Del Rio’s twin-engine economy is externally fueled, marginally protected
November 9, 2007
By Bill Sontag
Feature WriterAmistad National Recreation Area and Laughlin Air Force Base are two workhorses of economic prosperity, pulling in harness with loud vocal encouragement, but little discernible direction from local leaders. That may be on the threshold of change if key political and civic leaders have anything to say about it.
Positioned on opposite, north-south poles of Del Rio’s geographic position on the U.S.-Mexico border, these two federal installations are viewed as independent, if only by reasons of bureaucracy. And they are, rising as they did from the Department of Interior and the Department of Defense, rarely considered parts of the same support system and constituency.
Nevertheless, the financial impact of these two federal installations mixes and mingles with profound influence, here and far beyond international borders and delineations of county and state lines. The National Park Service estimates that agency payroll and two million visitors to Lake Amistad will drop more than $30 million into the local economy this year. Air Force economists monitor Laughlin’s impact, now estimated to exceed $285 million, including an employee salary base alone totaling more than $132 million.
Land use planning and zoning protection of the two vastly different missions of Laughlin and Amistad are finally coming into recognition as underutilized or missing strategies that need to be beefed up. Yet, the two enclaves have a universal commonality. “The beauty of Del Rio is that you have water, and you have to protect it, because that’s something other communities your size don’t have now,” warned U.S. Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez (D-San Antonio), minutes after participating in the annual Fiesta Amistad Abrazo ceremony on the crown of the Amistad Dam, Friday (Oct. 19).
Indeed, the pressure of Lake Amistad’s fluctuating surface level dramatically affects the vigor of San Felipe Springs, the city’s primary supply of clear, pristine water. And the springs are also the sole source of water lubricating the activities of a workforce of 1,350 at Laughlin Air Force Base. The city, county and region deserve the protection of the real and latent economic potential of Laughlin and the lake, according to Rodriguez, also asserting that business and government interests must work hand-in-hand to achieve such protection and growth. “You have to have that,” Rodriguez said. “It just doesn’t work any other way.” But city officials declined to comment on how they might embrace the assistance of local business interests in promoting economic development.
There are five units of the National Park System in his vast district that blankets most of southwest Texas: Amistad National Recreation Area, Big Bend National Park, Fort Davis National Historic Site, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. Rodriguez would like to see the National Park Service and local communities market the quintet as a tourism package.
Specifically, he hopes to promote funding for Amistad’s new visitor center and museum to house a vast collection of archeological treasure now stored at Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, Austin. “It’s a sin to have important antiquities like that in boxes and vaults where people can’t see them,” Rodriguez said. On the premise that time is money, Rodriguez believes proper marketing and careful infrastructure development will motivate tourists to stay longer and spend more cash.
Val Verde County Commissioner (Precinct 3) Beau Nettleton agrees. “We have got to have that so we can house those artifacts here where people can see them, where researchers can examine them without having to travel all the way to Austin,” Nettleton said, Wednesday (Oct. 17). But Nettleton has a catholic view of the interconnectivity of small and big-picture demands of growth.
“Yes, tourism is becoming a big deal,” Nettleton said, grateful, but cautious. He offered major fishing tournaments as example of a significant economic driver as long as Lake Amistad remains full and bass-productive. The success that tabbed Amistad as “the best bass fishing lake in the world” a few years ago spawned residential and commercial development around the lake that is flourishing, noticeable to even the most casual traveler along U.S. Highway 90 West.
Restaurants, taverns, RV parks, boat dealerships, and residential communities are popping up amidst remodeled hotels and small neighborhoods already struggling with outmoded, failing infrastructure. “There are about 1,800 septic systems around this side of the lake right now,” Nettleton said. “They’re discharging about 600,000 gallons a day, and there’s the potential out there for developments that will require another two or three thousand systems very soon.”
“We already know we have septic systems that are contaminating well water, and we don’t have any idea what it’s doing to the lake. Ultimately, they will all fail,” asserted Nettleton. With his leadership, Val Verde County Commissioners Court has applied for a $10 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board, a state agency that provides financial assistance, leadership and education to promote water conservation.
If successful, the grant would fund a water/wastewater treatment system that may mitigate the doomsday scenario of groundwater contamination feared by Nettleton and most civic leaders here. “We don’t know if we’re going to get [the TWDB grant], but if we do, it’s to fix a bad situation already happening at Lake View subdivision. But all new development out around the lake would be required to connect to it at their own expense,” said Nettleton.
