El Paso City Council Regular Meeting - July 8, 2025
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El Paso City Council Regular Meeting - July 8, 2025
The El Paso City Council held a regular meeting on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, beginning at 9:00 AM with proclamations and continuing at 10:00 AM for the regular agenda. Mayor Renard U. Johnson presided, with council members in attendance (Representatives Alejandra Chávez, Josh Acevedo, Deanna Maldonado-Rocha, Cynthia Boyar Trejo, Iván Niño, Art Fierro, Lily Limón, and Chris Canales via video conference). The meeting included three proclamations, public comment, consent agenda approval, first reading of ordinances, public hearings, and several regular agenda items. All voting items passed unanimously unless noted.
Proclamations
- El Paso Matters Day – Recognized the nonprofit news organization for being named Newsroom of the Year in Texas by the Texas Tribune and for winning an IRE award for an investigation on the migrant detention center fire. Publisher Bob Moore and team accepted.
- International Chihuahuan Desert Celebration Day – Designated September 26–27, 2025 and the fourth Saturday of each September thereafter, honoring the desert’s biodiversity and cross-border conservation efforts. Accepted by Rick Lobello of the Chihuahuan Desert Education Coalition and Gerardo Gonzalez of the National Park Service.
- Knight Time Cheer Magic – Recognized the all-star youth cheer team (ages 7–12) for winning Triple Crown and Youth Summit championships, completing an undefeated season—a first in El Paso cheer history. Coach Emily Canada and athletes were present.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1–13 were approved unanimously under one motion, with a revision to excuse absent Council Members Cynthia Boyar Trejo and Chris Canales (Item 2). Routine approvals included minutes from June 23–24, 2025; ground leases for Dick Poe Motors and Hospice of El Paso at the airport; a tax penalty waiver of $824.77; an interlocal agreement extension with DSHS for milk/dairy testing; board reappointments (Joe Garibay to Open Space, Tess Passero and Chris Canales to Animal Shelter Advisory); tax refunds totaling over $2,500; a refund to Samuel Castillo of $233.30; and notice of campaign contributions (Rep. Chávez received $5,000 from Stanley Jobe; Rep. Fierro received a total of $22,500 from multiple donors).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Maria Acevedo (on behalf of florists) – Expressed concern about the rapid economic decline of local flower shops due to big-box stores and unlicensed vendors, asking for city guidance.
- Eddie Chavez Jr. – Opposed El Paso Electric rate hikes, calling them a “hemorrhage” on the economy. Urged council to write to the Public Utility Commission and support financing for solar systems.
- Elizabeth Crawford – Raised concerns about abortion pill residue in the water supply, citing potential effects on fertility and arguing against a “toilet water system.”
- Frank Tizeno – Criticized lack of police enforcement of traffic and fireworks laws over the July 4th weekend, describing conditions as a “war zone” on the far east side.
- Max Grossman – Accused the city of misleading the public on property taxes: while the preliminary FY2026 budget claims no tax rate increase, rising property valuations result in a 6.5% tax burden increase. Called on Mayor Johnson to keep his campaign promise to lower taxes.
- Luis Ruiz – Warned about potential violent protests linked to Antifa, citing a planned ambush on ICE in Alvarado and claiming Antifa has a cell in El Paso connected to Casa Carmelita. Urged EPPD to investigate.
- Claudia Contreras Siller – Expressed support for the El Paso Police Department (“back the blue”) and praised animal services, noting long wait times and urging community involvement in kitten season. Also criticized a former teacher for cruelty comments.
Discussion Items
- First Reading of Ordinances (Items 14–16) – Approved unanimously. Item 14: No-parking zones (8 AM–5 PM weekdays) on multiple blocks in District 8. Item 15: Decal-required no-parking zones on streets in District 1. Item 16: Speed limit changes on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard (45, 55, 65 MPH zones) in District 4. Public hearings set for July 22, 2025.
- Items 17 & 18 – Dissolving TIRZ #9 and #10 – Approved following public hearing. TIRZ #9 (District 5) held $4.3 million; $2.3 million will fund streetlights on Mongood Drive and shaded canopies at the Eastside Sports Complex, with the remainder helping balance the general fund, generating over $2 million annually. TIRZ #10 (District 1) contained about $100,000; remaining funds will be allocated to infrastructure projects in District 1.
- Item 19 – Thoroughfare Plan Amendments – Approved. Deleted the extension of Ninth Street and a collector connection from Horizon Blvd to I-10; downgraded Gomez Road (from West Terminus to Upper Valley Road) from major arterial to collector, allowing traffic calming measures such as speed humps in District 1.
- Item 20 – Mural Funding (District 7) – Approved: $1,000 from discretionary funds to supplement a mural by local artist Robert Osal at the Néstor Valencia Transfer Center, visible on Alameda Avenue.
- Item 21 – MOU with Sunland Park, New Mexico – Approved. Directs City Manager and City Attorney to draft a Memorandum of Understanding within 60 days for mutual exchange of development and public safety information along the shared border. Council discussed legal basis and scope; City Manager Dionne Mack clarified it stems from a parking lot jurisdiction issue.
