Oct 08, 2024
EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) -- El Paso County voters are being asked to approve more than $720 million of bonds from two different government agencies during the Nov. 5 general election. El Paso County is asking voters to approve $323.8 million in what are being called "capital improvement bonds." UMC, meanwhile, is asking voters to approve $396.6 million in bonds to improve its main hospital campus and expand health-care access and services across El Paso County, it says. The County bond is being broken up into five separate ballot questions for voters to decide on individually -- parks and recreation; new office for medical examiner; courthouse, sub-courthouses and County annexes; County Coliseum renovation; and a new animal shelter. County officials estimate that if all five ballot measures pass, the average homeowner will see their taxes increase by about $5 a month or a little more than $60 a year. Here is a breakdown of the County bond: $95.6 million for parks and recreation; $26.7 million for a new office for the medical examiner; $63.3 million for courthouse and annex projects; $105.5 million for a renovation and modernization effort for the El Paso County Coliseum; and $32.7 million for a new animal shelter that will be built next to the Jail Annex. County park projects will include building a new outdoor stage and covered pavilion at Ascarate Park, providing new shaded picnic shelters at all County parks, and creating walking trails and other improvements at other county parks, among other projects. For the County Coliseum, the County wants to make improvements and renovations at the existing coliseum and adjacent buildings to improve seating and ADA accessibility. Proposed improvements also include adding a second sheet of ice at the Sherman Barn to increase access for public skating and hockey. A new County animal shelter, to be built next to the Jail Annex, would provide shelter for stray animals, low-cost to no-cost vaccinations and spay and neuter surgeries. The animal shelter will also provide animal training programs for detainees at the jail. If approved by voters, the County plans to start issuing general obligation bonds in the spring of 2025 and again in 2027, according to a County website portal dedicated to the bond measures. "Many of these projects require design to be completed before construction begins. Project schedules will vary by individual project but projects are expected to enter the construction phase sometime in Fiscal Year 2027," according to the County website. The County said it held 24 public meetings, starting last February, to get community input on what projects need to be priorities. The El Paso County Commissioners Court then tasked a Bond Advisory Committee, a citizen-led group of volunteers, to develop a recommended project list and financing structure. The Commissioners Court voted in August to call for a bond election with five ballot propositions to be included on the Nov. 5 ballot. University Medical Center, meanwhile, is asking for County voters to approve $396.6 million in bonds. UMC says this bond issue will be used to improve the main UMC campus, increase health-care access around the County, build the first "comprehensive cancer center in El Paso," and develop a burn center. UMC said it expects it will seen a 14 percent increase in out-patients and a 5 percent increase in in-patients during the next 10 years. The hospital says it currently has 290 beds that are often full. They project they will need to support 367 patients daily by 2027. Currently, El Paso County does not have a local burn program and patients need to be transferred elsewhere, often to the burn center in Lubbock. Also, there is no radiation therapy facility locally and cancer patients must also travel outside the El Paso region, UMC said. UMC estimates that if the bond is approved, it will have an impact of less than $6 a month for the average homeowner over 30 years. You can learn more about the County bond measures by clicking here. You can learn more about the UMC bond measures by clicking here.
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