National Park Service Superintendent Alan Cox applauds efforts to protect the natural and cultural resources adjacent to the lake to better ensure the integrity of Amistad National Recreation Area. He has his hands full with controversies on the water and the slivers of land from a fluctuating shoreline to a just as elusive federal boundary. The current issue for Cox is resident unrest at Box Canyon subdivision above the lake’s north shore.
In 1999, the National Park Service completed an environmental assessment of three possible sites on which to construct a new boat ramp and marina facility, partially in response to calls from residents at Box Canyon and Amistad Acres, adjacent subdivisions. The Box Canyon site was selected, and construction began immediately with the enthusiastic approval of residents. Many tournament fishermen, however, thought the development futile if the 8.5-mile road from U.S. Highway 90 West to Box Canyon remained rutted, rough and dusty.
Following years of litigation with the landowner over whose property the road wound, a settlement was reached by Val Verde County officials to pay the Allen Ranch Partnership $500,000, which members have deposited into a special account held to make necessary improvements to the ranch such as fencing and well locations necessitated by pavement of the road, according to Laura Allen. According to Otila Gonzalez, administrative assistant to Val Verde County Judge Mike L. Fernandez, work may begin on two phases of road construction no later than January 2008. Gonzalez secured a $4.5 million Federal Highway Administration grant, and it may not be enough to do everything she hopes for in building the two-lane, paved road.
The tone of the protests reflects cries in communities across the nation now when developments are criticized by those who believe – correctly or not – that they may be adversely affected. NIMBY! “Not in my back yard.” Of course, a store and fuel sales will be on private property already owned and under development by Forever Resorts, and the parking is sited on National Park Service land adjacent to the ramp, but Cox says that – despite claims – there are no plans to enlarge the existing parking site. “Absolutely not. Zero!” Cox said. He does intend to see the parking paved to reduce dust and curb erosion, but has no plans for expansion.
Citing dangers to wildlife and endangered species, spoiled lake views, excessive traffic, and destruction of “Indian Mounds,” the form letter is an appeal to “stop Forever Resorts move of the Amistad Lake Marina to Box Canyon and to stop the NPS from destroying additional NPS lands.”
In response, Cox sent letters to each signator of the petition, flirting with understatement when he wrote, “National park system units are often the focus of intense public interest.” Cox pointed out that the project has been underway for eight years, that the park has an approved General Management Plan that included widespread, recent opportunity for public input before being finalized, and that there are no intentions to simply relocate Lake Amistad Resort & Marina. “First and foremost,” Cox explained, “there is no plan to move the entire Forever Resorts operation from Diablo East to Box Canyon.”
Gonzalez said she’s heard from many residents at Box Canyon that they are appalled and embarrassed by the effort to derail planned developments on the lake. Cox wrote to the petitioners, “The Rio Grande arm of the reservoir is the most popular of the fishing tournament organizers. Property values are on the rise, and are predicted to rise even higher after the road is paved.” He is holding public meetings at Box Canyon to answer questions and correct misunderstandings about plans for current and future developments on the shoreline. “There is just a tremendous amount of misinformation floating around out there,” Cox said. “We need to set the record straight.”
Jerry Simpton, president of The Bank & Trust, wants to set the record straight, too, but on another matter of great economic importance to the region: Protection against encroachment on the mission of Laughlin Air Force Base and the natural assets here that support it. Citing a groundswell campaign to protect all military bases in Texas, spearheaded by Bexar County Judge Nelson W. Wolff and Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson, Simpton urged the city’s Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC), Thursday (Oct. 18), to support the San Antonians’ efforts.
Larson has visited Del Rio on several occasions recently, providing information about efforts to curb developmental impacts negatively affecting military missions in the several military bases surrounding San Antonio. Voicing concern for similar issues pertaining to Laughlin, Larson told LIVE! Sept. 14, he’d like to see such protection extended to all military bases in Texas, and is urging lawmakers in Austin to consider such legislation.
In letters to Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio), Aug. 21, and Rep. Frank Corte Jr. (R-San Antonio), Aug. 15, Larson and Wolff exhorted, “Please consider conducting interim [between legislative session] hearings and making findings regarding the threat of encroachment upon military bases, and potential solutions …
“Our state is growing and changing, as are the military’s needs. We must remain a helpful partner in the armed force’s efforts to train and deploy warfighters. Additional tools such as overlay districts and perhaps limited zoning or additional development regulatory authority will ensure that residential and commercial encroachment does not interfere with core functions of our military installations.”