- Item 22 – Segundo Barrio Community Block Party (District 8) – Approved: up to $10,000 from discretionary funds for stage, AV, security, barriers, permits, and restrooms, organized by Southside Neighborhood Association.
- Item 23 – Sports Officials Contract – Approved: three-year contract with George Heredia dba Paso USSSA for $3,207,222 (annual $1,069,074) to provide officials and assigners for city-sponsored softball leagues. A 15.71% increase over previous contract due to rate increases and new tournament play category.
Key Outcomes
- All items on the agenda passed unanimously (no dissenting votes recorded).
- Council excused Members Boyar Trejo and Canales for the meeting.
- TIRZ #9 dissolution frees $4.3 million; $2.3 million earmarked for District 5 infrastructure improvements (streetlights on Mongood Drive, shaded canopies at Eastside Sports Complex).
- TIRZ #10 dissolution returns ~$100,000 to District 1 for future projects.
- Council directed staff to draft an MOU with Sunland Park, NM within 60 days.
- The meeting adjourned at 10:49 AM; a work session followed immediately.
Meeting Transcript
Across the state of Texas. And whereas El Paso Matters was recently recognized by I guess this is repeated, sorry. Whereas the City of El Paso honors El Paso Matters for its outstanding contributions to journalism and congratulates them on being named Newsroom of the Year in Texas. We extend our deepest appreciation for their commitment to truth, accountability, and the betterment of our community. Now therefore be it proclaimed by the mayor and council of the city of El Paso that July 8th, 2025 shall be known as El Paso Matters Day. Signed Honorable Mayor Renard Johnson. Good morning, Bob. Morning, Mr. Mayor. Thank you very much. That was really impressive. And thanks to Representative Rocha for organizing this today. I think most of you know that this used to be the El Paso Times building before it was City Hall. And I want to start with a story about how that came to be to talk about how or why journalism is so important. When the city made the decision to buy this building from Digital First Media, which was the company that owned the El Paso Times at that point, they reached a sales price agreement. And because we are journalists, the newsroom of the El Paso Times filed an open records request with the city for the appraisal that was done by the city on this building. And much to our surprise, we found that the city had agreed to pay significantly more for this building than its appraisal had showed. So we ran that story on the front page of the newspaper. It stopped the sale of this building for several weeks and led to renegotiations that eventually lowered the sales price of the building by about a million and a half dollars. And Sergio, to his credit, said if Bob says it's a front page story, it's a front page story. As a nonprofit news organization, El Paso Matters is very much owned by the people of El Paso, and it's supported by them. So I want to thank everybody who's donated to El Paso Matters, who's uh uh read our work over the years. It really helps make uh this work possible. El Paso is a pioneer in this nonprofit news space. Uh uh, we were doing this before other communities ever got around to doing it, and uh it's not a cure all for what we need. Uh we still need strong local television, we still need strong local newspapers, but a lot of that isn't in our control in El Paso. Having a strong nonprofit news organization is in our control. Um so uh we have several members of of our team here. The thing that makes me proudest is that uh everybody you see uh behind you has deep roots in El Paso. We choose to be here and to be part of this community and to help tell the s the most important stories of of the community. So I'm very proud of the work this team has done. The proclamation mentions the uh Newsroom of the Year award we got. We're the first nonprofit uh news organization to ever win that award. We're the first non-traditional newspaper to ever win that award. So uh it really is a testament, not just to these folks here, but to the people of El Paso who found a new way to make sure that we stay informed. Uh one last note on an award that I think really recognizes uh El Paso in in particular, but also El Paso Matters. Because we build from this community, that means we have a lot of talent on our team. And I just want to share an award that I was fortunate enough to pick up a couple of weeks ago from uh investigative reporters and editors, which is the largest uh international organization that uh uh helps uh journalists really do the hardest work, which is investigative reporting. Um El Paso Matters, along with our partners at Laverdot in Ciudad Warez and Lighthouse Media in the Netherlands, won the award for outstanding video investigation for a project we did looking at what caused that tragic migrant detention center fire in Juatos that killed 40 people. Um was great recognition for for that work, but I think it's also worth noting that second place in that contest went to the New York Times. Um that's the talent that we have in this community. That's something that we can all be proud of. We all talk about the challenges we face, and we're aware of that. And that's part of our job at El Paso Matters is to make people aware of those challenges and possible solutions. But it's also our job to celebrate the things that make us unique, and that always comes back to the people of El Paso. So thank you for this recognition and thanks to everybody in El Paso who's made this possible. And I just want to wrap up with giving uh Cindy Ramirez, our editor who's the leader of our newsroom that does all of this important work to say a couple of words. Good morning, everybody, and thank you for having us here today and for recognizing the hard work that all of my colleagues do. Um this has been uh a new journey for me, even though I've born and raised in El Paso and I've been in this um uh area uh for all my life. Um but doing with doing this work with El Paso Matters has been really, really life-changing.
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