Three Mission City Council members voted against a reimbursement agreement with the Mission Redevelopment Authority for the Los Ebanos Road project. The vote was 3-2, and the agreement was not approved. Council members Jose Alberto (Beto) Vela, Ruben Plata and Jessica Ortega voted no. City documents estimate the design and construction cost of Los Ebanos Road from the expressway to Military Highway at $2.1 million. A copy of exhibit A, which describes the public improvements, was blank on the page available to the public at the meeting. Councilwoman Marissa Gerlach made the motion, and Mayor Norie Gonzalez Garza provided the second.
After the meeting, Vela told the Progress Times he opposed the agreement's timing. He said low water pressure and sewer odors and backups on the south side should come first. Vela said a new booster pump and new sewer rollers could address those issues, and that both could cost less than the road plans. He said those improvements might also qualify for a reimbursement agreement.
Mission attorney Rick Salinas, a candidate for mayor, spoke during public participation. He said the project was about local politics. He said spending millions on a road that could become obsolete quickly was a concern, and that the timing, seven days before an election, was troubling. Salinas said the item should wait and that clarity and transparency are needed to build public trust.