Quality of Life Items Narrowed Down; Streets Get $210M

City Council narrowed down the list of Quality of Life (QOL) bond proposals for the November election in a special meeting held May 24, 2012. The City has settled on seven different items totaling $460M which will most likely be divided into two categories on the ballot, Parks, Recreation and Sports Facilities for $160-180M and Cultural and Entertainment Facilities for $230-280M. A separate item will ask for $45-55M for investment in a Triple-A baseball club.

Sun Bowl improvements were removed from the items due to legal questions surround money towards a facility the City doesn't own. The item considering a soccer stadium was also removed; the City would like to wait until a team is identified and form a public/private partnership to build the venue.

Resurfacing Project Map

Street improvements will not be part of the QOL election. Instead, the City will move forward with issuing $210M in certificates of obligation to fund improvements for the next seven years starting in 2013. Street projects include:
  1. Synchronization of Signal Network
  2. Resurfacing/Micro-surfacing
  3. Reconstruction
  4. Unpaved Right-of-Ways / Alleys
  5. Street Median & Parkway Landscaping
  6. Neighborhood Traffic Management Program
  7.  Pedestrian Elements, Sidewalk & Parkway Improvements

Residents will vote on the QOL proposals in the November election.

City of El Paso QOL website: http://home.elpasotexas.gov/proposed-quality-of-life-bond-issue.php
Special City Council Meeting QOL Presentation (PDF): http://home.elpasotexas.gov/_documents/2012%20Quality%20of%20Life%20Bond.pdf
Street Infrastructure Presentation (PDF): http://home.elpasotexas.gov/_documents/Street%20Infrastructure%20Capital%20Plan.pdf