improve federal funding eligibility.
Key Outcomes
- EX1 (Birds N Beasts litigation): Motion passed unanimously authorizing the city attorney’s office to engage in settlement negotiations.
- EX2 (OMB temporary grant pause): No action taken.
- EX3 (West El Paso subdivision guarantee): Motion passed unanimously to enforce the guarantee of public improvements.
- EX4 (EP Electric Newman Unit 6 generation cost recovery): Motion passed unanimously to file a motion for rehearing with the Public Utility Commission. (Council members Chavez, Niño, Rocha, and Limón disclosed campaign contributions from EP Electric Employee PAC.)
- EX5 (EP Electric economic development rate for data center): Motion passed unanimously to engage in settlement negotiations.
- EX6 (EP Electric rate change application): Motion passed unanimously to request public presentations from EP Electric at council and regional community meetings (March–May 2025).
- EX7, EX8, EX9: No action taken.
The meeting adjourned at 4:18 PM.
Meeting Transcript
$815 and no cash matches required. The City of El Paso police department has received this grant since 20 2009 for the last 16 years. The grant period will be from March 1st, 2025 to February 28, 2026. And funding for this will be used for extra duty hours for law enforcement operations targeting trafficking organizations involving drug smuggling, trafficking, and contraband of uh money weapons in our jurisdiction. Funding will also cover for the salary of our county clerk that helped us administer this grant. All right, any questions? Representative Canales. Thank you, Mayor. Um I'm looking at the backup for this item this year uh compared to last year's. Uh this year just has the agenda summary form in the resolution. Uh in previous I definitely last year I'm looking at it, but in previous years I recall seeing the full uh information for the grant application. Um it had like the full narrative information, it has uh the project activities, the measures, is that something that can be included for this year so we can see what it is that we're submitting and precisely what we'll be asking for. Yes, sir. I apologize if that wasn't included, but we can give you the the whole plan uh application, make sure that we get it. Okay, yeah, if we can have that before tomorrow, that'd be that'd be great. And then I'd ask that we move this to the regular agenda for tomorrow, please. Okay, representative Limon. I just have a question for you, so that I will fully understand when we use this terminology. Um how is it determined that El Paso is one of the nation's top safest city? What parameters are used to make that designation? I know I I'm sorry, I know we used to be proclaimed El Paso was designated the safest city. How is that done? Is it still done, and what's the procedure for that? Chief Pacias, good morning. Good morning, uh Mayor Council. Uh we need to stick an oldest thing out. Um back in the day that we used to use Quinlan Press, they were the ones that did it across the nation. Um there. Uh, since uh the council of mayors got together with uh some other organizations, they have done away with the Quinlan Press. So there's several other uh entities that do it. They use a lot of parameters, you know, quality of life, housing markets, things of that nature. So what we're trying to determine, we're gonna be picking basically one uh of those organizations that we think is is best uh as a city as a whole working with all our other departments within the city since they're using so many other parameters, economic development, uh like I said, housing costs, things of that nature, and then the crime issue. But that's that's how we're looking at going forward with this. And you'll be make you'll be making a selection between one of those organizations, or do you take from each one? No, ma'am. There's so many out there now that look at so many different varieties on that. When back in the day when Quinlan Press was doing that, um, we were one of the safest cities of over 500,000 in population. Now that it looks like a lot of these organizations that are on the internet are basically looking at just any city and not really have any parameters as to populations and all the other uh uh demographics can that can affect small and large communities. Okay, but my question, Chief, is what are we using to make our determination? Yes, we're still evaluating what you want to do. Okay, I am sorry, I you did say that. I apologize. And you'll let us know once that decision is made. So that as we reference or as we state El Paso is the safest city, that we can back it up with where it's coming from rather than just arbitrarily designating our city, which I think is a great honor, but that we have something to back it up with. Yes, Ram Warner, we're not gonna mislead. We have to use data to go across the nation and compare us to cities that are relevant to us. Thank you very much, Chief. Thank you. Appreciate it. Thank you, Chief.
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