At the city EDAC meeting, Simpton received unanimous support for his resolution to urge Del Rio City Council to endorse Bexar County’s efforts to create protection around Texas military bases. Simpton suggested that the City of Del Rio Economic Development Department, a one-woman show managed by Jackie Robinson, take the lead in identifying key issues and needs for lobbying to address the next Base Realignment and Closure Commission (dates not yet set).
Simpton also moved that EDAC ask city council to authorize and direct city representatives to travel to San Antonio to learn the activities of the committees Larson and Wolff have created, and how they were organized. EDAC member Frank Larson tacked on a recommendation that Val Verde County officials also be invited to attend such a fact-finding mission, along with representatives of the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce. This proposal, too, was unanimously approved.
Tuesday night (Oct. 23), at Del Rio City Council meeting, the assembled representatives moved Simpton’s proposals into action, resolving that city staff be directed to coordinate with the Bexar County officials in support of Van de Putte’s and Corte’s efforts to conduct hearings and report findings regarding encroachments on Texas military bases. Moreover, council urged Rep. Pete P. Gallego and Sen. Carlos Uresti to support the efforts. The measures passed unanimously.
“With the weight that San Antonio brings to this, and the way it’s structured, it seems to be pretty well thought out for any place that has a nearby military installation,” said Frank Larson, EDAC committee member. EDAC Committee Co-chair and Del Rio Councilman-at-Large Mike Wrob concurred, Monday (Oct. 22: “I think it’s a good opportunity for us to join forces with them, and get a little more muscle on this important issue.”
By Bill Sontag
Feature WriterAmistad National Recreation Area and Laughlin Air Force Base are two workhorses of economic prosperity, pulling in harness with loud vocal encouragement, but little discernible direction from local leaders. That may be on the threshold of change if key political and civic leaders have anything to say about it.
Positioned on opposite, north-south poles of Del Rio’s geographic position on the U.S.-Mexico border, these two federal installations are viewed as independent, if only by reasons of bureaucracy. And they are, rising as they did from the Department of Interior and the Department of Defense, rarely considered parts of the same support system and constituency.
Nevertheless, the financial impact of these two federal installations mixes and mingles with profound influence, here and far beyond international borders and delineations of county and state lines. The National Park Service estimates that agency payroll and two million visitors to Lake Amistad will drop more than $30 million into the local economy this year. Air Force economists monitor Laughlin’s impact, now estimated to exceed $285 million, including an employee salary base alone totaling more than $132 million.
Land use planning and zoning protection of the two vastly different missions of Laughlin and Amistad are finally coming into recognition as underutilized or missing strategies that need to be beefed up. Yet, the two enclaves have a universal commonality. “The beauty of Del Rio is that you have water, and you have to protect it, because that’s something other communities your size don’t have now,” warned U.S. Rep. Ciro D. Rodriguez (D-San Antonio), minutes after participating in the annual Fiesta Amistad Abrazo ceremony on the crown of the Amistad Dam, Friday (Oct. 19).
Indeed, the pressure of Lake Amistad’s fluctuating surface level dramatically affects the vigor of San Felipe Springs, the city’s primary supply of clear, pristine water. And the springs are also the sole source of water lubricating the activities of a workforce of 1,350 at Laughlin Air Force Base. The city, county and region deserve the protection of the real and latent economic potential of Laughlin and the lake, according to Rodriguez, also asserting that business and government interests must work hand-in-hand to achieve such protection and growth. “You have to have that,” Rodriguez said. “It just doesn’t work any other way.” But city officials declined to comment on how they might embrace the assistance of local business interests in promoting economic development.
There are five units of the National Park System in his vast district that blankets most of southwest Texas: Amistad National Recreation Area, Big Bend National Park, Fort Davis National Historic Site, Guadalupe Mountains National Park and San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. Rodriguez would like to see the National Park Service and local communities market the quintet as a tourism package.
