LA SALINERA July 2017 Volume 9, Issue 2 Inside this issue: VillageAn update Vibes on theESL ClassesThe Great AmericanStaying Healthy Farmer’s MakingMarket a Upcoming& more! Events Water & Sewer Pro- Cleanup Music Festival Difference ject Page 3 Page 13 Page 17 Page 8 Page 9 Table of Contents Inside this issue: Village Vibes Music Festival………..pg. 3 City Council Manuel Leos Mayor Administrator’s Memo………………..pg. 7 Victor Carrejo Place 1 Yolanda Lucero ESL Classes……………………………….pg. 8 Place 2 Sonia Arceo Place 3 Santos Lucero Fun Page…………………………………...pg. 11 Place 5 Administrative Staff Making a Difference…………………..pg. 13 Jessica Garza, Village Administrator Andrea Carrillo, Deputy Village Clerk In Search of History…….…………….pg. 15 Jannette Monrreal, Admin. Assistant Marisela Padilla, Accounting and Upcoming Events……………………….pg. 17 Budget Supervisor Michael Garay, Accounting and Join us July 19 for our next Water & Budget Analyst Wastewater Public Hearing. The hearing will take place at the West Valley Fire De- Norma Gomez, Sanitation Clerk partment, located at 510 Vinton Rd., at 6:00 pm. The public is welcomed and Josh Luna, Media Specialist & Community Outreach very encouraged to attend. A Word from Mayor Leos Hello again, Half of the year is gone and summer is approaching fast, we have to be prepared for the desert heat. I urge everyone to stay hydrated and please look out for your neighbors. Make sure to supervise children dur- ing outdoor play and be sure to monitor them closely and frequently. Al- so, look after our elderly family and friends, as we all get older we are particularly at risk for heat exposure. Keep in mind, heat exposure can lead to grave health issues or death. Vinton summers, brings family fun at Dr. Applegate Park, where one can bring their kids to play, take a relaxing walk, picnic, or hang out with family and friends. Enjoy a movie on selected Fridays, as we continue with the Movie Nights program again this summer, brought to us by the great volunteers of Keep Vinton Beautiful. Additionally, special thanks to Anthony ISD, for again bringing the summer food program to the park. All children up to age 18 can enjoy a nice dinner every weeknight from 6:15 to 7:15 pm at Dr. Applegate Park. We would also like to take this opportunity and thank Bill Childress Elementary from CISD for hosting our Mini-Health Fair on May 12th, 2017. As we continue to reach out to the community with these types of pro- grams, we challenge Vinton residents to get involved and become a volunteer, it is very rewarding. We are proud to say that our first English as a Second Language (ESL) class has successfully completed the re- quirements and have received their certificates of completion. Great Job! The council and staff continually keep working on our top priority list, namely the water and waste water projects. This is an ongoing challenge as we are working though the long and very detailed process. We are hoping that by the time this newsletter gets to you, we will have good news about the funding from the Tex- as Water Development Broad (TWDB) on our waste water project. Other items that we will be working on this summer are the Uniform Development Code and the 2017-2018 Budget. The great days of summer are here, enjoy them with family and friends. Join us at the park this summer to watch a movie, hang out, relax, and have fun. Sincerely, Manuel “Manny” Leos, Sr. La Salinera 2 Village Vibes Music Festival 2017 The Village Vibes Music Festival is back and Keep Vinton Beautiful would like to invite you to take part in the festivities. This year’s festival is set to take place on September 30th, 2017 at Dr. Applegate Park. The fun begins at 2:00 pm and will go on until midnight. Come out and enjoy an afternoon filled with music, food trucks, a new family dedicated area, and good vibes. Village Vibes Music Festival 2017 Features: • 2 Stages • Food Trucks • New Family Dedicated Area • Vendors • Art To purchase tickets for this year’s festival visit the website at: www.villagevibesmusicfestival.com Use this code when purchasing your tickets to receive $5 off adult tickets! DISCOUNT CODE: vvmf17 September 30, 2017 2:00 pm - 11:59 pm 3 La Salinera VVMF 2016 Photo Highlights La Salinera 4 Village Vibes Golf Tournament 2017 Recap Keep Vinton Beautiful hosted it’s first ever golf tournament on June 2, 2017 at the Painted Dunes De- sert Golf Course. The tournament was a huge success as 76 players, and 30 sponsors supported and participated in the event. The tournament is a part of Village Vibes Music Festival, and it serves to reach the same goal, the construction of Vinton’s first Community Garden. If you are interested in supporting KVB and Village Vibes you can call Vinton City Hall at (915) 886-5104 or email Village Vibes at [email protected] for more information on how to get involved. 