Good News on Open Space Acquisitions

There was one good piece of news that came as a result of last week's PSB meeting. During the discussion on stormwater and other budgets, I addressed the board and pointed out that, with the exception of the Palisades and a couple of other minor purchases, the portion of the stormwater fee set aside to purchase open space was being used for parks and ponds - shrubs and sod was the way I put it. (I had previously blogged about the issue HERE.) Having been on the Open Space committee and then Board for 5 years, I am well aware of this issue. The EPWU spokesperson would come to OSAB meetings and discuss EPWU interest in a piece of land - but it was always just talk. (That person btw was Rudy Valdez. He's a great guy and was only passing on information. My mentioning a spokesperson to the Board was not meant to be a criticism of that person just of the emptiness of the EPWU's message over 5 years.)

It turns out that the new person in charge of acquisitions at the EPWU is none other than Lupe Cuellar.  Now that's the good news! The conservation community can have confidence that Ms. Cuellar will be more diligent and focused on open space purchases.

There is a caveat of course. The mere announcement of interest in a section of private land can drive up the price. There not only has to be a willing seller but a seller willing to be reasonable and even civic-minded. 

When I voiced my concern/criticism at the PSB meeting, CEO Balliew did point out that negotiations in the past had not worked out not because of the EPWU but because of unwilling or unreasonable sellers. I'm sure that has been the case in many instances. However, five years of nothing except the Palisades and parks and ponds tells me that there has been a lack of focus and willingness on the part of the EPWU. After all, the political will in the City has been biased toward park ponds. The purchase of parks and ponds is something City reps can point to proudly. It's pork in El Paso. That money included shrubs and sod although Balliew mistakenly told the Board otherwise. I'm afraid that he left the impression with some of the more reactionary members that the EPWU was innocent regarding the slow pace of purchasing open space. On the other hand, the fact that some members wanted to know the reason for the slow pace reveals that they do want to see natural open space purchased. It will be helpful to keep asking the question. The proof, as I told John Balliew after the meeting, is in the pudding - with open space, with pipelines to the Rio Bosque and so forth. Talk is cheap.

It is true that the ordinance which created the 10% of stormwater money to buy natural open space (which has stormwater function) included the purchase of park ponds. It was the only way politically to pass the measure. However, it seems that reps continue to find ways to spend that money for park ponds. El Paso Engineer Alan Shubert let slip at a Council meeting not long ago that the City was looking at more land for park ponds. That was before he found himself overseeing the stadium project on behalf of the City. Of course, there was the Johnson Basin boondoggle - the purchase with open space money of a vacant lot with a paved asphalt parking lot. It has been decades since any natural arroyo existed in the area. It has long been residential land dominated by William Beaumont Hospital below a busy thoroughfare, Alabama Street. (Pacemaker bioengineer and PSB Chairman Schoephoerster [PSB has something to do with water not hearts - right?] said, you will recall, that it looked like natural open space to him. (See video HERE and more HERE and HERE.) God I hope Dean Schoephoerster had nothing to do with the pacemaker inside of me!)

Anyway - good news. Lupe Cuellar is in charge of open space acquisitions at the EPWU.

Speak Out and Show Up for Open Space

In their newsletter "At Lincoln House", the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy recently reported: "Based on the last several years of referendum voting, it appears most Americans are willing to pay for the acquisition of conservation land."

Cities such as Scottsdale and Cave Creek in Arizona are finding that they can tax to keep landscapes unfragmented, preserve wildlife, open space and cultural heritage. Read the recent Wall Street Journal article by Erica E. Phillips: In Scottsdale, a Quest to Keep the West Wild
Sprawling City Use Taxes, State Funds to Acquire and Preserve Open Lands.

Yet, here in El Paso, although we have a vehicle for preserving open space (10% of your stormwater fee), we squander it on park ponds and do nothing toward the purchase of land prioritized for preservation.

And here's the kicker: yesterday, after the PSB Committee meeting, I suggested to John Balliew, Christina Montoya (VP of Communications and Marketing at EPWU) and Rick Bonart that the Chair of the Open Space Committee be included in stormwater budget meetings. Nobody from OSAB attended this fall's budget meeting and I figured that they had just been ignored.  Ms. Montoya made the point that her office sent out all kinds of notices and announcements about the meeting. I know that she did because she is consistently great about informing the public and I got her notices. Dr. Bonart said that he personally informed the Chair of OSAB about the meeting and encouraged attendance. 

What do we have to do to acquire conservation land/open space? Show up and start pushing the open space priorities and program. I'm saying this to myself as well now too.

Catching Up: Stormwater Budget

Study this slide.

Note the $2.6 Million for park ponds. Read sod. Besides the acquistion of the Palisades and a smaller property, there have been no other purchases of natural open space - none from the list of priorities established by the Open Space Advisory Board. EPWU Stormwater officials have claimed in meeting after meeting that they are looking at land but have nothing to show for it except more money for sod and shrubs for park ponds.

When I suggested that the current OSAB members do not have the will to fight the trend to finance park ponds and not to purchase open space, a veteran observer agreed with me and added: "They [OSAB members] sit there while staff and the city attorney dictate to them.  They haven't said a thing to challenge the park pond funding."