Specifically, he hopes to promote funding for Amistad’s new visitor center and museum to house a vast collection of archeological treasure now stored at Texas Archeological Research Laboratory, Austin. “It’s a sin to have important antiquities like that in boxes and vaults where people can’t see them,” Rodriguez said. On the premise that time is money, Rodriguez believes proper marketing and careful infrastructure development will motivate tourists to stay longer and spend more cash.
Val Verde County Commissioner (Precinct 3) Beau Nettleton agrees. “We have got to have that so we can house those artifacts here where people can see them, where researchers can examine them without having to travel all the way to Austin,” Nettleton said, Wednesday (Oct. 17). But Nettleton has a catholic view of the interconnectivity of small and big-picture demands of growth.
“Yes, tourism is becoming a big deal,” Nettleton said, grateful, but cautious. He offered major fishing tournaments as example of a significant economic driver as long as Lake Amistad remains full and bass-productive. The success that tabbed Amistad as “the best bass fishing lake in the world” a few years ago spawned residential and commercial development around the lake that is flourishing, noticeable to even the most casual traveler along U.S. Highway 90 West.
Restaurants, taverns, RV parks, boat dealerships, and residential communities are popping up amidst remodeled hotels and small neighborhoods already struggling with outmoded, failing infrastructure. “There are about 1,800 septic systems around this side of the lake right now,” Nettleton said. “They’re discharging about 600,000 gallons a day, and there’s the potential out there for developments that will require another two or three thousand systems very soon.”
“We already know we have septic systems that are contaminating well water, and we don’t have any idea what it’s doing to the lake. Ultimately, they will all fail,” asserted Nettleton. With his leadership, Val Verde County Commissioners Court has applied for a $10 million grant from the Texas Water Development Board, a state agency that provides financial assistance, leadership and education to promote water conservation.
If successful, the grant would fund a water/wastewater treatment system that may mitigate the doomsday scenario of groundwater contamination feared by Nettleton and most civic leaders here. “We don’t know if we’re going to get [the TWDB grant], but if we do, it’s to fix a bad situation already happening at Lake View subdivision. But all new development out around the lake would be required to connect to it at their own expense,” said Nettleton.
National Park Service Superintendent Alan Cox applauds efforts to protect the natural and cultural resources adjacent to the lake to better ensure the integrity of Amistad National Recreation Area. He has his hands full with controversies on the water and the slivers of land from a fluctuating shoreline to a just as elusive federal boundary. The current issue for Cox is resident unrest at Box Canyon subdivision above the lake’s north shore.
In 1999, the National Park Service completed an environmental assessment of three possible sites on which to construct a new boat ramp and marina facility, partially in response to calls from residents at Box Canyon and Amistad Acres, adjacent subdivisions. The Box Canyon site was selected, and construction began immediately with the enthusiastic approval of residents. Many tournament fishermen, however, thought the development futile if the 8.5-mile road from U.S. Highway 90 West to Box Canyon remained rutted, rough and dusty.
Following years of litigation with the landowner over whose property the road wound, a settlement was reached by Val Verde County officials to pay the Allen Ranch Partnership $500,000, which members have deposited into a special account held to make necessary improvements to the ranch such as fencing and well locations necessitated by pavement of the road, according to Laura Allen. According to Otila Gonzalez, administrative assistant to Val Verde County Judge Mike L. Fernandez, work may begin on two phases of road construction no later than January 2008. Gonzalez secured a $4.5 million Federal Highway Administration grant, and it may not be enough to do everything she hopes for in building the two-lane, paved road.
The first phase includes construction supervised by Texas Department of Transportation of an overpass above the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near the entrance. Phase two will be pavement of the road, and Gonzalez hopes the entire project will be completed by mid-summer 2008. “It will have such a positive economic impact when that beautiful part of the lake is accessible to more tourists,” Gonzalez said. “That road will be so neat for the tourism industry here, and, as a spinoff, to the people who live out there. And it will be a lifesaver, too, when emergency vehicles of all kinds need to get out to those subdivisions quickly.”
The tone of the protests reflects cries in communities across the nation now when developments are criticized by those who believe – correctly or not – that they may be adversely affected. NIMBY! “Not in my back yard.” Of course, a store and fuel sales will be on private property already owned and under development by Forever Resorts, and the parking is sited on National Park Service land adjacent to the ramp, but Cox says that – despite claims – there are no plans to enlarge the existing parking site. “Absolutely not. Zero!” Cox said. He does intend to see the parking paved to reduce dust and curb erosion, but has no plans for expansion.
