Voters didn’t just cast a ballot for their future leaders, they also decided on five county bond proposals which provided an opportunity to enhance the 915’s quality of life.
Three proposals passed, the improvement of county parks and recreation, new medical examiner offices, and establishing the county’s first animal shelter. In addition, voters passed a nearly $400 million dollar bond for The University Medical Center of El Paso. The bond will invest in higher quality healthcare equipment and will expand services to Horizon City.
El Pasoans voted no to courthouse uplifts and annexes that would’ve expanded courts to include kitchens for nutritional programs and extra offices. Possibly the biggest blow for those who want a tourist uplift, the proposition that would have renovated the 82-year-old El Paso Coliseum. The coliseum renovation would have been the costliest to property taxes, increasing them by $20 a year.
Instead, the passed proposals will increase property taxes by $29 combined for a home worth $200,000.
The bond that will most impact taxpayers is the proposal to uplift parks and recreation, or proposition A. The proposition places a $95.6 million limit to upgrade areas such as bike and hike trails, sports fields, and more. Nearly half of the focus is on the Ascarate area. Proposition A will modernize Ascarate Park by uplifting current areas including picnic shelters and constructing a new outdoor stage.
“I think it’s important to have public parks, especially because it increases fitness and well-being around the city,” said freshman Sergio Javier Martinez.
Proposition A also includes a courthouse annex to add office space in Ascarate Park for multiple county departments.
The next bond that county voters passed is focused on any case involving death, as the Medical Examiner Office performs autopsies and holds the bodies of the deceased. Proposition B is set to reconstruct or extend the county’s Medical Examiner Office and will increase property taxes on homes with a $200,000 value by $5.
Currently, the medical examiner’s office at the University Medical Center of El Paso campus can hold around 130 bodies, a tally calculated during the pandemic. Adding a new building will grow that number to 300, avoiding the need for trailers to house human corpses, which last occurred in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The final bond passed by El Pasoans was an approval to build the county’s first animal shelter. The shelter is set to be built next to the jail on Montana Avenue on the far east side and will raise property taxes by $6.
Last summer, citizens gathered at the Aug. 29, 2023, city council meeting to tell their representatives “Enough is enough,” in regard to stray animals on city streets.
The trend here is a lack of spending on eye grabbing plans, but young voters carry the feeling that improvements start with small changes.
“Life is valuable, life is precious,” said freshman Aileen Almandos in regard to the animal shelter. “Once we actually start to see significant change, then I would love to see downtown be refurbished, or building a new arena.”
Sebastian Perez-Navarro is a staff reporter for The Prospector and can be reached at [email protected]