5 La Salinera Community Garden The Village Vibes Music Festival and Golf Tournament were created as fundraising events for Vinton’s first community garden and learning center planned to be located on 4 acres of property in the heart of Vinton. The community garden will address Vinton resident’s lack of access to fresh, locally sourced produce, as well as provide economic opportunity for local farmers and an educational resource for local residents and students. Here are a few ways Community Gardens make a positive impact. 5 REASONS TO SUPPORT A COMMUNITY GARDEN 1. Community Gardens Help Provide Fresh Nutritious Food Community gardens provide an opportunity for people to enjoy nutritious food at little or no cost. 2. Community Gardens Foster Community and Build Networks As well as providing fresh nutritious produce for the gardeners and their families, community gar dens provide the opportunity for people from different backgrounds to come together. 3. Community Gardens Provide Health Benefits & A Place To Retreat From The Noise & Commotion of Urban Environments Gardening itself offers many benefits such as stress relief, helps with building esteem, helps fight depression as well as offering physical health benefits such as increased dexterity, cardiovascular development and strength building. 4. Community Gardens Are Good For Local Business & Help Reduce Crime Community gardens also foster and can help provide employment, education, and entrepreneur ship. They provide opportunities for a wide variety of people, including students, recent immi grants and homeless people. 5. Community Gardens Can Have a Positive Effect on Property Prices Interestingly, these positive effects are strongest in lower-income neighborhoods. Source: Collective Evolution La Salinera 6 Administrator’s Memo The Chicago Cubs and the Village of Vinton have quite a bit in common. Last November, after a 108 year wait, the Cubs reached the pinnacle of the baseball season by winning the World Series in game seven. While not quite waiting 108 years, it seems that Vinton residents can now chant the Cub fan mantra of “It Is Happening”. Like the Cubs, Vinton’s water and sewer projects had come close before just to fall short in the first round of the playoffs. After every losing season teams, rebuild and that’s what has been happening in Vinton. Council and staff had to go back to the drawing board to plan and strategize how to make a (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) comeback. Since 2012, responsibilities were shifted, talent developed and a new game strategy put in place. While there were struggles and losses, we went to the plate every time hoping to get on base and praying for the home run. After years of saying “Wait Till Next Year” or “It’s Gonna Happen” the biggest hurdle of this run was overcome on May 31st, with the approval from the Texas Water Development Board for the construction funds of the sewer sys- tem. We can say now we’ve made it to the World Series of infrastructure projects. Water and sewer in Vinton are not just like any other project. The sewer project alone is the largest project attempted in this region for many years. At a construction cost of approximately $22 million to connect nearly 540 homes, it required two funding agen- cies to award funds simultaneously for it to happen. The approval by TWDB of $11.6 million in loan forgiveness (grant) now allows for the EPA/BECC funding to step up with an additional $4 million in grant funds for construc- tion. Back in December, the USDA awarded Vinton $4.8 million in grant funds for the nearly $11 million water project. Also needing another funding agency to step up, EPA/BECC has also set aside $2.9 million to fund Phase II of project. Of a total of nearly $34.1 million, Vinton property owners will be asked to repay only 26% of the total cost or about $9 million over the next 20 to 30 years for the infrastructure. Construction on both projects is scheduled to begin in January 2018, with sewer being first at bat. Before we can claim victory though, there are still challenges ahead. As we move closer to full funding of both projects, there are environmental documents, public hearings, and design approvals waiting on deck for us this summer. I urge you to participate in the upcoming meetings to be fully informed on the status of the projects and scope so that later on, like the Cubs fans, you can say, “I Was There!” Project Total Cost Grant Loan Wastewater $ 23,508,582.00 $ 17,598,582.00 $ 5,910,000.00 Water $ 10,650,109.00 $ 7,741,109.00 $ 2,909,000.00 Totals $ 34,158,691.00 $ 25,339,691.00 $ 8,819,000.00 Jessica Garza Village Administrator 7 La Salinera ESL Classes ESL teacher Mrs.