Citing dangers to wildlife and endangered species, spoiled lake views, excessive traffic, and destruction of “Indian Mounds,” the form letter is an appeal to “stop Forever Resorts move of the Amistad Lake Marina to Box Canyon and to stop the NPS from destroying additional NPS lands.”
In response, Cox sent letters to each signator of the petition, flirting with understatement when he wrote, “National park system units are often the focus of intense public interest.” Cox pointed out that the project has been underway for eight years, that the park has an approved General Management Plan that included widespread, recent opportunity for public input before being finalized, and that there are no intentions to simply relocate Lake Amistad Resort & Marina. “First and foremost,” Cox explained, “there is no plan to move the entire Forever Resorts operation from Diablo East to Box Canyon.”
Gonzalez said she’s heard from many residents at Box Canyon that they are appalled and embarrassed by the effort to derail planned developments on the lake. Cox wrote to the petitioners, “The Rio Grande arm of the reservoir is the most popular of the fishing tournament organizers. Property values are on the rise, and are predicted to rise even higher after the road is paved.” He is holding public meetings at Box Canyon to answer questions and correct misunderstandings about plans for current and future developments on the shoreline. “There is just a tremendous amount of misinformation floating around out there,” Cox said. “We need to set the record straight.”
Jerry Simpton, president of The Bank & Trust, wants to set the record straight, too, but on another matter of great economic importance to the region: Protection against encroachment on the mission of Laughlin Air Force Base and the natural assets here that support it. Citing a groundswell campaign to protect all military bases in Texas, spearheaded by Bexar County Judge Nelson W. Wolff and Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson, Simpton urged the city’s Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC), Thursday (Oct. 18), to support the San Antonians’ efforts.
Larson has visited Del Rio on several occasions recently, providing information about efforts to curb developmental impacts negatively affecting military missions in the several military bases surrounding San Antonio. Voicing concern for similar issues pertaining to Laughlin, Larson told LIVE! Sept. 14, he’d like to see such protection extended to all military bases in Texas, and is urging lawmakers in Austin to consider such legislation.
In letters to Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio), Aug. 21, and Rep. Frank Corte Jr. (R-San Antonio), Aug. 15, Larson and Wolff exhorted, “Please consider conducting interim [between legislative session] hearings and making findings regarding the threat of encroachment upon military bases, and potential solutions …
“Our state is growing and changing, as are the military’s needs. We must remain a helpful partner in the armed force’s efforts to train and deploy warfighters. Additional tools such as overlay districts and perhaps limited zoning or additional development regulatory authority will ensure that residential and commercial encroachment does not interfere with core functions of our military installations.”
At the city EDAC meeting, Simpton received unanimous support for his resolution to urge Del Rio City Council to endorse Bexar County’s efforts to create protection around Texas military bases. Simpton suggested that the City of Del Rio Economic Development Department, a one-woman show managed by Jackie Robinson, take the lead in identifying key issues and needs for lobbying to address the next Base Realignment and Closure Commission (dates not yet set).
Simpton also moved that EDAC ask city council to authorize and direct city representatives to travel to San Antonio to learn the activities of the committees Larson and Wolff have created, and how they were organized. EDAC member Frank Larson tacked on a recommendation that Val Verde County officials also be invited to attend such a fact-finding mission, along with representatives of the Del Rio Chamber of Commerce. This proposal, too, was unanimously approved.
Tuesday night (Oct. 23), at Del Rio City Council meeting, the assembled representatives moved Simpton’s proposals into action, resolving that city staff be directed to coordinate with the Bexar County officials in support of Van de Putte’s and Corte’s efforts to conduct hearings and report findings regarding encroachments on Texas military bases. Moreover, council urged Rep. Pete P. Gallego and Sen. Carlos Uresti to support the efforts. The measures passed unanimously.
“With the weight that San Antonio brings to this, and the way it’s structured, it seems to be pretty well thought out for any place that has a nearby military installation,” said Frank Larson, EDAC committee member. EDAC Committee Co-chair and Del Rio Councilman-at-Large Mike Wrob concurred, Monday (Oct. 22: “I think it’s a good opportunity for us to join forces with them, and get a little more muscle on this important issue.”
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Frank Larson Are you the
Frank Larson
Are you the person that I use to work with at Ge in Phoenix AZ?
Dave Bowman
My email is dab2010@aim.com