City and School District to hold Joint Workshop on December 3rd

By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2015

The City of Eagle Pass City Council and the Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees will hold a joint workshop on Thursday, December 3, 2015 at 5:00 P.M. at the City of Eagle Pass International Center for Trade, located at 3429 Bob Rogers Drive, in Eagle Pass, Texas to discuss several important issues between the two entities.

Among the issues to be discussed at the joint workshop include the Language Development Center and its continual flooding problems related to storm water drainage and the City’s Water Detention Pond adjacent to the public school, the City of Eagle Pass Golf Course, the extension of Kilowatt Drive and its completion, General Drainage and Joint Property Maintenance Issues, Construction Issues, the practice field and track at Eagle Pass High School, and School District and City cooperation.

One of the items to be discussed is the Eagle Pass Independent School District’s Language Development Center Pre-Kinder and Kindergarten School located at South Veterans Boulevard and serious issues facing the school concerning flooding, storm waters drainage, mold, costs of repairs to the school, the future of the school, the City’s Water Detention Pond adjacent to the school, and the transfer of students to Austin Elementary and the closing of the school for the remainder of the school year for repairs.

Once again, the pre-kinder and kindergarten Language Development Center suffered severe damages due to the Thursday and Friday,  October 8-9, 2015, heavy thunderstorms which drenched Eagle Pass, Texas with over 12 inches of rain in a 24 hours period causing flooding at the public school.

Two years ago in September 2013, the Language Development Center had to be closed down due to serious mold contamination inside the school, including classrooms, forcing the Eagle Pass Independent School District to undertake a million dollar mold remediation project and transfer the students and staff to Austin Elementary for the remainder of the school year.

The City of Eagle Pass constructed a Water Detention Pond adjacent to the Language Development Center which many community members claim have caused flooding and mold issues in the School. The Language Development Center and the Water Detention Pond are located within the FEMA 100 year flood zone. There are serious questions whether the City’s storm water drainage system and the Water Detention Pond are contributing to the flooding and mold issues at the Language Development Center.

The City of Eagle Pass and the Eagle Pass Independent School District are currently planning of building two additional water detention ponds near the Kilowatt Drive area adjacent to Liberty Elementary and DeBona Park, raising many flooding concerns among residents in both the City and County (Barrera Street and Seco Mines).

The joint workshop meeting is open to the public and the community is invited to participate in all City of Eagle Pass and Eagle Pass Independent School District meetings. To understand the issues facing the City and the School District, taxpayers are encouraged to attend the joint workshop meeting on Thursday, December 3rd at 5 P.M. at the City’s International Center for Trade.

A more detailed article on the December 3,2015 joint workshop meeting between the City and School District will be published in the December 10 , 2015 issue of the Eagle Pass Business Journal.